1835

Main portion of building constructed by R&H Haight for use as tannery and shop for manufacture of hatters' leathers

1857

Improvements to property that raised tax valuation from $1000 to $1400

1860

Charles H. Kemper purchased plant from Henry Haight's widow

1880

Kemper installed steam-powered cider mill

Winter 1930

Property with assessed value of $14,000, unused since the 1920s, acquired by Lawrence Langner, co-founder of the Theatre Guild in New York City, and his wife, Armina Marshall Langner

1930

Broadway theatrical designer Cleon Throckmorten transformed barn into a 499-seat theatre with a distinctive red and gold interior, and a stage large enough to accommodate Broadway-bound plays

June 29, 1931

Westport Country Playhouse opened with Dorothy Gish in The Streets of New York

1933

Kitty Carlisle in Champagne Sec

1934

Burgess Meredith in Hide and Seek

1935

Ruth Gordon in The Country Wife

1936

Eva Le Gallienne in Love for Love and Camille; Dorothy Gish in Russet Mantle

1937

Henry Fonda in The Virginian

1938

Ethel Barrymore in The Constant Wife

1939

Gene Kelly, Betty Comden & Adolph Green in Magazine Page; Ruth Gordon in Here Today

1940

Paul Robeson in The Emperor Jones

1940

Composer Richard Rodgers saw Playhouse production of Green Grow the Lilacs, and wrote Oklahoma! with Oscar Hammerstein, based on the play. Oklahoma! became the Theatre Guild's greatest success, running on Broadway from 1943 to 1949.

1941

Tyrone Power in Liliom, directed by Lee Strasberg.

1942-1945

Playhouse closed during World War II

1946

Managing Director Martin Manulas instituted apprentice system used in many summer theatres.

1946

June Havoc in They Knew What They Wanted; Olivia de Havilland in What Every Woman Knows; playwright Thornton Wilder as the Stage Manager in his play Our Town.

1947

Tallulah Bankhead in Noel Coward's Private Lives

1948

Playwright Thornton Wilder acting in his play of The Skin of Our Teeth

1949

Playhouse renovated to expand orchestra seating capacity. Architect was Edward L. Howard of Westport, and builder was Theodore Dachenhausen of Redding.

1949

Helen Hayes and her daughter, Mary MacArthur, in Good Housekeeping; Carl Reiner in Pretty Penny; Shirley Booth in the world premiere of William Inge's Come Back, Little Sheba transfers to Broadway

1950

Maureen Stapleton in My Fiddle Has Three Strings"; Maurice Evans in The Devil's Disciple"; Franchot Tone in The Second Man.

1951

Mezzanine added to increase seating capacity to 725 (reduced to 707 in recognition of current fire codes)

1951

Claudette Colbert in Island Fling; Olivia de Havilland in Candida

1952

Opening night of Playhouse production of George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion inspired Alan J. Lerner and Frederick Loewe to adapt play into the musical My Fair Lady.

1952

John Forsythe in Dangerous Corner and The Hasty Heart

1953

Eva Gabor in Sailor's Delight and The Play's the Thing, Lillian Gish in The Trip to Bountiful

1954

Imogene Coca in Happy Birthday; Richard Kiley in Candle-Light

1955

Richard Kiley in Heaven Can Wait; Eva Marie Saint in The Rainmaker

mid 1950s

Restaurant built adjacent to Playhouse and operated initially by the Playhouse as the Players Tavern

1956

Lillian & Dorothy Gish in The Chalk Garden; Bea Lillie in Beasop's Fables

1957

Eartha Kitt in Mrs. Patterson; Jessica Tandy & Hume Cronyn in Man in the Dog Suit

1958

Last summer season produced by the Langners

1958

Groucho Marx in A Time for Elizabeth which he co-authored; Bert Lahr in Visit to a Small Planet

1959

TV producer-director Henry Weinstein and lawyer Laurence Feldman, assumed control of the Playhouse with James B. McKenzie as general manager.

1959

Eli Wallach & Anne Jackson in The Glass Menagerie; Tony Randall in Arms and the Man

1960

James B. McKenzie promoted to co-producer of the Playhouse.

1960

Joan Fontaine in Susan and God; Jane Fonda in No Concern of Mine; Mike Nichols & Elaine May in An Evening with Mike Nichols and Elaine May

1961

Cyril Ritchard & Cornelia Otis Skinner in The Pleasure of His Company; Gloria Swanson in Between Seasons

1962

Tallulah Bankhead in Here Today; Sammy Davis, Jr. in Desperate Hours

1963

Laurence Feldman was killed and Henry Weinstein left to produce pictures at 20th Century Fox. James B. McKenzie formed a new partnership, Producing Managers Company, with Ralph Roseman and Spofford Beadle, to lease and operate the Playhouse.

1963

Teresa Wright in Tchin-Tchin; Carol Channing in The Millionairess; Hermione Gingold in Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mama's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feelin' So Sad

1964

Joel Grey in Stop the World, I Want to Get Off; Helen Hayes in The White House; Liza Minnelli's stage debut in The Fantasticks

Spring 1965

George Bernard Shaw Repertory Festival with Michael Allinson, Dina Merrill, Lois Nettleton and Bramwell Fletcher

1965

Tammy Grimes in The Private Ear and the Public Eye; Joan Fontaine in Unexpected Guest

1966

Cicely Tyson and Alan Alda in The Owl and the Pussycat; Tom Ewell in Life with Father

1967

Barbara Bel Geddes in Wait Until Dark; E.G. Marshall in A Singular Man, Betsy Palmer in Luv

1968

Geraldine Page in The Little Foxes; Shirley Booth in Desk Set

1969

Keir Dullea, Blythe Danner and Maureen O'Sullivan in Butterflies Are Free transfers to Broadway

1970

Noel Harrison in Blithe Spirit; Shirley Booth in Best of Friends

1971

Colleen Dewhurst in The Big Coca Cola Swamp in the Sky; Geraldine Page and Rip Torn in Marriage and Money

1972

Mickey Rooney in See How They Run; Robert Stack in Remember Me

1973

The not-for-profit Connecticut Theatre Foundation, Inc. was created to operate the Playhouse with Ina Bradley as Board President and James B. McKenzie as Executive Producer.

1973

Jose Ferrer in A Song for Cyrano; Art Carney in Prisoner of 2nd Avenue

1974

Jack Guilford and Lou Jacobi in The Sunshine Boys

1975

Lynn Redgrave in The Two of Us; Theodore Bikel in The Good Doctor; Tammy Grimes in In Praise of Love

1976

Eva Marie Saint in The Fatal Weakness

1977

Jane Alexander and Richard Kiley in The Master Builder

1978

Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. in Out on a Limb; Louis Jourdan in 13 Rue De L'Amour

1979

Vincent Price in Diversions & Delights

1980

50th Anniversary Season, The Streets of New York; Sada Thompson in Children; Richard Thomas in Whose Life Is It Anyway?

1981

Eva Le Gallienne in To Grandmother's House We Go

1982

Eileen Heckart in What I Did Last Summer; Cybill Shepherd in Lunch Hour; Pat Carroll in Gertrude Stein

1983

Shelly Winters in 84 Charing Cross Road

1984

Geraldine Page and Sandy Dennis in Agnes of God; Betsy Palmer in Breakfast with Les and Bess

1985

Playhouse threatened with demolition when Philip Langner, who had acquired the property from his parents, sought to sell the acreage for use as a shopping center or condo complex. The Playhouse Limited Partnership, with McKenzie as General Partner, was formed to purchase the property for $1.2 million.

1985

Leslie Caron in One for the Tango; a Fall Season includes Christopher Walken and Katharine Houghton in A Bill of Divorcement

1986

Colleen Dewhurst in Real Estate

1987

Lee Richardson and Frances Sternhagen in All My Sons; Doubles by David Wiltse, George Grizzard in The Perfect Party

1988

Arlene Francis and David Birney in Social Security

1989

Elizabeth Ashley in All the Queen's Men; Words and Music with Sammy Cahn

March 19, 1990

Playhouse entered on the Connecticut State Register of Historic Places

1990

Fritz Weaver and Elizabeth Wilson in The Cocktail Hour

1991

Aaron Sorkin's A Few Good Men, directed by Steve Karp, wins Connecticut Critics Circle Awards for Best Play and Best Director

1992

Connecticut Critics Circle Award for Best Musical goes to Kander & Ebb's The World Goes 'Round, directed by Scott Ellis, choreographed by Susan Stroman, with Marin Mazzie and Karen Ziemba

1993

James B. McKenzie receives the Tom Killen Award presented by the Connecticut Critics Circle for extraordinary contributions to Connecticut's professional theatre

1993

Charles Cioffi in The Substance of Fire

1994

Jerry Stiller, Estelle Harris and Amy Stiller in Beau Jest; Victoria Tennant in Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew

1995

Eileen Heckart in The Cemetery Club; Roy Dotrice and Maxwell Caulfield in The Woman in Black

1996

Charles Durning, James Handy and Dan Lauria in Men in Suits

1997

Jane Powell, Anne Meara, Jerry Stiller and Paul Benedict in After-Play; An Evening with Jerry Herman, starring himself

1998

Jean Stapleton in Eleanor – Her Secret Journey

1999

James Naughton in Street of Dreams; Michael Learned and Ralph Waite in Chasing Monsters; Tim Conway in A Bench in the Sun; Connecticut Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play awarded to Frank Ferrante as Groucho Marx in Groucho – A Life in Revue, by Arthur Marx and Robert Fisher, directed by Ferrante

January 18, 2000

James B. McKenzie retires as Executive Producer after 41 years at the Playhouse

2000

January 2000

February 7, 2000

Feb. 13, 2000

February 23, 2000

Playhouse recognized as a Connecticut Treasure by Connecticut Lieutenant Governor M. Jodi Rell

Summer 2000

The Constant Wife directed by Joanne Woodward; Ancestral Voices by A. R. Gurney with first week cast Jane Curtin, Neil Patrick Harris, Fritz Weaver, Elizabeth Wilson, Frank Converse, second week cast Joanne Woodward, Paul Newman, Paul Rudd, Swoosie Kurtz, James Naughton

December 31, 2000

Connecticut Theatre Foundation, Inc. acquires 100% of the shares of the Playhouse Limited Partnership and so becomes owner of the Playhouse and adjacent restaurant

June 2001

Joanne Woodward named Artistic Director of the Westport Country Playhouse

Summer 2001

Gene Wilder in Don't Make Me Laugh; Three Days of Rain directed by Joanne Woodward; David Wiltse's Temporary Help with Jeffrey
DeMunn and Karen Allen

October 28, 2001

For the Children, a special benefit performance to aid the families
affected by 9/11/01, with Kristin Chenoweth, James Naughton, Paul Newman, Christopher Plummer, Gene Wilder, Joanne Woodward

June 2002

Our Town directed by James Naughton, with Paul Newman; Master Harold…and the Boys by Athol Fugard, with Leon Addison Brown who receives the Connecticut Critic Circle Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play

June 7, 2002

Playhouse officially announces plans to renovate and expand its theater facilities over the next few years

Oct. 28, 2002

Bob Wright, Vice Chairman & Executive Officer of GE and Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of NBC, signs on as chairman of the historic theater's $30+ million renovation campaign, supported in his efforts by his wife Suzanne

November 2002

Playhouse production of Our Town transfers to Broadway's Booth
Theatre for limited run, playing to 100% capacity

May 23, 2003

Playhouse production of Our Town airs on Showtime and later in the year on PBS' Masterpiece Theatre. Paul Newman receives 2003 Tony and Emmy Award nominations for his performance as Stage Manager.

Summer 2003

The Good German by David Wiltse, directed by James Naughton; The
Old Settler, directed by Tazewell Thompson; All My Sons, directed by
Doug Hughes, with Richard Dreyfuss and Jill Clayburgh, who receives Connecticut Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play

September 2003

The Streets of New York book-ends 72 seasons of summer theatre as the old barn closes for an 18-month renovation

Oct. 9, 2003

Breaking New Ground: A Celebration! to support the Campaign
for a New Era is hosted by Sean Hayes with performances by
Carole King and Robin Williams

Mar. 10, 2004

The Kresge Foundation awards an $850,000 challenge grant to the Playhouse's Campaign for a New Era

Summer 2004

Ridgefield Playhouse becomes an interim stage while construction is underway. In a special engagement, Paul Newman portrays the title role in Trumbo  

Oct. 14, 2004

Building the Future: A Gala Evening to benefit the Campaign for a
New Era is hosted by Brian Williams with performances by Paul
Newman, Robert Redford and Harry Connick, Jr. and Orchestra

May 2005

An American Theatre – The Story of Westport Country Playhouse
by Richard Somerset-Ward, with Foreword by Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman, is published by Yale University Press

May 23, 2005

Ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the re-opening of the Playhouse and its 75th Anniversary Season

June 3, 2005

Christopher Plummer gives the inaugural performance in the
refurbished theatre – A Word or Two, Before You Go

June 27, 2005

Joanne Woodward receives a Special Award of Recognition from the Connecticut Critics Circle for her role in renovating and preserving an historic Connecticut theatre

July, Aug. 2005

The Member of the Wedding, directed by Joanne Woodward; Journey's End, directed by Gregory Boyd

Oct. 15, 2005

Joanne Woodward's six-year tenure as artistic director is saluted with performances by Tony Bennett, Joshua Bell, Glenn Close, Audra McDonald and James Naughton

Fall 2005

The Playhouse is now in year-round mode with The Immigrant directed by Tazewell Thompson; and Charles Dickens' David Copperfield, directed by Anne Keefe and Joanne Woodward

Nov. 16, 2005

The Playhouse receives a 2005 Governor's Arts Award as part of the inaugural Governor's Conference on Culture & Tourism designed to recognize significant achievements in the fields of the performing, visual and literary arts and film; tourism; and heritage preservation within Connecticut 

December 5, 2005

Lucille Lortel Foundation awards a $2 million grant to establish
The Lucille Lortel White Barn Center at the Playhouse

December 31, 2005

The Campaign for a New Era successfully ends, exceeding its $30.6
million goal by $700,000

January 1, 2006

Tazewell Thompson becomes the Playhouse's fourth artistic director.
Joanne Woodward is named artistic director emeritus

January 2006

David Wiltse is appointed Playwright-in-Residence

Spring 2006

James Earl Jones appears in the world premiere, Thurgood

2006 Season

Productions include Constant Star written and directed by Tazewell
Thompson; A Marriage Minuet by David Wiltse and Charles Dickens'
A Christmas Carol, adapted and directed by Tazewell Thompson

Sept. 25, 2006

Returning to the Playhouse after his 1950 apprenticeship, Stephen
Sondheim is saluted on the Playhouse stage with performances by Laura Benanti, Kristin Chenoweth, Barbara Cook and Patti LuPone

October 2006

The Dressing Room: A Homegrown Restaurant, run by Paul Newman and Michel Nischan, opens on Playhouse grounds on the heels of a popular weekly Farmer's Market in the parking lot

December 2006

Jodi Schoenbrun Carter is named Playhouse Managing Director

January 2007

The 2007 year-round season is announced to include the new Kander
and Ebb musical All About Us, and world premieres of Sedition by David Wiltse and Being Alive, with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, conceived and directed by Billy Porter

Feb. 10, 2007

Come Be My Love…Love Spoken Here, conceived and directed by Tazewell Thompson, launches an annual Valentine celebration with poetry readings by Joanne Woodward, Paul Newman, Eartha Kitt, Charles Grodin, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Joanna Gleason and Chris Sarandon

May 2007

WCP receives grant from The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)

Sept. 24, 2007

Award-winning talents Shuler Hensley, Eartha Kitt, Debra Monk, James Naughton, Bebe Neuwirth, David Hyde Pierce, Chita Rivera, Ben Vereen and Karen Ziemba take the stage to celebrate guest of honor John Kander, the Tony Award-winning composer of Chicago, Cabaret and Curtains

January 2, 2008

Joanne Woodward and Anne Keefe return as interim artistic directors for the 2008 season following the departure of Tazewell Thompson

February 2008

Paul Newman is announced to make his professional stage directing debut with the October production of Of Mice and Men, but is forced to withdraw in May due to health reasons

April 2008

Thurgood, which received its world premiere at the Playhouse in 2006, opens on Broadway

June 2008

Hot 'n Cole, a Cole Porter musical revue directed by James Naughton, is the season's biggest audience sensation at 95.7% paid capacity

Summer 2008

One-night-only events are stellar hits with A Conversation with Edward Albee and Kathleen Turner on June 23; and readings of Arsenic and Old Lace with Joanne Woodward, Anne Keefe and Christopher Walken on July 14; and Golden Boy with Marisa Tomei on August 25

September 15, 2008

A sold-out audience attends the annual benefit, Footlights and Film: A Celebration of the Great Musicals from Stage and Screen, hosted by Julia Roberts and featuring a special tribute to Angela Lansbury presented by Bernadette Peters. Suzanne and Bob Wright are honored for their many contributions to the Playhouse with an award presented by Ralph Lauren

October 19, 2008

The Town of Westport and Westport Arts Advisory Committee present a Westport Arts Award for Achievement in Theatre to WCP

October 2008

The 2009 season is announced, which includes Around the World in 80 Days, A. R. Gurney's Children, the Jonathan Larson musical tick, tick... Boom! and Alan Ayckbourn's How the Other Half Loves.

December 2008

Sandra Walters DeFeo is elected president of the Playhouse board
of trustees. Elisabeth Morten, former board president, becomes chairman

February 1, 2009

Theatre veterans Mark Lamos and Michael Ross are named artistic director and managing director, respectively

March 28, 2009

Stage and screen star Kristin Chenoweth, Tony Award winner for You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, and Tony Award nominee for originating the role of Glinda the Good Witch in Wicked, appears in a Benefit Concert

June 15, 2009

2008—2009 Connecticut Critics Circle Award Winners
for Westport Country Playhouse Productions
Outstanding Actress in a Play
Andrea Maulella - Tryst
Outstanding Lighting Design
Robert Wiertzel - Of Mice and Men
Outstanding Sound Design
David Levy - Around the World in 80 Days
Special Achievement Award
Elizabeth Helitzer and Mark Parenti - Around the World in 80 Days

November 2, 2009

At the annual gala, An Enchanted Evening: The Music of Richard Rodgers, special tributes are given to Mary Rodgers Guettel by Stephen Sondheim, both former Playhouse apprentices; and to Elisabeth Morten, chairmen of the board.

December 2009

A Holiday Festival of one-night-only concerts, dance, films and theater, includes This Wonderful Life, The Klezmatics and The Broadway Boys.

April 2010

80th Anniversary Season begins. The five-show series includes a musical and a play directed by Mark Lamos, artistic director.

June 7, 2010

Butterflies Are Free is reprised as a reading 40 years after it transferred from the Playhouse to Broadway – with its original stars – Blythe Danner as the mother and Keir Dullea as the evening's host. Jonathan Groff from Fox television's "Glee" and Betty Gilpin play young couple.

June 14, 2010

2009 – 2010 Connecticut Critics Circle Award Winners
For Westport Country Playhouse Productions

Outstanding Director of a Musical

Mark Lamos – She Loves Me

Outstanding Costume Design

Candice Donnelly – She Loves Me

September 13, 2010

The Magical Music of Stephen Schwartz is the theme of the 2010 gala, saluting the renowned composer for stage and screen.

September 19, 2010

The Malloy Lecture in the Arts is presented by the Westport Public Library at the Playhouse with Remembering Archie (Archibald MacLeish—The Poet and the Man), as told by Christopher Plummer.

September 15 – October 30, 2010

Concurrent with The Diary of Anne Frank, the Playhouse partners with 16 community organizations to present Window onto History: Perspectives on The Diary of Anne Frank. The series includes speakers, panel discussions, films, family events and art exhibits designed to provide a wider context in which to access the life of Anne Frank, the Holocaust, genocide and issues of social justice.