Tony and Drama Desk Nods

Continued

Scenic Designer Michael Yeargan, Tony nominated for “Golden Boy” and Sound Designer John Gromada, Tony nominated for “The Trip to Bountiful.” At Westport these professionals are working on “The Dining Room” by A.R. Gurney, directed by Mark Lamos, April 30 - May 18. It’s described as a wry and witty portrait of the vanishing American family culture. The play is set in the most singular of rooms, where people gather, meals are eaten, conversations begin, and generations converge.

Jane Houdyshell

Actress Jane Houdyshell, Drama Desk Award winner for “her artistry as an exceptionally versatile and distinctive Broadway and Off-Broadway performer.” Director Nicholas Martin, Tony nominated for “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike”, are working on Westport’s “The Show-Off” by George Kelly, directed by Nicholas Martin, June 11 – 29. It’s an unconventional, funny and surprising story of a regular American family in upheaval when their youngest daughter becomes engaged to a brash loudmouth. Nicholas Martin will helm the production.

“Oblivion” By Carly Mensch, directed by Mark Brokaw, August 20 - September 7 boasts Lighting Designer Japhy Weideman who is Tony nominated for “The Nance.”

The other two productions of the 2013 season are “Loot,” an outrageously wicked romp by the master of British farce Joe Orton, will run July 16 – August 3, 2013, directed by David Kennedy, playhouse associate artistic director. On the trail of stolen money hidden by bumbling bank robbers, “Loot” is a wickedly funny send-up of larcenous, lascivious behavior among the English middle classes.

And rounding out the season, October 8 – 26, 2013, is John Murray and Allen Boretz’s “Room Service.” This classic and perennial favorite American comedy will be directed by Mark Lamos, the artistic director of the Westport Country Playhouse. This madcap farce is about a producer and his ragtag bunch of actors who try to raise money for a Broadway show as they scramble to evade their hotel bill. The play was adapted into a hit 1938 movie starring the legendary Marx Brothers and the equally legendary Lucille Ball.

Comedy is stage center this season and each one is clearly different from the others in comedic style from wild farce to dark humor to madcap shenanigans to wise and charming, all centered on predicaments, conflicts and bonds that bind family and friends. Don’t miss the fun.

Westport Country Playhouse, 25 Powers Court, Westport Conn., Tickets: 203-227-4177 or toll-free at 1-888-927-7529. Online: www.westportplayhouse.org

The 2013 Tony Awards will be broadcast live on Sunday, June 9, 8pm, on CBS.