Loudon Wainwright III Will Bring His Scripted One-Man Show SURVIVING TWIN to The Ridgefield Playhouse

Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Loudon Wainwright III brings Surviving Twin a scripted, one man show to The Ridgefield Playhouse on Thursday, March 5th at 8pm, in an evening of music and memories many years in the making. This "posthumous collaboration" with his writer father, explores the question: What lives on between father and son? This event is part of the Doyle Coffin Architecture Singer Songwriter Series and Northern Trust Broadway & Cabaret Series with support from Teed & Brown. Visit TerraSole (3 Big Shop Lane, Ridgefield) for dinner before the show and get a free glass of house wine or dessert with your entrée when you present your tickets! Media partner for this event is WSHU - Connecticut Public Radio.

Surviving Twin, initially developed as part of the University of North Carolina's Playmakers series, focuses on fatherhood-both being a father and having one-and also explores the issues of birth, self-identity, loss, mortality, fashion, and of course, pet ownership. This show which recently premiered on Netflix, produced by Judd Apatow directed by Christopher Guest is part concert, part dramatic reading, part family slide-show, a hybrid theatrical form consisting mainly of songs written by Loudon III, along with readings of magazine columns written by his late father, Loudon Jr., and photographs that span four generations of the Wainwright clan.

Loudon Wainwright III came to fame when "Dead Skunk" became a Top 20 hit in 1972. He had studied acting at Carnegie-Mellon University, but dropped out to partake in the "Summer of Love" in San Francisco, and wrote his first song in 1968 ("Edgar," about a lobsterman in Rhode Island). He was signed to Atlantic Records by Nesuhi Ertegun, and was lured by Clive Davis to Columbia Records, which released "Dead Skunk." His songs have since been recorded by Bonnie Raitt, Johnny Cash, Earl Scruggs, Kate & Anna McGarrigle, his son Rufus Wainwright, and Mose Allison, among others. Wainwright has recorded 27 albums including his 2010 Grammy Award-winning High, Wide & Handsome. Additionally, Wainwright has co-written with songwriter/producer Joe Henry on the music for Judd Apatow's hit movie Knocked Up, written music for the British theatrical adaptation of the Carl Hiaasen novel Lucky You, and composed topical songs for NPR's "Morning Edition" and "All Things Considered" and ABC's "Nightline." An accomplished actor, he has appeared in films directed by Martin Scorsese, Hal Ashby, Christopher Guest, Tim Burton, Cameron Crowe and Judd Apatow. Wainwright has also starred on TV in "M.A.S.H." and "Undeclared," and on Broadway in Pump Boys and Dinettes. More recently, he appeared in the film Pleased To Meet You (with fellow music legends John Doe, Aimee Mann and Joe Henry). In Fall 2018, Loudon released Years In The Making (StorySound Records), a 42-song treasury of rare and unreleased Loudoniana. This 2-disc, 60-page hardbound audio-biography of his 40-year career includes orphaned album cuts, lovingly lo-fi home recordings, radio appearances, demos, live performances and beyond. It features appearances by Kate McGarrigle, Suzzy Roche, Bill Frisell, Van Dyke Parks, Chaim Tannenbaum, David Mansfield, and the Wainwright children Rufus, Martha, Lucy and Lexie.

In 2017, Wainwright published his memoir, Liner Notes (Blue Rider Press), which led to appearances on "Fresh Air with Terry Gross" and "WTF with Marc Maron." The New York Times said the book "makes your heart wobble on its axis."

For tickets ($45) call or visit the box office, 203-438-5795 or go online at ridgefieldplayhouse.org. The Ridgefield Playhouse is a non-profit performing arts center located at 80 East Ridge, parallel to Main Street, Ridgefield, CT.

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