Michael Cristofer and Marsha Mason to Read in New Comedy at Westport Country Playhouse

Michael Cristofer, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and award-winning actor, and Marsha Mason, Golden Globe Award winner and Academy Award nominee, will read the new comedy, “The Whore and Mr. Moore” by Michael Cristofer, on Monday, October 20, 7 p.m. at Westport Country Playhouse (Joanne Woodward and Anne Keefe, artistic directors, and Jodi Schoenbrun Carter, managing director).  The play reading is part of the Playhouse's “Funny Mondays” series, showcasing both new and vintage comedies and curated by Anne Keefe.  All tickets are $15.

“The Whore and Mr. Moore” is about Mr. Moore, a second-rate playwright whose only recent commission is to write a play for the Leopold Stoffer High School in Des Moines.  He retreats to a 19th century mansion in “a twisted, remote corner of the Maine landscape” to write.  His world is turned upside down when the former owner of the house, the ghost of a brothel madame by the name of Maggie O’Connell demands her story be told before finally “moving on.”

Playwright Michael Cristofer, who will portray Mr. Moore, received a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award for his play “The Shadow Box” and the American Theatre Critics Best Play Award for “Amazing Grace” starring Marsha Mason.  His screenplays include “Falling in Love” with Meryl Streep and Robert DeNiro, “The Witches of Eastwick” with Jack Nicholson, “The Bonfire of the Vanities” directed by Brian DePalma, “Breaking Up” starring Russell Crowe and Salma Hayek and “Casanova” starring Heath Ledger.  He made his film directing debut with “Gia” for HBO Pictures starring Mercedes Ruehl and Faye Dunaway and introducing Angelina Jolie.  The film received five Emmy Award nominations and the Director’s Guild Award for best direction.  For eight years, he was co-artistic director of River Arts Repertory, Woodstock, N.Y., producing new plays including the American premiere of Edward Albee’s “Three Tall Women,” a production which later moved to New York.

Cristofer appeared at Westport Country Playhouse in “Old Wicked Songs” (2006) and was nominated for a Connecticut Critics Circle Award for his performance.  He is currently appearing with Christine Lahti in the New York premiere of Lee Blessing's “A Body of Water.” He has appeared in over a hundred plays at Manhattan Theater Club, Lincoln Center, The Public Theater, Roundabout Theatre and many others, including “The Cherry Orchard” with Irene Worth, “Hamlet” with Stephen Lang and the American premiere of “Ashes” with Tyne Daley.  Acting honors include an Obie Award for “Chinchilla” and a Theatre World Award for “The Cherry Orchard.”

Marsha Mason, who will play the ghost, has had a distinguished career in theatre and film.  Ms. Mason began her film career in Paul Mazursky’s “Blume in Love” (1973).  Her second film, “Cinderella Liberty,” earned her an Academy Award nomination and Golden Globe Award. She received her second Academy Award nomination and Golden Globe Award for her work in “The Goodbye Girl.”  She was later nominated for Academy Awards for her work in “Chapter Two” and “Only When I Laugh.”  Ms. Mason’s theatre credits include Norman Mailer’s “The Deer Park,” Israel Horovitz’s “The Indian Wants the Bronx,” Neil Simon’s “The Good Doctor” and “King Richard III” at Lincoln Center.  In 1996, Ms. Mason starred on Broadway in “The Night of the Iguana” for Roundabout Theatre and the following year in the Bluelight Theatre production of Michael Cristofer’s “Amazing Grace.”  In 1999, she was reunited with “The Goodbye Girl” co-star Richard Dreyfuss and writer Neil Simon in “The Prisoner of Second Avenue” at The Haymarket Theatre in London. She most recently starred on Broadway in “Steel Magnolias,” and in “A Feminine Ending” at Playwrights Horizons.  In addition to theatre and film, Ms. Mason has appeared in Hallmark’s “The Long Shot,” Showtime's “Dead Aviators,” NBC's “Life with Judy Garland,” was featured on several episodes of “Frasier” for which she received an Emmy Award nomination, and was featured in a recent episode of “Lipstick Jungle.”  “The Prisoner of Second Avenue” was recorded by L.A. Theatre Works.  Ms. Mason and Mr. Dreyfuss received Grammy Award nominations for best comedy recording. In 2000 Ms. Mason's autobiography “Journey” was released by Simon & Schuster.

Celebrating its 79th season in 2009, the venerable Westport Country Playhouse (Joanne Woodward and Anne Keefe, artistic directors; Jodi Schoenbrun Carter, managing director) is creating innovative new works and dynamic revivals. The Playhouse has produced more than 700 plays, 36 of which later transferred to Broadway including “Come Back, Little Sheba” with Shirley Booth; “The Trip to Bountiful” with Lillian Gish; “Butterflies Are Free” with Keir Dullea and Blythe Danner; “Absurd Person Singular” with Sandy Dennis, Geraldine Page and Tony Roberts; and “Our Town” with Paul Newman.  The list of actors, directors, and other theatre artists who have worked and continue to perform on the Playhouse’s legendary stage reads like a "Who's Who" of the American theatre.  Following a multi-million dollar renovation completed in 2005, the Playhouse now produces year-round, welcoming 85,000 audience members annually. In addition to a full season of theatrical productions, the Playhouse presents educational programming and workshops; a children’s theatre series; symposiums; music; films; and readings of short fiction, classical works and new plays.  Westport Country Playhouse serves as a treasured home for the theatrical arts, its audiences and its artists.  For the State of Connecticut, it is a true cultural landmark. Your experience begins at www.westportplayhouse.org. The Playhouse is a 501(c) (3) not-for-profit organization.

“Funny Mondays” are supported, in part, by the White Barn Program of the Lucille Lortel Foundation.

Tickets to "Funny Mondays" are $15.  For more information, call the box office at (203) 227-4177, or toll-free at 1-888-927-7529, or visit 25 Powers Court, off Route 1, Westport. Information about the Playhouse is also available at www.westportplayhouse.org.

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