Join us for a very special Gala Evening – “Cabaret 55” – celebrating Westport Community Theatre’s 55^th anniversary! “Cabaret 55” will be held Friday, May 20 at 7:00 PM at the Westport Woman’s Club, 44 Imperial Avenue.

Tickets are $35, and include desserts by Westport’s leading restaurants, bakeries and confectioners – plus a ticket to the opening of our final production of the 2010 / 2011 season, Sabrina Fair.

We’ve assembled some of your favorite WCT performers – Priscilla Squiers (Master Class), Fred Tisch (Angel Street), Rosanne Nelson (Mixed Couples), Kimberly Lowden (The Women), Ruth Anne Baumgartner (Angel Street), Rob Pawlikowski (The Front Page), Marguerite Foster (Orson’s Shadow), Randye Kaye (Broadway Bound), Jessie Gilbert (Don’t Drink the Water), Linda Gilmore (Ice Glen) David Victor (Mixed Couples), Vic Terenzio (Don’t Drink the Water), Larry Greeley (A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum), Joan Barere (The Best Man), John Fatteross (The Best Man) and others for a cabaret-style evening of songs and classic comedy sketches from the 1950s, the era when Westport Community Theatre first began! The evening will be hosted by Robert Watts as Emcee.

We promise no novelty songs (!), just a fabulous musical evening of classic standards, torch songs, and old favorites, with comedy sketches celebrating that marvelous 1950s era when radio gave way to a new-fangled development called television and launched the careers of Sid Caesar, Carl Reiner, Jackie Gleason, Neil Simon…

Music throughout the entire evening will be provided by Bob Lasprogato’s Uptown Jazz Combo – if you haven’t heard them before, get ready for a sweet evening of cool jazz and then some by some of Westport’s most popular musicians.

The format for the evening is Cabaret-style – in addition to the entertainment, we’ll provide desserts courtesy of Great Cakes, CakeSuite, The Wild Pear, Garelick and Herbs and Nothin’ But Premium Snack Bars, along with coffee, tea and bottled water. Guests are invited to bring supper or snacks; BYOB (sodas and wine only, please).

“Cabaret 55” is a true celebration of all things Westport and Westport Community Theatre’s 55 years of commitment to the community by providing outstanding theatre at affordable prices. We’ve partnered with local businesses to underwrite this fundraising event (including Fairfield County Bank and Mutual Security), and look forward to having you join us!

Space is limited, so we encourage you to make your reservation soon by phoning the Box Office at (203) 226-1983.

Director Jessica Denes (seated, left), cast and production staff of "Mixed Couples"

One of WCT’s favorite directors, Jessica Denes, has assembled some of Fairfield County’s most talented actors for her upcoming production of Mixed Couples, opening April 8. What makes this production special to Jessica is that she either performed with, or worked behind the scenes on the crew for, all five cast members – over 10 years ago, when she made her WCT debut in Agatha Christie’s A Murder is Announced, directed by Davina Porter.

Directing credits include one of WCT’s most memorable productions, Master Class, and Veronica’s Room. Last spring she brought the gripping and provocative Orange Flower Water to the ETC stage – audiences are still talking about this staged reading one year later. Directorial credits for Connecticut theaters include Love, Sex, and the I.R.S, The Secret Affairs of Mildred Wild, and Confessions of a Dirty Blonde at Eastbound Theatre; Summer Brave, Time & Time Again, The Other Side of Friendship, and Her Majesty Miss Jones for Crystal Theatre Company; and productions of Delicious Death & Other Desserts, Not Now Darling, and A Night of Shakespeare.

Directing is only one of Jessica’s accomplishments as she is also an extremely talented actress. WCT audiences were treated to great performances in the recent ETC staged reading of Collected Stories, in the memorable role of Joan Plowright in Orson’s Shadow, and in the aforementioned A Murder Is Announced. Jessica also has appeared in Cactus Flower as Toni Simmons at the Town Players of New Canaan; as Emily in Our Town at the Wilton Playshop; in Li’L Abner as Daisy Mae and as Bella in Lost in Yonkers at Crystal Theatre Company; and in “Boeing, Boeing” as Bertha at Eastbound Theatre. Jessica is a member of the WCT Administrative Board.

Mixed Couples – ready for opening night!

We thought everyone might like to take a look at some of the earliest steps – Ray has advised:

We have started repainting the set.

The stage and seats are well protected in this early stage of construction –

What you don't often see – the view "behind-the-flats"...

In case you don't recognize this, it's the staircase that leads from the dressing room to the theatre – an impromptu workbench!

"Mauritius" at Westport Community Theatre runs February 11 – 27

Here’s a first look at WCT’s upcoming play “Mauritius” – lots more to come in the weeks ahead:

Clever, taut, entertaining, intriguing, disturbing… “Mauritius” is a finely crafted evening of puzzling intrigues, simmering vendettas, duplicitous lies, lying deceits, unexpected twists, family complexities, information and disinformation – all revolving around half-sisters, philatelists, and con artists vying for possession of a rare stamp. Drama, comedy and thriller in one, “Mauritius” is a tightly woven tale, “caper-style.” What you need to know is that the island of Mauritius, in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Madagascar, is famous for two of the rarest stamps in the world – “Post Office’ Penny Orange and Twopence Blue” – and that money, love and family can ultimately be the catalyst to people behaving very badly. Who knew stamp collecting could be a deadly hobby… The play was a smash hit when it opened on Broadway in 2007, and Westport Community Theatre is very pleased to present the first full production in lower Fairfield county.

Directed by Lynne Bolton, “Mauritius” features memorable performances by a stellar cast that includes Ammie Brown, Will Jeffries, Robyn Maitland, Bobby Pavia and Tom Petrone. Tickets are $14 – $20; for reservations and information contact the Box Office at (203) 226-1983.

Fridays and Saturdays February 11, 12, 18, 19, 25 and 26 at 8:00 PM

Thursday February 17 at 8:00 PM

Sundays February 13, 20 and 27 at 2:00 PM

The Manninghams – Jack (Peter Wood) and Bella (Ann Kinner)

“Angel Street” opens tonight, Friday, November 26 at 8:00 PM. ”Angel Street” (also known as “Gaslight”) by Patrick Hamilton is one of the all-time great thrillers, a night of theatrical magic that captivates the audience from start to finish and keeps you guessing right up to the end. If you’ve never seen the play that the famous 1940s movie “Gaslight” was based on, this is the production to see! You may know “who” does it… but what keeps you guessing in this story of unfolding psychological terror are the whys and hows.

A diabolical killer… lost rubies… a charming, insistently persistent detective… mysterious footsteps and light shifts… locked drawers and rooms… secrets… intrigue… all part of an edge-of-your-seat mystery that keeps the audience in suspense until the end. To give away the plot is a crime in itself… Bellla Manningham may be losing her mind… and her husband may be a killer enacting a plot to slowly drive her insane – or is he?

Directed by Alexander Kulcsar, “Angel Street” features sensational performances by Fred Tisch, Ann Kinner, Peter Wood, Ruth Anne Baumgartner and Sarah Smegal, – charming, beguiling, vulnerable, saucy, funny, stoic, villainous, duplicitous… – with cameo appearances by Bob Lasprogato and Al Toth. Jack and Bella Manningham’s world on Angel Street stays with you long after the final glow of the gas light…

Opens Friday, November 26 – December 12, Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 pm, Sundays at 2:00 pm, and Thursday, December 2 at 8:00 pm. Westport  Community Theatre at Westport Town Hall, 110 Myrtle Avenue, Westport. Tickets are $14 – $20; for reservations and information go to (203) 226-1983 or go to westportcommunitytheatre.com for directions.

Check back for profiles, behind-the-scenes information and more!

WCT is so very pleased to have as noted director, actor and set designer Will Jeffries at the helm! We are of the opinion there is nothing Will can’t do… and audiences are in for a treat. The production is excellent – he has truly gotten some amazing performances from his actors, and the show achieves that rare blend of heartwarming emotional comedy and laugh-out-loud funny comedy. In a little twist of irony, Will is playing the director of the play-within-the-play at the heart of the plot of  ”Enter Laughing” – his performance as Marlowe is superbly memorable. And his set design, not an easy task as the play takes place in a variety of settings ranging from a machine shop to a theatre to a cemetery… is ingenious!

A little about Will, who is well known to Connecticut audiences for his work on stage and behind-the-scenes:

Will Jeffries as "Marlowe" and Tim Cronin as "Pike" in "Enter Laughing"

Will Jeffries – Director, Set Designer and appearing as "Marlowe" in "Enter Laughing"

Officially retired after 25 years in the professional ranks in N.Y. & L.A., his acting on stage includes – off-Broadway as JFK in Kennedy At Colonus, originating the role of Arnold’s lover Ed in two segments of Torch Song Trilogy by and with Harvey Fierstein, as IRA commander Keeney in the American Premiere of Brian Friel’s Volunteers, and for director Marshall W. Mason, he had the privilege of co-starring in Shaw’s Don Juan In Hell, (with Ricardo Montalban, Lynn Redgrave, and Stewart Granger ), in films (Iron Eagle, Remo Williams, Refuge), dozens of TV series (ER, Newhart, Valerie, and a bunch of Matlock’s), soaps (as the evil Damon on General Hospital), and in your living room in hundreds of commercials. Over the years, he has directed productions of A Streetcar Named Desire, That Championship Season, Purlie Victorious, Black Comedy, Henry Fielding’s Tom Thumb, and others, and has designed sets for Agatha Christie’s The Hollow, Jesus Christ Superstar, and That Championship Season.

Will has returned to his native New England, and has found a true community of theatre people with whom to collaborate. In recent seasons, he has directed Edward Albee’s Three Tall Women, the premiere production of Leonardo, and The House of Blue Leaves. Set design credits include Three Tall Women, Sleuth, Camelot, Beyond Therapy, and The Memory of Water. As an actor, he has appeared in leading roles in The Cocktail Hour, Sleuth, The Rimers of Eldritch, My Side of The Story, Romantic Comedy, Love Letters, Camelot, and Beyond Therapy. At WCT, he appeared as Mr. Lockhart in the acclaimed Bare Bones/WCT staged reading of The Seafarer last year.

"We're going faster... and faster... and faster..." Sarah Harding (Susan Vanech) and Denby (Will Cohn)

Ice Glen continues its critically acclaimed run Fridays and Saturdays February 12, 13, 19 and 20, Valentine’s Day, February 14 at 2:00 PM and February 21 at 2:00 PM. Directed by Ruth Anne Baumgartner, the imaginative staging envelops a lovely play with a cast of rich characters that leave you with a lot to think about. A recent interview with Ms. Baumgartner  gives a rare look at a director’s behind-the-scenes thought process:

An obvious first question, but what drew you to direct Ice Glen?

“I became more and more excited by the questions the play raises. Since I have been teaching writing and literature courses for most of my life, I was especially drawn to the central conflict: for whom does a poet write – and to whom does a poem belong? Like the famous tree falling in the forest, does art need an audience in order to exist? And I was excited at the chance to work with actors on a play where more is unsaid than said: that is, a lot of the play happens in the subtext.”

The play presents an interesting ethical debate between the rights of an artist and the “free will” of art; what is your take on this issue at the heart of the play?

“As a desk-drawer poet myself, I sympathize with Sarah’s desire to share her poems only with people she trusts. But a creative work is a complex phenomenon that, when finished, is entitled to a life of its own. I teach English today because many years ago I fell completely, passionately, and permanently in love with literature. A great work of art – poetry, drama, fiction, painting, sculpture, music, dance, theater – embodies a moment of vision, and that vision helps us see more clearly. It helps us understand the world in a new way, helps us remember and celebrate what it means to be human beings, helps us to feel or to give a name to feelings we already have. In poetry, we also celebrate the power and sheer delight of language. Just remember how many people posted poems on the hoardings surrounding the ruins of the World Trade Center after 9/11. How many of our loved dead are eulogized by means of a favorite poem? How many courtships involve the sharing of sonnets? Think of the times in your life when words from a poem have given you solace, or joy, or delight, and be thankful that all of those poems did not remain locked in the desk drawers of reticent writers.”

The title of the play – Ice Glen – is it a real place, or is it symbolic? Would you discuss a little of the imagery of the play in relation to its plot?

“The play is mostly set in western Massachusetts. I knew Lenox, Mount Greylock, Pleasant Valley, and the Housatonic River were real. Ice Glen is described as a ravine with crevices so deep and dark that the ice in them is never reached by the sun and consequently never melts, not even in the summer, is certainly not impossible; but at the time, its appropriateness as a central image for the play was interesting enough for me. Subsequent investigation led me straight to descriptions of Ice Glen, a real place complete with real ice.”

“In fact, Joan Ackermann originally wrote Ice Glen for Shakespeare and Company, a company based in Lenox and performing on the grounds of four Berkshire “cottages,” including the house Edith Wharton helped design and decorate and lived in for some years. The company rented her home, The Mount, as a performance space for over twenty years; they also performed in another of the cottages, Springlawn Mansion. Ice Glen was written in part as a fond farewell to Springlawn when the property, too costly to maintain, was sold and the company moved into larger, new facilities. The play celebrates this environment. But of all the features of the local landscape, Ice Glen is the best choice for a title and a focal point: part of Shakespeare & Company’s mission statement reads, “The Company believes there is a direct relationship between the development of the human mind and the landscape a human being inhabits.” The main character of the play is a poet who does not want to share her work with the public, and one of the two plotlines follows her struggle with the idea of opening up. And she’s not the only one in the play who has locked something away inside—every character has something frozen deep down, waiting for the right kind of warmth to unlock it. So my short answer to ‘Is Ice Glen a real place, or is it symbolic?’ is ‘Yes.’

The play is set in 1919 – post Gilded Age, post World War I – Are there any references to “real” people and events in the year 1919?

“Astonishingly, there are NO references to the Great War, although surely even the wealthy in the Berkshires were aware that it happened and that, in 1919, it had just ended! Indeed, Edith Wharton, who is prominently mentioned in the play, was actively and passionately engaged during the War in aiding French and Belgian refugees and visiting—and sending reports from—the fighting at the Front. This would have been about the same time that, according to the play, she was dining with the Bainbridges and becoming interested in Sarah Harding’s poems. By 1919, Wharton had taken up permanent residence in France, returning to the United States only once, in 1923, to accept an honorary degree from Yale.”

“Her home in the Berkshires, The Mount, was built and furnished according to principles she developed with, and published with, an architect friend—an American aesthetic to replace the heavy ornamental clutter of the Victorian period, a more spacious grace.”

“The Atlantic Monthly, the magazine that wants to publish Sarah Harding’s poems, is of course a real magazine, founded in 1857 by Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and Francis H. Underwood, plus a few others, and still going. The Editor of The Atlantic Monthly at the time of the play was Ellery Sedgewick, who was responsible for moving it to national prominence. Under his editorship the magazine published more short stories than poetry. But he is not the Senior Editor in Ice Glen: that is Peter Woodburn (not that far from “sedge-wick,” I suppose!), and the fictional character does not fully share the real man’s preferences.”

Is the play a comedy or a drama? Or both?

“The play is listed as a ‘comedy,’ and I think this categorization does it and the audience a disservice. It is a comedy in that it has a happy ending, with problems worked out; and certainly some lines and events of the play are bound to evoke laughter. But actually calling it a comedy invites the audience to expect a play the point of which is laughter, and that is not the case. This is an engrossing human drama that, like life, has its moments of laughter – and moments of pain. It’s a play that appeals to the mind and the heart: that’s the best I can do.”

Would you elaborate a bit on the poetry of the play – is it a theme, or is it incorporated in the dialogue?

“A student of mine once defined ‘poetry’ as ‘something that says one thing but means something else.’ While I would quarrel with that as a definition, it is—or would be, if the student had actually been expressing something other than mere frustration—an insight. Certainly in this sense the play is poem-like, in that most of what is important in it is implied rather than expressed. Ackermann’s language is consciously mannered and elaborate, giving us the flavor of the play’s period; it is also poetic in a number of ways, from the poignant fragments of Dulce to the elegant and passionate verses of Sarah (verses we never get to hear, by the way), to the colorfully expressive language of Mrs. Roswell, the Irish cook.

“Thanks to Emily Dickinson, we tend to think that “reclusive” is somehow not a surprising adjective for “poet,” and Sarah Harding fits the word. But J.D. Salinger, whose recent death left countless mourners, was a prose writer, and he was reclusive in the ways Sarah is: not antisocial but very private, writing for an audience of one (or a few), satisfied to make the art and unwilling to make it public. So it’s not just poets.”

You mentioned that it was reminiscent of Chekhov – would you elaborate?

“When I first studied Chekhov in college I really couldn’t believe he called his plays “comedies,” especially since half the lines seemed to begin with the direction ‘Weeping.’ There’s not a lot of weeping in Ice Glen, but, as I said before, it’s hardly what we used to call a thigh-slapper. If you let yourself imagine that Sarah and Mr. Woodburn fall in love after the play ends, then you might call the play a romantic comedy, since they begin very much not in love—but the playwright ends the play with a mutual smile, not a passionate kiss or a wedding, so you may be making the play something it’s not if you imagine those things happen later. Chekhov’s characters generally find themselves in a situation threatened by loss of something dear to them. Each character is odd in his or her own way, but they all seem to accept this. The mansion is falling down around them—or the cherry orchard is being sold and cut down—and they struggle to find a way to keep their ideas of themselves intact, their relationships stable, their lives meaningful according to their own definitions. They talk a lot but reveal less than we would like. Most of them finish the play by registering their losses and going on. Ice Glen feels like this kind of play. Once the show is over I will have time to reread some Chekhov and test my impression!”

Ice Glen’s runs Friday and Saturday February 12, 13, 19 and 20 at 8:00 PM, and Sundays February 14 and

21 at 2:00 PM. Tickets $14 – $18. Call the box office for reservations at (203) 226-1983, or go to www.westportcommunitytheatre.com for directions.

A: My wife was on the Board of Directors of WCT and they needed people to run the sound in the booth.  So I volunteered and got trained on running the sound for a show.  At that time, all sound was run on two CD players.  Currently we are delivering sound from computers utilizing specialized theater software.

The first show I ran sound for was “Born Yesterday” directed by Rich Mancini.  He was very forgiving and patient.  I got a lot of gentle corrections after the performance…”good effort but can you change….” Luckily there were more experienced people in the booth to show me the ropes.

Q: What is the difference between sound design and operation?

A: Running sound is following the script and hitting cues on time.  Sound Design is basically supporting and enhancing the play.  You help the director paint certain images within the play.  If you do it right it will enhance the overall theatrical experience.

Q: What was the oddest sound cue you had to do?

A: Well, the funniest one was the sound cue that started “Driving Miss Daisy”.  For something that serious, a car crash, it actually got a lot of laughs because it was in an amusing context.

There have been big improvements in sound at WCT with the introduction of computers.  We now have much more capability and flexibility as to what you can do with the sound.  I am always learning something new and it combines my musical interests with my computer background.

Q: What would you say to budding sound people?

A: I do not know, as I am still a budding sound person myself.  However, you are always learning something new and you get to work in a theater with a lot of fun, interesting people.   It is challenging and you learn a lot.  The biggest compliment I got was to have several audience members seek me out after a show because they wanted a copy of the sound track.  Now I find when I see a show I actually study the sound.

So if anyone is interested in sound design or operation – just send us an email at info@westportcommunitytheatre.com we would love to have you volunteer!!

Interested in knowing more about what goes on behind the scenes?   “Backstage Pass” will give you a taste of what it takes to put up a show!  So be sure to stop later to read interviews with WCT’s dedicated corps of volunteers:  our stage managers, costumers, technical operators and many others.  Find out what their challenges are and what they enjoy doing the most.  And why they keep coming back for more!

If you see any of them around the theater, please make sure to tell them “I saw you in Off-Book”!

Interested in volunteering?  Email us here.