Is Fairfield County, Connecticut, the new O.C.? A musical by, about, and starring Westport middle- and high-school students called 06880 (tagline: “Privilege has its problems”) just finished a successful run at the New York Musical Theatre Festival, boasting the musical guidance of Lawrence Rosen, who worked on Elton John’s Aida. The show is inspired by the snooty commuter town’s teen scene. “There’s a song called ‘Getting Our Way’ that the popular girls sing,” says director Jill Jaysen of Westport’s Center Stage Theatre Company. Britt Hennemuth, who plays spoiled teen Hunter Fitch in the show, says his character—the son of a famous record producer—was based on a real kid “who, within the first 40 minutes of talking to him, was name-dropping P. Diddy and Demi Moore.” Meanwhile, the actors insisted on sending a production assistant six blocks from the 06880 theater for Starbucks, when a Dunkin’ Donuts was right across the street. “One girl was like, ‘I need my vanilla chai latte for my throat!’ ” says Jaysen. A Juilliard professor saw the show and suggested trying to move it Off Broadway, and it also attracted the attention of ex–Miramaxer Randi Hutton, who sees movie and TV possibilities: “I’ve been looking for something that’s real, and this could definitely work.”

Related:

• Archive: “Intelligencer”
• Articles by Rebecca Milzoff
• Table of Contents: Oct 17, 2005 issue of New York | Subscribe!