Brian Murray Added to Angel Street Reading At WCP 3/14

Award-winning Broadway actor Brian Murray has joined the cast of "Angel Street," a Script in Hand reading of the Victorian suspense thriller upon which the classic film "Gaslight" is based, at Westport Country Playhouse on Monday, March 14, 7 p.M. Murray will play the role of Inspector Rough. Previously announced cast members are Mia Dillon, Molly Ephraim, Andrea Maulella and Mark Shanahan. Director is Anne Keefe, Playhouse artistic advisor. Tickets to the one-night-only event are $15.

Murray won Drama Desk Awards for Broadway's "Noises Off" and "The Little Foxes," and off-Broadway's "Travels with My Aunt." He earned Tony Award nominations for "The Crucible," "The Little Foxes" and "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead," and Drama Desk Award nominations for "Uncle Vanya" and "A Small Family Business." He also appeared in Broadway productions of "Mary Stuart," "The Rivals," "Twelfth Night, "Racing Demon," "Black Comedy," "Sleuth" and "Da." Off-Broadway, he won Obie Awards for "The Play about the Baby" and "Ashes," and an Outer Critics Circle Award for "Travels with My Aunt." He also appeared in off-Broadway's "Gaslight." Murray is the recipient of a 1998 Obie Award for Sustained Excellence and a 1998 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Body of Work. He was a 2004 Theatre Hall of Fame inductee.

Murray was most recently seen in Simon Gray's "The Old Masters" with Sam Waterston at Long Wharf Theatre, and will soon join the cast of Broadway's "The Importance of Being Earnest" with Brian Bedford.

"Angel Street" tells of BElla Manningham, whose mother died insane so she worries that she is going crazy as well. She loses things, she forgets things and her husband is becoming concerned and impatient. When kindly Inspector Rough appears and starts to ask questions about a murder that took place 15 years ago in her house, Mrs. Manningham wonders if her concerned husband may not only be trying to drive her mad, but if he may also be a vicious murderer. The play is written by PatRick Hamilton, English playwright and novelist (1904 - 1962).

The Script in Hand Series is sponsored by Michele and Marc Flaster; with additional support from Ann Sheffer and Bill Scheffler. The Series is also funded in part, by the White Barn Program of the Lucille Lortel Foundation and Newman's Own Foundation.

Upcoming Script in Hand readings, titles to be announced, are scheduled for Mondays, November 14 and December 12. Tickets are now on sale for all Script in Hand readings.

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. Now celebrating its 80th year, 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.

Westport Country Playhouse's 2011 season will include five productions: "Beyond Therapy," a wicked, and wickedly funny, look at the days and nights of the young and single, written by comic master Christopher Durang and directed by David Kennedy, Playhouse associate artistic director, April 26 - May 14; "The Circle," the scintillating comedy of manners, written by W. Somerset Maugham and directed by Nicholas Martin, June 7 - June 25; "Lips Together, Teeth Apart," a perceptive comedy about people struggling against their limitations, written by Terrence McNally and directed by Mark Lamos, Playhouse artistic director, July 12 - July 30; "Suddenly Last Summer," the poetic, sensual and evocative drama, written by Tennessee Williams and directed by David Kennedy, Playhouse associate artistic director, August 23 - September 10; and "Twelfth Night, or What You Will," the beguiling comedy/romance, written by William Shakespeare and directed by Mark Lamos, October 11 - October 29.

For more information or ticket purchases, 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. Tickets may be purchased online 24/7 at www.westportplayhouse.org. Stay connected to The Playhouse on Facebook (Westport Country Playhouse) and/or follow on Twitter (@WCPlayhouse).

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