Westport Country Playhouse to Host Film Screening on Life of LOOT Playwright Joe Orton Today

To kick off its third production of the season, "Loot" by Joe Orton, Westport Country Playhouse will host a free film screening of "Prick Up Your Ears," the 1987 film adaptation of Orton's biography, starring Gary Oldman, Alfred Molina, and Vanessa Redgrave, and directed by Stephen Frears, today, July 14, 4 p.m., in The Playhouse's Sheffer Studio. The screening is free-of-charge by reservation through The Playhouse box office at 203-227-4177. Free popcorn and beverages will be available.

David Kennedy, Playhouse associate artistic director and director of "Loot," will introduce the film. An informal discussion will immediately follow the screening.

"Prick Up Your Ears" is the story of the spectacular life and violent death of Orton (1933-1967), who, in addition to "Loot," wrote "What the Butler Saw" and "Entertaining Mr. Sloane." The film explores the relationship between Orton and his lover, Kenneth Halliwell, who were both writers. When Orton's star began to rise, and Halliwell wasn't taken along for the ride, their relationship began to disintegrate with tragic results.

The recipient of three nominations from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), as well as a Golden Globe nomination, "Prick Up Your Ears" won the award for Best Artistic Contribution at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival.

Orton's "Loot," winner of the coveted Evening Standard Award for Best Play in 1967, will be staged at The Playhouse July 16 through August 3. Set in mid-1960s London, "Loot" follows the fortunes of two young thieves, Dennis, who works for an undertaker, and Hal, whose Mum has just died. They rob the bank next door to the funeral home and hide the loot in Mum's coffin, displacing Mum whose body keeps re-appearing at the most inopportune times. When Inspector Truscott turns up, the already thickened plot goes topsy-turvy.

"Loot" 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 rush tickets are available at 50%. Flex Passes are also on sale, offering date flexibility and many subscriber-only benefits.

"Loot" Production Partners are Eunice and David Bigelow Foundation, and Michael Klingher and Lindsay Schine. Corporate Production Partner is BNY Mellon Wealth Management.

Westport Country Playhouse's 2013 Season will continue with 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, written by Carly Mensch, a writer for three seasons on Showtime's "Weeds," and directed by Mark Brokaw, August 20 - September 8. The play was commissioned by Playwrights Horizons and developed by Steppenwolf Theatre Company. "Room Service" is 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, written by John Murray and Allen Boretz, directed by Mark Lamos, October 8 - 27.

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, or by using the new Playhouse App or mobile website. 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).

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.

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).

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