For over 90 years the Westport Country Playhouse has entertained, inspired and awed theatergoers.
From the opening curtain in a converted tannery through the rest of the 20th century, “the Playhouse” became a launch pad for Broadway shows, an important stop for hundreds of actors, and an iconic Westport jewel.
Now, in its 92nd year, the Westport Country Playhouse is limping through a truncated season.
It might not make it to 93.
Classic shot of a classic theater.
I love the Playhouse. I was introduced to live theater there, through children’s shows. I’ve seen countless productions, plus concerts like Arlo Guthrie.
A highlight of my life was performing on its stage – the same one used by Henry Fonda, Paul Robeson, Helen Hayes, Eartha Kitt and James Earl Jones – for a “Moth” taping 3 years ago.
It is painful to write this story.
It would be more painful to lose the Playhouse entirely. But that may very well happen.
And it could happen very, very soon.
The Westport Country Playhouse is on precarious footing. The last 2 shows of its planned 5-play 2023 season have already been canceled. The third is in jeopardy.
In recent years, not enough seats have been filled. (Photo/Robert Benson)
Attendance has plummeted; so has the subscriber base.
As the core audience aged, there was little outreach to younger and newer residents. The Playhouse has virtually no social marketing – the best way to create buzz, and reach today’s theater-goers.
Artistic director Mark Lamos’ selection of plays failed to resonate with patrons. Now he’s departing, leaving no one at the helm.
If the theater goes dark, it will be almost impossible to put the lights back on.
All is not lost, however. A rescue plan has been floated.
As in past crises – most recently the early 2000s, when Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward rode to the rescue – this one has quintessential Westport roots.
Andrew Wilk, in the “Live From Lincoln Center” production truck.
Andrew Wilk is a 5-time Emmy-winning executive producer and director of television programming (and a renowned playwright, director and symphony conductor).
He moved to Westport 17 years ago, attracted in large part by the town’s support for the arts.
Wilk produced PBS’ legendary “Live from Lincoln Center” series for many years; served as chief creative officer for Sony Music Entertainment, and executive vice president for the National Geographic Channel (among many other accomplishments).
He created and developed last year’s 3-part PBS entertainment specials, shot at the Playhouse. (He worked on that project for almost 2 years – pro bono.)
Wilk spent months developing a new business strategy and turnaround plan. Covering everything from programming to union contracts, it outlines a path toward recovery and sustainability for an institution that for years has spent more than ticket sales, donors and grants bring in.
Wilk devised the plan on his own time. He’s willing to oversee it in the coming months – gratis.
So far, the Playhouse board has not accepted his broad, generous offer. Perhaps they think they must “save” the Playhouse, before creating a new artistic model.
Wilk proposes to save the Playhouse by reimagining it. First, a transitional season would begin rebuilding the audience through a robust season of well-known musical titles “In Concert.” They’d be headlined by a small number of Broadway stars, with an orchestra. Concerts include evenings of Andrew Lloyd Webber, Stephen Sondheim, Stephen Schwartz, Jerry Herman, Rodgers & Hammerstein and others.
Those concert productions would be augmented by smaller, fully professional productions of recognizable shows, like “The Fantasticks” and “I Do! I Do!,” as well as classic comedies and dramas.
Back in the day, crowds lined up for comedies, dramas — and shows that were headed to Broadway. (Photo/Wells Studio)
There would be student productions too, with actors from Staples and area high schools and colleges, of shows like “Rent,” “Little Shop of Horrors” and “Falsettos,” plus “Jesus Christ Superstar” using local community groups, and Broadway stars in a few primary roles (thanks to Wilk’s extensive contacts).
Wilk estimated costs for every show, right down to transportation and rights fees. He’s addressed the thorny question of union contracts, and even figured out rehearsal schedules.
His plan appears to be the only one addressing the theater’s many urgent challenges.
The Westport Country Playhouse has been on the brink of disaster before. They’ve always pulled rabbits out of the hat (and, in the case of Newman and Woodward, conjured up a production that – harkening back to the Playhouse’s mid-20th century heyday – moved on to Broadway).
The world has changed since then. It’s changed even since Newman and Woodward’s “Our Town.”
This is our Westport Country Playhouse. It is our town.
But unless the people in charge of our town’s historic gem act quickly, decisively and creatively, the theater that last week was honored as a Literary Landmark may soon become just one more theatrical memory.
(The Westport Country Playhouse was asked to comment on its future. Board chair Anna Czekaj-Farber said: “Nothing new at the moment. We are getting ready for our New Works reading (Monday, June 5) our next Script in Hand on June 12, and Patti LuPone’s great evening June 15.”)
Twenty years ago, Paul Newman helped save the Westport Country Playhouse. Can it be saved again?
The theater “Board” is THINKING about accepting Wilk’s offer of help?
That very sentence says it all…stodgy Board, stodgy list of productions and stodgy methods of publicity. If they reject Wilk, they deserve to fail.
In addition, the music menu suggested in the blog is also too stodgy and high falutin for success, and will not attract the younger, necessary, subscribers
I’ve been a subscriber for many years. I’ve found the selection of plays to be uneven, at best.
To the board: unless you have a better plan, stop screwing around and jump on this offer.
Why is Mr Wilk the only one championing saving the Playhouse? With all the talented people in Westport you would like to think someone would help. Is Mr Wilk coming up against a “ we know better” playhouse board of directors?. What a tragedy if Westport would lose such an iconic part of our town history.
Thank you Andrew for stepping forward with this idea!
Absolutely positively give Wilks The baton . I believe in his progressive diversified programming … The artist collective of Westport appreciates housing, their cultural events as well, as a member of the collective I will be more than willing to volunteer my time to save iWestport playhouse
So a guy with a CURRENT astonishing track record of the entertainment industry has seen the cracks in the business/old school creative decisions of our venerable Westport Playhouse and spent countless hours pro bono coming up with a new plan, Lamos is bailing out of the sinking ship with no replacement and the board is what? Huh?
As a somehow member of the white hair club – me! Imagine! – the audiences these past few years looks like it came directly from the Senior Center.
My response to the board: ya got a better idea?
Cause the old if you always do what you always did, you always get what you always got.
If the Playhouse is lucky enough to have a man of Andrew Wilk’s incredible talent and character drive the Playhouse in a successful future, they are incredibly fortunate!
This is to me is analogous to converting the old Westport Library into the vibrant, creative, new-look and feel library that it is today. I would suggest the Board make a move soon, or this property will be our next 8-30g development.
You got it Dan…Time for leadership.
And where are the people who really LOVE the Playhouse now?
I most certainly hope positive action happens soon. We are long time subscribers, and it would be a travesty to lose this important gem! Social media is so important today, as well as choosing shows that will resonate with more people, including a younger audience.
Sounds like the decision will be announced soon. My concern, echoing Mr. Donovan’s, is that the developers already have a deal in principle and nobody wants to go public with it because it will signal the end of the story that is Westport. I’m a little curious as to how long the Playhouse has been hemorrhaging because it’s a surprise to me. Mr. Wilk’s deal is so much of a “no-brainer” that it seems obvious that if they were interested in it they would have jumped on it by now. What is particularly sad to me is that the Playhouse seems to have died when we all lost Paul and Joanne.
We haven’t lost Ms. Woodward. She is 93 years old.
I was speaking figuratively. It’s common knowledge she is cognitively impaired and probably unaware of the situation at the Playhouse. Sad to say the least.
This is so upsetting to read. Thank you Mr. Wilk for your time to save this treasure. A Broadway concert series would definitely fill some seats. I’m sure it is such a tricky balance between what fills butts in seats and what is “artistic” to an Artistic Director.
There is one thing missing from my perspective as a parent. The playhouse has a wonderful family series and then a full season of programming for adults. There is nothing drawing in parents of older children/teens. Acting classes? Participatory theater experiences throughout the year? I know that a theater school is not part of the original mission, but it certainly could help offset the expenses of presenting new artistic works. For those of us with “theater kids” we are just driving to Norwalk and Fairfield for those classes instead.
I would love to be able to bring my family to something accessible to them – be it a regular Broadway style concert or an appropriate straight play that would resonate. Instead, we just drive to the City.
I hope some movement can be made quickly.
I have always thought that a more diverse entertainment menu would be attractive to a wider audience. Musical performances, stand up comedy, (remember Martin Short’s tremendous performance there a few years back?) etc might be the answer. Break a leg, somebody.
Here’s an idea: Put on shows that people actually want to see! Oklahoma, West Side Story, Fiddler on the Roof, Guys and Dolls!! I’d buy tickets and attend ALL of those! and I wouldn’t be alone. Just sayin!!
Yes!, Rich; for Christ’s sake, YES.
Seriously? You think younger people want to see that crap? Oklahoma is from the 1930s, Guys and Dolls is from the 1950s. That’s the type of programming that will drive the Playhouse into extinction.
I think the Playhouse should follow the model of the Ridgefield Playhouse, and bring in lots of different performances. I regularly drive up there to see performances, and would love the ability to simply drive across town instead. Sprinkle in some Live at the Met or National Theatre type programming, maybe Remarkable can show movies there…… The comedy acts they had during COVID were fun, I got to see Gilbert Gottfried before he passed away, and will never forget that performance.
Okay, how about you go to Goodspeed, then?
Even in the days of yore, the WCP was not always exclusively a venue for theatrical productions.
On a Sunday night in June 1966, there were two rock shows—6-8pm and 9-11pm—featuring The Remains, the Critters, and The Magicians and, per the ad, the shows even had “GO-GO GIRLS.” Holy cow!
It was “Presented by The Rage” which I believe was part of the Ice Cream Parlor entity.
I have no idea how often this type of event took place but it clearly shows that the WCP was back then generating at least some income from non-theatrical performances at the height of the summer stock season.
If the key to survival is to possibly expand the types of events at the WCP, perhaps it would make sense to consider incorporating The Remarkable Theater and a potential indoor film series as part of the overall framework.
The Westport Playhouse is, indeed, very special. Now it needs to enter 21st century programming with groundbreaking, risk taking, even experimental theater to attract younger audiences. Sell more tickets at cheaper prices to entice the considerable college and university community in Fairfield County. For way too long it has been about pleasing, as someone said, the “white-haired” audience with plays that appeal to the past. We don’t live in that life anymore. Dialogue has to crackle, not just make a point. Characters have to live and breathe now and address the concerns of a constantly shifting society, not repeat yesterday and yesteryear. The Playhouse can rise again, but it has to have a change of attitude—and a change or programming, and board—with quite a new literary attitude.
I have always been shocked at the lineup at the Playhouse. For a town that is committed to the arts, it has been sad that there has been so little desireable programming. Our Staples Players kids are amazing. Our whole town (not just parents and classmates) go to see these productions. There is a community here (all ages!) with a thirst for theater. This should not be a struggle. You need programming that appeals to families. Musicals!!! Someone mentioned concerts, comedy and films above, that would be AWESOME. Our teens need stuff to do in town (and so do parents). NYC theater has become so expensive. A strong lineup would be very positive for the arts and should be very lucrative for the Playhouse. The shakeup is great and needed. Now let’s build this theater for the next generation.
The playhouse is a jewel that has been tarnished by mismanagement and an incoherent and lackluster theatrical vision. The cultural significance of our Westport is at stake, people!
Echoing everyone else: Yes, please.
We subscribed awhile back, but the whole “We’re going to make you a better person by making you sit through pointedly didactic works” vibe that’s gone on for years is beyond off-putting. We used to enjoy the acting and the sets, but the choice of plays was strangely unimaginative and invariably bad, and we found ourselves heading up to Long Wharf, instead.
Completely agree. I used to go regularly, but in recent years they’ve gotten too woke for my tastes.
Having worked with Andrew Wilk and seen him in action, and also harbor a lifelong love of the Westport Country Playhouse (I was an intern in another century), I heartedly endorse your characterization of the Playhouse’s current dilemma and Andrew’s solution. It’s clear that a new direction and fresh positioning is urgently needed. I’ve read Andrew’s plan. The combination of his experience and creativity is evident throughout. Westport would be well-served to take advantage of this opportunity and of this man’s willingness to serve, to save one of the jewels our town has nurtured for so many years. It’s time for another rebirth of a new, revitalized Westport Playhouse. It’s the right time, the right place and Andrew’s the right man for the job. Let’s make it happen.
John, how do you do it? Your mind and enthusiasm are as sharp today as when you were one of my favorite camp counselors at Mahackeno over 60 years ago.
Again, I agree with all the above! CHANGE is hard for many, but CHANGE is exactly what we need! We used to be subscribers when there were great selections to see, but in the more recent past the productions have been much less appealing even to avid theater goers.
Just SAY YES to Mr. Wilks! He HS so generously already donated so much time and thought and effort into a solid plan to move forward! The board needs to MOVE on this offer and plan!
My husband and I moved to Fairfield from Southern California and I think the second week we lived here we saw “Dr.Cook’s Garden” at the Playhouse as part of the Westport Community Theatre’s season. We were so happy to have this wonderful venue so close to home and immediately became subscribers. Over 20+ years we subscribed and donated to WCP as the plays got worse and worse. We walked out on so many productions we had to question season subscriberships which got pricier and pricier. I missed the summer shows where intermissions were out on the patio, the Selected Shorts seasons and so much more. But now it’s rare that we get tickets to anything other than Script win Hand productions which also have their issues (e.g. bad sound and actors reading as if on speed.) I LOVE this theater and do hope a new vision for a financially sustainable plan to rescue it can emerge soon.
Andrew Wilk has done amazing and important programming at the library. The playhouse needs help, and he wants to help- we should let him. His ideas seem very sound. It would be criminal to lose the playhouse. I am a long time subscriber and would be thrilled to see some of these new ideas come to fruition.
Wilks has a plan and haven’t accepted it?! Stranded in the ocean and sees a boat, “we’ll wait for the next one!”
Accept the help and offer before it gets torn down and turned into more condos and apartments.
Finally! A man with a plan! Having subscribed to the Playhouse for 53 years I’ve watched it slowly age along with myself, t’s past time to listen to someone who not only understands the problem BUT more importantly, has a solution! Grab onto him with both hands and LISTEN! I too, was introduced to Westport by going to the Playhouse those many years ago and have watched it slowly lose its way. Andrew Wilk has a passion AND a plan! Please listen!!!
Given the propensity for someone with an agenda leaking and/or planting stories with Dan, and Dan often running with them uncritically (recall the recent Cobb’s Mill stories), perhaps it is worth everyone stepping back and taking a deep breath before jumping on this (or any other) bandwagon.
Certainly Mr. Wilk seems to have given this some thought (and his plan may be the best answer) but it is interesting that the imminent demise of the Playhouse has come out of the blue and seemingly NO ONE ELSE has given it any thought or come up with a plan. For example, has anyone asked the Remarkable Theatre people for their thoughts on how they might use the facility and/or how their mission be complementary with also using the facility for live theater?
Also curious what happened to the $2,000,000 endowment established as part of the $3MM donation in 2018 by a former trustee. Did the WCP really find a way to burn through all that despite all the COVID relief programs or it still there to be accessed by whoever takes over?
Anyway, seems like there ought to be a solution rather than selling out to an 8-30g developer. Would certainly be an interesting question of who would get the money from selling out unless the Playhouse is deeply in debt. Personally, if it came to that, seems like a great opportunity for the Town to step in and develop the property as additional affordable housing rather than let it go 8-30g.
People like Andrew Wilk make Westport the great town it is. I love, love, love his vision!! What an amazing man! I’ve been attending productions at the Playhouse since the 1960s, and have been a subscriber since moving back to town in 1995. I’m more than ready for a change.
Dan – thank you for highlighting the challenges the Playhouse is in, and is not alone in encountering alongside other theatres nationwide. These trends are not isolated to Westport, and I might stick out here to say that throwing the current board under the bus serves little purpose — the simple fact is that the math of making theatre has had to be reinvented post-COVID. In that reinvention, it’s important to look at resources, and Westport has a resource that very few other communities does, a **growing** literate and curious audience base that spans generations (h/t to David Roth, Ben Frimmer, and others for a big part that; those of us who grew up in town and are now raising kids in NYC have countless friend families who have recently moved to Westport and hear all about one amazing school show after another).
Kudos to Andrew Wilk for seeding a conversation that can engages with what continues to make Westport special, and hopefully open the Playhouse up to new producing models and audiences — I have yet to see a theatre that has done poorly with a well structured plan for programming on lower price points and radical inclusion, which is what his plan sounds like. I will also say that many of us would jump at the chance to lend a creative hand to the Playhouse — and he deserves thanks for leading the way.
Speaking from a distance, unfortunately, I hope some well-connected person(s) has the ability to generate a meeting with the Playhouse board to determine exactly what options remain. The public that has supported the enterprise for 90 years has a right to know where the matter stands. Mr Wilk’s having already developed a strategic plan toward revitalization would certainly be a positive factor toward securing recapitalization funding if that should be necessary.
Not to beat a dead horse but I would think town leadership would be well-advised to call a meeting of business leaders to rally support around a buyout and be very clear that their intent would be to acquire the Playhouse or at least sponsor recapitalization and a reconstituted BOD. Companies such as Bridgewater have a vested interest in keeping the arts in Westport vital. Mr Wilk has already developed the plan for reemergence getting it done would not be the Manhattan Project.
God bless Andrew Wilk! Why the Playhouse Board is hesitating on accepting this offer disappoints me. This story of the Playhouse does not come as a shock to any of us who attend the theatre. But what is a shock is that the trend wasn’t seen and addressed sooner. Now is the hour–beyond the hour–and Mr. Wilk has stepped up to the plate. Let him bat out his homerun!
COVID hit regional theaters hard. Other venerable institutions like Williamstown Theater have had to cancel or severely cut back their productions this year. Williamstown is proceeding this summer with a program similar to what was proposed by Mr. Wilk. So far their productions this summer have been at best half a loaf. Some patience is needed; the public does not know what the Board has or hasn’t considered and done. I hope that some plan can be developed that will allow live theater to thrive in the future but would also hope that patrons would allow the process to play out before declaring Westport Playhouse dead.
To echo the rest of the comments I believe that Mr Wilk has some very good ideas! I first went to the playhouse in 1973. My father (Jose Ferrer)who was an actor and director arrived at the playhouse in 1939 and did numerous productions at this playhouse over the years. I do not want this theater to go under like other regional theaters have(Coconut Grove Playhouse). I am sure that there is a great possibility of some kind of think tank/ consortium that would be able to have many useful ideas to save the theater. It would be a terrible shame for it to end this way. Please please don’t let the curtain come down on this venerable institution.
Your father was one of my absolute favorites. I can’t decide which of his performances I like the best they were all good.
Thanks for your comment. He did many of those roles here at The Westport Playhouse!
I’m sure your support of saving the Playhouse can be a critical success factor. Thanks for adding your voice.
I love this place and am a subscriber. It can’t be easy running a theater but with so much potential for better more innovative content nearby in nyc I wonder why it can’t become a hub of exciting events
Thank you Mr Wilk. And I would be honored to volunteer to help. The playhouse deserves to be reimagined!
When I was in high school, I apprenticed at the Westport Country Playhouse: painting scenery, changing scenery, helping with lights, helping with costume changes. My favorite memory was when “An Evening with Mike Nichols and Elaine May” was playing there in a pre-Broadway run. There was a storm and the power went out. They did the show with emergency lights. It’s been many years since I lived in Westprt, but I would be sad to see the end of the Westport Country Playouse.
Not enough billionaires in Westport sadly.
I’m remembering all of the plays I’ve seen and loved at the Playhouse. A few musicals but mostly comedies and dramas. Young people enjoy plays that aren’t musicals too. I think the Playhouse should look to the Westport Community Theatre for some ideas of what to perform. But mostly, the present regime should accept Andrew Wilk’s offer and feel fortunate that he is so generously put together a plan to save the theatre.
Woog: Gotta ask: who or what is the figure (presumably shopped in) standing on the peak at the top left of the flies. Second time in my life I have seen similar effect. First time was yesterday.
My mother was part of the subscription chair in the 60’s. It’s time for a complete rejuvenation. It had prestige and buzz. Now it is o much wasted space. The parking lot gets more use as access to the dog park than for entertainment within the building. Concerts, events, plays targeting the spectrum of civilization rather than just what the board wants to see would be a less selfish approach to the sad state of affairs.
There is more to the story here. Lots of folks have ideas, but raising funds for these projects is the biggest job. Andrew relied solely on the Playhouse to fund his PBS projects. Many folks have great ideas, but you need to “produce”.
Based on my long term experience with Mr Wilk, when I was CFO Lincoln Center he always raised incremental funding that did not cannibalize Lincoln Center donations, I Am sure
that Andrew Wilk funded his PBS productions dollar for dollar
With incremental funding not drawing from Playhouse operating dollars, not an easy task but something Andrew is very talented
At doing in addition to his creative abilities.
Dan Rubin,CFO
Dan, on a second look at your article, I have a question that I don’t believe has been answered. You report Mr. Wilk’s proposal as meticulously penciled out, and his effort is to be applauded. But what is the vision? And where is the market research that supports it?
In light of the concern that the Playhouse audience has aged out and no social appeal has been made to the modern audience, I have to ask what is up with Mr Wilk’s play selection? I can’t help but believe that this part of the proposal is exactly what is pushing the current board’s pause button.
It would be pounding on mine.
Evenings of Broadway? Sondheim, Weber, Rogers & Hammerstein? And then for the big opening; Fantasticks and I Do??? Get out yer straw hats, everybody: I DON’T.
I know that’s what the place lived on for years, but its also what it died on, twice. Forget the younger generations: you couldn’t drag ME to that, and I grew up on it. First two live productions I ever saw were Music Man and My Fair Lady. Yes, with You Know Who.
Been there, seen it, have the-shirt and the original cast albums, on vinyl. Is there anyone, young or old, in Westport’s potential market area who doesn’t? Who hasn’t seen it and heard it ten times over all their lives? David Roth and his predecessors at Staples – who have and had provided all the top notch Broadway revivals we could eat had and have ten times the artistic vision that this plan shows. The plan is to try to outdo that??? IDTS.
Yes I was weaned on Lerner & Lowe, but I was inspired by Dylan Thomas and the American Conservatory Theater. At the WCPH and
If this plan could fill that gap, it might work.
Put out the word, find an artistic director with vision. One thing I have learned, from Craig Matheson first and many fine teachers since, is that success has nothing do with being the best: it has to do with being the only. WCPH was, at one time, the best, although Bucks County might argue with that. But being the best doesn’t last, which WCPH has shown more than once.
So what can WCPH do that no other theater anywhere can do. What is it uniquely positioned to do?
Anyone?
Bueller?
Find the answer to that question and you have your answer to Mr Wilk. Do a little research. Try a holistic planning approach: find out what the highest and best artistic use of this facility in this community in this time and place might be. And hire the people with that vision. (I would start with Jeff Zinn)
If it turns out to be anything like Andrew Lloyd Weber, I will personally burn off half my face, move into the subbasement of that old tannery and plague every performance of anything ever previously performed on Broadway other than Pinter, Mamet, Wasserman, Shakespeare and Tolstoy.
OK maybe not, but I will eat my straw hat.
“ As the core audience aged, there was little outreach to younger and newer residents. The Playhouse has virtually no social marketing – the best way to create buzz, and reach today’s theater-goers.”
Wow, Dan, that is QUITE the assumption! Tell us, how did you reach this astute conclusion? How far back in the Playhouse’s social feed did you go? Are you a social media expert? Could it ALSO be that, hmm, the Playhouse hasn’t had a fully-staffed marketing department in months? Just wondering.
So basically you’re saying my “assumption” (based on personal evidence AND speaking with a number of Westporters) is wrong, but also it’s right?
His plan is solid accept it-the lineup of shows has been less than exciting thus not luring anyone into the theatre. Get back on track please
Stick a fork in it.