George Street Playhouse Explained

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

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

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

• 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

External links

• George Street Playhouse Home Page

Notes and References

1. Web site: The Stunning Debut of New Brunswick Performing Arts Center. Jennifer. Finn. August 19, 2019. New Jersey Monthly.
2. Web site: Visit George Street Playhouse on your trip to New Brunswick . September 17, 2022 . www.inspirock.com . en.
3. Web site: George Street Playhouse Announces 50th Season featuring Three World Premieres. June 21, 2023. NewJerseyStage.com.
4. Web site: Entrances, Exits and Many Acts In Between (Published 1996). November 17, 1996.
5. News: Keller. Ilana. May 8, 2017. George Street announces 2017–18 season in new digs. Asbury Park Press. live. limited. https://archive.today/20210606164845/https://www.app.com/story/entertainment/theater/2017/05/08/george-street-playhouse-new-season/101428922/. June 6, 2021.
6. News: Siegel. Naomi. December 9, 2007. Moral Uncertainty Never Looked So Good. The New York Times. live. limited. September 18, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20210424023445/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/09/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/09theatnj.html. April 24, 2021.