Season's Greetings Offers A"world Of Wonder" At Westport Country Playhouse

Westport Country Playhouse's Family Festivities Series will present, "Season's Greetings," with magic, music, live animals, special effects and audience participation, celebrating the world's seasonal holidays, on Sunday, December 12, 1 and 4 p.m. Tickets are $15 and available online at westportplayhouse.org, as well as at The Playhouse box office, 203-227-4177.

The show, led by dynamic magicians Tim and Robin Balster, will feature a magic elf, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, toy soldiers and magically appearing white doves---all set in a winter wonderland.
Appropriate for grades K through 5, the show is approximately one hour and produced by TheatreworksUSA, America's largest and most prolific professional, not-for-profit theater for young and family audiences. Since 1961, TheatreworksUSA has enlightened, entertained and instructed over 78 million people in 49 states and Canada.

Prior to each performance, at 12:15 and 3:15 p.m., MTGlee will perform in The Playhouse lobby. MTGlee is Fairfield County's new show choir, based out of Westport's Music Theatre of Connecticut School of Performing Arts.

Birthday party facilities may be scheduled in advance. Everyone in the audience requires a ticket. Groups of 10 or more save up to 30% off the regular ticket price. For group sales information call (203) 227-5137, x120.

In addition to "Season's Greetings," The Playhouse's December 2010 events include "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; "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. 2010 holiday special events sponsor is Hearst Media Services; corporate partner is Pitney Bowes.

Upcoming Family Festivities programs are "The Commedia Princess and the Pea," Sunday, January 16, 1 and 4 p.m., a slapstick spin on Hans Christian Andersen's classic fairy tale, produced by Tarradiddle Players; "The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Other Eric Carle Favourites," Sunday, February 13, 1 and 4 p.m., three stories by award-winning children's book illustrator and writer, Eric Carle, told with puppets and original music, produced by Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia; "A Jigsaw Jones Mystery - The Case of the Class Clown," Sunday, March 6, 1 and 4 p.m., a mystery with music, based on the book by renowned author James Preller, produced by ArtsPower; and "Click, Clack, Moo," Sunday, March 27, 1 and 4 p.m., a hilarious musical based on the Caldecott Honor Book by Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin, produced by TheatreWorks USA.

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.

Westport Country Playhouse's five-play 2011 season: "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, 2011; "The Circle," the scintillating comedy of manners, written by W. Somerset Maugham and directed by Nicholas Martin, June 7 - June 25, 2011; "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, 2011; "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, 2011; and "Twelfth Night, or What You Will," the beguiling comedy/romance, written by William Shakespeare and directed by Mark Lamos, October 11 - October 29, 2011.

For more information or tickets, call the box office at (203) 227-4177, or toll-free at 1-888-927-7529, or visit Westport Country Playhouse, 25 Powers Court, off Route 1, Westport. www.westportplayhouse.org. Stay connected to The Playhouse on Facebook (Westport Country Playhouse) and/or follow on Twitter (@WCPlayhouse).

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