Tony winner Judith Ivey will star in a Script in Hand reading of Charlotte Booker's new comedy The Pancake Club January 12, 2026, at the Westport Country Playhouse.

Artistic Director Mark Shanahan will direct the reading at the Connecticut venue. Show time is 7 PM with additional casting to be announced.

Stage and screen star Ivey will play Brenda, a waitress at a small-town diner where a group of senior men, The Pancake Club, meet. As Brenda struggles with the death of her oldest friend, the Club members squabble over the eulogy, the widow refuses to grieve, a mysterious stranger threatens the town’s equilibrium, and Brenda’s only daughter teeters on the brink of a meltdown.

“I’m excited to begin a new year and a new season of Script in Hand readings with a brand-new comedy that’s funny, generous, touching, and full of heart,” said Shanahan in a statement. “Charlotte Booker, an accomplished actress herself, knows how to write for actors, and The Pancake Club is a terrific ensemble piece. With an exceptional cast led by two-time Tony Award winner Judith Ivey, this reading feels like exactly the right way to start a new year of Script in Hand readings at the Playhouse.”

Ivey, who last appeared at the Playhouse in 2018 in a New Works play reading of Out of the Mouths of Babes and an International Women’s Day reading, won Tony Awards for her performances in Hurlyburly and Steaming. She was also Tony-nominated for her work in Park Your Car in Harvard Yard and The Heiress. She has appeared in over 40 films, most recently in Women Talking, and her TV credits are numerous.

For ticket information click here.