Westport Country Playhouse announces “From the Page to the Stage” guided tours are available to the public by reservation on selected Friday and Saturday mornings each month. Tours are scheduled on March 29 and 30, April 20 and 26, May 17 and 18, June 28 and 29, and July 26 and 27, from 10:30 a.m. to noon. Each tour is limited to 25 people.
Guiding the tours will be Bruce Miller, Playhouse archivist. “Go behind the scenes at one of Westport’s treasures!,” said Miller. “Now you can find out more about the great artists that made the Playhouse their home and get a look at how we bring a script to life.”
Tour participants will learn how the historic theater’s past has been preserved since its founding in 1931 and how state-of-the-art technology has been introduced. The 90-minute tour’s path will explore backstage, Greenroom, dressing rooms, scene shop, wardrobe room, posters, photos, costume designs, and set models. Participants will also have the opportunity to stand on the same stage that hosted performances by Gene Wilder, James Earl Jones, Jane Fonda, Eartha Kitt, Paul Newman, and more recently, Jonathan Groff, Kelli O’Hara, Leslie Odom Jr., Patti LuPone, and Audra McDonald.
Along the way, Miller will recount historic anecdotes, such as how the Playhouse provided inspiration for the creation of two immortal musicals: “Oklahoma!” and “My Fair Lady.” He’ll take participants back to when the Playhouse opened its doors on June 29, 1931, in what was once a cow barn. For 93 years this designated National Treasure has presented more than 800 plays, 42 of which have moved to Broadway.
Although there is no fee for the tour, donations are encouraged to support the not-for-profit Playhouse.