WESTPORT–Can you build a better grandmother? Find out what happens when one family tries in The Next Best Thing, a new comedy by Emmy-winning writer Matt Hoverman that the Westport Country Playhouse will present in its Script in Hand series on Sept. 14 at 7 p.m.

The play is about an “outspoken, wildly inappropriate” 80-year-old grandmother, Jo,  and the polite, sanitized android version her family builds to replace her when she dies, the Playhouse said in a release. 

“This ‘optimized’ robot accidentally activates while Jo is still alive, and, to Jo’s horror, charms her family and her granddaughter into preferring her!” the release said.

A native of Redding, Conn., Hoverman’s awards include a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Writing in an Animated Program for his work on the PBS program Arthur.

His writing for grown-ups includes the farcical comedies Puck’d: A Middle-Aged Summer Night’s Dream,  Who You See Here and Christmas Shorts. Actors who have performed readings of his work on and off Broadway include Beau Bridges, Jean Smart, Michael McKean, Cecily Strong, Edie Falco, Hank Azaria, Debra Messing, Alicia Silverstone and Christina Ricci, according to the Internet Movie Database.

“It’s a time to celebrate new work at the Playhouse!,” said Mark Shanahan, the Playhouse artistic director and curator of the Script in Hand series, who is directing the show. “This wild and wonderfully funny ride introduces us to a family any of us might recognize, while mixing outrageous comedy with smart observations about technology, family dynamics and the very nature of what it means to be human. Matt has a soaring imagination and a singular wit, and I couldn’t be happier to welcome this Connecticut native to the Playhouse to share his terrific new comedy with our audience.”

The Playhouse plans to announce the cast for the show shortly.