Westport Summer Season to Feature Naughton and Dratch

Westport Country Playhouse (Joanne Woodward and Anne Keefe, artistic directors, Jodi Schoenbrun Carter, managing director) announces its summer roster of shows, featuring Tony Award winner James Naughton directing a Cole Porter musical revue; "Saturday Night Live's" Rachel Dratch appearing in David Wiltse's "tour de farce" office comedy; and Playhouse favorite Mark Shanahan ("Sedition," "David Copperfield," "Journey's End") performing in a thriller.  The Playhouse has a variety of flexible and affordable ticketing options to accommodate the busy schedules of summer theatregoers.

"Although operating now as a year-round theatre, the Playhouse has always had a definite summer presence in Westport," said Anne Keefe, artistic director.  "For our 78th summer, we've put together three productions that will affirm the Playhouse's long-standing history as a popular destination for a wide range of entertainment, from music to comedy to mystery."

A lively song and dance revue, HOT 'N COLE:  A Cole Porter Celebration!," directed by two-time Tony Award-winner, film star and Weston resident James Naughton, will play June 10 through June 28. "Hot 'n Cole" celebrates the life of one of the great songwriting masters in American musical history.  Cole Porter is known for his gigantic Broadway hits, "Anything Goes" and "Kiss Me, Kate," and for creating many American standards. The revue is jam-packed with fresh arrangements and contemporary twists on 48 Cole Porter songs, including "You're the Top," "It's De-Lovely," "Night and Day," "I Love Paris," "Just One of Those Things," "I've Got You Under My Skin," "Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love" and "In the Still of the Night."  The revue is devised by David Armstrong, Mark Waldrop and Bruce W. Coyle; musical arrangements by Bruce W. Coyle.  Choreographer is Lisa Shriver; musical director is Mark Berman.

HOT 'N COLE director James Naughton is an acclaimed performer from Broadway and regional theatre to television and films.  He is the winner of two Tony Awards as Best Actor in a Musical, for "Chicago" (1997) and for "City of Angels" (1990), which also earned him a Drama Desk Award.  He met equal success with his solo concert/cabaret acts. He directed a 2002 production of "Our Town" on Broadway starring Paul Newman, which originated at Westport Country Playhouse.

The six member cast of HOT 'N COLE includes Whitney Bashor, Donna Lynne Champlin, Lewis Cleale, Andrea Dora, Peter Reardon and Shonn Wiley.  Ms. Bashor appeared off-Broadway in "The Fantasticks" and in the national tour of "Whistle Down the Wind."  Ms. Champlin was in the Broadway productions of "Sweeney Todd" and won an Obie Award for Best Actress in "The Dark at the Top of the Stairs."  Cleale was on Broadway in "Spamalot" and was a Drama Desk Award nominee for "Swinging on a Star."  Ms. Dora was on Broadway in "Tarzan" understudying the role of Kala and in the international tour of "Rent." Reardon was in the original Broadway casts of "Urinetown" and "Meet Me in St. Louis."  Wiley was in City Opera's "No, No Nanette" and "Candide," and in the Broadway revival of "42nd Street."

Rachel Dratch, best known for playing Debbie Downer on "Saturday Night Live," will be in the cast of a delicious office comedy, SCRAMBLE!, from Westport Country Playhouse's playwright-in-residence David Wiltse, author of "A Marriage Minuet" and "Sedition."  When a rumor spreads that a golf magazine may be sold, the howlingly incompetent staff suspects a new hire is actually a "hatchetman," brought in to decide whether or not certain employees are pulling their weight.  As everyone fears that their job is on the line, office politics turn into farce with outlandish relationships, mistaken identities and hilarious situations.  "Scramble!" will be staged July 9 through July 26.  Tracey Brigden, who directed Wiltse's comedy "A Marriage Minuet" at the Playhouse in 2006, will be at the helm.  Other SCRAMBLE! cast members are Tom Beckett (Playhouse productions of "David Copperfield," "On the Verge" and "The Turn of the Screw") Candy Buckley, Colin McPhillamy (Playhouse production of "Sedition"), Jennifer Mudge and Matthew Rauch.

A thriller, TRYST by Karoline Leach, will play August 5 through August 23. Joe Brancato, who directed the Off-Broadway production, will direct.  The cast features the return to the Playhouse of Mark Shanahan, who appeared in previous Playhouse productions of "Sedition," "David Copperfield" and "Journey's End," and is currently on Broadway in "The Thirty-nine Steps."  Shanahan will portray George Love, who has a habit of marrying simple, well off women who become inexplicably poor and husbandless the day after their honeymoon.  In London to con his next bride, he happens upon Adelaide, a milliner's assistant who is sitting on a small nest egg.  He convinces her to get married, but once they get to the honeymoon, this simple girl will try anything to get what she wants.  Andrea Maulealla will play Adelaide.

The performance schedule for summer productions will be Tuesday at 8 p.m., Wednesday at 2 and 8 p.m., Thursday and Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 4 and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m.  Special series will feature Previews, Opening Nights, TalkBack Thursdays, Prologue, Symposium Sundays, Backstage Pass and Open Captioning.

In addition to the three major productions throughout the summer, the Playhouse will offer special events and a summer camp.  "The Classical Series" will bring together a cast of professional actors to read the works of master playwrights, beginning with Jane Curtin, Joanna Gleason, Kristine Nielsen and Chris Sarandon reading one of Noel Coward's most popular and delightful comedies, "Fallen Angels" on Monday, June 16. Another classic will be revisited on Monday, August 25.  "Artists in Conversation" with actor Kathleen Turner and playwright Edward Albee will be co-presented with the Westport Arts Center on Monday, June 23.  "Funny Mondays" will offer professional actors reading new plays with a hint of humor, some hilarious, some touching, on Monday, July 14.  "Cinderella's Mice," recommended for grades K-4, will be presented on Sunday, July 27.  "Summer in the House," a three-week camp program, will be available for grades 2-3 and grades 4-5, Monday through Friday, July 7 through July 25.  For more information on these programs, contact the box office at (203) 227-4177, or toll-free at 1-888-927-7529, or visit www.westportplayhouse.org.

Celebrating its 78th season, the venerable Westport Country Playhouse (Joanne Woodward and Anne Keefe, Artistic Directors; Jodi Schoenbrun Carter, Managing Director) is creating innovative new works and dynamic revivals. The Playhouse has produced more than 700 plays, 36 of which later transferred to Broadway including "Come Back, Little Sheba" with Shirley Booth; "The Trip to Bountiful" with Lillian Gish; "Butterflies Are Free" with Keir Dullea and Blythe Danner; "Absurd Person Singular" with Sandy Dennis, Geraldine Page and Tony Roberts; and "Our Town" with Paul Newman.  The list of actors, directors, and other theatre artists who have worked and continue to perform on the Playhouse's legendary stage reads like a "Who's Who" of the American theatre.  Following a multi-million dollar renovation completed in 2005, the Playhouse now produces year-round, welcoming 85,000 audience members annually. In addition to a full season of theatrical productions, the Playhouse presents educational programming and workshops; a children's theatre series; symposiums; music; films; and readings of short fiction, classical works and new plays.  Westport Country Playhouse serves as a treasured home for the theatrical arts, its audiences and its artists.  For the State of Connecticut, it is a true cultural landmark. Your experience begins at www.westportplayhouse.org.

Ticket buyers for summer shows may choose from several options including Pick-a-Plan, which saves $5 off single tickets prices for each production.  There are also Family Flex, FlexTix and UltraFlex plans that offer savings and other benefits. Single tickets range from $30 to $55; opening night tickets, including post-performance reception, are $65. Students and educators are eligible for 50% discounts.  Groups of 10 or more save up to 30% off the regular ticket price.  For group sales information call (203) 227-5137, x120.

For reservations or more information, call the box office at (203) 227-4177, or toll-free at 1-888-927-7529, or visit 25 Powers Court, off Route 1, Westport. Information about the Playhouse is also available at www.westportplayhouse.org.

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