ALL THINGS EQUAL Comes to Westport Country Playhouse in May

Westport Country Playhouse will present “All Things Equal: The Life and Trials of Ruth Bader Ginsburg,” a one-woman play written by Tony Award-winning playwright Rupert Holmes and directed by Laley Lippard, for three performances, Friday and Saturday, May 3 and 4 at 8 p.m., and Sunday, May 5, at 3 p.m.

"I believe ‘All Things Equal: The Life and Trials of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’ will bring together the audience and the glorious RBG in an enlightening and touching encounter with the remarkable person behind the initials,” said playwright Rupert Holmes. "’All Things Equal’ offers each theatergoer the chance to better know this woman, her yearning for equality, and her love for this nation's precious institutions: Ruth ... Justice ... and the American way.”

In “All Things Equal,” Court Justice “RBG,” played by Michelle Azar, welcomes a friend of the family to her cozy chambers to convey a sense of her life and its many trials: losing her mother the day before she graduated as valedictorian of her Brooklyn high school, being one of only nine young women studying law at Harvard while also raising a daughter and helping her husband battle cancer, fighting for women’s rights in the 1970s before condescending all-male courts, and taking courageous stands for human rights as a voice of reason amid a splintering and increasingly politicized Supreme Court.

“All Things Equal” is the story of an icon of straight-thinking American justice - an RBG who is not only “notorious” but victorious as she takes a stand for ordinary people facing the many challenges of a changing world.

Michelle Azar will portray Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She received an MA and BFA from NYU Tisch School of the Arts and started working immediately as Janis Joplin in “Beehive.” She received Ovation Awards for her roles in both dramatic and comedic roles with her theatre company, Neurotic Young Urbanites, and was the 2016 Stage Raw Award winner for Best Actress in Eric Coble’s “My Barking Dog” at the Boston Court Theatre. Other favorite stage credits Bella in “Lost in Yonkers,” Berte in “Boeing, Boeing,” Masha in “Mayakovsky and Stalin,” “The Awakening of Spring,” and the creation of Constance Lily in the recent hit musical “Bronco Billy.” Select television and film credits include “NCIS: Los Angeles,” “How to Get Away with Murder,” “Criminal Minds,” “The Magicians,” “Aquarius,” “Community,” and the recently released film, “Senior Moment” with Jean Smart and William Shatner. Azar is no stranger to the one-woman show, as her own original piece, “From Baghdad to Brooklyn,” continues to tour around the country after its sold-out premiere at the United Solo Festival in New York City. michelleazar.com

Playwright Rupert Holmes has worked as a composer, singer, songwriter, playwright, and author. After receiving his education from the Manhattan School of Music, he began recording his own music. His 1974 album “Widescreen” was a hit and Barbra Streisand used some of the songs in her movie “A Star Is Born.” Holmes went on to write songs for five more Streisand albums and had multiple singles on the Billboard Hot 100. In 1985, he wrote the musical, “The Mystery of Edwin Drood,” loosely based on a Charles Dickens novel and won multiple Tony Awards, among other honors. Some of his other successful theater works include “Say Goodnight, Gracie,” “Curtains,” and “The Picture of Dorian Gray.” rupertholmes.com

Director Laley Lippard is a director, creative producer, and educator. Lippard has directed and collaborated with Steppenwolf Theatre Company, The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, and Guthrie Theater, among others. World Premiere directing projects include Matt Pelfry’s “Pure Shock Value,” Eric Coble’s “These Mortal Hosts,” and the National New Play Network’s Rolling World Premiere of David Valdes’ “The Mermaid Hour.” Lippard was the co-founder and co-executive producer of The Chicago Home Theater Festival, a five-year, city-wide artistic network and annual event. She has taught, workshopped, and directed at many universities nationwide. Lippard is a member of the National Directors Fellowship and Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab, and holds an MFA in directing from Northwestern University.

Tickets are $45, $50, and $55. Running time is 95 minutes; no intermission. 

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