Chris Henry Coffey
John Haddock
Debut at Westport Country Playhouse, after recently co-starring in David Schwimmer’s feature
Trust (“one of the year's best films” – Roger Ebert), with Clive Owen and Catherine Keener. Theater: Originating roles in Richard Nelson’s
Frank’s Home (Playwrights’ Horizons, Goodman Theatre) and
How Shakespeare Won the West (Huntington Theatre);
Resurrection Blues (Old Globe, dir., Mark Lamos);
The Front Page (Long Wharf Theatre);
Violet Hour, Hedda Gabler (Dallas Theatre Center);
PR Man (Ohio Theatre); also Alley Theatre, Yale Repertory Theatre; Williamstown Theatre Festival. TV/Film: Recurring on “Law & Order: CI,”
The International, Walking on the Sky, Thirteen Days, June, Play It By Ear, “Cupid,” “Law & Order.” Yale School of Drama graduate.
John Ellison Conlee
Sam Truman
Broadway:
The Full Monty (as Dave Bukatinsky -Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle Award nominations),
The Constant Wife, 1776, Anyone Can Whistle, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Encores!). Off-Broadway: World premiere of
Pig Farm (Roundabout Theatre Company);
The Bald Soprano, The Butter and Egg Man, Once in a Lifetime (Atlantic Theater Company);
The Green Heart (Manhattan Theatre Club);
Hundreds of Hats (WPA);
Henry VIII, Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Measure for Measure (NYSF Shakespeare in the Park); numerous plays (52nd Street Project). Regional:
Threepenny Opera, As You Like It, The Taming of the Shrew, The Rivals (Williamstown Theatre Festival); McCarter Theatre; The Old Globe; Goodman Theatre. Films:
The Rebound, Brief Reunion, The Pride, Stephanie Daley, Trust the Man, Kinsey, Serendipity, So Close on which he was a producer. Television: “Medium”; “Law & Order”; “Spin City”; “Third Watch”;
Liberty, Dolley Madison, Alexander Hamilton (PBS); and recurring roles on “Parks and Recreation” (NBC) and
Brotherhood (Showtime).
Jenn Gambatese
Chloe Haddock
Broadway:
Is He Dead?, Tarzan, All Shook Up, Hairspray, A Year with Frog and Toad, Footloose. Off-Broadway:
The School for Lies (Classic Stage Company),
Stairway to Paradise (Encores!),
Reefer Madness. On Tour:
Fame (European and North American tours). Recent regional work includes:
We Have Always Lived in the Castle (Yale Repertory Theatre),
Annie Get Your Gun (Goodspeed Musicals). Film and TV:
The Good Shepherd, “All My Children.” Jenn graduated with honors from NYU and can be heard on numerous cast albums. For more information and updates, check out her website,
www.jenngambatese.com.
Maggie Lacey
Sally Truman
Westport Country Playhouse:
Our Town, The School for Husbands. Broadway:
Dividing the Estate, Inherit the Wind, Our Town. Off-Broadway:
The Orphans Home Cycle (Signature Theatre);
The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore (Roundabout Theatre);
Spirit Control (Manhattan Theatre Club);
Dividing the Estate (Primary Stages);
Engaged (TFANA);
The Bald Soprano (Atlantic Theater);
Big Times (W.E.T., co-writer);
The Butterfly Collection (Playwrights Horizons). Regional: Hartford Stage, Long Wharf Theatre, Seattle Repertory, Arena Stage. Film /TV:
The Life Before Her Eyes (Vadim Perelman, dir.),
Our Town (Showtime/PBS); “The Big C,” “Army Wives,” “Law & Order,” “Sex and the City.” MFA: NYU.
Terrence McNally
Playwright
Terrence McNally won Tony Awards for best play for
Love! Valour! Compassion! and
Master Class. In addition,
Love! Valour! Compassion! won the Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, and the New York Drama Critics’ Circle awards for best play. His other plays include
Corpus Christi, which was named one of the best plays of 1998 by Time magazine;
A Perfect Ganesh, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize;
Lips Together, Teeth Apart; The Lisbon Traviata; Frankie and Johnny in the Clair De Lune; and
It’s Only a Play. Earlier stage works include
Bad Habits, The Ritz, Where Has Tommy Flowers Gone? and
And Things That Go Bump in the Night. He has written a number of television scripts, including
Andre's Mother, for which he won an Emmy Award. McNally has received two Guggenheim Fellowships, a Rockefeller grant, a Lucille Lortel Award and a citation from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. A member of the Dramatists Guild since 1970, McNally was raised in Corpus Christi, Texas, and makes his home in New York City.
Mark Lamos
Director/Westport Country Playhouse Artistic Director
Westport Country Playhouse:
Happy Days, She Loves Me, The Breath of Life, That Championship Season, Of Mice and Men. Director Mark Lamos has collaborated with some of the most important contemporary writers, including Arthur Miller (
Resurrection Blues - Old Globe Theater); Tony Kushner (
Dybbuk, a Lamos commission, as well as
The Illusion, both for Hartford Stage); A.R. Gurney (
The Grand Manner, Black Tie, Big Bill and
Buffalo Gal - off-Broadway). He staged the premiere of Jon Robin Baitz's
The End of the Day (Off-Broadway); directed Edward Albee's
Seascape (Broadway) and
Tiny Alice (Hartford Stage and off-Broadway - Lortel Award); Jeffrey Hatcher's
Compleat Female Stage Beauty; David Edgar's
Pentecost, also at the Globe; U.S. premiere of Simon Gray's
Hidden Laughter (Hartford Stage);
Love's Fire, short plays by Wendy Wasserstein, Eric Bogosian, Marsha Norman, Ntozake Shange, William Finn and Kushner (The Acting Company at The Public Theater; played on U.S. tour at Fairfield University’s Quick Center for the Arts). He made his Broadway directing debut with Timberlake Wertenbaker's
Our Country's Good (Tony Award nomination) and has also staged Alfred Uhry's
Edgardo Mine for the Guthrie Theater. He began his directing career with Athol Fugard's
Hello and Good-Bye at the Guthrie Theater.
Andrew Jackness
Scenic Design
Broadway: 2010 revival of
Bye Bye Birdie, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Precious Sons, Spoils of War, Jules Feiffer’s
Grownups, The Little Foxes starring Elizabeth Taylor,
Beyond Therapy, Whodunnit, Michael Feinstein On Broadway, Arthur Kopit’s
Wings, the Hal Prince production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s
Whistle Down the Wind. Off-Broadway: A. R. Gurney’s
Buffalo Gal, directed by Mark Lamos (Primary Stages). He recently designed
The Sound of Music (Teatro Opera, Buenos Aires). Regional:
Carnival!, Mr. Roberts (Kennedy Center);
The Blonde, The Brunette, and The Vengeful Redhead (Cincinnati Playhouse, Dallas Theater Center);
Die Fledermaus, Cosi Fan Tutte (Santa Fe Opera); Strauss’
Intermezzo (New York City Opera);
Salome (Glimmerglass Opera);
South Pacific (Los Angeles Civic Light Opera);
Savageland (Washington Opera);
Frida (Houston Grand Opera). Film:
Everybody’s Fine, Killshot directed by John Madden, Stanley Tucci’s
Big Night, The Impostors, Joe Gould’s Secret, Reckless, Prelude to a Kiss, Longtime Companion, The Love Letter, The Associate. Television: Pilot episodes of the current FX show “Lights Out,” and the ABC series “Off the Map.” He also designed the series “Life As We Know It.”
Robert Wierzel
Lighting Design
Westport Country Playhouse:
The Breath of Life, Of Mice and Men, The Turn of the Screw, Sedition, Constant Star, Jam & Spice, On the Verge, The Immigrant. Broadway:
Fela! (Tony Award nomination); Royal National Theatre (London); EKO Center (Lagos, Nigeria); European Tour;
Tales of the City (American Conservatory Theatre). Regional: Hartford Stage, Roundabout Theatre, Center Stage, Chicago Shakespeare, Guthrie Theater, Long Wharf Theatre, Goodman Theatre Company, Mark Taper Forum, The Old Globe. Opera: Paris (Garnier), New York City Opera, Glimmerglass, Seattle, Boston, Minnesota, San Francisco, Virginia, Chicago (Lyric Opera and Chicago Opera Theatre), Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, among others. Dance work includes 25 years with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company.
John Gromada
Sound Design
Westport Country Playhouse:
Beyond Therapy, Happy Days, Of Mice and Men, The Archbishop’s Ceiling, Journey's End, Dear Brutus, Trumbo. Broadway: Music and sound design for
Next Fall, Proof, Sight Unseen, Dividing the Estate, Prelude to a Kiss, A Bronx Tale, Well, Rabbit Hole, Twelve Angry Men, Twilight LA, A Few Good Men, more. Gromada has composed many scores for Hartford Stage productions, including Horton Foote's epic
Orphans' Home Cycle, and Michael Wilson's
A Christmas Carol. Long Wharf Theatre:
The Old Masters, Train Driver, more. Other New York:
Measure for Measure now at the Delacorte,
Vera Stark, Milk Train..., The Screwtape Letters, Shipwrecked!..., Clybourne Park, The Grand Manner, more. Other Public Theater:
The Singing Forest, Henry V, Julius Caesar, The Skriker, Machinal, more. Regional: over 200 productions. Television:
The Interrogators (Biography). Awards: Drama Desk, Lucille Lortel, Henry Hewes, Obie, Eddy, Drama-logue, NEA Opera/Music Theatre Fellowship, ASCAP awards.
www.johngromada.com
Mark Silence
Fight Director
Westport Country Playhouse:
Dinner with Friends. Mark's choreography has been featured in plays, films and interactive media. Fight direction for theater includes: American Conservatory Theater, Mark Taper Forum, Magic Theatre, Marin Theatre Company, Grove Shakespeare Festival and Brava. Mark is the head of the Stage Combat Program at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York City, and has taught at ACT, Gascon Center Theatre and the Educational Theatre Association. Recent credits include
Henry IV, part 1; The Phantom Lady; and
Getting Out.
Matthew Melchiorre
Production Stage Manager
Westport Country Playhouse:
Beyond Therapy; The Diary of Anne Frank; Happy Days (directed by Mark Lamos);
She Loves Me (directed by Mark Lamos);
That Championship Season (directed by Mark Lamos);
Tick, Tick, Boom!; Around the World in 80 Days; A Holiday Garland; The Pavilion. Primary Stages: A.R. Gurney’s
Black Tie (directed by Mark Lamos);
Happy Now?; Shipwrecked, An Entertainment!...; A.R. Gurney’s
Buffalo Gal (directed by Mark Lamos). Broadway:
The Light in the Piazza, Coram Boy, Hamlet, Curtains, Monty Python’s Spamalot, Wicked, The Lion King, All Shook Up, The Frogs. Off-Broadway:
White Chocolate, Open Heart, The Architecture of Loss. Other:
Show Boat In Concert (Carnegie Hall).
Amanda Spooner
Assistant Stage Manager
Westport Country Playhouse:
She Loves Me. Recent credits include
Black Tie (Primary Stages);
Evita, The Wizard of Oz (Northern Stage);
The Winter's Tale (Elm Shakespeare); and
Ameriville (The Public Theater). Amanda is a graduate of the Yale School of Drama and a San Francisco native. She is looking forward to stage-managing
Measure for Measure (Elm Shakespeare) later this summer.
Janet Foster, C.S.A.
Casting
Westport Country Playhouse:
The Circle; Beyond Therapy; The Diary of Anne Frank; I Do! I Do!; Happy Days; Dinner with Friends; She Loves Me; The Breath of Life; That Championship Season; tick, tick... BOOM!; Around the World in 80 Days. Broadway:
The Light in the Piazza (Artios Award nomination),
Lennon, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,
Taking Sides (Co-Cast). Off-Broadway:
Lucy, Close Ties, Brundibar, True Love, Endpapers, The Dying Gaul, The Maiden’s Prayer, Dream True, Trojan Women, A Love Story. Playwrights Horizons:
Floyd Collins, The Monogamist, A Cheever Evening, Later Life and many more. Regional: Intiman Theatre, Seattle Repertory Theatre, A Contemporary Theatre, California Shakespeare Theater, Berkeley Repertory, Dallas Theater Center, Pittsburgh Public Theater, Yale Repertory Theatre, Goodman Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre, Old Globe, CENTERSTAGE and ART. Film/TV: “Cosby” (CBS); “Tracy Takes on New York” (HBO);
The Deal by Lewis Black; and
Advice from a Caterpillar. Radio: BBC World Services "The Day that Lehman Died," a recent Peabody Award winner, directed by John Dryden.
Reviews
The New York Times
By Anita Gates
“...a brilliant piece... he [Mark Lamos, director] and his cast collaborate to deliver four cogent, authentic performances.”
Waterbury Republican-American
By Joanne Rochman
“Absolutely too good to miss, the performances of Chris Henry Coffey, John Ellison Conlee, Jenn Gambatese, and Maggie Lacey are superior...picture perfect production.” Rated 5 of 5 stars
TalkinBroadway.com
By Fred Sokol
“...composed with precision, wit and implication by the gifted Terrence McNally...thematically cogent...catchy and commanding...contemporary and pertinent...”
Westport News
By Geary Danihy
“...elegant, subtle, multi-layered...a serio-comic study...while heavy issues underlie the production, there is a great deal of surface hilarity in the form of witty repartee and quirky characterizations...”
Susan Granger Entertainment Commentaries
By Susan Granger
“Staging this intricate, four-person ensemble piece – with its tonal changes and melancholy transitions – is a major theatrical challenge which perceptive Artistic Director Mark Lamos meets brilliantly... compassionate insights into marriage, family, loss and love...”
WestportPatch.com
By Karen Dydzuhn
“...thought provoking and yet entertaining... not to be missed. It's funny, intriguing and nothing short of what sophisticated Westport audiences have come to expect at their own professional playhouse located in the downtown business district.”
Connecticut Arts Connection
By Lauren Yarger
“...humor, great character development... many-layered and well done here...”
Behind the Curtain
By Frank Rizzo
“...touches the heart... Oh, but it's very funny...he [Mark Lamos, director] shows great care, sensitivity and compassion in depicting people who are struggling with the unknown while trying to find the humanity in themselves.”
BroadwayWorld.com
By Sherry Shameer Cohen
“Is the play worth seeing? Absolutely.”
Hartford Arts Examiner
By Andrew Beck
“...a revealing and intelligent revival...”
NYTheaterScene.com
By Irene Backalenick
“...Mark Lamos, with his unique vision, has staged the piece brilliantly...”
Middletown Press
By Bonnie Goldberg
“Mark Lamos directs this biting confrontation of emotions, all set to explode on the holiday, like a skilled ring-master.”
Ridgelea Reports
By Tom Nissley
“...the production is perfectly acted and directed (Mark Lamos), on a really beautiful set (Andrew Jackness)...Do I recommend it? Yes. It’s pretty likely to irritate you, but entertain, as well, and make you think.”
The Hour/Wilton Villager
By David A. Rosenberg
“...a lively revival... definitely worth attending...”
The Fairfield County Weekly
By Christopher Arnott
“...there’s a whole rich wash of theatrical grace and light over this version... a play not about how people look and how they live, but about how people think other people look and live.”
Elm City Newspapers
By Tom Holehan
“...a very moving drama leavened by McNally’s generous humor.”
New York Theater Buying Guide
By Ron Gross
“Our highest recommendation! An affecting, witty, trenchant portrayal of two couples summering and simmering emotionally... some wonderful comedy and social satire...”
News/Articles
July 16, 2011
WestportNow.com
Opening Night Photos
by Dave Matlow
July 14, 2011
BroadwayWorld.com
Photo Flash: WCP Presents Lips Together, Teeth Apart
July 12, 2011
WestportNow.com
Special Playhouse Guests
Photo by Dave Matlow
July 12, 2011
WestportNow.com
Lips Together, Teeth Apart Opens in Previews Tonight
Photo by Dave Matlow
July 12, 2011
Stamford Times
Lips Together, Teeth Apart Staged at Westport
by Gloria Cole Sugarman
July 11, 2011
WestportPatch.com
Lips Together, Teeth Apart Opens This Week at Playhouse
by Karen Dydzuhn
July 5, 2011
Stamford Times/Norwalk Hour
July 4 Is Marked on Stage in Many Ways
by David A. Rosenberg
June 30, 2011
Westport News
Lips Together at Westport Playhouse
June 21, 2011
Playbill.com
Westport's Lips Together, Teeth Apart Will Star John Ellison Conlee and Jenn Gambatese
by Adam Hetrick
June 21, 2011
Culture Cache
Lips Together, Teeth Apart Headed to Westport
by Patrick Quinn
June 21, 2011
Broadway.com
By Broadway.com Staff
Jenn Gambatese, John Ellison Conlee & More to Star in
Lips Together, Teeth Apart at Westport Country Playhouse
June 21, 2011
Theatermania.com
Chris Henry Coffey, John Ellison Conlee, Jenn Gambatese, Maggie Lacey
Set for Westport's Lips Together, Teeth Apart
by Andy Propst
June 21, 2011
Behind the Curtain
by Frank Rizzo
Maggie Lacey, Jenn Gambatese Cast in Lips Together, Teeth Apart at Westport
Press Releases
July 7, 2011
Westport Country Playhouse Offers Special Events and Opportunities during
the Run of Terrence McNally's Lips Together, Teeth Apart
July 6, 2011
Westport Country Playhouse Offers Behind the Scenes Video of Lips Together, Teeth Apart
June 21, 2011
Westport Country Playhouse Stages Terrence McNally's Summer Sizzler
Lips Together, Teeth Apart, Directed by Mark Lamos
