From an informative talk by guest speakers to a Young Professionals Party, Westport Country Playhouse will offer several special events and opportunities surrounding its summer sizzler, “Lips Together, Teeth Apart,” written by Terrence McNally and directed by Mark Lamos, Playhouse artistic director, playing July 12 - 30. A perceptive comedy with powerful dramatic conflicts, the play is about two straight couples spending a July weekend on Fire Island.
The Playhouse will present an “LGBT Night Out,” for members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities and allies, on Thursday, July 14, in partnership with Norwalk’s Triangle Community Center. The evening will feature a pre-show party at 6:30 p.m. with appetizers from Da Pietro’s, adult beverages, music by ukulele performer Uncle Zac, and door prizes, followed by a performance of “Lips Together, Teeth Apart” at 8 p.m. Tickets are $30.
A symposium following the Sunday, July 17, 3 p.m. matinee performance will feature the cast from “Lips Together, Teeth Apart”: Chris Henry Coffey (“Resurrection Blues,” directed by Mark Lamos; “The Front Page” at Long Wharf Theatre) as John Haddock; John Ellison Conlee (Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle Award nominations for Broadway’s “The Full Monty”) as Sam Truman; Jenn Gambatese (Broadway’s “Is He Dead?,” “Tarzan,” “All Shook Up,” “Hairspray,” “A Year with Frog and Toad,” “Footloose”) as Chloe Haddock; and Maggie Lacey (Westport Country Playhouse’s “Our Town”; Broadway’s “Dividing the Estate,” “Inherit the Wind,” “Our Town”) as Sally Truman. Moderated by David Kennedy, Playhouse associate artistic director, the Playhouse Sunday Symposium program is free and open to the public. It provides the audience with guest speakers’ in-depth insights and observations about the production, followed by an interactive dialogue. The Sunday Symposium Series is sponsored by Citi Personal Wealth Management. It is supported, in part, by the White Barn Program of the Lucille Lortel Foundation.
“A Young Professionals Farmers’ Market Party” will be presented by WCP Young Professionals Network and the Westport Farmers’ Market on Thursday, July 21. It will offer a pre-show party in the Playhouse garden at 6:30 p.m., featuring appetizers from Collyer Catering, wine from Saugatuck Grain and Grape and music by Jay Stollman Entertainment. A highlight will be shopping and sampling from selected Westport Farmers’ Market vendors, including Sport Hill Farm, Radical Roots, Erin O, PeaceTree Desserts, Savor Cookies and Wave Hill Bread. The event is supported by the WCP YPN Committee and The Business Council of Fairfield County. A performance of “Lips Together, Teeth Apart” follows at 8 p.m. Tickets are $30.
Backstage Pass on Wednesday, July 27, following the 2 p.m. matinee, will provide an opportunity to meet members of the Playhouse production staff as they share the finer points of what makes “Lips Together, Teeth Apart” work on the stage---from the swimming pool and moveable scenery to special effects.
Thursday Talkback on Thursday, July 28, following the 8 p.m. performance, is a lively Q&A with the cast.
“Lips Together, Teeth Apart” is set in a Fire Island beach house, where a brother and sister and their respective spouses gather to celebrate the Fourth of July. With food, cocktails, fireworks and stinging barbs, they fortify themselves against their individual anxieties---and their gay neighbors partying in the houses on either side. The New York Times called the play “a work with real teeth and equally penetrating compassion.” The play contains adult content and language.
Board of trustees production sponsors are Johnna G. Torsone and John McKeon and Barbara and John Streiker. Corporate production partner is BNY Mellon Wealth Management. 2011 season sponsor is KPMG; 2011 media sponsors are Moffly Media and WSHU Public Radio Group.
Westport Country Playhouse’s five-play 2011 season continues with “Suddenly Last Summer,” the poetic, sensual and evocative drama, written by Tennessee Williams and directed by David Kennedy, Playhouse associate artistic director, August 23 – September 10; and “Twelfth Night, or What You Will,” the beguiling comedy/romance, written by William Shakespeare and directed by Mark Lamos, October 11 – November 5.
Flexible subscriptions, including the Pick 3 Plan, are still available, affording patrons the opportunity to subscribe to the season’s three remaining productions for as little as $99. Students and educators are eligible for 50% discounts. All Friday evening performances are $25 for patrons aged 35 and under. Groups of 10 or more save up to 30%.
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).
About the Playhouse:
Reimagining itself in recent years, Westport Country Playhouse is rapidly emerging as a nationally recognized professional theater. Under the artistic direction of Mark Lamos and management direction 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, Script in Hand play readings and a Holiday Festival. 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.
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 2011 season: “Beyond Therapy,” a wicked, and wickedly funny, look at the days and nights of the young and single, written by comic master Christopher Durang and directed by David Kennedy, Playhouse associate artistic director, April 26 – May 14; “The Circle,” the scintillating comedy of manners, written by W. Somerset Maugham and directed by Nicholas Martin, June 7 – June 25; “Lips Together, Teeth Apart,” a perceptive comedy about people struggling against their limitations, written by Terrence McNally and directed by Mark Lamos, Playhouse artistic director, July 12 – July 30; “Suddenly Last Summer,” the poetic, sensual and evocative drama, written by Tennessee Williams and directed by David Kennedy, Playhouse associate artistic director, August 23 – September 10; and “Twelfth Night, or What You Will,” the beguiling comedy/romance, written by William Shakespeare and directed by Mark Lamos, October 11 – November 5.
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).
