Westport Country Playhouse Announces 2012 Season

Westport Country Playhouse announces their 2012 Season of theater- "A season of theater worth taking about"

"The five extraordinary plays that we have chosen for 2012 constitute as thrilling and ambitious a season as Westport Country Playhouse has tackled in some time," said Mark Lamos, Westport Country Playhouse artistic director, as he announced the 2012 season of five productions---a musical, a comedy, a world premiere and two dramas---playing from May through November. "We're creating a season of theater worth talking about," Lamos noted. 2012 will mark the historic Connecticut theater's 82nd season.

"2012 will be one of our biggest seasons yet," stated Lamos, "with a wide range of offerings, from truly classic entertainment to the gorgeous music of Stephen Sondheim, to moving drama and a brand new world-premiere comedy---concluding with one of a handful of the greatest American dramatic masterpieces of the 20th Century. We're both proud and excited to share these works with our growing audience."

As previously announced, Lamos will direct the season opener, 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.' 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, 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 15-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 the usual tensions quickly bubble to the surface. Then Donna reveals she's pregnant, does not know the father, and would like her brother to raise the child-and all hell breaks loose. The bonds between kith and kin are tested in this alternately biting, touching and hilarious new comedy about the constantly shifting nature of the meaning of family.

The powerful classic, "A Raisin in the Sun" by Lorraine Hansberry, will play 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.
For current subscribers, subscription renewals are now available, including online renewal capability 24/7. Current subscribers who renew by the Early Bird Deadline, Friday, September 2, will be entitled to a special gift. For new subscribers, 5-play subscriptions, starting at $150, will be available beginning October 11; 4-play subscriptions, Pick 3 Plans, FlexTix and group sales will be available starting January 3. Single tickets will go on sale March 6.

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).