Westport Country Playhouse’s 2010 Gala will honor musical theater composer extraordinaire Stephen Schwartz on Monday evening, September 13, at 6 p.m. A star-studded production, “The Magical Music of Stephen Schwartz,” will recognize Schwartz’s innumerable songwriting contributions to American theater and film. Gala artists will be announced soon.
The fundraising event will include pre-show cocktails and sumptuous fare, a performance and post-show champagne and dessert party. In addition, there will be a silent auction of unique and one-of-a-kind items throughout the evening. Honorary gala chairs are Kate and Bob Devlin of Southport; gala chairs are Kim and Niv Harizman of Westport. Gala lead corporate sponsors are Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd., Westport Resources, and NewAlliance Bank. Additional corporate support includes Bank of NY Mellon and Catamount Wealth Management.
“We’re so happy to crown our long association with Stephen Schwartz with this celebration of his distinguished and productive career,” said Playhouse Artistic Director Mark Lamos. “Many people don’t know that his big break was the original song he wrote for the Playhouse’s 1969 production of ‘Butterflies are Free,’ which was only the beginning of his historic contributions to the American stage. From ‘Godspell’ to ‘Wicked,’ Stephen has given literally millions of musical theater lovers so much pleasure over the years. And his shows have lit up the Playhouse stage on many occasions. He’s a consummate artist and a true gentleman, and we’re glad to welcome him home.”
Stephen Schwartz has contributed music and/or lyrics to “Godspell,” “Pippin,” “The Magic Show,” “The Baker’s Wife,” “Working (which he also adapted and directed), “Rags,” “Children of Eden” and the current Broadway hit, “Wicked.” He collaborated with Leonard Bernstein on the English texts for Bernstein’s “Mass” and wrote the title song for the play and movie “Butterflies Are Free.”
For children, he has written songs for two musicals, “Captain Louie” and “My Son Pinocchio.”
For films, he collaborated with Alan Menken on the songs for Disney’s “Enchanted,” as well as the animated features “Pocahontas” and “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.” He also penned the songs for the DreamWorks animated feature “The Prince of Egypt.”
Schwartz has released two CDs of new songs entitled “Reluctant Pilgrim” and “Uncharted Territory.” His first opera, “Séance on a Wet Afternoon,” premiered with Opera Santa Barbara in the fall of 2009. A book about his career, “Defying Gravity,” has recently been released by Applause Books.
Under the auspices of the ASCAP Foundation, Schwartz runs musical theater workshops in New York and Los Angeles, and is currently the president of the Dramatists’ Guild. He has recently been given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Other awards include three Academy Awards, four Grammy Awards, four Drama Desk Awards, and a tiny handful of tennis trophies. http://www.stephenschwartz.com
Acclaimed director Joe Calarco will helm the 2010 Gala production, “The Magical Music of Stephen Schwartz.” Calarco directed “Footlights and Film: A Celebration of the Great Musicals from Stage and Screen” for the Playhouse’s 2008 Gala.
Patron level gala tickets are $1,000 per person. Corporate sponsorship packages are available. For more information or ticket purchases, call Kathryn Gloor at (203) 227-5137, ext. 122, or kgloor@westportplayhouse.org.
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 theaters. 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, which has preserved its original charm and character. 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, 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.
