Judith Light, whose award-winning career has spanned a diversity of roles in television, theater and film, will head the cast of A. R. Gurney’s vital and insightful family drama, “Children,” at Westport Country Playhouse in Westport, Connecticut, May 26 through June 13.
Suggested by a John Cheever story, “Children” is directed by Tony Award nominee John Tillinger. In addition to Ms. Light, the cast includes Mary Bacon (Tom Stoppard's “Rock ‘n’ Roll” on Broadway; “Arcadia” at Lincoln Center), Katie Finneran (2002 Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for Featured Actress in “Noises Off”) and James Waterston (Westport Country Playhouse’s “Relatively Speaking” and “Time of My Life”; A.R. Gurney's “Buffalo Gal” at Primary Stages).
“That my long association with A.R. Gurney dovetails so nicely with his history with the Playhouse is just one of the many reasons that I look forward to this production,” said Westport Country Playhouse Artistic Director Mark Lamos. “I can’t think of a more quintessential New England playwright, here inspired by one of the Northeast’s greatest authors, John Cheever. We can expect John Tillinger to do his usual superb work. And to add Judith Light to that mix, an actress whose work I’ve long admired, who despite her great work on television has never lost her appetite for the challenges of the stage, makes for an almost harmonic convergence. This is one to be excited about.”
“Children” takes place as a wealthy family gathers to celebrate the Fourth of July in their summer home on an island off the New England coast. With the return of an estranged and mysterious brother secrets are revealed, loyalties tested, and the shifting tides of generations challenge everyone’s assumptions about their place in the family. Loosely based on John Cheever’s short story “Goodbye, My Brother,” “Children” probes the heart of one family to discover wider truths about the American social landscape.
Judith Light has captivated audiences worldwide since her portrayal of Angela Bower on the hit comedy series “Who's the Boss?” Ms. Light’s television career began with her two-time Best Actress Emmy Award-winning turn as Karen Wolek on “One Life to Live.” She can currently be seen on the highly acclaimed ABC hit “Ugly Betty” in her 2007 Emmy Award-nominated portrayal of Claire Meade, and on NBC’s long-running drama “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” in the recurring role of Supreme Court Judge Elizabeth Donnelly. She has also starred in over 15 television movies, including her acclaimed role as Ryan’s mother, Jeanne, in “The Ryan White Story”.
A graduate of Carnegie Mellon University with a BFA, Ms. Light’s Broadway debut was in “A Doll’s House” with Liv Ullmann. Returning to the New York stage in the Pulitzer Prize-winning play, “Wit,” she won the Helen Hayes and Eliot Norton awards for best actress on the national tour. Additionally she starred in “Hedda Gabler” in Washington DC, for which she received a Helen Hayes Award nomination.
Ms. Light is a board member and advocate for many organizations and charities representing AIDS-related and human rights issues. Her husband is writer/actor Robert Desiderio.
Author A. R. (“Pete”) Gurney has been writing plays for over 50 years. Among them are “The Dining Room,” “The Cocktail Hour,” “Love Letters,” “Sylvia,” “Far East,” “Mrs. Farnsworth,” “Indian Blood” and “Buffalo Gal.” Westport Country Playhouse has produced many of Gurney’s plays including “Ancestral Voices,” “The Perfect Party,” “What I Did Last Summer,” “The Middle Ages,” “A Cheever Evening” and the world premiere of “The Fourth Wall.” Gurney is a member of the Theatre Hall of Fame and the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He has honorary degrees from Williams College and Buffalo State University, and taught literature at M.I.T. for many years.
Director John Tillinger directed Westport Country Playhouse’s “Time of My Life” last season, “Relatively Speaking” in 2007 and “The Drawer Boy” in 2006. He directed many Broadway plays including “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 nomination, Outer Critics Circle Award), “The Price” with Eli Wallach (Tony nomination) and “Loot!” with Joseph Maher (OCC Award, Tony nomination). His Off-Broadway directing work includes “Sylvia” with Sarah Jessica Parker, “After the Fall” with Frank Langella and Dianne Wiest, “The Lisbon Traviata” with Nathan Lane (Lortel Award), “Love Letters” with many stars including Jason Robards and Colleen Dewhurst (Lortel Award), “The Perfect Party” (OCC Award) and “Entertaining Mr. Sloane” (Drama Desk Award). Regionally, he directed many productions at Long Wharf Theatre, including “Arsenic and Old Lace” with Joanne Woodward and “The Road to Mecca” with Julie Harris.
The production team includes James Noone (Drama Desk, American Theatre Wing and Helen Hayes awards), scenic design; Jane Greenwood (Irene Sharaff Lifetime Achievement Award, Theatre Hall of Fame and 14 Tony Award nominations), costume design; Rui Rita (Obie Award), lighting design; Scott Killian (Lortel Award nominee), composer/sound design; and Gregory Livoti, production stage manager.
Board of trustees sponsors for “Children” are Howard J. Aibel of Weston, and Michael Klingher and Lindsay Schine of Weston.
Westport Country Playhouse’s 2009 season will continue with the modern musical, "tick, tick…BOOM!," with book, music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson, who created the smash hit "Rent." It is scheduled June 23 through July 18. The engaging musical captures the struggles of a starving artist and his determination to live out his dream. The off-Broadway production won the Outer Critics Circle Award for outstanding musical. The show contains mature language and themes.
The classic comedy, "How the Other Half Loves," playing July 28 through August 15, is written by Alan Ayckbourn and directed by John Tillinger, the playwright and director who recently brought to the Playhouse the hit comedies "Time of My Life" and "Relatively Speaking". A late night affair turns into a dinner party to remember where comedy is the main course.
The fifth and sixth plays in the season, not yet announced, will be finalized soon. One of the final two shows will be directed by Mark Lamos. Their production dates are, respectively, August 25 through September 12 and September 29 through October 17.
The 2009 performance schedule is Tuesday at 8 p.m., Wednesday at 2 and 8 p.m., Thursday and Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 4 and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. Special series feature Previews, Opening Nights, Thursday TalkBack, Sunday Symposium, Backstage Pass and Open Captioning.
Series ticketing options include the new Season Pass, Pick-A-Plan, FlexTix and the traditional subscription package. Single tickets range from $30 to $55; opening night tickets, including post-performance reception, are $65. Students and educators are eligible for 50% discounts. Groups of 10 or more save up to 30%. For group sales information call (203) 227-5137, x120.
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 79th 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.
For more information or ticket purchases, call the box office 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.
