George Street Playhouse
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George Street Playhouse is a theater company in New Brunswick, New Jersey, in the city's Civic Square government and theater district and resident at the newly built New Brunswick Performing Arts Center.[1] The GSP is one of the state's most prominent professional theaters, committed to the production of new and established plays.[2][3]
Artistic Director David Saint and Managing Director Edgar Herrera lead the playhouse. George Street Playhouse presents a main stage season and provides a space for both established and emerging theater artists. Founded in 1974 by Eric Krebs, the playhouse has been represented by numerous productions both on and off-Broadway. In addition to its mainstage season, GSP's Touring Theatre features issue-oriented productions that tour more than 250 schools in the tri-state area, and are seen by more than 30,000 students annually.
History and venues[edit]
The theater company was originally located in an abandoned supermarket on George Street and later moved to its current location on Livingston Avenue.[4] In 2017, the playhouse moved to an interim location in the former Agricultural Museum on Cook Campus at Rutgers University[5] In the fall of 2019, George Street Playhouse moved back to the Livingston Ave location into a new mixed-use theater building, now called the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center.
It is a member company of the New Jersey Theatre Alliance.
Production history[edit]
Recent productions include the world premiere of The Trial of Donna Caine by Walter Anderson, Little Girl Blue: The Nina Simone Musical, a revised version of I Love You, You're Perfect Now Change, An Act of God with Kathleen Turner, American Son by Christopher Demos-Brown, Lewis Black's One Slight Hitch, Gettin' The Band Back Together, and Joe DiPetro's Clever Little Lies. The Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning play Proof, by David Auburn, was developed at GSP during the 1999 Next Stage Series.
- 1994: Swinging on a Star, a revue of the works of Johnny Burke, premieres at GSP, then moves to Broadway.
- 1996: And Then They Came for Me: Remembering the World of Anne Frank is commissioned by GSP for the Touring Theatre Company and is subsequently produced worldwide
- 2000: Down the Garden Paths by Anne Meara, directed by David Saint and starring Eli Wallach and Anne Jackson, premieres at GSP and moves to Off Broadway.
- Syncopation by Alan Knee, which premiered at GSP in 1999, receives Best New Play Award from the American Theatre Critics Association and opens around the country.
- The Spitfire Grill, a new musical by James Valcq and Fred Alley and directed by David Saint, premieres at GSP and moves to Off Broadway
- Ancestral Voices by A. R. Gurney, directed by David Saint and starring among others Tim Daly, Amy Van Nostrand, Paul Rudd and Fred Savage
- 2001: All box office records in the history of GSP are broken with Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill, starring Suzzanne Douglas as Billie Holiday.
- Venecia by Jorge Accame, adapted and directed by Arthur Laurents starring Chita Rivera.
- 2004: Arthur Laurents updates and directs his Tony Award-winning musical Hallelujah, Baby! starring Ann Duquesnay and Suzzanne Douglas. Following an acclaimed run at George Street Playhouse, the co-production moved to Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. Miss Duquesney is awarded the Helen Hayes Award for her performance.
- Academy Award nominee Amy Irving stars in the world premiere of Charles Evered’s period romp Celadine.
- Wasted by OBIE Award-winner Kirsten Childs premieres. This play about substance abuse was funded with a major grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
- 2005: Inspecting Carol, a comedy by Daniel Sullivan from the Seattle Repertory Theatre, starring Dan Lauria and Peter Scolari, becomes the highest-grossing play at GSP.
- The West Wing's Richard Schiff stars in Underneath the Lintel, a play by Glen Berger, which sets a new record for per-performance attendance.
- 2006: Jack Klugman stars in The Value of Names by Jeffrey Sweet, with Dan Lauria and Liz Larsen.
- 2007 Artistic Director David Saint celebrates his tenth-anniversary season with the opening of The Sunshine Boys, starring Jack Klugman and Paul Dooley.
- Rosemary Harris stars in Oscar and the Lady in Pink by Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt, directed by Frank Dunlop.
- Dylan Chalfy and Ann Dowd star in Doubt by John Patrick Shanley, directed by Anders Cato.[6]
- 2008: Tony Award Winner Idina Menzel performs a one night only solo concert as the opening of her I Stand Tour.
- Roger is Dead, a new play written and directed by Elaine May with Marlo Thomas debuts.
- 2009 Come Back, Come Back, Wherever You Are, world premiere written and directed by Arthur Laurents with Shirley Knight.
- 2010: Kathleen Marshall directs the musical Calvin Berger.
- 2011: David Hyde Pierce directs the musical It Shoulda Been You written by Brian Hargrove and Barbara Anselmi, starring Tyne Daly, Harriet Harris, Edward Hibbert, Richard Kline, and Howard McGillin
- Red (play), with Bob Ari and Randy Harrison
- 2023–2024 is GSP's 50th season.
See also[edit]
- Mason Gross School of the Arts, which includes the drama and theater conservatory at Rutgers as part of the university's fine and performing arts program
References[edit]
- ^ Finn, Jennifer (August 19, 2019). "The Stunning Debut of New Brunswick Performing Arts Center". New Jersey Monthly.
- ^ "Visit George Street Playhouse on your trip to New Brunswick". www.inspirock.com. Retrieved September 17, 2022.
- ^ "George Street Playhouse Announces 50th Season featuring Three World Premieres". NewJerseyStage.com. June 21, 2023.
- ^ "Entrances, Exits and Many Acts In Between (Published 1996)". November 17, 1996.
- ^ Keller, Ilana (May 8, 2017). "George Street announces 2017–18 season in new digs". Asbury Park Press. Archived from the original on June 6, 2021.
- ^ Siegel, Naomi (December 9, 2007). "Moral Uncertainty Never Looked So Good". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 24, 2021. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
External links[edit]
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