Westport Country Playhouse Announces Their Holiday Events 12/4-19

In celebration of the holiday season, Westport Country Playhouse announces six special events, including comedy, concerts, dance and theater, beginning December 4 and continuing on selected days through December 19. Tickets go on sale Friday, October 15, at noon.

"What's better than one event during the holiday season? How about six! This December, we're delighted to offer a wide variety of entertainment for our community presented by an incredible array of talent," said Michael Ross, Playhouse managing director. "There's something for everyone and all affordably priced. I look forward to one and all visiting The Playhouse over and over during December."

Ballet Etudes Company‘s full-length holiday production of "The Nutcracker" returns to Westport Country Playhouse on Saturday and Sunday, December 4 and 5, 1 and 5 p.m., featuring Michelle Wiles, American Ballet Theatre principal dancer, and Arch Higgins, New York City Ballet soloist. In this family friendly classic set to the music of Tchaikovsky, Clara's dream world is brought to life---from the party with Drosselmeyer and the dancing dolls to the battle between the Mouse King and the Nutcracker Prince. Clara takes a magical journey to the Land of Snow and is entertained by Mother Ginger, Goldilocks, Chinese Dragons and more. This seasonal ballet tradition captures the classical beauty of the Snow Queen, the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier, and the Waltz of the Flowers. Tickets are $35 adults, $18 children.

"Seasons" with Tracie Thoms will be presented on Friday, December 10, 8 p.m. Thoms graces The Playhouse stage for one night only, a follow up to her smash hit debut at New York's Feinstein's. Throughout her young career, Thoms has had wide-ranging success in film, television and theater. Audiences will recognize her from her starring role as 'Joanne' in Sony's film of the musical "Rent," a role which she reprised on Broadway in 2008 and again recently at the Hollywood Bowl under the direction of Neil Patrick Harris. In 2007, she starred in Quentin Tarantino's "Grindhouse: Death Proof," and was also featured in "The Devil Wears Prada." Thoms was a regular on the hit CBS series, "Cold Case." Tickets are $40, $30

"The Clowns and Mr. Beckett - An Evening with Bill Irwin and Doug Skinner" will be presented on Saturday, December 11, 8 p.m. Join the unparalleled Bill Irwin and Doug Skinner for an enchanting evening of exploration in the art of clowning, the works of Samuel Beckett, and their shared passion for classic vaudeville and silent film comedians. Madcap routines, schtick and novelty songs abound in this exuberant entertainment for the young and the young at heart. Tickets are $40, $30.
The Playhouse's Family Festivities series will present "Season's Greetings," with magic, music, audience participation and special effects celebrating the world's seasonal holidays on Sunday, December 12, 1 and 4 p.m. Produced by TheatreWorks USA, the show will feature a magic elf, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, toy soldiers and magically appearing white doves---all set in a winter wonderland. Tickets are $15.
The Greatest Gift," a special family holiday Script in Hand play reading with music, will be presented on Monday, December 13, 7 p.m. With book and lyrics by David Wiltse and music by Denis King, this charming, new play tells the story of the Smith-Baron family who celebrate the holiday season in their own way. When eight-year-old Emma bumps her head in a fall, sending her into a fantastical dream world, she and her parents discover that what really matters has nothing to do with gifts and ritual and all to do with who you love. Marc and Michele Flaster are Script in Hand board of trustee sponsors; Darlene Krenz is board of trustee partner. The series is supported, in part, by the White Barn Program of the Lucille Lortel Foundation and the Newman's Own Foundation. Tickets are $15

The Broadway Boys, a collection of the hottest male voices currently working on the New York stage, will offer a concert of Broadway and holiday favorites on Saturday, December 18, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, December 19, at 3 p.m. Through their dynamic vocal prowess and redefining arrangements, The Broadway Boys add elements of pop, funk, gospel, jazz and folk to show tunes and classic pop songs. Darlene Krenz is The Broadway Boys board of trustee partner. Tickets are $40, $30.

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; "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, 2011.

For more information at Westport Country Playhouse, 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. www.westportplayhouse.org. Stay connected to The Playhouse on Facebook (Westport Country Playhouse) and/or follow on Twitter (@WCPlayhouse).

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