Westport Country Playhouse Gala Held 11/2, Naughton, O'Hara & More To Perform

Westport Country Playhouse's Gala 2009 will feature a star-studded evening of entertainment and conviviality on Monday, November 2, highlighted by special salutes to Mary Rodgers Guettel, composer, and Elisabeth Morten, Playhouse board of trustees chairman. Honorary gala co-chairs are Anne Keefe and Joanne Woodward, former Playhouse artistic directors. Proceeds, in part, will support the Woodward Intern and Apprentice program, recently named in recognition of Ms. Woodward's interest in training the next generation of theater artists. The Playhouse's intern and apprentice program has been in existence since 1946.

A special tribute will be made to Ms. Rodgers Guettel, who began her theatrical career as a Playhouse intern in 1950, and went on to write the music for the Broadway hit, "Once Upon a Mattress." She is the daughter of composer Richard Rodgers. Stephen Sondheim, who also was in the 1950 Playhouse intern class, and Christopher Plummer, will be present to honor Ms. Rodgers Guettel.

Ms. Morten will be honored for spearheading the Playhouse's successful, multi-million dollar renovation in 2005. She has served as chairman and president of the Playhouse board of trustees since 1999, having joined the board in 1996. Ms. Morten is a Tony Award voter and theatrical producer.

A musical performance, entitled "An Enchanted Evening---The Music of Richard Rodgers," will feature Broadway stars James Naughton, Tony Award winner for "Chicago" and "City of Angels"; Kelli O'Hara, Tony Award nominee for "South Pacific," "The Pajama Game" and "The Light in the Piazza"; Steven Pasquale, who created the role of Fabrizio in Adam Guettel's "The Light in the Piazza" and appears on FX's "Rescue Me."; Karen Ziemba, Tony Award winner for "Contact"; and other talent to be announced.

A cocktail reception and silent auction will begin at 5:45 p.m., followed by the performance and tributes at 7:30 p.m. and dinner at 9 p.m.

Gala co-chairs are Ann Sheffer and Bill Scheffler and Cindy and John Vaccaro. The performance is produced by Kevin Duncan with musical direction by Mary-Mitchell Campbell.

Benefit tickets start at $500. Reservations are limited by the intimate size of the theatre.

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 theatre 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 theatres. Now celebrating its 79th 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. www.westportplayhouse.org

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