Home » Buyer and Cellar – Westport Country Playhouse, Westport, CT, USA

Buyer and Cellar – Westport Country Playhouse, Westport, CT, USA

Michael Urie as Alex More -Buyer & Cellar -photo by Carol Rosegg
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Michael Urie - Buyer & Cellar - Photo by Carol RoseggActor Michael Urie shines brightly in the "must-see" hilariously witty, fast-paced, award-winning one-man play Buyer & Cellar at the Westport Country Playhouse in Westport, Connecticut. Written by Jonathan Tolins and directed by Stephen Brackett, the play runs from June 14 until July 3, 2016.

Michael Urie as Alex More

The Westport Country Playhouse (WCP) always attracts very talented and renowned actors to its stage, and for the original award-winning Off-Broadway play, Buyer & Cellar, we had the good fortune of seeing Michael Urie in the role of Alex More, a role for which he won the Drama Desk Award, the Lucille Lortel Award, the LA Theatre Critics Award, and the Clarence Dervent Award.

A few of the credentials for this multi-talented actor, director, filmmaker, and producer, include performances on and off Broadway, he has appeared in films and on television, and fans of the award winning television series Ugly Betty, will remember Michael for his role as Marc St. James, and Gavin Sinclair in Modern Family. We were delighted to see him at the WCP on June 18, 2016.

Michael Urie as Alex More -Buyer & Cellar -photo by Carol Rosegg
Michael Urie as Alex More

As a bit of background, the play was inspired by Barbra Streisand’s coffee table book, My Passion for Design, published in 2010, about her vast collection displayed in little shops in the basement of her barn. That seed of inspiration spurred playwright Jonathan Tolins’ imaginary tale of an out-of-work LA actor who goes to work for Barbra working in her shops that house her various collections, working as shopkeeper, caretaker, and curator for his only customer, and sometimes as confidant of the legendary star.

Michael Urie deftly delivers an incomparable performance in the one-man show where he plays multiple roles and leaves the audience breathless from non-stop laughter thanks to Jonathan Tolins’ well-crafted dialogue, Stephen Brackett’s direction, and Michael’s ability to easily slip into each character with style and believability.

We had the opportunity to speak with Michael Urie after the show, and he said that since 2013, he has performed the play more than 550 times and with each performance the play and the characters keep evolving. Bravo for a perfect evening of theatre at the Westport Country Playhouse!

Michael Urie as Alex More -Buyer & Cellar -photo by Carol Rosegg
Michael Urie as Alex More

Buyer & Cellar Cast

Michael Urie

Alex More

The Creative Team

Jonathan Tolins
Playwright
Stephen Brackett
Director/Artistic Director
Andrew Boyce
Scenic Design
Jessica Pabst
Costume Design
Eric Southern
Lighting Design
Stowe Nelson
Sound Design
Hannah Woodward
Production Stage Manager
Michael Alifanz
Assistant Stage Manage
Sam Pinkleton
Musical Staging
Alex Basco Koch
Projection Design
Mark Lamos
Artistic Director

Performance Information: The play runs 100 minutes with no intermission,

Buyer & Cellar performance schedule is Tuesday at 7:00 pm., Wednesday at 2:00 pm and 8:00 pm, Thursday and Friday at 8:00 pm., Saturday at 3:00 pm and 8:00 pm. and Sunday at 3:00 pm.  Special series feature Taste of Tuesday, LGBT Night OUT, Opening Night, Sunday Symposium, Open Captions, Thursday TalkBack, Together at the Table Family Dinner, Playhouse Happy Hour, and Backstage Pass. 

For information on the play or to purchase tickets, please call the box office at 203-227-4177 or call the toll-free number at 888-927-7529, or visit them on the website at www.WestportPlayhouse.org.

The Westport Country Playhouse Box Office is open during Performance Days Tuesday through Friday from 12:00 pm until 8:30 pm, Saturday from 11:00 am until 8:30 pm, Sunday from 11:00 am until 3:30 pm, and is closed on Monday. Non-Performance Days, the Box Office is open Tuesday through Friday from 12:00 pm until 6:00 pm, and is closed on Monday.

The Westport Country Playhouse named as "Theatre Company of the Year" in December 2013 by The Wall Street Journal, opened in the 1930s in a transformed 1835 cow barn, which has, and continues to attract, a "who’s who" of prominent actors. Looking at the framed posters of past shows that line the lobby walls was like entering an encyclopedia of the arts. A few of the many renowned actors who have appeared on the stage there include Ethyl Barrymore, Dorothy and Lillian Gish, Tallulah Bankhead, Gloria Swanson, Don Ameche, Hume Cronin and Jessica Tandy, Jane Fonda, Danny Aiello, Blythe Danner, Jill Clayburgh, Richard Dreyfus, Whoopi Goldberg, Liza Minnelli, Bernadette Peters, Lynn Redgrave, Gene Wilder, and Westport residents Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman.

"Westport Country Playhouse, a not-for-profit theater, serves as a cultural nexus for patrons, artists and students and is a treasured resource for the State of Connecticut.  There are no boundaries to the creative thinking for future seasons or the kinds of audiences and excitement for theater that Westport Country Playhouse can build."

For information on upcoming events and other performances, please visit the website: www.WestportPlayhouse.org.

Upcoming Performances in 2016 – 2017

Plays
Dates Running
Buyer and Cellar
June 14 – July 3, 2016
The Invisible Hand
July 19 – August 6, 2016
What the Butler Saw
August 23 – September 10, 2016
Camelot
October 4 – October 30, 2016
   
Script in Hand Reading
Date Running
The Late Christopher Bean
June 27, 2016
   
Family Festivities
Dates Running
The Mixed-Up Fairy Tale
November 20, 2016
A Very Electric Christmas
December 18, 2016
Biscuit
January 22, 2017
Twinkle Tames a Dragon
February 12, 2017
The Cat in the Hat
March 19, 2017
Pete the Cat
April 2, 2017

Westport County Playhouse - Westport, Connecticut 

Westport Country Playhouse  
25 Powers Court
Westport, Connecticut  06880
United States
Box Office:     +1-203-227-4177
Toll-Free:       +1-888-927-7529
Fax:                +1-203-454-3239
Box Office:     +1-203-227-4177
Website:        
www.WestportPlayhouse.org
Facebook:       www.Facebook/WestportCountryPlayhouse

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