Holiday Gift Ideas for Entertainment Announced By Westport Country Playhouse

Westport Country Playhouse offers the holiday gift of entertainment for family and friends. Subscriptions or tickets to upcoming plays, family festivities or special events make great stocking stuffers. Or, choose a gift certificate for tickets in any dollar amount redeemable for any performance. The Playhouse stages a wide range of productions for all different ages and entertainment tastes. Gift certificates start at $10 and may be purchased online at westportplayhouse.org or by calling the box office at 203-227-4177.

Gift certificates are available for The Playhouse's December 2010 events including "The Nutcracker," a holiday ballet presented by Ballet Etudes, on Saturday and Sunday, December 4 and 5; "Seasons" with Tracie Thoms, a concert, on Friday, December 10; "The Clowns and Mr. Beckett," an evening with Bill Irwin and Doug Skinner, on Saturday, December 11; "Season's Greetings," a family festivities afternoon, on Sunday, December 12; "The Greatest Gift," a Script in Hand playreading with music, on Monday, December 13; and The Broadway Boys, a holiday concert Broadway style, on Saturday and Sunday, December 18 and 19.

Gift subscriptions or individual tickets to The Playhouse's 81st anniversary season will offer comedies and dramas from April through October, including "Beyond Therapy," a wicked, and wickedly funny, look at the days and nights of the young and single, written by comic master Christopher Durang and directed by Tony Award winner John Rando, April 26 - May 14; "The Circle," the scintillating comedy of manners, written by W. Somerset Maugham and directed by Nicholas Martin, June 7 - June 25; "Lips Together, Teeth Apart," a perceptive comedy about people struggling against their limitations, written by Terrence McNally and directed by Mark Lamos, Playhouse artistic director, July 12 - July 30; "Suddenly Last Summer," the poetic, sensual and evocative drama, written by Tennessee Williams and directed by David Kennedy, Playhouse associate artistic director, August 23 - September 10; and "Twelfth Night, or What You Will," the beguiling comedy/romance, written by William Shakespeare and directed by Mark Lamos, October 11 - October 29.
Gift tickets may be purchased for The Playhouse's Family Festivities series, featuring "The Commedia Princess and the Pea," "The Very Hungry Caterpillar," "Jigsaw Jones" and "Click, Clack, Moo," on selected Sunday afternoons during January, February and March.

Also, gift certificates are available for The Playhouse's popular Script in Hand playreading series on selected Monday evenings in February and March, titles to be announced.

Anyone who has enjoyed the experience of attending the historic Playhouse will appreciate the coffee table book, "An American Theatre: The Story of Westport Country Playhouse." The lavishly illustrated book is written by Richard Somerset-Ward. Actress Meryl Streep said of the book, "It's a fascinating anecdotal history of one of the longest running, most important theatres in America. I roared at some of the backstage stories."

In addition, there are gift opportunities to preserve a loved one's name on an engraved paving stone in The Playhouse courtyard and garden.

The Playhouse can accommodate holiday parties for companies or organizations with group tickets at discounted rates and rooms to host a reception before or after the performance. For group bookings, call Jenn Bond, community relations liaison, at (203) 227-5137, x 120.

For more information or gift purchases, 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. The box office is open Tues. - Fri., 12 to 6 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays in December, 11a.m. to 4 p.m.; closed Fri., Dec. 24. Gift certificates may be purchased online at www.westportplayhouse.org. Stay connected to The Playhouse on Facebook (Westport Country Playhouse) and/or follow on Twitter (@WCPlayhouse).

About The Playhouse
Westport Country Playhouse, a not-for-profit theater, serves as a treasured home for the performing arts and is a cultural landmark for Connecticut. Under the artistic direction of Mark Lamos and management direction of Michael Ross, The Playhouse creates quality productions of new and classic plays that enlighten, enrich and engage a diverse community of theater lovers, artists and students. The Playhouse's rich history dates back to 1931, when New York theater producer Lawrence Langner created a Broadway-quality stage within an 1830s tannery. The Playhouse quickly became an established stop on the New England "straw hat circuit" of summer stock theaters. Now celebrating its 80th season, Westport Country Playhouse has produced more than 700 plays, 36 of which later transferred to Broadway, most recently the world premiere of "Thurgood" and a revival of Thornton Wilder's "Our Town" with Paul Newman, and in earlier years "Come Back, Little Sheba" with Shirley Booth, "The Trip to Bountiful" with Lillian Gish, and "Butterflies Are Free" with Keir Dullea and Blythe Danner. For its artistic excellence, The Playhouse received a 2005 Governor's Arts Award and a 2000 "Connecticut Treasure" recognition. It was also designated as an Official Project of Save America's Treasures by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and is entered on the Connecticut State Register of Historic Places. Following a multi-million dollar renovation completed in 2005, The Playhouse transformed into a year-round, state-of-the-art producing theater, which has preserved its original charm and character. In addition to a full season of theatrical productions, The Playhouse serves as a community resource, presenting educational programming and workshops; a children's theater series; symposiums; music; films; and readings.

For more information or ticket purchases, 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. Tickets may be purchased online at www.westportplayhouse.org. Stay connected to The Playhouse on Facebook (Westport Country Playhouse) and/or follow on Twitter (@WCPlayhouse).

 

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