Westport Country Playhouse launches programming and fundraising expansions

Westport Country Playhouse has unveiled “Reimagined: Save Your Playhouse,” a plan designed to upgrade the theater”™s programming amid a major fundraising campaign.

The first aspect of the plan is a fundraising campaign with a goal to raise $2 million by July 30. In September, the Playhouse will expand its performance schedule to include one-night-only shows featuring celebrities and major entertainment talent, along with the continuation of the Script in Hand play-reading series and the new speaker series “In Conversation with”¦” featuring leaders from business, the arts, sports and other influencer spheres.

The new plan is designed to address the theater”™s financial difficulties in bouncing back from the disruptions of the pandemic era. Earlier this year, the Playhouse was forced to reduce its staff and cut its 2023 season from five productions to three. Last week, additional cost-cutting measures included cancellation of the season”™s third show, “School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play,” and a further staff reduction.

“Cancelling another production and losing more of our dedicated staff ”“ these are the painfully hard decisions we had to make in the interest of fiscal responsibility and in order to survive,” said Board Chairwoman Athena T. Adamson. “We have a structured plan that will allow the Playhouse to meet the desires of the next generation of theatergoers, but we need your immediate help. Contributions to the ”˜Save Your Playhouse”™ campaign are fundamental to saving and evolving the legacy of Westport Country Playhouse.”