Westport Country Playhouse Adds 5/19 Performance of THE DINING ROOM

Westport Country Playhouse announces that due to ticket demand for its current production of A. R. Gurney's "The Dining Room," an extra performance has been added on Sunday, May 19, at 3 p.m. The witty and heartfelt story of the American family and its vanishing traditions is directed by Mark Lamos, Playhouse artistic director.

Gurney's "The Dining Room" is set in the dining room of a typical well-to-do household, the place where the family assembles daily for breakfast and dinner and for any and all special occasions. The action is comprised of a mosaic of interrelated scenes-some funny, some touching, some rueful. The actors change roles, personalities, and ages as they portray a wide variety of characters, from little boys to stern grandfathers, and from giggling teenage girls to Irish housemaids. Each vignette introduces a new set of people and events. Dovetailing swiftly and smoothly, the varied scenes coalesce into a unique theatrical experience.

The six-member cast includes Heidi Armbruster (Broadway's "Time Stands Still"; Drama League Award nomination for "Tea and Sympathy"); Chris Henry Coffey (Westport Country Playhouse's "Lips Together, Teeth Apart," Long Wharf Theatre's "The Front Page," Second Stage Theatre's "Water by the Spoonful"); Keira Naughton (Westport Country Playhouse's "Morphic Resonance," Playhouse Script in Hand playreadings of "Chapter Two" and "The Philadelphia Story," and Broadway's "The Rivals," "Dance of Death," and "Three Sisters"); Jake Robards (Westport Country Playhouse's "Our Town," which transferred to Broadway, and Playhouse Script in Hand playreadings of "Golden Boy," "Dial 'M' for Murder," and "The Philadelphia Story"); Charles Socarides (Broadway's "Awake and Sing!," Off-Broadway's "Indian Blood," and Yale Repertory Theatre's "Lulu"); and Jennifer Van Dyck (Westport Country Playhouse's "A Cheever Evening," Broadway's "Hedda Gabler" and "Dancing at Lughnasa").

Single ticket prices, starting at $30, are subject to change based on availability. Buy early for the best prices. Educators and students are eligible for 50% discounts. On the day of a performance, senior citizen rush tickets are available at 50%.

Westport Country Playhouse is a nationally recognized, not-for-profit, professional theater under the artistic direction of Mark Lamos and management leadership of Michael Ross. The Playhouse creates five live theater experiences, produced at the highest level, from April through November. Its vital mix of works---dramatic, comedic, occasionally exploratory and unusual---expands the audience's sense of what theater can be. The depth and scope of its productions display the foremost theatrical literature from the past---recent as well as distant---in addition to musicals and premieres of new plays. During the summer, The Playhouse is home to the Woodward Internship Program, renowned for the training of aspiring theater professionals. Winter at The Playhouse, from November through March, offers events outside of the main season---Family Festivities presentations and Script in Hand play readings. In addition, businesses and organizations are encouraged to rent the handsome facility for their meetings, receptions and fundraisers.

As an historic venue, Westport Country Playhouse has had many different lives leading up to the present. Originally built in 1835 as a tannery manufacturing hatters' leathers, it became a steam-powered cider mill in 1880, later to be abandoned in the 1920s. Splendidly transformed into a theater in 1931, it initially served as a try-out house for Broadway transfers, evolving into an established stop on the New England straw hat circuit of summer stock theaters through the end of the 20th century. Following a multi-million dollar renovation completed in 2005, The Playhouse became a state-of-the-art producing theater, preserving its original charm and character.

Today, the not-for-profit Westport Country Playhouse serves as a cultural nexus for patrons, artists and students and is a treasured resource for the State of Connecticut. There are no boundaries to the creative thinking for future seasons or the kinds of audiences and excitement for theater that Westport Country Playhouse can build.

Westport Country Playhouse's five-play 2013 season: A.R. Gurney's "The Dining Room," a witty and heartfelt story of the American family and its vanishing traditions set in the most singular of rooms, where people gather, meals are eaten, conversations begin, and generations converge, directed by Mark Lamos,April 30 - May 18; "The Show-Off" by George Kelly, a funny, surprising, and moving story of a family in upheaval when their youngest daughter becomes engaged to a brash loudmouth, directed by Nicholas Martin, June 11 - 29; "Loot," a wickedly funny send-up of larcenous, lascivious behavior among the English middle classes by the master of British farce Joe Orton, directed by David Kennedy, Playhouse associate artistic director, July 16 - August 3; the second world premiere in as many seasons, "Oblivion" a touching and funny-and very modern-tale of parents, children, and the gulf that sometimes exists between them, commissioned by Playwrights Horizons and developed by Steppenwolf Theatre Company, written by Carly Mensch, a writer for Showtime's "Weeds," and directed by Mark Brokaw, August 20 - September 7; and John Murray and Allen Boretz's "Room Service," a madcap American farce about a producer and his ragtag bunch of actors who try to raise money for a Broadway show as they scramble to evade their hotel bill, directed by Mark Lamos, October 8 - 26.

For more information or tickets, call the box office at (203) 227-4177, or toll-free at 1-888-927-7529, or visit Westport Country Playhouse, 25 Powers Court, off Route 1, Westport. Tickets are available online 24/7 at www.westportplayhouse.org. Stay connected to The Playhouse on Facebook (Westport Country Playhouse), follow on Twitter (@WCPlayhouse), view Playhouse videos on YouTube (WestportPlayhouse) or get an insider's peek on The Playhouse Blog (www.theplayhouseblog.org).

Pictured: Clockwise, from top, Chris Henry Coffey, Heidi Armbruster, Jake Robards, Jennifer Van Dyck, Charles Socarides, and Keira Naughton. Photo Credit: Carol Rosegg.

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