Westport Country Playhouse Slates Fall Script In Hand Playreadings

Westport Country Playhouse announces its fall season Script in Hand playreadings: "You Know I Can't Hear You When the Water's Running," a comedy by Robert Anderson, on Monday, November 13, at 7 p.m.; and "Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure," a thriller by Stephen Dietz, based on the original 1899 play by William Gillette and Arthur Conan Doyle, on Monday, December 11, at 7 p.m.

The readings will be directed by Anne Keefe, Playhouse associate artist and curator of the playreading series. Tickets are $20 each.

"You Know I Can't Hear You When the Water's Running" consists of four short plays. On the surface they all have to do with sex, but on a deeper level, the plays address relationships, morays, and human emotions. They range from hysterically funny to deeply moving with stops in between at silly and absurd.

Said Keefe, "I was actually searching the shelves for a different Robert Anderson play when I happened upon 'You Know I Can't Hear You...' which I vaguely remembered from my own summer stock days as an apprentice at the North Shore Music Theatre, and which was done at the Playhouse before my time. I was stunned to realize this script is fifty years old. With only a few anachronisms, it could have been written yesterday. I laughed from page one!"

The cast includes actors who have appeared at the Playhouse in recent productions: David Beach (WCP's "Room Service," Script in Hand playreadings of "The Supporting Cast," "Social Security"; Broadway's "Something Rotten," "It's Only a Play," "Mamma Mia!," "Urinetown"; Goodspeed's "Damn Yankees"; television's "Veep"); Boyd Gaines (WCP's "The Good German," Script in Hand playreading of "Dracula, "Pack of Lies"; winner of four Tony Awards for "Gypsy," "She Loves Me," "The Heidi Chronicles," "Contact"); Kristen Hahn (WCP's "Our Town," Script in Hand playreadings of "The Late Christopher Bean," "Dracula"; Broadway's "A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder"; film's "Five Flights Up," starring Morgan Freeman and Diane Keaton); Michael McCormick (WCP's "Room Service," "She Loves Me," Script in Hand playreadings of "The Late Christopher Bean," "Mister Roberts"; Broadway's "Hello, Dolly!," "Curtains," "The Pajama Game," "Kiss Me Kate"; television's "House of Cards"); and Kathleen McNenny (WCP's "Beyond Therapy," "The Good German," Script in Hand playreadings of "The Supporting Cast," "Pack of Lies," "The Golden Age"; Broadway's "An Enemy of the People," "Coram Boy"; film's "School of Rock"; television's "Person of Interest").

Playwright Robert Anderson is one of America's major playwrights to chronicle mid-20th century American life. His most famous plays include "Tea and Sympathy" (1953), "Silent Night, Lonely Night" (1959), "You Know I Can't Hear You When the Water's Running" (1967), and "I Never Sang for My Father" (1968).

The December Script in Hand playreading, "Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure," finds the world's greatest detective seemingly at the end of his remarkable career when a case presents itself that is too tempting to ignore. The cast for the mystery will be announced at a later date.

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 playreadings.

All artists are subject to change.

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 through November; 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 play readings 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 December through May to delight young and old alike and to promote reading through live theater; youth performance training through Broadway Method Academy, the Playhouse's resident conservatory; 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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