WCP Presents Masteroff, Bock, and Harnick at Sunday Symposium 4/25

Westport Country Playhouse will present a Sunday Symposium with one of the most famous Broadway musical teams, Joe Masteroff, Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick, who created the musical, "She Loves Me," following the Sunday, April 25, 3 p.m. matinee performance of the enchanting musical comedy, directed by Mark Lamos, Playhouse artistic director.

Joe Masteroff, who wrote the book for "She Loves Me," won a Tony Award for "Cabaret." Music for "She Loves Me" is by Jerry Bock and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, who as a team also wrote "Fiorello!," winner of Broadway's triple crown: Tony Award, New York Critics' Circle Award and Pulitzer Prize for drama; and "Fiddler on the Roof," which won nine Tony Awards, including Best Musical.

The Playhouse Sunday Symposium program, free and open to the public, provides the audience with guest speakers' in-depth insights and observations about the production, followed by an interactive dialogue. David Kennedy, Westport Country Playhouse associate artistic director, will moderate the Sunday Symposium. It is open to all, including those who attend a performance of "She Loves Me" at another time. The Sunday Symposium is supported, in part, by the White Barn Program of the Lucille Lortel Foundation. Prior to the performance, patrons are invited to enjoy "Prosecco on the Patio" - complimentary glasses of Mionetto Prosecco, a sparkling wine that is the official Playhouse Prosecco.

"I'm really excited to have this conversation," said Kennedy. "It's not every day you share the stage with artists whose influence in their chosen field has been so profound. Masteroff, Bock and Harnick will offer an intimate behind-the-scenes look at a creative partnership responsible for one of the best-loved American musicals. This promises to be an afternoon of great stories, reminiscences, and reflections."

In addition to writing the book for the Tony Award-winning "Cabaret," Masteroff has been represented in New York by the play "The Warm Peninsula," the libretto for an operatic version of Eugene O'Neill's "Desire Under the Elms" and the book and lyrics for a recent production of "Six Wives" at the York Theatre Company.
Bock and Harnick's collaborations are "The Body Beautiful" (1958); "Fiorello" (1959); "Tenderloin" (1960); "Man in the Moon" (1963), for the Bil Baird Marionettes; "She Loves Me" (1963), winner of Variety's poll of critics as best musical, citing Bock and Harnick as best composer and lyricist; "To Broadway with Love," for 1964 New York Fair; "Fiddler on the Roof" (1964); "Baker Street" (1965), contributed several songs anonymously; "The Apple Tree" (1966); "The Canterville Ghost" (1966), television musical; and "The Rothschilds" (1970). Bock and Harnick were triply honored by being inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame, receiving the Johnny Mercer Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Spirit of American Creativity Award from the Foundation for a Creative America.

The endearingly sweet plot of "She Love Me" involves Georg and Amalia, feuding shop clerks in a 1930s European parfumerie, who unknowingly fall in love via their letters as anonymous romantic pen pals. Surrounded by a roster of eccentric colleagues who aid and abet them, the two soul mates put on a brave front to cover their frailties while longing for their happy ending. The show was the inspiration for the Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan film, "You've Got Mail."
"She Loves Me" will run from April 20 - May 8.

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 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.

The five-play 2010 season will continue with "Dinner with Friends," a comic drama by Donald Margulies, directed by David Kennedy, Playhouse associate artistic director, June 1 through 19; "Happy Days" by Samuel Beckett, a play of luminous beauty and rare power, directed by Mark Lamos, July 6 through July 24; "I Do! I Do!," the joyful and touching musical, written by Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt, August 10 through August 28; and "The Diary of Anne Frank," a timeless and powerful classic, by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, adapted by Wendy Kesselman, directed by Gerald Freedman, September 28 through October 16.

For more information or ticket purchases, call the box office (M-F, 12 to 6 p.m.) at (203) 227-4177, or toll-free at 1-888-927-7529, or visit 25 Powers Court, off Route 1, Westport. Tickets may be purchased online at www.westportplayhouse.org.

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