Release
<div>SHOWTIME AND MASTERPIECE THEATRE BRING BROADWAY TO BROADCAST TO CELEBRATE PAUL NEWMAN'S RETURN TO THE STAGE IN "OUR TOWN"</div>
NEW YORK, NY: (February 5, 2003) Showtime Networks and PBS's EXXONMOBIL MASTERPIECE THEATRE will celebrate noted actor/director Paul Newman's first appearance on Broadway in 38 years by airing the Westport Country Playhouse Production of Thornton Wilder's Pulitzer-Prize winning classic "Our Town," which recently played to sold-out audiences on Broadway.
"Our Town" is the first Showtime/MASTERPIECE THEATRE co-production. It will join several successful stage performances taped and aired on Showtime, including the recent Golden Globe®-winning "Arthur Miller's Death of A Salesman" starring Brian Dennehy and Sam Shepard's "True West," starring Bruce Willis. Following its run on Showtime, the play will air as part of ExxonMobil Masterpiece Theatre's American Collection, a series of films showcasing the works of America's greatest authors.
"Showtime is proud to offer television viewers the opportunity to see one of America's most celebrated actors in one of America's most cherished plays," said Showtime President of Programming Jerry Offsay. "And we're thrilled to be partnering on "Our Town" with the prestigious MASTERPIECE THEATRE, a series known for high-quality entertainment."
"This co-production is a wonderful gift for fans of great drama," said MASTERPIECE THEATRE's Executive Producer Rebecca Eaton. Our Town is the quintessential American play and a perfect fit for our American Collection. What an honor to add Paul Newman to MASTERPIECE THEATRE's roster of great actors."
Lauded as "marvelous" by The New Yorker, this new revival of "Our Town" stars Newman as the Stage Manager, who narrates Wilder's immortal tale of love, marriage and death in Grovers Corners, U.S.A. Also starring are Frank Converse (Theatre: "Philadelphia Story," "A Streetcar Named Desire," "Brothers"; TV: "NYPD," "Law & Order") as Dr. Gibbs; Jayne Atkinson (Theatre: "The Rainmaker," "Ivanov," "Henry VIII" TV: "The Practice," "The X-Files") as Mrs. Gibbs; Jane Curtin (Theatre: "Noises Off," "Candida"; TV "3rd Rock From the Sun," "Saturday Night Live") as Mrs. Webb; Ben Fox (Theatre: "Three Seconds in the Key," "K" TV: "Guiding Light") as George Gibbs, Maggie Lacey (Theatre: "Big Times" "Three-Cornered Moon"; TV: "Sex and the City") as Emily Webb and Stephen Spinella (Theatre: "The Dead," "Angels in America"; TV "Ed," "Law & Order").
First produced in 1938, "Our Town" has become an American stage treasure and is Wilder's most renowned and frequently performed play. Set at the turn of the 20th century, the play reveals the ordinary lives of the people in the small town of Grovers Corners. At the center of the story are Emily Webb and George Gibbs, young lovers who grow up, get married and start a family. When Emily and her baby die during childbirth, they join other members of the town who have passed on and now sit and watch the lives of those they left behind unfold. Given the chance to go back and relive one day, Emily chooses one of the happiest days of her life - her twelfth birthday. But her excitement turns to disillusionment as she sees the day wasted by trivial preoccupations and petty disappointments that keep her and her family from enjoying life for what it is -- a precious gift to be savored and appreciated.
This special taping of "Our Town" is a co-production between Showtime Networks and WGBH Boston for Exxonmobil Masterpiece Theatre's American Collection. MASTERPIECE THEATRE's Rebecca Eaton will serve as executive producer and Marc Bauman will serve as producer. James Naughton, who directed the stage production, will direct the taping for Showtime and PBS. Joanne Woodward is artistic director of the Westport Country Playhouse.
The series of nine films in Exxonmobil Masterpiece Theatre's American Collection is produced by WGBH Boston and ALT Films. Rebecca Eaton is the series executive producer. Major funding is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and PBS. National corporate sponsorship is provided by ExxonMobil. To extend the reach of the PBS broadcast, WGBH will produce a major "Our Town" website, a Teacher's Guide, and additional classroom resources.
Westport Country Playhouse is in preparation for its 73rd year of producing and presenting quality summer theatre, as well as educational projects and additional programming including theatre, dance, and music for adults and children. For information about Westport Country Playhouse visit www.westportplayhouse.org.
