Westport Country Playhouse Hosts A Talk by Playwright Donald Margulies 6/10

2010 Tony Award nominated playwright Donald Margulies will discuss his Pulitzer Prize-winning comic drama, "Dinner with Friends," at Westport Country Playhouse, following the 8 p.m. performance of the play on Thursday, June 10. The discussion will be led by David Kennedy, Playhouse associate artistic director, and director of the production.

"It's been a privilege to be able to seek Donald's advice and counsel during the process of directing his extraordinary play," said Kennedy. "And I cannot wait until we can share in a conversation with our audience. It will make for a rare evening of insight into the working life of one of Connecticut's great writers."

Donald Margulies' works include "Time Stands Still," which had its Broadway premiere earlier this year and is nominated for a 2010 Tony Award; and "Collected Stories," which recently opened on Broadway. Other plays are "Shipwrecked! An Entertainment - The Amazing Adventures of Louis de Rougemont (As Told by Himself)," "Brooklyn Boy" and "Sight Unseen." "Sight Unseen" and "Collected Stories" were finalists for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. He also wrote "Two Days," "God of Vengeance," adapted from the classic Yiddish drama by Sholem Asch, "The Model Apartment" (Obie Award), "The Loman Family Picnic," "Found a Peanut," "Luna Park" and "What's Wrong with This Picture?" Margulies is the recipient of the 2000 Sidney Kingsley Award for outstanding achievement in the theater by a playwright and is a member of the council of the Dramatists Guild of America. He teaches playwriting at Yale University and lives in New Haven. He attended Purchase College where he majored in visual arts.

A vibrant and edgy contemporary play, "Dinner with Friends" is about Gabe & Karen and Tom & Beth, two couples who have been close friends for years, and who participate in all the familiar and comfortable rituals of shared vacations, good conversation and great food. When Tom abruptly walks out on Beth, it threatens more than just their marriage alone. The comic drama explores the difficulties of one couple surviving the other pair's divorce.

In addition to the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, "Dinner with Friends" received an Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Off-Broadway Play, the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Off-Broadway Play, the Dramatists Guild/Hull-Warriner Award, the American Theatre Critics Association New Play Award and a Drama Desk Award nomination.
"Dinner with Friends" will run June 1 - 19. Tickets are $35 to $65. Corporate partner is Westport Resources. Board of trustees partners are Ann Sheffer and Bill Scheffler, and Michael Klingher and Lindsay Schine. 2010 80th Season sponsor is Sun Products Corporation. 2010 media sponsor is Moffly Media.

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 theatres. Now celebrating its 80th season, 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 with its original charm and character preserved. 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 five-play 2010 season: "She Loves Me," a romantic musical comedy, with book by Joe Masteroff, music by Jerry Bock and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, directed by Mark Lamos, April 20 - May 15; "Dinner with Friends," a comic drama by Donald Margulies, directed by David Kennedy, Playhouse associate artistic director, June 1 through 19; "Happy Days" by Samuel Beckett, a play of luminous beauty and rare power, featuring Dana Ivey, directed by Mark Lamos, July 6 through July 24; "I Do! I Do," an endearing musical, with book and lyrics are by Tom Jones and music by Harvey Schmidt, directed by Susan H. Schulman, August 10 through August 28; and "The Diary of Anne Frank," a timeless and powerful classic, by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, adapted by Wendy Kesselman, directed by Gerald Freedman, September 28 through October 16.

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 at www.westportplayhouse.org.