Broadway Talents Join "I'll Drink to That! A Broadway Cocktail Party”

Broadway Talents Join "I'll Drink to That! A Broadway Cocktail Party” at Westport Country Playhouse on Friday, September 22

Actors Joe Delafield, Kristen Hahn, and Maggie Lacey will present songs and scenes from Broadway shows as author Laurence Maslon launches his new book,
“I’ll Drink to That!”


Broadway talents have joined Westport Country Playhouse’s “I’ll Drink to That! A Broadway Cocktail Party,” featuring stories, songs, and scenes about Broadway-inspired libations, on Friday, September 22, at 6 p.m., in the Playhouse courtyard and Lucille Lortel White Barn Center, adjacent to the theater. The evening will begin with the audience partaking in cocktails that pay homage to Broadway. The 70-minute program will culminate with a second cocktail and book signing. Cocktails are included with $50 ticket.

Actors Joe Delafield, Kristen Hahn, and Maggie Lacey will perform cocktail-themed tunes and scenes from Broadway productions while author Laurence Maslon recounts tales of Broadway stars, shows, and cocktail concoctions from his recently published book, “I’ll Drink to That!” Salomon Lerner is music director/pianist for the event.

“We’re excited to host Larry Maslon at the Barn to launch his wonderful book,” said Mark Shanahan, Playhouse incoming artistic director. “Larry’s a great storyteller, and accompanied with songs and scenes from the shows he loves so dearly, I know this will be a perfect late summer cocktail party at the Playhouse. It’ll be great fun to raise a glass to this wonderful author and book!"

Joe Delafield was in Westport Country Playhouse’s “School for Husbands” and Script in Hand playreadings of “Christmas at Pemberley” and “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.” He was on Broadway in “Tartuffe” (Roundabout); and Off-Broadway in “Fashions for Men” (Mint); and “Outward Bound,” “Theophilus North,” and “The Breadwinner” (Keen Company). Regionally, he has performed at the Guthrie, Alley Theater, Pittsburgh Public, Virginia Stage Company, La Mirada, Odyssey, Fountain, Florida Rep, Hudson Stage, White Heron, and LA’s Antaeus Company. Television and film credits include “The Sopranos,” “All My Children,” “Filmic Achievement,” and “Company K.” Delafield holds a BA from Columbia University and an MFA from NYU’s Graduate Acting Program.

Kristen Hahn is a Weston/Westport native who got her professional start in the Westport Country Playhouse production of “Our Town,” starring Paul Newman, which transferred to Broadway. Hahn has also been seen on the Playhouse stage in various Script in Hand playreadings and concerts. Her other Broadway and National Tour credits include the Tony-winning productions of “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder” and “Hello, Dolly!,” starring Betty Buckley

Maggie Lacey appeared at Westport Country Playhouse as Emily in “Our Town,” which was also her Broadway debut, directed by James Naughton; “The School for Husbands,” directed by Doug Hughes; “Lips Together, Teeth Apart,” directed by Mark Lamos; and Script in Hand playreadings, directed by Annie Keefe. Recent theater includes “The King's Speech” at the National Theatre in DC, directed by Michael Wilson, and James Henry's “There is No Eden” at Theatre for a New City. Recent TV includes “New Amsterdam” (NBC), “Julia” (HBO Max), the upcoming “Hotel Cocaine” (MGM+), and the just-wrapped “Citiots” pilot for Hudsy, which she co-wrote.

Author Laurence Maslon is an arts professor at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, as well as associate chair of the graduate acting program. In addition to “I’ll Drink to That!,” he wrote an updated companion volume to the PBS series “Broadway: The American Musical.” He is also the host and producer of the weekly radio series, “Broadway to Main Street,” winner of the 2019 ASCAP Foundation/Deems Taylor Award for Radio Broadcast, on the NPR station WLIW-FM. He edited the two-volume set “American Musicals (1927-1969)” for Library of America, as well as their “Kaufman & Co.,” Broadway comedies by George S. Kaufman. Other books include the companion book to “Come From Away,” “Broadway to Main Street: How Show Music Enchanted America” (Oxford), “The Sound of Music Companion,” and “South Pacific Companion.” He is the writer and co-producer of the PBS American Masters documentary, “Sammy Davis, Jr.: I’ve Gotta Be Me,” and wrote the American Masters documentary “Richard Rodgers: The Sweetest Sounds.” He served on the nominating committee for the Tony Awards from 2007 to 2010. He has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The New Yorker, Opera News, Stagebill, and American Theatre.

Tickets are $50 and include two speciality cocktails. Copies of Maslon’s book “I’ll Drink to That!,” with photos by Joan Marcus and published by Weldon Owen in May 2023, will be available for sale and signing. Seating is limited. For info, visit: https://www.westportplayhouse.org/show/ill-drink-to-that/For tickets, visit: https://tickets.westportplayhouse.org/6175/6176
A complete schedule of Playhouse events is available at westportplayhouse.org. Westport Country Playhouse is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. All play titles, artists, dates, and times are subject to change.

For Westport Country Playhouse information and tickets, visit westportplayhouse.org or call the box office at (203) 227-4177, toll-free at 1-888-927-7529. Stay connected to the Playhouse on Facebook (Westport Country Playhouse), Instagram (wcplayhouse), and YouTube (WestportPlayhouse). Westport Country Playhouse is located at 25 Powers Court, off Route 1, Westport.