Westport Country Playhouse (1954): Postcard of the Playhouse in color and shows the Southeast side. (Connecticut Digital Archive)
In the winter of 1930, renowned Broadway producers (and Weston, Connecticut, residents) Lawrence Langner and Armina Marshall purchased a barn and apple orchard in town. Their intention was to turn it into a venue where both aspiring and established writers, actors, and directors might produce new plays or reinterpret old ones. They transformed the old cow barn (erected in 1835) into a theater with a stage built to match the dimensions of those regularly found on Broadway. The Playhouse is a non-profit that produces theater from playwrights, actors, directors, and designers of all backgrounds, while entertaining audiences and exploring human and societal issues along the way.
A theatre is not just an ornament; it can also be one of the most dynamic and important institutions within a community. so the Westport Country Playhouse is no longer just a summer theatre, though the summer season will always be the most important thing it does. "Performing arts center" might be a better description now, with the theatre always as its first priority, but with lots of other things as possibilities- Chamber opera, small- scale concerts, recitals, lecture series, folk festivals, film shows and even, perhaps, some dance. Continue reading from Somerset-Ward, An American Theatre, 8
$5 Million Grant Helps Playhouse So Show(s) Can Go On (2002, Sep 27). Westport News (Westport News via NewsBank)
TO GIVE SUMMER PLAYS.: Langner Will Direct Theatre Going Up at Westport, Conn. (1931, May 25). The NewYork Times (Proquest)
MELODRAMA IN WESTPORT.: Langner Plans Repertory Group for His Connecticut Playhouse. (1931, Jun 06). New York Times (1923-Current file) (Proquest)
J. Randolph Brays Give Tea for 200 At Westport Place: Country Playhouse to Open Tonight With Special Dedication Program (1931, Jun 28). New York Herald Tribune (1926-1962) (Proquest)
