Bedroom Farce – Westport Country Playhouse, Westport, CT, USA

The Westport Country Playhouse’s cast of the Alan Ayckbourn play, Bedroom Farce hit it out of the ballpark with their stellar performance in Westport, Connecticut. Billed as "Four couples, three bedrooms, consider the possibilities…" it is a delightful, light-hearted, fast-paced play with witty dialogue that kept us laughing from its hilarious start to its uproarious finish. Tony-Nominated John Tillinger directs the talented cast in this delicious summer romp. The play runs until September 13, 2015.

One of the keys to the success of any play is of course, a well-crafted script, and British playwright Sir Alan Ayckbourn is a masterful genius who has written over 80 plays, and Bedroom Farce, which he wrote in 1975 over the course of four intense days, is Ayckbourn at his very best, witty, comedic, and great fun. The play received five Tony nominations, including Best Play, during its 1979 run on Broadway.

Cecilia Hart (Delia) and Paxton Whitehead (Ernest)

Director John Tillinger can be best described as someone who "gets" Ayckbourn and always delivers brilliant results each and every time he directs one of his plays whether on Broadway, Off-Broadway, or at the Westport Country Playhouse (WCP). We became familiar with the Ayckbourn/Tillinger style during the September 2014 performance of Things We Do For Love at the WCP and immediately became fans.

Nicole Lawrence (Jan) and Matthew Greer (Nick)

We attended the August 29, 2015 performance of Bedroom Farce, and the well-chosen cast comprised of four couples, Scott Drummond and Claire Karpen, Carson Elrod and Sarah Manton, Matthew Greer and Nicole Lawrence, and Cecilia Hart and Paxton Whitehead, make the most of the dialogue to slyly pull the audience along on a hilarious romp of situation comedy.

Scott Drummond (Malcolm) and Claire Karpen (Kate)

Scott Drummond plays the role of Malcolm, married to Kate, and makes his WCP debut after performing in the Broadway play, Machinal, and in Off-Broadway and Regional theatre, and has appeared in films and on television. Claire Karpen plays his wife, Kate, and has appeared in Off-Broadway and Regional plays, and has also directed several plays.

Claire Karpen (Kate) and Carson Elrod (Trevor)

Carson Elrod is well-known to the WCP community having appeared in several plays there, and also brings a rich resume of Broadway performances as well as film and television credits to his role as Trevor, husband of Susannah, son of Delia and Ernest, and the ex-boyfriend of Jan. Sarah Manton, plays his wife, Susannah, who is well acquainted with the Alan Acykbourn-style having performed in several of his plays including the 2014 WCP production of Things We Do For Love, and has performed on Broadway, on the London stage, and in Regional plays, and has also appeared on television, in films, and on radio.

Carson Elrod (Trevor), Nicole Lawrence (Jan),
Sarah Manton (Susannah), and Claire Karpen (Kate)

Matthew Greer is Nick, married to Jan, also performed in the 2014 production of the Alan Acykbourn play, Things We Do For Love at the WCP, and brings a resume laden with Broadway, Off-Broadway, and National credentials. Nicole Lawrence plays his wife Jan, and has extensive experience performing at WCP as well as on Broadway, in International, Off-Broadway, and Regional theatre, and also on television.

Carson Elrod (Trevor), Sarah Manton (Susannah),
Scott Drummond (Malcolm)

Cecilia Hart is Delia, wife on Ernest, and mother of Trevor, and has appeared in multiple roles at the WCP as well as on Broadway, Off-Broadway, National performances, and has appeared in several television shows. Paxton Whitehead as Ernest, has extensive experience performing at the WCP, as well as on Broadway where his many accolades include a Tony nomination for the play Camelot, and  has also appeared in Off-Broadway plays, and plays throughout the US and Canada, and in multiple films and television roles. An interesting note is that Cecilia and Paxton have performed together in five plays as "husband and wife," four of which they appeared together at the WCP, and their timing and chemistry on stage is brilliant.

Scott Drummond (Malcolm), Carson Elrod (Trevor),
Sarah Manton (Susannah), and Claire Karpen (Kate)

The synopsis is one evening in the lives of four couples whose intertwined history makes for great comedic opportunity when one couple have an argument that sets the ball rolling for all kinds of hilarious disasters. The play takes place in three bedrooms beautifully designed and envisioned by Scenic Designer Marjorie Bradley Kellogg, and Sound Designer Scott Killian sets the pace with well-chosen music to complement the script.

Cecilia Hart (Delia), Sarah Manton (Susannah),
Paxton Whitehead (Ernest)

From start to finish, Alan Ayckbourn’s Bedroom Farce, is stunningly brilliant, a play not to be missed. Bedroom Farce runs from August 25 – September 13, 2015, so do make time in your life for laughter and fun.

Bedroom Farce Cast

The Creative Team

Performance Information: Bedroom Farce 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 pm, and Sunday at 3:00 pm.

Carson Elrod (Trevor) and Sarah Manton (Susannah)

Special series feature Taste of Tuesday, Previews, LGBT Night OUT, Opening Night, Sunday Symposium, Open Captions, Thursday TalkBack, Together at the Table Family Dinner, Playhouse Young Professionals, 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 2015 and 2016

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

Follow the Westport Country Playhouse on Facebook at www.Facebook/WestportCountryPlayhouse.

Follow Luxury Experience on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/LuxuryExperience  

© August 2015. Luxury Experience. www.LuxuryExperience.com.  All rights reserved.