Photo Flash: 'Vigil' Opening Night at Westport

Timothy Busfield and Helen Stenborg star in the dark comedy Vigil at Westport Country Playhouse, now playing through March 15.

"A heartwarming, yet very funny comedy, Vigil tells of a self-obsessed nephew summoned to the deathbed of his aunt to whom he hasn't spoken in 30 years. Busfield plays Kemp, for whom childhood was anything but normal.  His list of early age traumas include:  A Rumanian dwarf tutor, force-fed accordion lessons and a fear of the dark until age 18.  Not wanting to revisit a moment of it, Kemp successfully has avoided all family contact.  That is, until the day he was guilted into taking care of his dying aunt, played by Stenborg," explain press notes.

An Emmy Award-winning actor for his work on "thirtysomething," Timothy Busfield currently serves as an executive producer and resident director of NBC's "Lipstick Jungle." Busfield has been a regular or recurring character on numerous television series including "All My Children," "Reggie," "The Paper Chase," "Family Ties," "Trapper John, M.D.," "The Byrds of Paradise," "Champs," "The West Wing," "Ed" and "Without a Trace."

Helen Stenborg last appeared on Broadway in The Crucible with Liam Neeson and Laura Linney.  Prior to that, she appeared in Waiting in the Wings, receiving a Tony nomination.  She and her husband, Barnard Hughes, were honored with Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Drama Desk in 2000.  Other Broadway credits include A Month in the Country with Helen Mirren, and A Life.

For more information and tickets, call the box office at (203) 227-4177, toll-free at 888-927-7529, or visit the box office at 25 Powers Court, off Route 1, Westport. Information about the Playhouse is also available at www.westportplayhouse.org.

Photos by Kathleen O'Rourke