Westport Country Playhouse Will Present Michael Tucker’s Comedy A TAILOR NEAR ME
Jimmy Smits, Jill Eikenberry, and Michael Tucker star in the Script in Hand playreading.
Westport Country Playhouse will present a Script in Hand playreading of “A Tailor Near Me,” a warm and wise comedy written by Michael Tucker, best known as a Golden Globe and Emmy-nominated actor for the television series “L.A. Law,” on Monday, June 8, at 7 p.m. Tucker will appear in the reading, joined by other “L.A. Law” alumni - Jimmy Smits and Jill Eikenberry.
“Michael Tucker has written a beautiful, funny, deeply observant play about friendship, reinvention, and the surprising ways we shape ourselves to fit the lives we think we're supposed to lead,” said Mark Shanahan, Westport Country Playhouse artistic director and Script in Hand series curator. “Beneath the wit and warmth is an incredibly rich character study of two men finding connection where neither expected it. A perfectly tailored night at the theatre.”
When Sam, played by Michael Tucker, brings a pair of too-tight suit pants to Alfredo, a neighborhood tailor, portrayed by Jimmy Smits, he gets far more than he bargained for. What begins as a routine fitting becomes an unexpected friendship - and the commission of a tailor-made suit that leads to alterations in both of their lives.
Michael Tucker is an actor, author, and playwright. Best known for his portrayal of Stuart Markowitz in the NBC series “L.A. Law,” he has acted over the last 60 years in theater, television, and film. He is the author of three memoirs, a novel, and a multitude of short stories. His plays have been produced at New Jersey Repertory Company, Florida Studio Theatre, 59E59 Theaters, and Eugene O'Neill National Playwrights Conference.
Jimmy Smits is an Emmy and Golden Globe Award–winning actor whose career spans acclaimed work in theater, film, and television. On Broadway, his credits include “Anna in the Tropics” and “God of Carnage.” Smits's longstanding association with New York's Public Theater began when Joseph Papp cast him in his first Equity role and continued through numerous downtown productions, performances at the Delacorte in “Twelfth Night” and “Much Ado About Nothing,” and service as a board member. His film credits include “In the Heights,” and the “Star Wars” franchise, while his landmark television work includes “L.A. Law,” “NYPD Blue,” “The West Wing,” “Dexter,” and “Sons of Anarchy.”
Jill Eikenberry will read stage directions. She is perhaps best known for her portrayal of Anne Kelsey in NBC's long running series “L.A. Law,” for which she received five Emmy nominations and a Golden Globe Award. She has appeared in numerous feature films and TV movies. Her many Broadway and off-Broadway performances have earned her an Obie Award and a Drama Desk Nomination. Eikenberry has appeared in three plays by her husband, Michael Tucker.
Director James Glossman's credits include Stravinsky's “A Soldier's Tale,” world premieres of Michael Tucker's “A Tailor Near Me” and DW Gregory's “The Other American,” US premiere of John Cleese's “Bang Bang!”, east coast premiere of Jeff Daniels' “Flint and Guest Artist,” and world premiere of Nicky Glossman's “The Road to Jerusalem.” He was director/co-writer of “Shostakovich and the Black Monk” at Ravinia, Wolf Trap, Tanglewood, etc.; adaptor/director of Raymond Chandler's “Trouble Is My Business,” and Kate Atkinson's “Behind the Scenes at the Museum.” His short film, “Albert's Flower,” received its world premiere at this year's Montclair Film Festival. Glossman is a member of the theatre faculty at Johns Hopkins University. “It's an absolute joy to bring Mike Tucker's brilliant, funny, and deeply humane two-hander ‘A Tailor Near Me' to Westport, and with the cast of my dreams,” said Glossman. “What a gift, in a moment so awash with division and suspicion, to return to such a beautiful play that challenges us to find, in the most unexpected places, the deepest possible connections with the most unlikely of kin. Even if you have to rip out a seam to find him.”
Tickets are $35. Running time is 90 minutes; no intermission; appropriate for age 13 and up.
The 2026 Script in Hand Playreading Series is supported by Joyce Hergenhan and the White Barn Program of the Lucille Lortel Foundation. 2026 Programming and Season Sponsor is Barbara Streicker. Media sponsors are Moffly Media and WSHU Public Radio. Westport Country Playhouse is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.
The Script in Hand 2026 season continues on Mondays at 7 p.m., on September 14, October 5, and November 30; titles to be announced. Subscriptions to the Script in Hand series are available as well as single tickets.
Script in Hand playreadings offer intimate storytelling as professional actors use their skills to catapult the audience's imagination without benefit of scenery or costumes.
A complete schedule of Playhouse events is available at westportplayhouse.org. All play titles, artists, dates, and times are subject to change.
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