Westport Country Playhouse Welcomes Filmmaker Michael Roemer Tonight

Filmmaker and Yale professor emeritus Michael Roemer will speak on "Why Do Funny Plays and Movies Make Us Laugh" at "Books Worth Talking About, tonight, June 18, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., in the Lucille Lortel White Barn Center at Westport Country Playhouse. Leo B. Meyer, scenic designer and radio host, will moderate. The literary salon will be followed by an 8 p.m. performance of "The Show-Off," a funny, surprising, and moving story of a family in upheaval when their youngest daughter becomes engaged to a brash loudmouth.

"Books Worth Talking About," a partnership between Westport Country Playhouse and Meryl L. Moss Media Relations, Inc., provides an opportunity to interact with prominent authors and explore ideas and themes to enrich the theater-going experience. Topics of the literary salons and theatrical productions are designed to complement each other.

Michael Roemer will share his musings on what causes audiences to chortle, snort, and guffaw at antics onscreen or onstage. He also will examine the purpose of comedy in our lives and in society. Roemer is a distinguished filmmaker, writing and directing films such as "Nothing but a Man," "Pilgrim, Farewell," and the award-winning documentaries "Dying" and "Cortile Cascino." From 1971 to the present, he has taught filmmaking and aesthetics at Yale University, where he is professor emeritus today. Roemer has several published books about narrative and film. His most recent book is "Shocked but Connected: Notes on Laughter."

Moderator Leo B. Meyer was resident designer at Westport Country Playhouse early in his career in 1963. Since then he has designed and produced sets for hundreds of plays, ballets, musicals, Broadway shows, touring companies, and for film throughout the United States and Canada. For 40 years he owned and operated Bridgeport's Atlas Scenic Studio, a major contracting Production Company. He currently co-hosts a radio show, "Backstage Buzz," for WPKN-FM. He received his bachelor's degree in drama from Carnegie Mellon University and did graduate work at Pratt Institute.

"The Show-Off" is a classic comedy that explores the unique combination of reserved skepticism and swaggering confidence that make up two sides of the American character. Set in 1920s Philadelphia, the title character in "The Show-Off" is Aubrey Piper, a blowhard, a first-rate annoyance, and a shameless liar. He also happens to be marrying into the Fisher family, forcing the Fishers, especially his imperious mother-in-law, to learn to cope with this human oddity who has blustered his way into their lives.

The literary salon is open to anyone with a ticket for the Tuesday, June 18 performance of "The Show-Off." Subscribers to other performances may exchange their tickets into this evening by contacting The Playhouse box office at 203-227-4177.

Roemer's book, "Shocked but Connected: Notes on Laughter," will be available for purchase at the event from Playhouse community partner Fairfield University Bookstore.

Reservations for the "Books Worth Talking About" literary salon are necessary. RSVP at marketing@westportplayhouse.org or The Playhouse box office at (203)-227-4177.

For more information or tickets to "The Show-Off," playing June 11 through June 29, 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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