Comedy WHAT THE BUTLER SAW Starts This Month at Westport Country Playhouse

"What the Butler Saw," a shameless comedy by Joe Orton, offering a little blackmail and a lot of sexual innuendo, will be staged at Westport Country Playhouse, August 23 - September 10. Director is John Tillinger, who helmed a recent, critically acclaimed production of the show in Los Angeles, as well as earlier productions in London and New York.

In "What the Butler Saw," Dr. Prentice, a psychiatric doctor in an exclusive, private clinic, is attempting to interview, and seduce, an attractive would-be secretary. As part of his unconventional interview technique, he asks her to undress. When the doctor's wife makes an unexpected visit, he must hide the unclad girl, and the chaos begins.

The show premiered in London in 1969. The New York production later won an Obie Award.

"We are indeed privileged to have as the play's director John Tillinger, the go-to authority on interpreting Orton comedies," said Mark Lamos, Playhouse artistic director. "Orton's works aren't played just for laughs; they must be played to lampoon all the pomposity and hypocrisy in his characters representing the establishment. It's very challenging to direct an Orton play. John is always up to the task, and has received much critical acclaim for his efforts."

The cast includes Julian Gamble as Sergeant Match (Broadway's "The Seagull," "The Invention of Love," "Democracy," "The Iceman Cometh," "Dinner at Eight," "A Month in The Country"; TV's "House of Cards"); Chris Ghaffari as Nicholas Beckett (Hartford Stage's "Romeo & Juliet"; The New York Shakespeare Festival's "King Lear"; recent MFA, Yale School of Drama); Patricia Kalember as Mrs. Prentice (WCP's "A Marriage Minuet"; Broadway's "The Foreigner"; TV's "Power," "Madam Secretary," "Orange Is the New Black"; regular on "thirtysomething"); Sarah Manton as Geraldine Barclay (WCP's "Bedroom Farce," "Things We Do for Love"; Broadway/London's "One Man, Two Guvnors"; London's "The Coast of Utopia," "South Pacific," Baby in "Dirty Dancing"); Robert Stanton as Dr. Prentice (WCP's "Hay Fever"; Broadway's "A Free Man of Color," "Mary Stuart," "The Coast of Utopia"; Off-Broadway's "All in the Timing" (Obie Award); Film/TV's "Jason Bourne," "Orange Is the New Black"); and Paxton Whitehead as Dr. Rance (WCP's "Bedroom Farce," "The Circle," "How the Other Half Loves," more; Broadway's "The Importance of Being Earnest," "My Fair Lady" (Helen Hayes Award), "Noises Off" (Drama Desk Award).

Playwright Joe Orton (1933-1967) was born in Leicester, England. After winning a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, Orton was the rising star of an "alternative British intelligentsia." He wrote the plays "Entertaining Mr. Sloane" and "Loot."

Director John Tillinger's Westport Country Playhouse productions include "Bedroom Farce," "Things We Do for Love," "How the Other Half Loves," "Children," "Time of My Life," "Relatively Speaking," and "The Drawer Boy." On Broadway, he directed "Absurd Person Singular" with Paxton Whitehead and Deborah Rush; "Inherit the Wind" with Charles Durning and George C. Scott (Tony Award nomination, OCC Award); "The Price" with Eli Wallach (Tony Award nomination); and "Loot!" with Joseph Maher (Tony Award nomination, OCC Award) and "Entertaining Mr. Sloane" (Drama Desk Award), both written by Joe Orton.

The design team includes James Noone, scenic design; Laurie Churba, costume design; John McKernon, lighting design; and Scott Killian, sound design.

"What the Butler Saw" performance schedule is Tuesday at 7 p.m., Wednesday at 2 and 8 p.m., Thursday and Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 3 and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. Special series feature Taste of Tuesday, LGBT Night OUT, Opening Night, Sunday Symposium, Open Captions, Thursday TalkBack, Together at the Table Family Dinner, Playhouse Happy Hour, and Backstage Pass.

"What the Butler Saw" Production Partner is Carole Hochman. Corporate Production Partner is First Niagara.

Single tickets start at $30; buy early for best prices. For more information and to buy tickets, visit www.westportplayhouse.org or call the box office at (203) 227-4177, toll-free at 1-888-927-7529, or visit Westport Country Playhouse, 25 Powers Court, off Route 1, Westport. Stay connected to The Playhouse on Facebook (Westport Country Playhouse), follow on Twitter (@WCPlayhouse), and on YouTube (WestportPlayhouse).

The mission of Westport Country Playhouse is to enrich, enlighten, and engage the community through the power of professionally produced theater worth talking about and the welcoming experience of The Playhouse campus. The Playhouse creates this relationship with the community and provides this experience in multiple ways by offering: Live theater experiences of the highest quality, under the artistic direction of Mark Lamos, from May through October; educational and community engagement events and opportunities to further explore issues presented by the work on stage; special performances and programs for students and teachers with extensive curriculum support material; Script in Hand play readings throughout the year to deepen relationships with audiences and artists alike; the renowned Woodward Internship Program training program during the summer months for aspiring theater professionals; Family Festivities presentations from November through April to delight young and old alike and to promote reading through live theater; and the beautiful and historic Playhouse campus open for enjoyment and community events year-round. The value of the Westport Country Playhouse to all it touches is immeasurable.

Westport Country Playhouse's 2016 Season includes two Tony Award-winning plays staged in repertory, directed by Mark Lamos, from May 3 to 29: "Art" by Yasmina Reza, translated by Christopher Hampton; and "Red" by John Logan. Each of the plays is about art: making it, owning it, the anguish of creating it, and the ache of believing in it. The recent Off-Broadway comedy hit, "Buyer & Cellar" by Jonathan Tolins, and directed by Stephen Brackett, is about a young, out-of-work actor who winds up working for a well-known star named Barbra in the mall she built in her Malibu mansion, playing June 14 - July 3. The comedy won a Lucille Lortel Award. Another recent Off-Broadway piece, "The Invisible Hand," a riveting and relevant new thriller by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Ayad Akhtar, author of Broadway's "Disgraced," will run July 19 - August 6, directed by David Kennedy, Playhouse associate artistic director. When an American futures trader finds himself kidnapped and held hostage in Pakistan, he knows the only way to get home is to do what he does best: play the market like his life depends on it. Joe Orton's comedy, "What the Butler Saw," offering a little blackmail, and a lot of sexual innuendo, will play from August 23 - September 10, directed by John Tillinger, who helmed a recent, critically acclaimed production of the play in Los Angeles. Lerner and Loewe's "Camelot," a freshly inventive take on one of the foremost musicals in the American canon, will run October 4 - 30, directed by Mark Lamos. The classic love triangle of King Arthur, Queen Guinevere, and Sir Lancelot will be a reimagined version.

?Pictured: "What the Butler Saw" at Westport Country Playhouse features, from left, seated, Sarah Manton, Patricia Kalember; standing, Paxton Whitehead, Julian Gamble, Robert Stanton, Chris Ghaffari, and director John Tillinger. Photo by Peter Chenot.

To post a comment, you must register and login.