Tony Shalhoub - Contributed photo
Tony Shalhoub – Contributed photo

WESTPORT–Wendie Malick and TV’s Monk, Tony Shaloub, will help the Westport Country Playhouse mark a milestone on Monday, starring in the 100th play reading in the theater center’s Script in Hand series.

They, with a third actor not yet announced, will read Portrait of a Woman in Repose, a play that “explores themes of art, memory, survival and the enduring effort to restore what has been lost,” the Playhouse said in a press release.

The reading begins at 7 p.m.

 “It’s our 100th Script in Hand reading!” said Mark Shanahan, Playhouse artistic director and curator of the Script in Hand series. “The series, originated by Playhouse pillar Annie Keefe, has become a hallmark of the Playhouse experience over the past 20 years.

Wendie Malick - Contributed photo
Wendie Malick – Contributed photo

Its newest show was written by Nicky Glossman and directed by James Glossman.

Set during the French restoration, after the fall of Napoleon Bonaparte, Portrait of a Woman in Repose depicts three people, brought together by an art conservation job, who must reckon with the past and the new world in which they find themselves.

Malick is 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, Racing Stripes, Adventureland and 7000 Miles.

Shalhoub, a Tony Award, Golden Globe Award, and four-time Emmy Award-winning actor, may be best known for playing the obsessive-compulsive detective Adrian Monk, but he has a wide-ranging resume. In addition to film and television work, he has starred on Broadway in The Band’s Visit, and Arthur Miller’s The Price.

“For our 100th reading, I knew we wanted to present something truly special, filled with wit, charm and heart,” Shanahan said. “Portrait of a Woman in Repose is all of that, as well as a feast for three wonderful actors – and I am so proud to welcome such an extraordinary cast to the Playhouse for this landmark night. Under James Glossman’s always superb direction, I know this will be an evening our audience will be talking about for a long time to come. Nicky Glossman’s beautiful play is the perfect script to celebrate this milestone as well as all of the exciting new work the Playhouse will be engaging with throughout the coming season.”