Gene Wilder stars in Don't Make Me Laugh, the second attraction in the Westport Country Playhouse's 2001 season. The production began performances on June 27 and will continue until July 14.

Wilder acts in a quartet of comic plays billed under the title Don't Make Me Laugh. The four one-acts are Anton Chekhov's The Proposal and On the Harmful Effects of Tobacco; Shaw's The Music Cure; and Feydeau's Caught with His Trance Down. Gene Saks will direct.

Wilder is best known for such movies as "Young Frankenstein," "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" and, of course, "The Producers," currently a hit musical on Broadway.

Carol Kane and Bob Dishy co-star. Bill Buell, David Costabile and Vivienne Benesch complete the cast.

Director Darko Tresnjak's take of Carlo Gozzi's classic tale, Princess Turandot, opened the season. The play was the last to be presented by New York's Blue Light Theatre Company, which recently suspended operations. The reamaining season will run as follows:

• Don't Make Me Laugh, starring Gene Wilder, directed by Gene Saks, June 27-July 14
• Three Days of Rain by Richard Greenberg, directed by Joanne Woodward, July 18-Aug. 4
• Heaven Can Wait, directed by Joe Grifasi, Aug. 8-25
• Temporary Help by David Wiltse, by Gordon Edelstein, Aug. 29 Sept. 1

For more information, call (203) 227-4177.

—By Robert Simonson