Westport Country Playhouse Hosts Holiday Script in Hand Series 12/12

The touching romantic comedy, "Holiday," by Philip Barry, author of "The Philadelphia Story," will be read as part of the Script in Hand series at Westport Country Playhouse, on Monday, December 12, 7 p.m., directed by Anne Keefe, Playhouse artistic advisor. Cast members are Rebecca Brooksher, Scott Bryce, Kieran Campion, Jordan Coughtry, Betty Gilpin, Jack Gilpin, Bill Heck, Chad Kinsman, Maggie Lacey and Jodi Stevens. Tickets to the one-night-only event are $15.

"I'm excited to do 'Holiday,'" said Keefe. "Philip Barry has always been a favorite and it's great to do a large cast show for the holidays…and the script, even though written more than 80 years ago, feels awfully timely. And as always I'm thrilled to have a lot of old friends as well as some new faces on our stage."

Adapted for the screen starring Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn, the comedy tells of free-spirited Johnny Case, a self-made young businessman from humble beginnings. Although he is engaged to the wealthy and proper Julia Seton, Johnny finds himself attracted to Julia's sister Linda, a non-conforming, independent type. Johnny's dream is to spend the early years of his life on a holiday and work when he is older. His unorthodox plan is met with skepticism by Julia's father and the rest of the family, except his kindred spirit Linda.

The cast's credits and roles are: Rebecca Brooksher (Lortel Award nomination Best Actress for Lincoln Center's "Dying City") as Julie Seton; Scott Bryce (twice nominated for a Best Actor Emmy Award for "As the World Turns") as Seton Cram; Kieran Campion (Westport Country Playhouse's "Journey's End," "David Copperfield" and Script in Hand readings of "Golden Boy," "A Song at Twilight" and "Dial 'M' for Murder") as Johnny Case; Jordan Coughtry (Westport Country Playhouse's "Twelfth Night, or What You Will") as Ned Seton; and Betty Gilpin (Westport Country Playhouse's "Butterflies Are Free" Script in Hand reading) as Linda Seton.

Also, Jack Gilpin (Westport Country Playhouse's "Lend Me a Tenor," "The Fourth Wall," "A Cheever Evening," "Hay Fever," "A Holiday Garland" and Script in Hand reading of "Fallen Angels") as Edward Seton; Bill Heck (Broadway's "Brooklyn Boy," off-Broadway's "The Orphans' Home Cycle") as Nick Potter; Chad Kinsman (Bridgeport Theatre Company's "The Laramie Project") as Henry; Maggie Lacey (Westport Country Playhouse's "Our Town," "The School for Husbands," "Lips Together, Teeth Apart") as Susan Potter; and Jodi Stevens (Broadway's "Urban Cowboy," Jekyll & Hyde") as Laura Cram.

Keefe noted that real-life father and daughter Jack Gilpin and Betty Gilpin will play father and daughter in "Holiday," acting together for the first time. Bill Heck and Maggie Lacey, just married in September, will play the husband and wife team of 'Mr. and Mrs. Potter' for the first time since becoming Mr. and Mrs. Heck. Another married couple, playing a married couple, the 'Seton Crams,' is Scott Bryce and Jodi Stevens, who live locally, as does Chad Kinsman of Westport, portraying Henry.

Playwright Philip Barry graduated from Yale University and went on to Harvard University. He is primarily known for his satirical, somewhat unconventional comedies of manners, such as "Holiday" (1928), "The Animal Kingdom" (1932) and "The Philadelphia Story" (1939).

Director Anne Keefe served as artistic director of Westport Country Playhouse, with JoAnne Woodward, in 2008 and as associate artistic director from 2000-2006, also with Ms. Woodward. She co-directed with Ms. Woodward The Westport Country Playhouse production of "David Copperfield," and directed many Script in Hand readings.

Marc and Michele Flaster are Script in Hand board of trustee sponsors; Ann Sheffer and Bill Scheffler are board of trustee partners. The series is supported, in part, by the White Barn Program of the Lucille Lortel Foundation and the Newman's Own Foundation.

Other "Winter at The Playhouse" events include "The Nutcracker," a holiday ballet presented by Ballet Etudes, on Saturday and Sunday, December 3 and 4, 1 and 5 p.m.; rock-pop trio GrooveLily in "Striking 12," a concert-musical based on Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Match Girl," on Saturday, December 10, 4 and 7 p.m.; "A Season of Miracles" by Pushcart Players, a sparkling collection of holiday tales from different cultures set to music, on Sunday, December 11, 1 and 4 p.m.; and The Broadway Boys, a holiday concert Broadway style, on Saturday, December 17, 8 p.m., and Sunday, December 18, 3 p.m.

As a community service during all of the "Winter at The Playhouse" holiday events, The Playhouse will collect gently used coats/jackets to benefit the Community Closet of Bridgeport. Collection boxes will be in The Playhouse lobby through December 18. In addition, the theater is hosting a Holiday Memories Writing Challenge for area students, grades K – 8. The deadline for submissions is Friday, December 2. For more information, visit www.westportplayhouse.org.
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. Tickets are available online 24/7 at www.westportplayhouse.org. Stay connected to The Playhouse on Facebook (Westport Country Playhouse), follow on Twitter (@WCPlayhouse), view Playhouse videos on YouTube (WestportPlayhouse) or get an insider's peek on The Playhouse Blog (www.theplayhouseblog.org).

About The Playhouse

Reimagining itself in recent years, Westport Country Playhouse is rapidly emerging as a nationally recognized professional theater. Under the artistic direction of Mark Lamos and management direction of Michael Ross, The Playhouse creates five live theater experiences, produced at the highest level, from April through November. Its vital mix of works---dramatic, comedic, occasionally exploratory and unusual---expands the audience's sense of what theater can be. The depth and scope of its productions display the foremost theatrical literature from the past---recent as well as distant---in addition to musicals and premieres of new plays. During the summer, The Playhouse is home to the Woodward Internship Program, renowned for the training of aspiring theater professionals. Winter at The Playhouse, from November through March, offers events outside of the main season---Family Festivities presentations, Script in Hand play readings and a Holiday Festival. In addition, businesses and organizations are encouraged to rent the handsome facility for their meetings, receptions and fundraisers.

As an historic venue, Westport Country Playhouse has had many different lives leading up to the present. Originally built in 1835 as a tannery manufacturing hatters' leathers, it became a steam-powered cider mill in 1880, later to be abandoned in the 1920s. Splendidly transformed into a theater in 1931, it initially served as a try-out house for Broadway transfers, evolving into an established stop on the New England straw hat circuit of summer stock theaters through the end of the 20th century.

Today, the not-for-profit Westport Country Playhouse serves as a cultural nexus for patrons, artists and students and is a treasured resource for the State of Connecticut. There are no boundaries to the creative thinking for future seasons or the kinds of audiences and excitement for theater that Westport Country Playhouse can build.

Westport Country Playhouse's five-play 2012 season: "Into the Woods," a beguiling take on timeless fairy tales, with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by James Lapine, directed by Mark Lamos, May 1 - 26; "The Year of Magical Thinking," based on the National Book Award Winner by Joan Didion, directed by Nicholas Martin and featuring Maureen Anderman, June 12 - 30; Molière's "Tartuffe," a funny and wise farce, translated by Richard Wilbur, directed by David Kennedy, July 17 – August 4; the world premiere of "Harbor," a comedy about a dysfunctional, loving family, by Chad Beguelin, directed by Mark Lamos, August 23 – September 15; "A Raisin in the Sun," the timeless classic about a black family in 1950s Southside Chicago and their quest for a piece of the American Dream, by Lorraine Hansberry, directed by Phylicia Rashad, October 9 – November 3.

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. Tickets are available online 24/7 at www.westportplayhouse.org. Stay connected to The Playhouse on Facebook (Westport Country Playhouse), follow on Twitter (@WCPlayhouse), view Playhouse videos on YouTube (WestportPlayhouse) or get an insider's peek on The Playhouse Blog (www.theplayhouseblog.org).

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