Monday, July 27, 2015

George Street Playhouse Appoints Actor/Director Michael Mastro Resident Artistic Director

Mastro to Work Alongside Artistic Director David Saint to Lead New Brunswick Theatre


Mastro
The Board of Trustees of George Street Playhouse has announced the appointment of Michael Mastro as Resident Artistic Director. Mr. Mastro will work alongside Artistic Director David Saint and Managing Director Kelly Ryman to lead the New Brunswick theatre.

“David’s responsibilities as Literary Executor of Arthur Laurents’ estate, as well as his leadership of the Laurents/Hatcher Foundation have grown very substantially in the years since Arthur’s passing,” said James N. Heston, Chairman of the George Street Playhouse Board of Trustees. “David came to us with the idea of collaborating with Michael in the artistic leadership of the theatre, and as we are well aware of Michael’s work on our stage both as an actor and director, are thrilled to welcome him to an expanded role here in New Brunswick.”

Mr. Saint said, “I heartily welcome Michael at George Street in this partnership, sharing the artistic responsibilities of guiding the Playhouse on a day-to-day basis. This partnership is by no means new -- Michael was my Associate Director on the recent national tour of West Side Story, and I am excited to have him at my side to help at George Street. “

Michael Mastro directed last season’s The Fabulous Lipitones at George Street Playhouse, as well as The Subject Was Roses with Stephanie Zimbalist several seasons ago. He has also appeared onstage here in such productions as The Sunshine Boys, The Pillowman, Fox on the Fairway and Inspecting Carol. He is currently the Associate Artistic Director of The Delaware Theatre Company in Wilmington, DE, where he appeared in Any Given Monday two seasons ago, and where he directed a production of Ingmar Bergman’s Nora (an adaptation of Ibsen’s A Doll House) this past January. In recent years, he has helmed several NYC celebrity play readings to benefit non-profits, working with actors like Zachary Quinto, Bernadette Peters, Jean Smart, Beau Bridges, Michael McKean, Stockard Channing, Melissa Leo, Laura Benanti, Cynthia Nixon, John Slattery and Cecily Strong in such plays as Love Letters, Collected Stories, Hate Mail, Side Man, and The Glint. Past directorial assignments include his work as Associate Director to GSP's David Saint in the mounting of the first national tour of West Side Story, as well as directing many new American one-acts for several NYC theatre companies, including Naked Angels, of which he is a member. 


As an actor, he appeared last season in Alan Ayckbourn’s Things We Do For Love at the Westport Country Playhouse. Broadway acting credits include: West Side Story, Twelve Angry Men, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Ashley Judd/Jason Patric), Mamma Mia!m, Judgment at Nuremberg,; Side Man, Barrymore (with Christopher Plummer), and Love! Valour! Compassion! Off-Broadway: Any Given Monday (59E59), Volpone (Red Bull), The Water Children (Playwrights Horizons), Escape from Happiness (Naked Angels). Regional Theaters: Delaware Theatre Company, Dallas Theater Center, North Shore, Old Globe, Paper Mill, Alabama Shakespeare, Barrington Stage, Coconut Grove, Williamstown and Penguin Rep. TV: Nurse Jackie, Magic City, Alias, Hack, Deadline, Cosby, and lots of Law & Order (he currently has a recurring role on Law & Order: SVU). Film: Kissing Jessica Stein, The Night We Never Met, Jungle 2 Jungle, Borough of Kings, and several upcoming indie shorts. He is a member of the Naked Angels and The Actors Center in NYC.

Under the leadership of Artistic Director David Saint, George Street Playhouse has become a nationally recognized theatre, presenting an acclaimed mainstage season while providing an artistic home for established and emerging theatre artists. Kelly Ryman was appointed Managing Director in 2013. Founded in 1974, the Playhouse has been well represented by numerous productions both on and off-Broadway – recent productions include the Outer Critics’ Circle Best Musical Award-winner The Toxic Avenger; the Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk and Drama League nominated production of The Spitfire Grill; and the Broadway hit and Tony and Pulitzer Prize winning play Proof by David Auburn, which was developed at GSP during the 1999 Next Stage Series of new plays. In 2015, George Street Playhouse is represented by two productions in New York: the current Broadway production of It Shoulda Been You, and Joe DiPietro’s Clever Little Lies, starring Marlo Thomas, opening off-Broadway later this year. Both shows received their premieres at the Playhouse. In addition to its mainstage season, GSP’s Touring Educational Theatre features four issue-oriented productions that are seen by more than 40,000 students annually. George Street Playhouse programming is made possible in part by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.