Comical and Provocative Satire "Straight White Men" Takes Stage at Westport Country Playhouse

Westport Country Playhouse presents "Straight White Men" by experimental playwright Young Jean Lee, from May 24 through June 5. Directed by the Playhouse's artistic director, Mark Lamos, this hilarious production focuses on the relationship of a widowed and his three sons while examining what it means to be a "straight white man".

Originally on Broadway in 2018, Lee was the this is the first Asian American female playwright to have work produced on the Great White Way. The set authentically resembles the stereotypical "man cave" basement where pranks, Chinese takeout, male bonding rituals, and gossip throughout the play ensue. Beyond the playful banter amongst the characters, thought-provoking conversations and topics about money, work, love and identity are unveiled to the audience.

L-R: Richard Kline, Nick Westrate, Denver Milord, and Bill Army in the comedy “Straight White Men” by Young Jean Lee, directed by Mark Lamos, at Westport Country Playhouse, now through June 5.

“The play is a bold, exuberant, very funny comedy -- and then near the end it builds up to a surprising dramatic punch that proves both powerful and moving,” said Lamos. “I've wanted to bring it to the Playhouse stage since its premiere at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company in 2017.

Playwright Young Jean Lee said, “’Straight White Men’ isn’t about privilege or attempting to reveal anything new about it or solve it. I was more curious about the question, ‘if I woke up tomorrow and I was a straight white man, what would I do’?”

The six-member ensemble cast includes Richard Kline as Ed (Westport Country Playhouse’s “And a Nightingale Sang” in 2015; television series regular Larry Dallas on “Three’s Company”; Broadway’s “Waitress,” “City of Angels,” “November”; National Company of “Wicked” as The Wizard; www.richardkline.tv); Bill Army as Jake (Broadway’s “The Band’s Visit,” “Act One,” and “Relatively Speaking,” an evening of one-acts by Ethan Coen, Elaine May, and Woody Allen; Off-Broadway’s “The Band’s Visit,” “The Changeling”; Hulu’s “Deadbeat,” YouTube’s “COHAB”); Denver Milord as Matt (Westport Country Playhouse’s “Tiny House” in 2021; Broadway’s “Oklahoma!”; Off-Broadway’s “Terms of Endearment,” “Meaningful Conversation”; regional theater’s “Cabaret”; films “Jack Reacher,” “The Last Witch Hunter”); Nick Westrate as Drew (Westport Country Playhouse’s “Don Juan” in 2019; Broadway’s “Bernhardt/Hamlet,” “Casa Valentina,” “A Moon for the Misbegotten”; Off-Broadway’s “The Boys in the Band” - Drama Desk nomination for featured actor; series regular for three seasons on AMC’s “Turn: Washington’s Spies”); Akiko Akita as Person in Charge (American Academy of Dramatic Arts; theater’s “Dog Sees God,” “Charlie Brown”; television’s “Gossip Girl,” “The Time Traveler’s Wife”); and Ashton Muñiz as Person in Charge (Broadway’s “The Inheritance,” Taylor Mac’s “A 24-Decade History of Popular Music”; Off-Broadway’s New York Theatre Workshop, The Public Theater; select works at The Guggenheim; dance credits with Marc Jacobs FW 2020, Rihanna; co-founder of Legacy: A Black Queer Production Collective).

Young Jean Lee is a playwright, writer, director, and filmmaker who has been called "the most adventurous downtown playwright of her generation" by The New York Times and "one of the best experimental playwrights in America" by Time Out New York. She has written and directed 10 shows in New York with Young Jean Lee's Theater Company. Her plays have been performed in more than 80 cities around the world. She is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, two OBIE Awards, a Prize in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a PEN Literary Award, a United States Artists Fellowship, and the Windham-Campbell Prize.

Director Mark Lamos has helmed many plays at Westport Country Playhouse since 2008, earning Connecticut Critics Circle Awards for his direction of “She Loves Me” (2010), “Into the Woods” (2012), “The Dining Room” (2013), “Man of La Mancha” (2018), and “Mlima’s Tale” (2019). Under Lamos’ artistic direction, the Playhouse was named “Theater Company of the Year” by The Wall Street Journal in 2013. Lamos’ extensive New York credits include “Our Country's Good,” for which he received a Tony Award nomination. A former artistic director at Hartford Stage, he earned the 1989 Tony Award for the theater's body of work. He was awarded the Connecticut Medal for the Arts as well as honorary doctorates from Connecticut College, University of Hartford, and Trinity College. In 2016 he was the recipient of the John Houseman Award.

The creative team includes Kristen Robinson, scenic design; Fabian Fidel Aguilar, costume design; Masha Tsming, lighting design; Michael Keck, sound design; Ali Solomon, choreographer; Michael Rossmy, fight director; Shane Schnetzler, production stage manager; and Tara Rubin Casting, CSA, Clair Burke, CSA, casting.

Single tickets for “Straight White Men” start at $30 during preview performances (May 24-27), and beginning May 28 Opening Night, tickets start at $50. For more information and to buy tickets, visit www.westportplayhouse.org, or call the box office at (203) 227-4177, toll-free at 1-888-927-7529.

L-R: Denver Milord, Nick Westrate, and Bill Army in the comedy “Straight White Men” by Young Jean Lee, directed by Mark Lamos, at Westport Country Playhouse, now through June 5. (203) 227-4177. www.westportplayhouse.org. Photo by Carol Rosegg