Get to know the new Westport Playhouse with artistic director Lee Anne Mathews

After closing due to the pandemic in March 2020, Westport Playhouse is back and under new management. Among the new team members running the show is artistic director Lee Anne Mathews, whose directing credits include productions with companies such as the New Jewish Theatre, St. Louis Actors’ Studio, That Uppity Theatre Company, and COCA, among others. 

Ahead of the playhouse’s first production, the off-Broadway hit DaVinci and Michelangelo: The Titans Experience (running August 5-7 and August 12-14), we caught up with Mathews to talk about the venue’s updates, its future, and the renaissance at Westport, both on and off the stage. 

Can you tell us a little bit about the history of the Westport Playhouse?

The playhouse as we know it today was  remodeled from an old bar back in 2004 I believe. Since then, there have been a number of really popular shows in here. One was Menopause The Musical, which is actually the longest-running musical in St. Louis history. Another was the STAGES St. Louis production of Always…Patsy Cline. And then, more recently, Emory Entertainment’s production of Avenue Q. What’s interesting about this space is that all of those shows that I just mentioned were we’re all produced by different local producing entities. I like to think of it as a ship that has been captained by different people at different times. And so now we have a new captain again.

And you’re a part of that new crew of course. What made you want to be a part of this new interaction of Westport Playhouse?

I’m really excited about this. Our new producing “captains,” if you will, are Lenny Mink and Dan Byington, and they have some really extraordinary vision for what we can do up here. The first thing that they have done is a lot of upgrades to our technical capabilities. And one of the most exciting things is a 40-foot-wide video wall on the back wall of the stage. This completely opens up the possibilities for the type of entertainment and the types of events that we can host here at the playhouse. So in addition to plays, which will still be the kind of main fabric of our offerings, we’re also going to be able to have a lot of live music events, film festivals, speaker series, screenings—we’re hoping to get Rocky Horror in here sometime. It opens up the flexibility theatrically. It’s very state of the art. It’s a very new way of taking traditional works of theater and updating them for a modern audience.

Incorporating video elements into stage productions is something a lot of theaters have been embracing. It does really open up the possibilities for what theaters can do.

And really, it’s economical. The first investment of course is a doozy, but it’s also really nice because we’re not bringing a lot of materials in to build sets and there’s a lot less waste. It’s a green way to do theater, really.

Talk to us a little bit about what you envision for Westport Playhouse—what sort of theater are you hoping to be?

We’re very committed to casting a wide net, broadening our audience base. We want to have a very inclusive and diverse set of offerings. We’re committed to musicals, of course, and comedies. Those are big hits here. We’re not going to necessarily do the really heavy-hitting kind of stuff that some of the other theaters do, because our track record has definitely been more in the entertainment lane than the “make you think and cry” kind of stuff that other theaters produce beautifully. However, we are really hoping that we can sort of expand our mission and bring in some new things. We’re also really committed to partnering with members of this community. We’ve already got a few things on the books with other theater companies and artistic entities that want to bring something of theirs into the space. So we’re really excited about that, too—making it really a community-focused, driven place with something for everyone.

So this first something that you’re bringing in is DaVinci and Michelangelo: The Titans Experience. Tell us about this show and why the team decided to put it on in this space.

Mark and John Rodgers are the creators of the show, and Mark is the one actor in the show. It was very successful in an off Broadway run in New York and closed because of the pandemic…I think what makes this a really nice show for us and for our grand opening is that it’s going to showcase those technical upgrades that I talked about. The show itself is a multimedia extravaganza. There’s lots of video and images, and the actor interacts with the video, so it’s going to be very immersive for the audience. Westport has been kind of going through a renaissance, and what better subject matter than bringing in some Renaissance geniuses to live again on the stage here?

What do you want people to know about this show and this experience?

A few things. I think they should expect to have an immersive theatrical experience, but in addition to the show, they can come early and tour our lobby exhibit, which is actually going to consist of scale models of Da Vinci’s inventions. There’ll be an audio tour that they can listen to on their phone, and they can stroll through that exhibit, and those machines are interactive too. You can pick them up and really look at them. So it’s not only the show, but you’re getting this wonderful exhibit tour as well. And then I think it’s just a really inspiring piece. Mark Rodgers, the actor in the show, is so passionate about the subject matter. And he’s very passionate about his message. He really wants to inspire people to tap into their own creativity, to tap into their own ingenuity and have a little bit of faith in themselves and their imaginations.

Can you tell us about any of the other events you have on the books so far?

There are a few things that we have that are definite. On September 17th, we are hosting “Songs for Ukraine.” It’s going to be a big performance with lots of artistic vendors, and it’s going to be an all-day event with entertainment. That’s really the theater community, the cabaret community, and those of us at Westport all putting our time and energy into that as a benefit for the people of Ukraine and those who’ve been displaced. Then, early in October, we are hosting Haunted Garage’s Horror Fest. It’s going to be a weekend of horror films, some short films, creature films. And they’re bringing in a makeup artist from The Walking Dead to do a makeup class. And then, I can’t give you a title yet, but we are going to do a holiday show in December, and we are planning an entire 2023 season right now that we should be announcing soon.

Is there anything else that you really want folks to know about Westport Playhouse?

I guess just that we’re really excited. There’s a lot of things happening, not only at the Westport Playhouse, but at Westport in general. We are very excited to be a part of the growth and the renaissance of Westport Plaza.