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Theatre People delivers non stop comedy to the Westport Country Playhouse

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“Theatre People!”, exclaims Olga the Maid as she expresses her frustration with the guests staying at a Newport Mansion.  The crowd at the Westport Country Playhouse laughs in unison at the remark and it will be a night filled with constant laughter.  The play draws its inspiration from past stage romantic comedies.  It includes all the elements including an interesting scenario and setting, rapid fire dialogue and jokes, physical comedy, and a cast of memorable characters.

The people to whom Olga the Maid refers are the guests at the mansion that evening. This hysterical comedy is set in 1948 in a Newport mansion filled  with characters that are a part of the theater:  Charlotte and Arthur Sanders, a married playwright couple; Margot Bell, a celebrated vocalist and actress, Victor Pratt, a Broadway baritone; and Oliver Adams, a young, naive novelist.  Rounding out the cast of characters as is Olga, the mansion’s housekeeper whose snide remarks and sarcasm delivered in a Russian accent deliver some of the best comedic lines of the evening.

The play begins with the playwrights Charlotte (Isabelle Keating) and her husband Arthur (Michael McCormick) entering a beautifully decorated bedroom suite in a posh Newport mansion.  They immediately begin to describe the suite as if they were writing a play and even look out at the theater audience and stating this is where the audience would sit.  This immediately pulls the audience into the action on stage. This play within a play is  a very clever and effective technique.   They are soon joined by Oliver the novelist (Rodolfo Soto) who is hoping to reunite with the woman he met once but whom he is madly in love. He wants to tell her about his novel that she inspired him to write,  It is that very book that Charlotte and Arthur are desperate to make into a Broadway play. The subject of Oliver’s love is an actress and vocalist, Margot (Mia Pinero) who is at the mansion to sing.  She is performing with the bombastic Victor Pratt (Michael McCorry Rose) whose ego is far greater than his talent.

When Oliver, Charlotte and Arthur overhear Margot and Victor in the next room, all their plans for the weekend become unraveled.  In a wild attempt to salvage the hope to stage their play, and reunite Oliver and Margot, Charlotte writes an entire new 2nd act to their play based on Oliver’s book which he is hesitant to publish.  Charlotte enlists the help of Olga the maid who enters and exits the suite injecting laughs into every appearance.

Theatre People has all the elements of a classic stage comedy including a great setting, over the top characters, clever writing, rapid fire dialogue, and brilliant comedic timing.  Theatre People has it all and add beautiful set design and direction and you have an evening of non stop great comedy.   With Broadway actors and Broadway quality set, lighting and sound, Westport Country Playhouse is the place to experience live local theatre.

The cast includes Erin Noel Grennan as Olga, Isabel Keating as Charlotte Sanders ( Broadway: Upcoming “Queen of Versailles,” “Doubt: A Parable,” “The Boy from Oz” – Tony, Drama League, Outer Critics nominations, Drama Desk and Theatre World awards.  Michael McCormick as Arthur Sanders  Broadway: 15 shows including “Wicked,” “1776,” “Kiss Me, Kate,” “Curtains,” “Chaplin”; National Tours: “The Producers,” “Les Misérables”; Off-Broadway: “Fly By Night,” “A Man Of No Importance” at Lincoln Center Theater; TV: “Blue Bloods,” ”Brain Dead,” “Elementary,” “House Of Cards”; 18 Broadway and Off-Broadway cast albums  Mia Pinero as Margot Bell (Broadway: “Sweeney Todd” as Johanna/Beggar Woman, “West Side Story” as Maria.   Michael McCorry Rose as Victor Pratt (Broadway/Tours:  “Wicked,” “Anastasia,” “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder,” next season’s “The Queen of Versailles”; Film: Universal Picture’s “Wicked,” “Disenchanted” for Disney, and Rodolfo Soto as Oliver Adams (Westport Country Playhouse: “In the Heights” as Usnavi.)

Playwright Paul Slade Smith is an actor and playwright living in Brooklyn with his wife, who is a member of the “Theatre People” cast (Erin Noel Grennan). Smith’s  play, “Unnecessary Farce,” is the winner of nine regional theatre awards, and has had over 325 productions throughout the United States, and in Canada, Great Britain, Australia, Switzerland, Iceland, Singapore, and Japan. 

Director Mark Shanahan is Playhouse artistic director and Script in Hand curator. In 2024, he directed “The 39 Steps,” the Playhouse’s inaugural production for the 2024-25 season, as well as the Playhouse’s holiday offering, “A Sherlock Carol.”   Mark also warmed up the crowd prior to the show by having the opening night attendees shout in unison “ We are Theatre People!”.

“Theatre People” running time is approximately two hours, including one 15-minute intermission. The first act is around 35 minutes with the second act being around 50 minutes. Single tickets start at $40 and are subject to change based upon availability.. For information on special offers, including discounts for students, senior citizens, educators, military and first responders, Indigenous peoples, professional playwrights, and groups, as well as options for pay-what-you-will and library passes,

Do not miss “Theater People” now on stage at the historic Westport Country Playhouse!

For tickets and information https://www.westportplayhouse.org/

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Native Gardens: a great comedy now on stage at Westport Country Playhouse

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Now on stage at the historic Westport Country Playhouse is  “Native Gardens”.  A comedy about new neighbors who quickly turn on each other.  The show is playing February 18 through March 8. The iconic Playhouse is presenting this play as part of it’s 2024-25 “Season of Laughter”

Upon entering the theater on opening night we were struck by the amazing and complex stage décor.  The play is set in a historic Washington D.C, neighborhood and the set presents two houses side by side.  One house is brick and stone, with a beautiful rear deck of stone and a garden worthy of a layout in Home and Gardens magazine.  The other house is clad in wood with steps to the yard made of construction lumber.  The yard is devoid of landscaping with the exception of a large old oak tree which drops its leaves, acorns and branches onto the two yards. The contrasts will continue to the owners themselves.

The fine brick home is occupied by long time residents Frank and Virginia Butley.  Frank works for the federal government, and Virginia reminds us more than once she is an aerospace engineer working in a predominately male field.  They keep their home and yard immaculate and abide by the traditions of this historic neighborhood.  The new neighbors, Pablo and Tania Del Valle are millenials and their idea for their new yard is to bring in native plants in sharp contrast to the well manicured plantings of the Butley’s.

The well intentioned friendliness of the new neighbors meeting quickly dissolves into a comedic back and forth between the neighbors about a disputed property line.   The dispute over property rights the play quickly reveals the clash of taste, and issues of race, ageism, sexism, colonialism and class distinction.  Despite handling all these thorny topics, the play keeps the audience engaged with a light hearted and rapid fire comedy from start to finish.  The underlying tensions may be serious, but the lighthearted way in which they are approached  reveals in the end these are good people with good intentions that have gone astray. It is a very clever written and meaningful play.  

Native Gardens is the kind of relevant comedy we need today.  From the brilliant set design and relevant soundtrack, the play delivers a delightful comedic evening with wonderful performances. The opening night attendees approved with a rousing standing ovation.  A play that exposes the issues that divide us but wrapped in comedic brilliance which lifts the spirit and lightens your evening.

 The play is written by Karen Zacarías, who was recently hailed by American Theatre magazine as one of the 10 most-produced playwrights in the U.S. Director is JoAnn M. Hunter. “Native Gardens” is the fourth production in the Playhouse’s 2024-25 “Season of Laughter.

The cast includes Paula Leggett Chase as Virginia Butley (Broadway: “Tootsie,” “On the 20th Century,” “Bye Bye Birdie,” “Curtains,” “The Pajama Game,” “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,” “Kiss Me, Kate,” “Damn Yankees,” “Crazy for You,” “A Chorus Line”; 2020 Drama Desk Featured Actress nominee for “The Unsinkable Molly Brown”; Tours: “A Chorus Line,” “Cabaret”; TV/Film: “The Sound of Music, Live”;

 Linedy Genao as Tania De Valle (Native of Hamden, CT; first Latina performer to originate the leading role in an Andrew Lloyd Webber Broadway musical; named to Variety’s “Broadway Actors to Watch List”; Broadway: “Bad Cinderella” as Cinderella, “On Your Feet!,” “Dear Evan Hansen”; Off Broadway: “Women on Fire”; Tours: “Dear Evan Hansen”; Regional: “Passing Through,” “West Side Story,” “In the Heights”; TV/Film: “Death Saved My Life.

Adam Heller as Frank Butley (Westport Country Playhouse: Script in Hand playreading “The Outsider”; Broadway’s “Some Like it Hot,” “It Shoulda Been You,” “Elf,” “Caroline, or Change,” “Victor/Victoria,” “Les Misérables”; Off-Broadway’s “Merrily We Roll Along,” and others; Goodspeed’s “Fiddler on the Roof” – Connecticut Critics Circle Award/Best Actor), “Rags”; other regional theatre includes “Chicago”- St. Louis Theater Circle Award, “1776,” “Gypsy,” “Falsettos,” “The Chosen”; NYU/Tisch).

 Anthony Michael Martinez as Pablo Del Valle (Off-Broadway: Classic Stage Co., 59E59, Vineyard Theatre, New Ohio, The Flea, Theatre Row. Regional: Great Lakes Theatre, Idaho Shakespeare,  more; Film/TV: “After Forever” Amazon Prime series; MFA: Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Academy for Classical Acting in DC; resident teaching artist for Red Bull Theater.

Set design by Anna Louizos.

Running time is 90 minutes with no intermission.

For tickets and information https://www.westportplayhouse.org/

Westport Country Playhouse

25 Powers Court Westport Ct.

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The 39 Steps brings non stop laughs to the Westport Country Playhouse

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We all need a good laugh right now.  Westport Country Playhouse has just what we need , an evening full of laughter.  On stage now at the iconic playhouse is the comedy masterpiece, The 39 Steps.

The 39 Steps is a parody adapted from the John Buchan’s 1915 novel  and the 1935 film by Alfred Hitchcock . The story of intrigue and spies as portrayed in the book  and the movie remains, but the plot is now framed in an over the top physical comedy format. 

The play calls for the entirety of the 1935 adventure film  The 39  Steps to be performed with a cast of only four actors.   It is this constant and brilliant change of characters by the cast plus lightning fast costume changes  that add to the comedic effect. 

Plot:

The story concerns an ordinary bachelor in London , Richard Hannay, , who becomes caught up in preventing an spy ring  from stealing  sensitive British military secrets. Mistakenly accused of the murder of an intelligence agent who tells him about the “39 Steps” ,Hannay goes on the run to Scotland and finds himself mixed up  with an attractive woman.   Trying to avoid the police and while hoping to stop the spy ring and clear his name.  He has found his ordinary and somewhat boring life turned into a real live spy thriller.

The theatrical version keeps the basic  story of the spy thriller, but injects a heavy dose of physical British comedy.    The four actors keep the audience on the edge of their seats with the non -stop action as Richard is chased from London onto a train car and north into Scotland where he attempts to solve the mystery of the spy ring, unmask the 39 Steps and prove he is innocent.  The chase scene on the train is particularly funny.

From start to finish the cast had the Playhouse  audience laughing and clapping through the many jokes, gags,  and innovative use of props.  Homage is paid to Hitchcock himself with his memorable profile on stage, his voice use to introduce the play and the references to his films Dial M For Murder, Psycho, and North By Northwest.

We were laughing throughout the performance and long after the curtain call. For the laughs you need, run to the Westport Country Playhouse and enjoy this hilarious classic comedy.  First rate theater is right in your backyard at this historic and iconic venue.

Cast:

Joe Delafield, Seth Andrew Bridges , Sharone Sayegh, and Evan Zes

Directed by Mark Shanahan (also the Playhouse Artistic  Director)

On stage now through November 9th 2024.

Westport Country Playhouse

25 Powers Court Westport Ct

For tickets and information: https://www.westportplayhouse.org/2024-2025-season/

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Dial M For Murder: a mystery thriller at the Westport Country Playhouse

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Kate Abbruzzese as Margot

Witty, fast paced and full of intrigue.  Dial M For Murder now on stage at the Westport Country Playhouse, delivers a superbly crafted two hours of murder, mystery and mayhem. 

The setting is a mid century modern flat in London.   The play opens with Tony Wendrice who enters the corner of a dark stage and lights a cigarette while a single spotlight illuminates him.  The dark curtain rises behind him and we see a London flat and a woman who is attacked and murdered by a mysterious intruder.  It is quite abrupt and unexpected.  Yet Tony slowly strolls off stage with no emotion.  We will soon learn that this is the plan he has in his mind for killing his wife and stealing her fortune. It is a foreshadowing of future events, or not? There are many twists and turns on the road ahead.

We next meet his wife Margot and her friend Maxine, a mystery novelist who is in London to promote her new book. We learn that not only are they good friends but are lovers which would certainly be quite scandalous in 1950s Britain. Maxine’s skills as a mystery writer will prove crucial as she matches wits with Margot’s plotting husband. The audience discovers that a racy letter from Maxine to Margot was stolen from her handbag and she is being blackmailed.  She confides to her friend that she has paid the hefty ransom for the letter, but she has been double crossed by the unknown blackmailer.  The blackmailer we learn is now using the money not only to hire a hit man, but he plans to frame the hit man as well for her murder. That is just one of the many twists in the story that take the audience on a wild ride.

Krystal Lucas and Kate Abbruzzese

The play was originally written by English playwright Frederick Knott. The play premiered in 1952 on stage in London’s West End and later that year on Broadway.    It is best known for the film version directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Grace Kelly and Ray Milland.   The current production was adapted by American writer Jeffrey Hatcher in 2022. If you are familiar with the original, you will be pleased that this adaptation has added intrigue and drama.

The excellent cast (all members of Actors Equity) includes Kate Abbruzzese as Margot (credits include various theater, off Broadway and television including a guest spot on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel).  Patrick Andrews as the scheming husband, Tony (credits include Romeo+Juliet, Red, Camelot (all at Westport directed by Mark Lamos) as well as other productions. Tony award winner Kate Burton as the Inspector (credits include Broadway roles as well as long running roles on Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal ) and has been nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards .  The excellent cast is rounded out by Krystal Lucas as Maxine, and Denver Millord as the hit man.

The play was brilliantly directed by Mark Lamos who kept the audience riveted with a smoothly paced production filled with twists and sprinkled with the right amount of British humor.  Alexander Dodge was the scenic designer and the mid century modern set was fantastic and provided the perfect setting.  Costume design by Fabian Fidel Aguilar was period correct and especially well done.

Westport Country Playhouse is a local treasure that consistently produces Broadway quality shows right in our backyard.  Dial M For Murder is being staged through July 30th 2023. Get your tickets now.

For tickets and information: http://www.westportplayhouse.org

Westport Country Playhouse

25 Powers Court Westport Ct.

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From The Mississippi Delta: a powerful drama now at the Westport Country Playhouse

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The Westport Country Playhouse is now presenting on stage the drama “From the Mississippi Delta”.  This tale is based on the true life story of the author, Endesha Ida Mae Holland, Ph.D.  It follows her incredible struggles from a poor black girl living  in segregated  Mississippi in the 1950s to the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, to her relocation to Minnesota where she attends college and graduate school.  It is a tale of the human spirit and the ability to finally overcome the seemingly impossible  challenges of poverty and a  cruel racist society.  The play was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and has been produced in theaters across the country including Off-Broadway.

There are three actors in the play, all who play multiple roles. The main characters are the mother and daughter, with the third actor also taking on the role as narrator.   They weave the true story of the author and her family.  The main character, Phelia  is inspired by her mother Ida (also called Aint Baby), to work hard and strive for a better life.  Her mother has left the long days of the cotton fields behind as has become a midwife in her rural community.  Her talents and dedication earn her the name,  “Second Doctor Lady”.   She owns her own modest home and rents out rooms to support her children.   The play turns dark when her daughter, Phelia at age 11 is raped by a local white man.  Soon Phelia is caught up the seediness of a local carnival and becomes a prostitute at age 12.  She eventually will drop out of school. 

Fate will change the life of young Phelia when she meets with a civil rights group that comes to town, the  Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.   They convince her to join their movement .   Her mother is against her involvement, and in time their house is firebombed.  Her mother, Aint Baby perishes is the fire which is blamed on Klansmen.    Despite this tragedy, Phelia struggles onward and we follow her remarkable journey as she  moves north to Minnesota and attends college.   It is an incredible story of the human spirit that will remind you of the struggles so many have endured on the road to equality.  The play has all the elements of a compelling drama:  struggle, tragedy, hope, inspiration and finally redemption. 

Westport Country Playhouse will stage from October 18 – 30th. So make plans to see this fascinating drama.

The three-member cast includes Claudia Logan as Woman 1. She is from Detroit, a graduate of SUNY Purchase, and now lives in Brooklyn. Credits include Westport Country Playhouse’s “Don Juan” (2019), Dallas Theater Center’s “Penny Candy,” HBO’s “Random Acts of Flyness” and “The Deuce,” and Netflix’s “Tales of the City.” Tameishia Peterson portrays Woman 2. Born in Dayton and raised in Memphis, she is a graduate of The Ohio State University, Michael Howard Studios, and Fiasco Conservatory. She now lives in New York. Credits include Starz’s ““Power Book II: Ghost,” Hulu’s “WuTang: An American Saga,” and Netflix’s “The Perfect Find.” Erin Margaret Pettigrew plays Woman 3. She is a first generation Los Angeles native after having roots in Belize and the American South. Her artist-journey has been shaped with many communities and creators such as Manhattan Theatre Club, Page 73 Productions, JAG Productions, and more, while facilitating and learning alongside institutions such as UCSB, NYU, and CUNY.

Playwright Endesha Ida Mae Holland, Ph.D. was born in Green­wood, Mississippi. During the 1940s and 1950s, Greenwood was an impoverished Delta community where Black people lived in fear of their lives. It is her life story that is the basis for this play.

Goldie E. Patrick. is the director of this production. The Detroit native is an proud alumna of Howard University where she is currently a professor of hip-hop theater. Based in New York City, for over 20 years she has passionately worked in and built artistic collaborations in Black theater as a playwright, director, and producer.

The creative team includes Jason Ardizzone-West, scenic design; Heidi Hanson, costume design; John Alexander, lighting design; Michael Keck, sound design; Ann James, intimacy coach; Dawn-Elin Fraser, voice and speech coach; Sean Sanford, props supervisor; Melissa Sparks, production stage manager; and Tré Wheeler, assistant stage manager.

The play is recommended for age 15 and up. Running time is approximately 90 minutes with one intermission. For the Playhouse’s 2022 season only, plays are consolidated to a two-week performance schedule instead of the usual three-week run.  Please support great local theater, and come see professional performance at the Westport Country Playhouse.

Westport Country Playhouse

25 Powers Court Westport Ct

http://www.westportportpayhouse.org

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Don Juan: a modern and relevant telling of this classic play now at the Westport Country Playhouse

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don juan 1

The classic story of Don Juan is now on stage at the famous Westport Country Playhouse.  Most of us have heard about the legendary lover and seducer, Don Juan, but his tale written by the  Playwright Molière (1622-1673) is very different.  This translation by Brendan Pelsue, and adaptation and direction by David Kennedy will forever change the way you think about the character Don Juan

This is a thoroughly modern and avant garde production of this classic tale.  In a world where more value is put on the cult of personality and moral integrity is cast aside, this staging of Don Juan is both relevant and compelling.

Don Juan 2

You have never seen Don Juan like this before in this modern-dress production of the satirical, classic comic tale. As he moves through the play  the notorious seducer leaves behind a trail of broken hearts,unpaid bills, and scandals.  He cares little for the destruction he brings on his debtors, or the women he leaves behind.  He allows Sganarelle, his loyal servant  to clean up his messes.  During the play Don Juan seduces one woman after another.  He cares not for them or their feeling as long as he can satisfy his own ego and personal cravings.  He wears a light suit of gold indicating though he is a “noble” it is all gilded and beneath the veneer he is a shallow narcissist.  He even wears a shirt of black and gold that spells out “Narcissist” but only backward so only he can be read in a mirror.

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His man servant Sganarelle acts not only as his fixer and his buffer from all that is unpleasant, but serves as his moral conscience.  It is Sganarelle that implores him to see the damage he does by his behavior and to repent.  Don Juan ignores his pleas and reminds him he has years to live before he will even consider changing his immoral ways.

“When I originally proposed that we produce ‘Don Juan,’ I thought 2019 was the perfect time to revive this acerbically comic tale of an undisciplined, thin-skinned narcissist who blazes a path of destruction through the world, upending institutions and social norms, destabilizing everything, offending all decency and morality, and leaving a trail of wreckage in his wake. I can’t ever imagine why,” said  David Kennedy, the director.

In Act Two Don Juan has an encounter with the ghost from his wicked past in the form of a statue of a man he once killed.  It is here we find Don Juan, dressed not as a playboy but more like a modern politician that he must finally confront his own lack of morality.  You must wait to the dramatic conclusion to see his fate.

Don Juan is  played by Nick Westrate (2012 Drama Desk award winner, numerous Broadway, Off-Broadway roles),  Sganarelle, Don Juan’s sidekick, played by Bhavesh Patel (Broadway’s “The Nap,” “Present Laughter” opposite Kevin Klein; Lincoln Center Theater’s “War Horse”). Philip Goodwin portrays Don Juan’s father Don Louis (Broadway’s “Tartuffe,” “The School for Scandal,” “The Diary of Anne Frank”).

Other cast members are Jordan Bellow as Don Carlos (New York theater’s “Interior”; regional theater’s “A Raisin in the Sun”; television’s “Gotham”); Paul DeBoy as Mr. Gusman/Statue  (Broadway’s “Mamma Mia!”; television’s ““Leviathan”); Carson Elrod as Pierrot/Dimanche (Westport Country Playhouse’s “Bedroom Farce,” “How the Other Half Loves,” and others; Broadway’s “Peter and the Starcatcher”); Suzy Jane Hunt as Dona Elvira (Broadways’ “Dear Evan Hansen,” “Dead Accounts”; television’s “The Americans”); Bobby Roman as Don Alonzo (film credits “The Challenger,” “Tapestry,” “One Night in Brooklyn”); Ariana Venturi as Charlotte (five seasons at Berkshire Theatre Festival; Alya Feinburg in season two of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”); and Claudia Logan as Mathurine/The Ghost (HBO’s “Random Acts of Flyness,” “The Deuce”; Netflix’s “Tales of the City”).

The creative team includes Marsha Ginsberg, scenic design, and Sam Vawter, associate scenic design; Katherine Roth, costume design; Matthew Richards, lighting design; Fitz Patton, original music and sound design; Michael Rossmy, fight director and intimacy coach ; Karin White, props supervisor; Dana Tanner-Kennedy,  Tara Rubin Casting, Laura Schutzel  and Claire Burke, CSA; and Shane Schnetzler, production stage manager.

This is a thought provoking and finely crafted production that will have you discussing the performance long after the curtain has come down.  See Don Juan now through November 23rd.

for tickets and information >>>>>https://www.westportplayhouse.org

Westport Country Playhouse

25 Powers Court  Westport Ct

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Man of La Mancha: the classic Broadway musical now at Westport Country Playhouse

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5_WCP_ManofLaMancha_PHernandez_byCRosegg_277

Philip Hernandez as Don Quixote

The dramatic and stirring Broadway classic Man of La Mancha has returned to the stage at the Westport Country Playhouse in Westport Ct.   This beautifully staged production at the Playhouse is true Broadway quality in every way.  This is a brilliant show that cannot be missed.

Man of La Mancha is a musical inspired by the story of Miguel de Cervantes imprisonment during the Spanish Inquisition and is also inspired by his book Don Quixote written in 1615.  The musical adaptation places Cervantes in a dungeon prison awaiting his hearing for charges brought against him by the inquisition.   Cervantes is a self described poet and play write, as well as a tax collector.  His latter position and his act of taxing  a church has placed him in prison.  His fellow prisoners upon meeting Cervantes and his loyal sidekick decide to have their own “mock trial” and seize his manuscript.  The show is staged in the prison “commons” as the prisoners await trial.  The curtains open to steel bars separating the actors from the sold out audience.  The set is dramatic in both design and lighting and sets the mood for the evening.

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Cervantes demands the opportunity to defend himself before his fellow prisoners and using his skills as an actor and a trunk full of costumes and props, he launches into a virtual “play within the play”.  Along with his sidekick Sancho, the other prisoners become part of this story woven by Cervantes.  Cervantes spins the tale of a noble knight  on a noble quest, and he becomes Don Quixote, Man of La Mancha.   Despite living in an era of fear and despair, Quixote is a dreamer.  He dreams of a world where knights still roam spreading virtue and morals, performing noble quests and coming to the aid of their Lady.  He exclaims he has seen and experienced the misery and tragedy in life, but he rather instead find the beauty and the goodness in life.

wedding

Gisela Adisa as Aldonza/Dulcinea

Quixote is a idealist and a dreamer and the audience (as it has been since its Broadway debut in the 1960s) becomes a fan of Quixote. His idealism for a simpler  and kinder world is in stark contrast to the reality of 16th Century Spain.  Indeed his spirit and  ideals are what attract so many current audience members .

His idealism is manifested brilliantly in the song “The Impossible Dream” which is the hallmark of the evening.  The song is instantly familiar to many, and yet it is so fresh and relevant today.

Philip Hernandez  is masterful in the role Cervantes/Don Quixote (only actor in Broadway history to play both Jean Valjean and Inspector Javert in “Les Misérables”; original Broadway casts of “Kiss of the Spider Woman” and Paul Simon’s “The Capeman”)  He has a wonderful  deep voice that filled the playhouse on opening night.  A brilliant and memorable performance.

Gisela Adisa as Aldonza/Dulcinea (Broadway’s “Beautiful,” First National Tour of “Sister Act,” regional theater’s “Lights Out:  Nat King Cole” – 2018 Barrymore Award nomination) is wonderful  in her dual role.    Tony Manna play Sancho Panza  the side kick and faithful companion to Don Quixote(Off-Broadway’s “These Paper Bullets,” “Timon of Athens,” “The Hasty Heart”; Netflix’ “Maniac”).   He brings to the role a sort of humor and warmth to which the audience enjoyed.

This production of Man of La Mancha  is directed by Mark Lamos who has directed  many plays at Westport Country Playhouse since 2008.  His extensive New York credits include “Our Country’s Good,” for which he received a Tony Award nomination. A former artistic director at Hartford Stage, he earned the 1989 Tony Award for the theater’s body of work.   His direction of this production is mostly faithful to the original, but injects  a modern vibe with the costumes of some of the cast as well as a reference in the dialogue to our current political climate that was recognized by the audience.

This is one of  the great Broadway musicals of all time.  Its story is timeless and quite relevant in the world we now live.  Make sure you see this wonderful show.

For tickets and information:  http://www.westportplayhouse.org

Westport Country Playhouse

25 Powers Ct Westport Ct.

Box office at (203) 227-4177, toll-free at 1-888-927-7529,