Tag Archives: Westport Town Hall

“Enter Laughing” – two weeks until opening night September 24!

Westport Community Theatre, September 24 - October 10

Carl Reiner from "The Dick Van Dyke Show"

Carl Reiner, semi-autobiographical source of "Enter Laughing"

Carl Reiner, semi-autobiographical source of "Enter Laughing"

Westport Community Theatre's 55th Anniversary season

Carl Reiner

It’s hard to believe, but at Westport Community Theatre we’re about to open our 55th Anniversary season Friday night, September 24, at 8:00 PM! This upcoming season promises to be one of – if not the – most memorable seasons with a crowd-pleasing mix of shows. We couldn’t be more proud to kick the season off with a critically acclaimed comedic gem from the second half of the 20th century, “Enter Laughing” by Joseph Stein, directed by noted actor and director Will Jeffries.

The heartfelt, uproarious, enthusiastically praised comedy is based on the semi-autobiographical novel of the early life of comedian Carl Reiner. We know that Off Book readers span multiple generations – and decades of Carl Reiner’s work has touched every one of you. We’ve put together the following “word cloud” to help to jog your memory and define Carl Reiner’s career; see how many of these references you recognize:

Writer… Caesar’s Hour… The

Dinah Shore Chevy Show… A Date with Debbie… The Thrill of it All (with Larry Gelbart of MASH fame)… The Dick Van Dyke Show… The Comic… The 2000 Year-Old Man (comedy routine with a guy called Mel Brooks)

Director… Good Morning, World (ouch if you know that one)… The Dick Van Dyke Show… The One and Only… The Jerk… Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid… The Man With Two Brains… All of Me… Summer Rental… Bert Rigby, You’re a Fool… Sibling Rivalry… Fatal Instinct… That Old Feeling

Comedian… Cavalcade of Stars… The Name’s the Same… Perry Como’s Kraft Music Hall… To Tell the Truth… I’ve Got a Secret… The George Gobel Show… This Is Your Life… The Ed Sullivan Show… The New Steve Allen Show… The Jerry Lewis Show… The Judy Garland Show… The Jack Paar Program… The Andy Williams Show… The Hollywood Palace… The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour… That Girl… Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In… The David Frost Show… The Julie Andrews Hour… Password All-Stars… The Hollywood Squares… The Carol Burnett Show… The Merv Griffin Show… The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson… and Jay Leno… and every talk show through 2010… Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color… It’s Garry Shandling’s Show

Actor… let’s go the other way through time… Hot in Cleveland… Two and a Half Men… House M.D…. Ocean’s Thirteen, Ocean’s Twelve, Ocean’s Eleven… Boston Legal… Ally McBeal… Crossing Jordan… King of the Hill… Mad about You… Frasier… Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid… The Jerk… Oh, God… Night Gallery… The Comic… A Guide for the Married Man… The Dick Van Dyke Show… The Russians are Coming the Russians are Coming… Linus! The Lion Hearted… John Goldfarb, Please Come Home… Burke’s Law… It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World… Gidget Goes Hawaiian… Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse… The Sid Caesar Show… Playhouse 90… Your Show of Shows

And did we mention “The Dick Van Dyke Show”???! Writer, Director, Comedian, Actor, Producer Carl Reiner’s early days, as he got his start in what would become an 8-decade career in show business, were a treasure trove of material, much of which you’ll see in the plot of “Enter Laughing.” From his days as a machinist to his first breaks in show business to his perpetually endearing faux pas to his fond family recollections, young Carl Reiner’s life becomes coming of age tale about David Kolowitz, a stage-struck, woman-struck teenager from the Bronx in 1930s New York City.

Tomorrow… get to know director Will Jeffries.

“Enter Laughing” runs September 24 – October 10, Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 pm, Sundays at 2:00 pm, and Thursday, September 30 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.

One-Act Summer Theatre Festival July 16 & 17 @ 8:00 PM

Eastbound Theatre / Westport Community Theatre’s

One-Act Play Festival

Perfect10n

FREE Special Summer Weekend theatre event at WCT!

Friday, July 16 at 8:00 PM

Saturday, July 17 at 8:00 PM

FREE to the public – no reservations required

Westport Community Theatre

Westport Town Hall – 110 Myrtle Avenue

Westport, Connecticut

Westport Community Theatre One-Act Summer Theatre Festival July 16 & 17 @ 7:00 PM

Lisa Dahlstrom, Jim Perakis, Teresa Kona-Leone in "Blue Ribbon"

Looking for something to do this weekend?

Mark your calendars to attend a special WCT theatre event – Perfect 10n, five original one-act plays brought together into an entertaining summer evening of theatre.

FREE to the public, Perfect10n will be performed at Westport Community Theatre on Friday and Saturday nights, July 16 and 17 at 8:00 PM. First presented as part of the New England Arts and Crafts Festival in Milford on Saturday and Sunday, July 10 and 11, audience members voted for their favorites, and the winning playwright received the Eastbound Summer Audience Award. Which play won? You will have to come to WCT this weekend to find out!

A joint project between Eastbound Theatre of Milford / Westport Community Theatre, this is the second year WCT has produced this one-act original play festival. Last year’s summer festival was acclaimed by WCT audiences for the originality of the five plays and the great performances by actors both familiar and new to the WCT stage – the perfect summer night out!

In the fall of last year, Eastbound Theatre, a division of the Milford Fine Arts Council, issued a call for original scripts with the theme Perfect10n in honor of the tenth incarnation of its Eastbound Summer collection of one-act plays. Scripts were received from across the country (including Washington, Oregon, California, Maryland) and around the world (Russia, Australia). From these 50 scripts, five were chosen for the final slate.

The plays include:
The Proposal

by Jennifer Fama of Hamden, CT

directed by Michael Shavel

featuring Adam Loewenbaum, Tom Rushen, Jennifer Ju
Alex sits in a coffee shop with his best friend Andrew. When he announces his proposal plans, Andrew starts second-guessing every scenario as the two strive for a perfection that always seems one step away.

Jennifer Fama is a playwright from Hamden, CT.  Her work has been featured in the New Haven Festival of Arts and Ideas and Hamden’s PlayMakers Theatre.  A 2002 graduate of Quinnipiac University, she majored in English and Communications and works as an Editor at Penny Publications.

In the words of the playwright… “Everyone wants marriage proposals to be perfect. Alex (and) Andrew… just end up confusing and frustrating each other. In the end Alex finds out that his idea of perfection is very different than that of the woman he is going to marry.”

86 Jake

by Jack Rushen of Stratford, CT

directed by Jason Carubia

featuring Luke Lynch, Alexander Weston, Teresa Kona-Leone

An extremely flawed waiter is called on the carpet by his supervisor. Although his behavior is questionable, it pales in comparison to that of the chefs.  He searches for a way to hold onto his position.

Jack Rushen earned the 2006 Summer Audience Award for his play The Crossing, which was also a finalist in the Arts and Letters Prize at Georgia State University.  He has been featured regularly at Eastbound Summer, penning Old Friends, Lunch with Oprah, and Going in Circles.  A member of New York’s Emerging Artists Theatre and Westport’s Theatre Artists Workshop, Jack took first place at the Georgia Theatre Conference for his play Testimonial.  His full-length plays include Quitting Time, A Question of Faith, and The Case of the Curious Condiment, a spoof on all things Agatha.  Jack has received staged readings at Eastbound Theatre, Westport Community Theatre, and Playhouse on the Green.  Film writing awards include the New York Film Festival, Columbus Film Festival, and the Los Angeles Film Festival

In the words of the playwright… “How perfect does a waiter have to be – particularly compared to the antics of the chefs in the kitchen. And what if the customers can tolerate and even enjoy his imperfections?”
The Interview

by Lucille Lichtblau of Fort Lee, NJ

directed by Chris Peterson

featuring Rochelle Woodson and Phil Lorenzo
A mother returns from an interview to get her son into a very exclusive pre-kindergarten program. While things do not go according to plan, she tries to understand what really prepares a child for the rest of their life.

Lucile Lichtblau’s work has been featured as part of Vital Signs New Works Festival, Turnip Theater’s 15 Minute Play Festival, Luminous Theatre, Polaris North, the Herring Run Festival and the Estrogenius Festival at Manhattan Theatre Source.  Her play Car Talk, was originally produced in Stageworks Play by Play Festival. Lucile is a graduate of Yale Drama School, where she received an MCA Playwriting Fellowship.

In the words of the playwright… “An obsession for perfection…undercuts many of our accomplishments. I wrote this play with that in mind. It’s a comic but very real take on the school acceptance frenzy so many parents experience.”
Blue Ribbon

by M. Thomas Cooper of Portland, OR

directed by Patrick Kiley

featuring Jim Perakis, Teresa Kona-Leone and Lisa Dahlstrom

At a state fair, a pie judging competition comes down to two finalists. The judges are deadlocked, attempting to find one flaw or one high note that will separate the two.  The youngest of the judges strains to get her opinion heard, dismissed casually by the veterans as personalities clash and ultimately resolve to a sweet finish.

In 2008 Cooper’s first novel, 42, was published by Ooligan Press, Portland State University.  That same year, his short play, Tongue, Tied, was performed at the Humana Festival of New American Plays.  Subsequently Samuel French published a collection of Cooper’s plays, Tongue, Tied and Other Short Plays. Most recently his one-act play, Cue, was given Best of Festival honors at The Chameleon Theatre’s New Play Festival.

In the words of the playwright… “I chose a pie contest where the judges are deadlocked on which pie to award the Blue Ribbon. It seems, due to the influx of “reality television”…we are…becoming a very critical society, incapable of enjoying what we have and always questing for something bigger, better, brighter.”
The M Word

by Mary Steelsmith and Steve Lee of Los Angeles, CA

directed by Robert Watts

featuring Kevin McNair, Tom Rushen and Luke Lynch

Three Shakespearean actors are attempting to mount the dreaded “Scottish Play.” Two have already uttered the dreaded “M Word” and suffered unexpected, but hilarious, consequences. As the third man joins the crew, his training and carriage rapidly deteriorate under the spell of the fabled curse.

Mary Steelsmith was born and raised in Boise, Idaho, two cow fields away from the Broadway Drive-In Movie Theater. As a student at Boise high school she wrote This Isn’t Exactly How I Expected It, winning First Place in the Dramatics Magazine Playwriting Contest and publication by Pioneer Publishing.  Successful productions countrywide include Bedside Companion (premiered at Theatre 40’s Festival of One-Acts), Behold A Pale Bronco, Women With Casseroles, The Old Man And The Seed (First Prize, Hewlett Packard 10 Minute Play Contest; performance at Action Theatre, Singapore) They’s Weywulves and The Miraculous Day Quartet (Honorable Mention, Best Play, Chester Horn Short Play Festival).  She is married to playwright Steve Lee.

In the words of the playwright… “The characters in this play, touted to be the three greatest Shakespearean actors are not perfect enough to overcome the (“Scottish’) curse.”

No reservations are necessary; if you have any questions, contact the Westport Community Theatre Box Office at (203) 226-1983 or go www.westportcommunitytheatre.com for directions.

Westport Community Theatre One-Act Summer Theatre Festival July 16 & 17 @ 7:00 PM

Tom Rushen, Kevin McNair and Luke Lynch in "The M Word"

Westport Community Theatre One-Act Summer Theatre Festival July 16 & 17 @ 7:00 PM

Adam Loewenbaum, Jennifer Ju in "The Proposal"

Westport Community Theatre One-Act Summer Theatre Festival July 16 & 17 @ 7:00 PM

Alexander Weston, Luke Lynch in "86 Jake"

“Enter Laughing” Auditions Sunday July 11 at 7:00 PM

WCT auditions for "Enter Laughing" July 11 at 7:00 PM

Auditions July 11 at 7:00 PM

WESTPORT COMMUNITY THEATRE

Announces AUDITIONS for

Enter Laughing

by Joseph Stein adapted from the novel by Carl Reiner

Directed by Lester Colodny

Auditions will be held on:

Sunday, July 11 at 7:00 PM

at Westport Community Theatre

Westport Town Hall, 110 Myrtle Avenue, Westport, CT

Enter Laughing is the semi-autobiographical coming of age story based on the novel written by Carl Reiner. Taking place in 1938, it tells the hilarious story of a stage-struck, woman-struck young Jewish kid from the Bronx named David Kolowitz. David is a delivery boy in a sewing machine factory. His boss, Mr. Foreman wants to train him to take over the business. His quintessential loving but domineering mother and overwhelmed father want him to become a druggist, but David has other ideas – he dreams of being an actor despite his obvious lack of acting experience. At his friend Marvin’s suggestion, David tries out for a part in a play, and gets it even though he’s not that good. Although discouraged by his parents and boss, he leaves their dreams and his devoted girlfriend Wanda behind and is soon enlisted (and paying for) a slot as the “leading man” in a third-rate theatrical company while being seduced by the resident less-than leading lady, the daughter of the hammy “artistic director”. His baptism of fire is a hilarious first performance where everything that can go wrong, does.

“Joyously funny.”-New York Daily News

“Marvelously funny…Doesn’t provide enough rest periods between side splitting laughs.”-The New York Times

Performances Dates are September 24 – October 10, 2010

Auditions will consist of cold readings from the script. Familiarity with the play is suggested.

Characters:

DAVID: Tall, good looking, should pass for seventeen…outgoing, but shy in sexual encounters…one of those delightful boy wonders of the twenties and thirties who is going to make something of himself.

MARVIN: Short, same age as DAVID…a shnook.

MR FOREMAN: Older, at least fiftyish, an old fashioned manufacturer, nosy

WANDA: DAVID’s love, sweet young thing, pretty, about 17.

MARLOWE: An older theatrical impresario…one would think of him as a Shakespearean mandarin instead of a teacher in a third rate theater… father of Angela.

ANGELA: About twenty… Marlowe’s daughter… a would be sexy actress…. poetic, dumb as they come.

PIKE (male or female) Older, Marlowe’s asst, stuffy second banana.

MS B: About twenty five… gay, outgoing, exhilarating sex symbol.

FATHER and MOTHER: David’s pop… late forties or fifties… put-upon, tired… and typical Jewish mother , ruler of the roost.

WOMAN (MAYBE): Saleswoman, Jewish

ROGER: Thirties… the unwilling bachelor friend of Miss B who is about to roped into marriage.

YOUNG MEN: Two, about the same age as DAVID.

For further information, please call the Westport Community Theatre box office at (203) 226-1983 or contact the director at grelvin@optonline.net  – visit www.westportcommunitytheatre.com for directions.

“The Women” opens Friday, June 4 at 8:00 PM!

Director Richard Mancini is looking forward to opening night for “The Women” –

We’re really excited about The Women opening at WCT this Friday, and I believe our audiences will be too! Our immensely talented cast of nearly 20 lovely ladies – resplendent in their vintage finery – and an absolutely knockout crew have worked pretty much around the clock to bring Clare Boothe Luce’s wonderfully catty 1930s society women and their crackling dialogue vividly to life on the WCT stage. It’s been a wild ride… and we can’t wait for subscribers, friends, family and everyone else to join in the fun!”

Performances this weekend on Friday June 4 and Saturday June 5 at 8:00 PM, Sunday June 6 at 2:00 PM, and the following two weekends – Thursday June 10 at 8:00 PM; Fridays and Saturdays 11, 12, 18, 19 at 8:00 PM, Sundays June 13, 20 at 2:00 PM. Call the Box Office at (203) 226-1983 to reserve seats – tickets range from $12 to $18!

"The Women"

Director and cast of "The Women" opening Friday, June 4 at 8:00 PM

Final Performance Sunday April 25 at 2:00 PM for “Baskervilles”

"The Hound of the Baskervilles"

Cast of "The Hound of the Baskervilles"

Hard to say goodbye to this show, which was a crowd-pleasing audience favorite. Everyone loves a good thriller and mystery – and our Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are superb – which adds up to a very, very good show. A rainy, cold Sunday afternoon – best time ever to catch up with one of Sherlock Holmes’ most famous cases!

Last but not least, we profile actress Victoria Roy – someone we haven’t seen on the WCT boards for awhile, and someone we hope to see more of in the future! Victoria (Beryl Stapleton) previously appeared at WCT in Everything in the Garden and a staged reading of Uncle Vanya. Roles in other local productions include Catherine Sloper in The Heiress, Poppy in Noises Off and Florence in The Curious Savage (Darien Players). She has also appeared in Much Ado About Nothing, Twelfth Night, and My Fair Lady (Curtain Call); Candida, Enchanted April (Town Players of New Canaan). Film credits include Baptism by Food (Midnight Movie Madness Competition), for which she won best comedy actress. Victoria has trained at HB Studios (NYC) and Stamford Theatre Works.