Nicholas Martin to Direct Maugham's The Circle At Westport Country Playhouse In 2011

Nicholas Martin, artistic director of Williamstown Theatre Festival, will direct W. Somerset Maugham's scintillating comedy of manners, "The Circle," June 7 - June 25, 2011, at Westport Country, announced Mark Lamos, Playhouse artistic director.

"I'm so pleased that Nicky Martin will be joining us next season," said Mark Lamos. "I've been a fan of his for years, and a great admirer of his work at the Williamstown Theatre Festival. He's a gifted artist who excels at so many varied styles of theater, but with his particular genius for staging this sort of sophisticatEd English drawing room comedy, I can't imagine a better match of director with material. And, of course, actors love working with him because he knows how to bring the best out of them."

"The Circle" is about Lord Champion-Cheney, who, many years ago, was abandoned by his wife, a legendary beauty. Now his son Arnold, a politician and rising star, is having marital problems of his own. Is history destined to repeat itself? Considered by many as Maugham's wittiest play, "The Circle" is a seamless blend of romance and repartee.

Nicholas Martin directed Broadway productions of "Present Laughter," "Butley," "Match," "Hedda Gabler," "The Rehearsal" and "You Never Can Tell." Off-Broadway directing credits include the world premiere of Christopher Durang's "Why Torture is Wrong, and the People Who Love Them" at Public Theater; Noah Haidle's "Saturn Returns" and Paul Rudnick's "The New Century" at Lincoln Center Theater; "Fully Committed" at Vineyard and Cherry Lane Theatres; "Full Gallop" at Manhattan Theatre Club and West Side Arts; "Observe the Sons of Ulster..." (Drama Desk Award nomination), "The Time of the Cuckoo" and "Chaucer in Rome" at Lincoln Center Theater; "Betty's Summer Vacation" (Obie Award, Drama Desk Award nominations) and Jonathan Marc Sherman's "Sophistry" at Playwrights Horizons; and John Guare's "Bosoms and Neglect" at Signature Theatre.

Martin's numerous regional credits include "She Stoops to Conquer" at McCarter Theatre; "The House of Blue Leaves" at Mark Taper Forum; "Dead End" at Ahmanson Theatre; and "Macbeth" at Old Globe. He is also director of the West Coast and London productions of "Full Gallop." Previously at Westport Country Playhouse, Martin directed Jon Robin Baitz's "The Substance of Fire" in 1993 and A. R. Gurney's "A Cheever Evening" in 1995.

Martin is the artistic director of Williamstown Theatre Festival where his directing credits include "She Loves Me," "The Corn is Green," "Where's Charley?," "Camino Real," "Dead End," "The Royal Family," "A Midsummer Night's Dream," "Dreading Thekla," "Mother of Invention," among other plays. He was artistic director emeritus of Boston's Huntington Theatre Company where some of his previous productions include "Love's Labour's Lost," "The Sisters Rosensweig," "Laughing Wild," "The Rivals," "Sonia Flew," "Betty's Summer Vacation," "The Rose Tattoo," "The Cherry Orchard" and "Persephone."" He is the recipient of the Norton Award for Sustained Achievement.

Westport Country Playhouse's 2011 season also will include a wicked, and wickedly funny, look at the days and nights of the young and single, "Beyond Therapy," written by comic master Christopher Durang and directed by Tony Award winner John Rando, April 26 - May 14, 2011; a perceptive comedy about people struggling against their limitations, "Lips Together, Teeth Apart," written by Terrence McNally and directed by Mark Lamos, July 12 - July 30, 2011; the poetic, sensual and evocative drama, "Suddenly Last Summer," written by Tennessee Williams and directed by David Kennedy, Playhouse associate artistic director, August 23 - September 10, 2011; and the beguiling comedy/romance "Twelfth Night, or What You Will," written by William Shakespeare and directed by Mark Lamos, October 11 - October 29, 2011.

Subscriptions to all five plays in the 2011 season are now available for preferred seating and pricing, among other benefits. Subscription prices range from $125 to $250 for a five-play package; $100 to $220 for a four-play package. Single tickets will be on sale Tuesday, March 1, noon. 50% discounts are available for students and educators; 30% discounts for groups of 10 or more. Stay connected to The Playhouse on Facebook (Westport Country Playhouse) and/or follow on Twitter (@WCPlayhouse).
About The Playhouse

Westport Country Playhouse, a not-for-profit theater, serves as a treasured home for the performing arts and is a cultural landmark for Connecticut. Under the artistic direction of Mark Lamos and management direction of Michael Ross, The Playhouse creates quality productions of new and classic plays that enlighten, enrich and engage a diverse community of theater lovers, artists and students. The Playhouse's rich history dates back to 1931, when New York theater producer Lawrence Langner created a Broadway-quality stage within an 1830s tannery. The Playhouse quickly became an established stop on the New England "straw hat circuit" of summer stock theaters. Celebrating its 80th season in 2010, Westport Country Playhouse has produced more than 700 plays, 36 of which later transferred to Broadway, most recently the world premiere of "Thurgood" and a revival of Thornton Wilder's "Our Town" with Paul Newman, and in earlier years "Come Back, Little Sheba" with Shirley Booth, "The Trip to Bountiful" with Lillian Gish, and "Butterflies Are Free" with Keir Dullea and Blythe Danner. For its artistic excellence, The Playhouse received a 2005 Governor's Arts Award and a 2000 "Connecticut Treasure" recognition. It was also designated as an Official Project of Save America's Treasures by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and is entered on the Connecticut State Register of Historic Places. Following a multi-million dollar renovation completed in 2005, The Playhouse transformed into a year-round, state-of-the-art producing theater, which has preserved its original charm and character. In addition to a full season of theatrical productions, The Playhouse serves as a community resource, presenting educational programming and workshops, a children's theater series, symposiums, music, films and readings.

Currently underway, Westport Country Playhouse's five-play 2010 season began in April 2010 and continues through October 30, 2010 with "I Do! I Do," an endearing musical, with book and lyrics are by Tom Jones and music by Harvey Schmidt, directed by Susan H. Schulman, August 10 through August 28, 2010; and "The Diary of Anne Frank," a timeless and powerful classic, by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, adapted by Wendy Kesselman, directed by Gerald Freedman, September 28 through October 30, 2010.

For more information or ticket purchases, call the box office (Tues. - Sat., 12 to 6 p.m.) at (203) 227-4177, or toll-free at 1-888-927-7529, or visit 25 Powers Court, off Route 1, Westport. Tickets may be purchased online at www.westportplayhouse.org. Stay connected to The Playhouse on Facebook (Westport Country Playhouse) and/or follow on Twitter (@WCPlayhouse).