Ivey & O'Hara Read 'Selected Shorts' at Westport on Nov.6

Actors Judith Ivey and Kelli O'Hara will read short fiction from "The Best American Short Stories 2007," edited by the best-selling author and pop culture icon Stephen King, in "Selected Shorts," a live version of the renowned PRI show of the same name, on Tuesday, November 6 at 8PM, at Westport Country Playhouse.

"Selected Shorts" is a co-presentation between the Westport Arts Center and Westport Country Playhouse, and sponsored by WSHU.

Stephen King is guest editor of "The Best American Short Stories 2007." King is known as the Master of the Macabre through his trademark blend of fantasy, horror, and psychological suspense.

Ivey will read T.C. Boyle's "Balto," a cliffhanger about a 12-year-old girl who can protect her beloved father if she lies under oath. Ms. O'Hara will read Karen Russell's "St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves," an assimilation fable about a halfway house for the human children of werewolves.

Judith Ivey is a two-time Tony Award winner for Steaming and Hurlyburly, and an Obie Award winner for The Moonshot Tape.  An Emmy nominee for "What the Deaf Man Heard," she has starred in "Designing Women" and "Down Home" and has made guest appearances on series including "Will & Grace" and "Law & Order: SVU." Ivey was inducted into the Texas Film Hall of Fame with many film credits, among them Devil's Advocate, Washington Square and Brighton Beach Memoirs. She has also been honored for her recorded books, most recently, "The Incredible Journey of Edward Fontaine" for ages 8-12. Next season, she will direct the Off Broadway production of Secrets of a Soccer Mom.

Kelli O'Hara has been nominated for two Tony Awards, one for The Light in the Piazza and one for The Pajama Game. Her other Broadway credits are Jekyll & Hyde, Sondheim's Follies, Sweet Smell of Success and Dracula; and she has worked regionally and off-Broadway in Sunday in the Park with George, My Life with Albertine and Beauty. She recently played Eliza Doolittle in the New York Philharmonic production of My Fair Lady, and made her Carnegie Hall solo debut with the New York Pops. She will star in South Pacific at Lincoln Center in March 2008. Her first solo album is also forthcoming in 2008.

Author T. Coraghessan Boyle is the author of 19 books of fiction, including "After the Plague," "Drop City," "The Inner Circle," "Tooth and Claw and "Talk Talk." His book "World's End" won the PEN/Faulkner Award and "Drop City" was nominated for the 2003 National Book Award. His stories appear regularly in major American magazines, including The New Yorker, Harper's, Esquire, The Atlantic Monthly, Playboy, The Paris Review, GQ and McSweeney's. He lives near Santa Barbara, California.

Author Karen Russell has been featured in The New Yorker's debut fiction issue and was chosen as one of Granta's Best Young American Novelists in 2007. She is a graduate of the Columbia M.F.A. program and the 2005 recipient of the Transatlantic/Henfield Award; her short story collection, "St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves," was just released in paperback. A native of Miami, she now lives in New York City, where she is working on a novel called "Swamplandia!," about a family of alligator wrestlers.

Now in its 20th season, "Selected Shorts" is produced for radio by Symphony Space and WNYC, New York Public Radio.  The award-winning program is heard locally on Saturdays at 3PM on WSHU (FM 91.1).

Upcoming "Selected Shorts" will be co-presented by Westport Country Playhouse and Westport Arts Center, at the Playhouse, on December 4, January 15 and March 18.  Programs will be announced.

Tickets to "Selected Shorts" are $15, $20 and $25.  Purchase all four "Selected Shorts" and save $5 off each ticket.

For more information or reservations for "Selected Shorts," visit www.westportplayhouse.org, or call Westport Country Playhouse box office at (203) 227-4177, or toll-free at 1-888-927-7529.  Westport Country Playhouse is located at 25 Powers Court, off Route 1, Westport, CT.

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