Wesport Country Playhouse's CAMELOT 'Sunday Symposium' Will Center on Arthurian Legend

Wesleyan University professor of European medieval history and literature Jeff Rider will be guest speaker at The Playhouse's Sunday Symposium following the Sunday, October 9, 3 p.m. matinee performance of Lerner & Loewe's "Camelot."

In conjunction with "Camelot," the classic 1960 musical about King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, Rider will engage in a conversation about Arthurian legend with David Kennedy, Playhouse associate artistic director. The Playhouse Sunday Symposium program is free and open to the public.

Jeff Rider is Professor of Romance Languages & Literatures and Medieval Studies at Wesleyan University. He holds a B.A. in CombinEd French and English Literature from Yale University, a Diplôme d'Etudes Médiévales from the Université Catholique de Louvain (Belgium), and a M.A. and a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the University of Chicago. His work focuses on the literature and history of northern Europe from the eleventh through the thirteenth centuries, historiography, and medievalism (why and how we study the Middle Ages today) with a special focus on Arthurian Literature.

Professor Rider is the author, editor, or translator of eight books and has published over 30 articles, essays, or chapters in collective works. He has received Fulbright grants to teach and do research in France, Belgium, and Denmark, as well as fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the American Philosophical Society, the Rotary Foundation, the Herzog August Library in Germany, and the Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and the Arts. This coming year, he will be a visiting professor at the University of Paris and the Charles University in Prague.

At Wesleyan, Professor Rider has served as chair of the Romance Languages and Literatures Department and the Medieval Studies Program, and has been the resident director of the Wesleyan Program in Paris numerous times. He is currently at work on a book on The Usefulness of the Middle Ages.

The Sunday Symposium Series is supported, in part, by the White Barn Program of the Lucille Lortel Foundation.

Lerner & Loewe's "Camelot," playing October 4 - 30, features Tony Award winner Robert Sean Leonard as King Arthur and is directed by Mark Lamos, Playhouse artistic director. An inventive and intimate take on the classic musical, "Camelot" tells the story of history's greatest love triangle, as King Arthur and his dear friend Lancelot vie for the heart of Queen Guenevere. With book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe, based on T. H. White's novel "The Once and Future King," the book is adapted by David Lee, with new orchestrations by Steve Orich. Choreography is by Connor Gallagher; musical direction of the eight-piece orchestra is by Wayne Barker. The original production was directed and staged by Moss Hart.

"Camelot" is produced with special funding by Maureen and Edwin Schloss. Production Sponsors are Howard J. Aibel, Czekaj Artistic Productions, and Barbara and John Samuelson. Production Partners are Carol and Peter Seldin. Corporate Productions Partners are BNY Mellon Wealth Management, Cohen and Wolf, and KPMG.

Single tickets for "Camelot" 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 to 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 playreadings 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.

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