WESTPORT–Stage and screen stars including Santino Fontana, Wendie Malick and James Naughton will join the Westport Country Playhouse for a one-night-only fundraiser celebrating shows and songs connected to the Playhouse and its 95-year history.

The event, From the Stage to the Page, takes place on Oct. 3. Tickets here.

“The gala will feature songs and selections from musicals and plays which have ties to Playhouse history as we celebrate our theatre’s past, present and future!” said Playhouse Artistic Director Mark Shanahan. “ With a special tip of the hat to our Script in Hand reading series, which celebrates its 20th year as a hallmark of the Playhouse experience.”

Joyce Hergenhan, a Playhouse trustee and sponsor of the theater’s Script in Hand playreading series, will receive the 2026 Playhouse Leadership Award.

The evening, with black-and-white semi-formal attire, begins with a 5:30 p.m. pre-show reception and continues with a 7 p.m. curtain featuring a live auction, the presentation of award to Hergenhan and the performances. A 9 p.m. after-party will follow in the Lucille Lortel White Barn Center.

Many of this year’s performers have performed in Playhouse productions, playreadings and fundraisers. 

Fontana’s various awards include a 2019 Tony for the lead role in Tootsie on Broadway. He is also known as the voice of Prince Hans in Disney’s Frozen. His 10 Broadway credits also include Hello, Dolly! opposite Bernadette Peters, Act One opposite Tony Shalhoub, and Cinderella, for which he received a Tony nomination. On screen, he has appeared in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, and more.

Naughton has won two Tony Awards, for lead roles in City of Angels and Chicago. He directed two plays on Broadway, Arthur Miller’s The Price and Our Town, starring Paul Newman, which began at Westport Country Playhouse. His films include The Glass Menagerie, with Joanne Woodward and The Paper Chase. He won the MAC Award as “best male vocalist” for his concert show, “Street of Dreams,” presented by Mike Nichols. 

Malick is an award-winning actor, best known for her television roles as Nina Van Horn on Just Shoot Me!, Victoria Chase on Hot in Cleveland, and, most recently, Dr. Julie Barham on Apple TV+’s Shrinking. Her films include The American President.

Others scheduled to appear in “From the Page to the Stage” are:

Dan Lauria, best known as the dad on the hit television series, The Wonder Years. He has starred, recurred and guest starred in more than 70 television episodes, as well as in more than 20 “Movie of the Week” productions and a score of feature films. He has performed, written, or directed over 50 professional stage productions.

Javier Muñoz, best known for starring and co-creating the role of Alexander Hamilton as part of the original cast of Hamilton on Broadway. He got his break starring as Usnavi in In the Heights on Broadway.

Kelli O’Hara, who received a Tony Award for her performance in The King and I. Other Broadway shows include South Pacific, The Bridges of Madison County, and The Pajama Game.

NaTasha Yvette Williams, a Grammy winner and Tony-nominated actress who has appeared in Some Like It Hot, Wicked and Tina: The Tina Turner Musical.

Hergenhan, a retired corporate communications executive, has served on the boards of organizations including Westport Country Playhouse, Jackie Robinson Foundation, Fairfield Museum and History Center and Syracuse University, the Playhouse said in an announcement. A graduate of Syracuse University and the Columbia Business School, she “has been recognized by both institutions for her outstanding professional achievements,” the announcement said. “Her longstanding commitment to the arts includes supporting Westport Country Playhouse as a sponsor of its Script in Hand Playreading Series.”

The evening’s director is James Glossman, who will helm several short play readings commemorating the Playhouse’s history. Music supervisor is Mary-Mitchell Campbell, conductor, music director, orchestrator, composer, and arranger. The producer is Kevin Duncan.

All proceeds from the fundraiser benefit the Playhouse, a nonprofit performing arts center. 

Visit here for more information or tickets.

Westport Country Playhouse

25 Powers Court, Westport, Connecticut 06880

www.westportplayhouse.org

^{_{The Westport Country 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. Image Robert Benson.}}