BEDROOM FARCE Begins Tonight at Westport Country Playhouse

Westport Country Playhouse will reunite audience favorites---playwright Alan Ayckbourn and director John Tillinger---and an ensemble of popular actors from prior Ayckbourn works at the Playhouse---in the comedy, "Bedroom Farce," playing tonight, August 25, through September 13. "Bedroom Farce" received five Tony Award nominations, including Best Play, during its 1979 Broadway run.

"Alan Ayckbourn, a prolific British playwright, has become a Playhouse favorite, adored by our audiences and critics alike," said Mark Lamos, Playhouse artistic director. "And especially when directed by John Tillinger, who has become a go-to director of Ayckbourn, an expert who has brought his plays to life on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and in Westport."

In recent seasons, the Ayckbourn/Tillinger team brought to the Playhouse the comedies "Things We Do for Love," "How the Other Half Loves," "Time of My Life," and "Relatively Speaking."

"Bedroom Farce" takes place over the course of one intense Saturday evening. In three separate bedrooms, the roles and relationships of four couples are laid bare, complete with squabbles, bothers, a few bruises, and a touching epiphany.

"Ayckbourn's greatness as a writer has always depended on the interaction of a group of people in situations that crackle with comic conflict," added Lamos. "In Ayckbourn, disparate people, unlikely bedfellows, mismatched lovers, men and women---young, old, and usually middle-class---present for our delectation an array of humanity that relies on the constant interplay of each against the other."

The cast includes Scott Drummond as Malcolm. He was in Broadway's "Machinal," and a regional theater production of "Absurd Person Singular" by Ayckbourn. He is in an upcoming film "Sisters" with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. Carson Elrod, as Trevor, was in WCP's "How the Other Half Loves," "Time of My Life," "The Drawer Boy," and a Script in Hand playreading of "Bedroom Farce." He was on Broadway in "Peter and the Starcatcher." Matthew Greer, as Nick, appeared at WCP in "And a Nightingale Sang" and "Things We Do for Love." Broadway credits include "The Real Thing," "Cabaret," and "The Judas Kiss." He was also in the National Tour of "Spamalot." Cecilia Hart, as Delia, was in WCP's "How the Other Half Loves," "Time of My Life," and "Relatively Speaking." She was on Broadway in "Design for Living," "Othello," and "Dirty Linen" (Theatre World Award).

Claire Karpen, as Kate, was in Off-Broadway's "Into the Woods," "The Heir Apparent," "At the Table," and in regional theater's "The Last Five Years," and "The 60s Project." Nicole Lowrance, as Jan, was in WCP's "Beyond Therapy," "David Copperfield," and a Script in Hand playreading of "Over the River and Through the Woods." On Broadway, she was in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" (u/s), and "Dividing the Estate." Sarah Manton, as Susannah, was on the WCP stage in "Things We Do for Love." She appeared in Broadway/London's "One Man, Two Guvnors"; and London's "The Coast of Utopia," "South Pacific," and as Baby in "Dirty Dancing." Paxton Whitehead, as Ernest, was in WCP's "The Circle," "How the Other Half Loves," "Time of My Life," and "Relatively Speaking." Broadway credits include "The Importance of Being Earnest," "Absurd Person Singular," "My Fair Lady" (Helen Hayes Award), and "Noises Off" (Drama Desk Award).

Playwright Alan Ayckbourn marks his 54th year as a theater director and his 56th as a playwright. To date he has written 79 plays - his latest "Hero's Welcome" will premiere during the Stephen Joseph Theatre's 60th anniversary celebrations in 2015 - and his work has been translated into over 35 languages, is performed on stage and television throughout the world, and has won countless awards.
Major successes include: "Relatively Speaking," "How the Other Half Loves," "Absurd Person Singular," "Bedroom Farce," "A Chorus of Disapproval," and "The Norman Conquests." In recent years, he has been inducted into American Theatre's Hall of Fame, received the 2010 Critics' Circle Award for Services to the Arts, and became the first British playwright to receive both Olivier and Tony Special Lifetime Achievement Awards. He was knighted in 1997 for services to the theater. Ayckbourn's official website is www.alanayckbourn.net.

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Director John Tillinger's Westport Country Playhouse productions include "Things We Do for Love," "How the Other Half Loves," "Children," "Time of My Life," "Relatively Speaking," and "The Drawer Boy." On Broadway, he directed "Absurd Person Singular" with Paxton Whitehead and Deborah Rush; "Say Goodnight, Gracie" with Frank Gorshin; "Judgment at Nuremburg" with Maximilian Schell, Martha Keller, and George Grizzard; "Night Must Fall" with Matthew Broderick; "The Sunshine Boys" with Jack Klugman and Tony Randall; "Inherit the Wind" with Charles Durning and George C. Scott (Tony Award nomination, OCC Award); Arthur Miller's "Broken Glass"; "The Price" with Eli Wallach (Tony Award nomination); "Sweet Sue" with Mary Tyler Moore and Lynn Redgrave; "Loot!" with Joseph Maher (Tony Award nomination, OCC Award); "Corpse!" with Milo O'Shea; "The Golden Age" with Stockard Channing, Irene Worth, and Jeff Daniels; and "Solomon's Child."

The design team includes Marjorie Bradley Kellogg, scenic design; Laura Churba Kohn, costume design; John Demous, lighting design; and Scott Killian, sound design.

"Bedroom Farce' performance schedule is Tuesday at 7 p.m., Wednesday at 2 and 8 p.m., Thursday and Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 3 and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. Special series feature Taste of Tuesday, LGBT Night OUT, Opening Night, Sunday Symposium, Open Captions, Thursday TalkBack, Together at the Table Family Dinner, Playhouse Happy Hour, and Backstage Pass.

"Bedroom Farce" Production Sponsor is Howard J. Aibel; Production Partners are Carol and Peter Seldin; and Corporate Production Sponsor is Fidelity.

Single tickets start at $30; buy early for best prices.

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.

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