Judith Ivey to Star in THE PANCAKE CLUB Reading at Westport Country Playhouse
Judith Ivey plays Brenda, a waitress at a small-town diner where a group of senior men, calling themselves The Pancake Club, regularly meet.
By: Chloe Rabinowitz Dec. 30, 2025
Westport Country Playhouse will present two-time Tony Award winner Judith Ivey in a Script in Hand playreading of “The Pancake Club,” on Monday, January 12, at 7 p.m. The new comedy is written by Charlotte Booker and directed by Mark Shanahan, Playhouse artistic director.
“I’m excited to begin a new year and a new season of Script in Hand readings with a brand-new comedy that’s funny, generous, touching, and full of heart,” said Shanahan. “Charlotte Booker, an accomplished actress herself, knows how to write for actors, and ‘The Pancake Club’ is a terrific ensemble piece. With an exceptional cast led by two-time Tony Award winner Judith Ivey, this reading feels like exactly the right way to start a new year of Script In Hand readings at the Playhouse.”
Judith Ivey plays Brenda, a waitress at a small-town diner where a group of senior men, calling themselves The Pancake Club, regularly meet. As Brenda struggles with the sudden death of her oldest friend, the Club members squabble over the eulogy, the widow refuses to grieve, a mysterious stranger threatens the town’s equilibrium, and Brenda’s only daughter teeters on the brink of a meltdown - forcing Brenda to face the question: Does anybody ever truly grow up?
Playwright Charlotte Booker said, “I am beyond delighted for my play ‘The Pancake Club’ to be part of the Script in Hand series at a theatre I’ve so long admired, and especially excited to hear Judith Ivey read Brenda. I set out to create fun roles for actors ‘of an age’ - and Judith is, without a doubt, the very best.”
Judith Ivey
is a four-time nominated and two-time winner of the Tony Award, three-time nominated and two-time winner of the Drama Desk Award, three-time nominated and winner of the Lucille Lortel Award, Emmy nominated, and an Obie Award winner. Ivey has appeared in over 40 films, most recently in “Women Talking,” and starred in four television series, including “Designing Women,” and guest-starred in many more, “White Collar,” “Nurse Jackie,” “Law & Order: SVU,” “New Amsterdam,” “Sweet Magnolias,” and most recently, “Best Medicine.” She received an honorary Doctorate from her alma mater, Illinois State University, was inducted into the Texas Film Hall of Fame, received the Texas State Medal of Arts for Theatre, and was honored by Women in Film. Ivey last appeared at the Playhouse in 2018 in a New Works playreading of “Out of the Mouths of Babes,” and an International Women’s Day reading. Additional cast members will be announced soon.
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