Photo Flash: First Look at World Premiere of A.R. Gurney's LOVE & MONEY, Now Playing at Westport Country Playhouse

Westport Country Playhouse will stage the world premiere previews of A. R. Gurney's "Love and Money," a new comedy exploring the trials of class, family, legacy, and race, directed by Mark Lamos, from July 21 through August 8. A co-production with New York's Tony Award-winning Signature Theatre, it will officially open there in late August.

"I'm thrilled to continue the tradition of new work that has been a staple of nearly every Playhouse season for many years--and in fact was one of the main reasons the theater was founded 85 years ago: to develop and explore new plays and musicals by living writers," said Lamos.

"The Playhouse has had the extraordinary good fortune to produce many of Gurney's plays over the years. One of America's most prolific writers, at 84 he remains one of its most vigorous and one of its finest," Lamos added. "Needless to say, his view of the world is one uniquely familiar to our audiences: the dissection and celebration of that New England phenomenon, the White Anglo Saxon American, aka WASP."

"Love and Money" is about classy, wealthy widow Cornelia Cunningham. Moving out of her Manhattan brownstone into a retirement home, Cornelia has come to view her life of grace and privilege as a crime, one she must atone for by giving away all of her money and possessions. Cornelia's plans are questioned when an ambitious and ingratiating young man, who may be the grandson she never knew she had, arrives to claim his inheritance.

Maureen Anderman will portray the sharp-minded and sharp-witted Cornelia Cunningham. She appeared in Westport Country Playhouse's "The Year of Magical Thinking," A. R. Gurney's "Later Life," and "After-Play." She has appeared in other plays by A. R. Gurney including "The Cocktail Hour" and "Ancestral Voices." Recent work includes "Pygmalion," "A Delicate Balance," "Doubt," and "Richard III." She has been honored with Drama Desk, Tony, and IRNE nominations, and has received a Theatre World Award and Connecticut Critics Circle Award. A Weston, Connecticut resident, she was honored for her work in theater with a Westport Arts Award.

Gabriel Brown will play Walker "Scott" Williams, who stakes a claim to Cornelia's wealth. Brown was in Westport Country Playhouse's production of "A Raisin in the Sun," and received an Ovation Award for "Joe Turner's Come and Gone" at Mark Taper Forum. Pamela Dunlap, as Agnes Munger, Cornelia's long-time maid, was in the Playhouse production of "Absence of a Cello." She was on Broadway in "The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940," "Yerma," and "Redwood Curtain."

Kahyun Kim, who plays Jessica Worth, a Juilliard student, has a recurring role on television's "The Mysteries of Laura" and "Austin and Ally," and was in the film "Playing It Cool." Joe Paulik, as Harvey Abel, a young lawyer who specializes in trusts and estates, was in the Playhouse's "Old Wicked Songs" and Off-Broadway's "Timon of Athens," "A Feminine Ending," and "The Sporting Life."

Playwright A. R. ("Pete") Gurney, a Connecticut resident, has been writing plays for many years. Best known are "The Dining Room," "The Cocktail Hour," "Love Letters," and "Sylvia." A new play, "Family Furniture," was recently produced at the Flea Theater, while two revivals, "The Wayside Motor Inn" and "What I Did Last Summer," found new life at the Signature Theatre. Gurney has received several awards for the body of his work and is a member of the Dramatists Guild, the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the Theatre Hall of Fame. His website is argurney.com.

Director Mark Lamos has directed many plays at Westport Country Playhouse since 2008, winning the 2013 Connecticut Critics Circle Award for his direction of Gurney's "The Dining Room." His extensive New York credits include "Our Country's Good," for which he received a Tony Award nomination. A former artistic director at Hartford Stage, he received the 1989 Tony Award for the theater's body of work. He was awarded the Connecticut Medal for the Arts as well as honorary doctorates from Connecticut College, University of Hartford, and Trinity College.

The design team includes Michael Yeargan, scenic design; Jess Goldstein, costume design; Stephen Strawbridge, lighting design; and John Gromada, sound design.

"Love and Money" 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, Sunday Symposium, Open Captions, Thursday TalkBack, Together at the Table Family Dinner, Playhouse Young Professionals, and Backstage Pass.

Photos by Carol Rosegg

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