Westport Country Playhouse

Top choice in Connecticut


Since its founding in 1931 this well-respected playhouse has staged hundreds of productions attracting big-name Broadway talent. It's hardly surprising when the converted former barn was given a state-of-the-art overhaul by Joanne Woodward and her late husband Paul Newman, and a few other deep-pocketed donors, in 2005.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Connecticut attractions

1. Westport Historical Society

0.34 MILES

The Westport Historical Society organizes local walks and guided tours based on a historical theme. The once-a-year Hidden Garden tour is a green-thumber…

2. Westport Arts Center

0.46 MILES

The Westport Arts Center is right on the river and has a busy schedule of changing exhibits, kids' classes and performances.

3. Sherwood Island State Park

2.01 MILES

Just south of Westport, Sherwood Island State Park features a 1.5-mile-long stretch of beach – its gentle surf and shallow waters are ideal for families…

4. Stepping Stones Museum for Children

3.83 MILES

This museum is bursting with interactive, instructive fun, from the weather cycle to gravity to the principles of conservation. The Toddler Terrain is a…

5. Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum

3.94 MILES

This is one of the best surviving Second Empire–style country houses in the nation, so it's no wonder the 62-room mansion was chosen as the set for the…

6. Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk

4.29 MILES

This aquarium focuses on the marine life of Long Island Sound, including sand tiger sharks, loggerhead turtles and harbor seals, with daily feedings at 11…

7. SONO Switch Tower Museum

4.42 MILES

Relive the days when operators threw manual switches from a control tower like this restored one, dating from 1896, to control railroad traffic on the…

8. Philip Johnson Glass House

7.38 MILES

Inspired by Mies van der Rohe, this icon of mid-century modern architecture was the home of late Pritzker Prize–winner Philip Johnson and his art…