Tom Hanks took the stage Monday night at Westport Country Playhouse, joining Tony Shalhoub and Wendie Malick for a sold-out reading that marked the 100th installment of the theater's Script in Hand playreading series. The two-time Oscar winner played a man charged with managing the affairs of a widowed aristocrat in post-revolutionary France, at one point miming a drag off a cigar and, in a more literal mishap, spilling water from a bottle onto his co-star mid-scene.
The performance of Portrait of a Woman in Repose, a new work still in development, drew a packed house to the Connecticut theater, according to CTPost. Written by playwright Nicky Glossman, the play is set in 1818 Restoration France following the fall of Napoleon Bonaparte and centers on the restoration of a damaged portrait, according to the Westport Journal. The script had previously been presented only as a streamed one-act version and a staged reading before Monday's performance, per CTPost's account.
A Three-Way Tangle of Survival and Memory
Hanks played Roderick Calley, a man tasked with managing the affairs of Madame Anne Dulac, portrayed by Malick, who was trying to restore a portrait her late husband had painted of her. Tony Shalhoub played Jean Howlitz, a former painter and fellow survivor of the French Revolution who undertakes the restoration work, a job that forces both Calley and Howlitz to confront their own pasts, per CTPost's reporting. Hanks also took on a second role as an officer within the piece, the outlet reported.
True to the Script in Hand format, the reading featured no props and minimal staging, with actors reading from scripts on a bare stage under simple lighting against a black curtain backdrop, CTPost noted. Hanks compensated with physical business, miming not just a cigar but also opening a window and zipping his mouth shut at key moments. At one point in character, he delivered the line, “Call me a thief again and I'll break every finger on your right hand.”
Director and Playwright Share a Hanks Connection
James Glossman directed the reading and also read the stage directions aloud, while his son Nicky Glossman wrote the script, according to CTPost. The elder Glossman's working relationship with Hanks predates Monday's reading: the two previously co-wrote the time-travel play This World of Tomorrow, adapted from Hanks' 2017 short story collection Uncommon Type, which had its world premiere Off-Broadway at The Shed in New York City on October 30, 2025.
Mark Shanahan, who serves as both curator of the Script in Hand series and artistic director of Westport Country Playhouse, introduced the reading before the sold-out crowd. Shanahan has said audience members might show up unexpectedly, a remark that proved prophetic given Hanks' appearance, according to CTPost's report. The curator's dual role overseeing both the playhouse and its playreading programming was previously detailed by Patch.
Elite Company on a Historic Connecticut Stage
Hanks' castmates arrived with plenty of theatrical pedigree of their own. Shalhoub won the 2018 Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical for playing Tewfiq Zakaria in The Band's Visit, a production that took home 10 Tony Awards that year, per Broadway World. Malick, a multi-time Emmy nominee, is known for television roles in Just Shoot Me!, Hot in Cleveland, and Apple TV+'s Shrinking, according to the Westport Journal.
Hanks himself is no stranger to the stage despite his fame as the star of Forrest Gump, Cast Away, Saving Private Ryan, Big, and the Toy Story franchise. He made his Broadway acting debut in 2013 starring as New York tabloid columnist Mike McAlary in Nora Ephron's play Lucky Guy, earning a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor in a Play. His film and television work has also brought him two Academy Awards, seven Emmys, and eight Golden Globes.
The Script in Hand series itself has deep roots at the 95-year-old playhouse, having been created in 2008 under theater pillar Annie Keefe. Monday's reading marked the 100th installment in the program.
The timing of Hanks' appearance also intersected with town business in an unexpected way. On the night of the reading, the Westport Planning & Zoning Commission unexpectedly canceled a scheduled public hearing on athletic field lights, freeing up local officials and residents to head to the sold-out playhouse event instead, 06880 reported.
