Westport Country Playhouse (Joanne Woodward and Anne Keefe, artistic directors, Jodi Schoenbrun Carter, managing director) announces that two-time Tony Award-winner, film star and Weston resident James Naughton will direct the lively song and dance revue, Hot 'n Cole: A Cole Porter Celebration!, playing June 10 - 28.
Hot 'n Cole celebrates the life of one of the great songwriting masters in American musical history. The revue is jam-packed with fresh arrangements and contemporary twists on 48
Cole Porter standards, including "You're the Top," "It's De-Lovely," "Night and Day," "I Love Paris," "Anything Goes," "Just One of Those Things" and "In the Still of the Night." The revue is devised by David Armstrong,
Mark Waldrop and Bruce W. Coyle; musical arrangements by Bruce W. Coyle. Choreographer is
Dan Knechtges; musical director is
Mark Berman.
From Broadway and regional theatre to television and films,
James Naughton has won critical acclaim in dramas, comedies and musicals. He is the winner of two Tony Awards as Best Actor in a Musical, for his portrayal of media-savvy lawyer Billy Flynn in the Broadway hit
Chicago (1997) and for his role as a film-noir era detective in
City of Angels (1990), which also earned him a Drama Desk Award. He met equal success with his solo concert/cabaret acts,
James Naughton Live, at the Manhattan Theater Club, Street of Dreams, and his most recent
Looking for the Heart of Saturday Night.
Street of Dreams, presented by
Mike Nichols, was staged at Westport Country Playhouse for a critically acclaimed two-week run in 1999, and
Looking for the Heart of Saturday Night was at the Playhouse for a limited engagement in 2006.
A graduate of Brown University and the Yale School of Drama, Naughton made his New York debut as Edmund in Arvin Brown's production of
Long Day's Journey into Night, winning immediate recognition with Theatre World, New York Drama Critics and Vernon Rice awards for his performance. His other Broadway credits include
Democracy,
Four Baboons Adoring the Sun,
I Love My Wife and
Whose Life Is It Anyway? Off-Broadway, he has appeared in
E.L. Doctorow's
Drinks Before Dinner and
Losing Time.
Both a prolific performer and director at the Williamstown Theater Festival, he directed a critically acclaimed production of
The Price which moved to Broadway in the winter of 1999 and received a Tony nomination. He directed a 2002 production of
Our Town on Broadway starring
Paul Newman, which originated at Westport Country Playhouse and was taped for Showtime and PBS, as well as directing
The Good German for Westport Country Playhouse in 2003.
Naughton was most recently seen opposite
Meryl Streep in the hit film
The Devil Wears Prada. His other film credits include
The Good Mother opposite
Diane Keaton;
The Glass Menagerie with
Joanne Woodward;
The Paper Chase,
First Kid,
Cat's Eye,
A Stranger Is Watching,
Second Wind and more recently
Labor Pains. He has appeared in such television movies as
Travelin' Man,
Necessity,
Last of the Great Survivors,
The Bunker and
Look Homeward Angel. More recently, Naughton starred in
The Birds II for Showtime and the return of
Cagney and Lacey. He has also starred in a number of network television series, including
Who's the Boss?,
Making the Grade,
Planet of the Apes,
Farady and Co.,
Brooklyn Bridge,
The Cosby Mysteries,
Ally McBeal as Ally McBeal's father, and
Law & Order: Criminal Intent.
Hot 'n Cole is sponsored by U.S. Trust and Cohen and Wolf. Board of trustees sponsors are Barbara and John Samuelson and Sharon Sullivan and Jeff Kindler.
The performance schedule for the 2008 season will be Tuesday at 8 p.m., Wednesday at 2 and 8 p.m., Thursday and Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 4 and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. Special series will feature Previews, Opening Nights, TalkBack Thursdays, Prologue, Symposium Sundays, Backstage Pass and Open Captioning.
Following a multi-million dollar renovation completed in 2005, the Playhouse is now open year-round, welcoming 85,000 audience members annually. On its legendary stage are theatrical productions, educational programming and special events, including films, readings of short fiction and new plays, and a Family Festivities series. The rich history of the Westport Country Playhouse dates back to 1931, when New York theatre producers Lawrence Langner and his wife Armina Marshall created a Broadway-quality stage within an 1830s cow barn. Now celebrating its 78th season, the Playhouse has produced more than 700 plays, 35 of which later transferred to Broadway. Its roster of actors reads like a "Who's Who" of the American theatre. Westport Country Playhouse serves as a treasured home for the performing arts for audiences and artists alike, and as a true cultural landmark for Connecticut.
Subscriptions for the 2008 season, now on sale, start at $185 for 5-play and 6-play series. Subscription benefits include discounted prices and preferred, renewable seating. Single tickets are now on sale ranging from $30 to $55; opening night tickets, including post-performance reception, are $65.
Students and educators are eligible for 50% discounts. Groups of 10 or more save up to 30% off the regular ticket price. For group sales information call (203) 227-5137, x120.
For subscriptions, single tickets or 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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