2012 Subscriptions on Sale Now at Westport Country Playhouse

Subscriptions are now on sale to the general public for the 2012 season at Westport Country Playhouse. They may be purchased 24/7 online at www.westportplayhouse.org, or by calling The Playhouse box office at 203-227-4177. To introduce the series of five productions, The Playhouse will host a "2012 Season Preview Night" on Thursday, October 27, 6 to 8 p.m., featuring a presentation by Mark Lamos, Playhouse artistic director, followed by a Q&A, along with complimentary hors d'oeuvres, beverages and giveaways. The event is free and open to the public.

"For our loyal subscribers as well as new folks, '2012 Season Preview Night' is an opportunity to take a journey into our upcoming season with Mark," said Michael Ross, Playhouse managing director. "Our guests will get a first-hand look at all that The Playhouse has to offer and discover ‘theater worth talking about.'"

Preview Night will feature tastings from Playhouse restaurant partners Da Pietro's, Dressing Room, La Villa Trattoria, Matsu Sushi, Rizzuto's, Tavern on Main and Thali, in The Playhouse lobbies from 6 to 7 p.m.

Guests will gather in the Jason Robards Theater at 7 p.m. where Lamos will walk patrons through the 2012 season, sharing details about production selections, followed by a Q&A.

The Playhouse Box Office will be open for the duration of the event to help interested patrons with 2012 subscription purchases. Playhouse subscribers receive benefits not afforded regular ticket buyers, including saving up to 40% off single ticket prices; guaranteed, preferred seat location; special ticket discounts; advance notice of special events; free ticket exchanges; restaurant discounts; and a Referral Reward program in which subscribers can earn gift certificates and free subscriptions for referring friends to subscribe.

RSVP for the Preview Night is required by reserving tickets online at westportplayhouse.org or calling 203.227.5137, ext. 120.

The 2012 season will open with Lamos directing a 25th anniversary revival of the musical "Into the Woods," with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by James Lapine, running May 1 - 19. In a dark and seductive world of fairy tales, the essential stories of youth are freshly revealed in all their sinewy complexity. This seamless tapestry of beautiful words and haunting melodies offers a mature vision of these timeless tales that lays bare the truth of what really happens after ‘happily ever after.' The musical is a co-production with Baltimore's CENTERSTAGE.

"The Year of Magical Thinking," based on the National Book Award-winning memoir by acclaimed author Joan Didion, and directed by Nicholas Martin, will play June 12 - June 30. The intimate drama chronicles the author's grief and ultimate renewal after the sudden and unexpected death of her husband and the illness of her only child. The play will feature acclaimed actress Maureen Anderman. She appeared at Westport Country Playhouse in "Later Life" and "After-Play." Currently she is appearing in The Bridge Project's international tour of "Richard III," starring Kevin Spacey, directed by Sam Mendes. Her Broadway credits include the premieres of Edward Albee's "Seascape" and "The Lady from Dubuque" (Tony Award nomination) as well as the first revival of "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? starring Colleen Dewhurst and Ben Gazzara, directed by Albee.

The biting social satire, "Tartuffe," written by Molière, translated by Richard Wilbur and directed by David Kennedy, Playhouse associate artistic director, will play July 17 - August 4. Orgon has fallen under Tartuffe's spell, the most saintly man he's ever known. But Orgon's family believes Tartuffe a fraud, out to steal his wealth, bed his wife and wed his daughter. Will Orgon come to his senses before it's too late? The stage is set for a battle of wills in a wickedly funny and farcical take on the outer limits of hypocrisy that has entertained audiences for centuries-and is still fresh today.

A world-premiere comedy, "Harbor," written by Tony Award-nominated Chad Beguelin and directed by Mark Lamos, will run August 28 - September 15. When fifteen-year-old Lottie and her ne'er-do-well mother Donna drop in unannounced on the beautiful Sag Harbor home of Donna's brother Kevin and his new husband Ted, all hell breaks loose. The bonds between kith and kin are tested in this alternately biting, touching and hilarious comedy about the constantly shifting nature of the meaning of family.

Tony Award winner Phylicia Rashad will direct the powerful classic, "A Raisin in the Sun" by Lorraine Hansberry, October 9 - November 3. It tells the story of the Youngers, a black family in 1950s Southside Chicago, and their quest for a piece of the American Dream. A towering drama, a play of passionate intensity and raw emotion, with complex characters who work their way into the hearts and minds of an audience, "A Raisin in the Sun" is a genuine 20th century American masterpiece.
5-play subscriptions, starting at $150, are now available; 4-play subscriptions, Pick 3 Plans, FlexTix and group sales will be available starting January 3, 2012. Single tickets will go on sale March 6, 2012.

For more information or tickets, call the box office at (203) 227-4177, or toll-free at 1-888-927-7529, or visit Westport Country Playhouse, 25 Powers Court, off Route 1, Westport. Tickets are available online 24/7 at www.westportplayhouse.org. Stay connected to The Playhouse on Facebook (Westport Country Playhouse), follow on Twitter (@WCPlayhouse), view Playhouse videos on YouTube (WestportPlayhouse) or get an insider's peek on The Playhouse Blog (www.theplayhouseblog.org).

About The Playhouse

Reimagining itself in recent years, Westport Country Playhouse is rapidly emerging as a nationally recognized professional theater. Under the artistic direction of Mark Lamos and management direction of Michael Ross, The Playhouse creates five live theater experiences, produced at the highest level, from April through November. Its vital mix of works---dramatic, comedic, occasionally exploratory and unusual---expands the audience's sense of what theater can be. The depth and scope of its productions display the foremost theatrical literature from the past---recent as well as distant---in addition to musicals and premieres of new plays. During the summer, The Playhouse is home to the Woodward Internship Program, renowned for the training of aspiring theater professionals. Winter at The Playhouse, from November through March, offers events outside of the main season---Family Festivities presentations, Script in Hand play readings and a Holiday Festival. In addition, businesses and organizations are encouraged to rent the handsome facility for their meetings, receptions and fundraisers.

As an historic venue, Westport Country Playhouse has had many different lives leading up to the present. Originally built in 1835 as a tannery manufacturing hatters' leathers, it became a steam-powered cider mill in 1880, later to be abandoned in the 1920s. Splendidly transformed into a theater in 1931, it initially served as a try-out house for Broadway transfers, evolving into an established stop on the New England straw hat circuit of summer stock theaters through the end of the 20th century.

Today, the not-for-profit Westport Country Playhouse serves as a cultural nexus for patrons, artists and students and is a treasured resource for the State of Connecticut. There are no boundaries to the creative thinking for future seasons or the kinds of audiences and excitement for theater that Westport Country Playhouse can build.

For more information or tickets, call the box office at (203) 227-4177, or toll-free at 1-888-927-7529, or visit Westport Country Playhouse, 25 Powers Court, off Route 1, Westport. Tickets are available online 24/7 at www.westportplayhouse.org. Stay connected to The Playhouse on Facebook (Westport Country Playhouse), follow on Twitter (@WCPlayhouse), view Playhouse videos on YouTube (WestportPlayhouse) or get an insider's peek on The Playhouse Blog (www.theplayhouseblog.org).

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