"Sight Unseen"-ic Designs

Here's a look at the scene designs by Michael Anania. The designer works with our scene shop who builds the entire set nearby in North Brunswick, before transporting it by truck to the stage. It's then installed on our stage two weeks prior to opening. The final touches are still being worked on.

Take a look at the complete design process for Patricia and Nick's farmhouse kitchen under construction from January 10 - 12, 2009




















The model of
Jonathan Waxman's childhood bedroom and Jonathan Waxman's Gallery

You Voted and we Won!

We'd like to thank you to all who voted for George Street Playhouse for the jerseyarts.com People's Choice Awards. In addition to being voted Favorite Theatre, New Brunswick was also cited as Favorite Downtown Arts District. In a statement, Kelly Ryman, Director of Marketing and Public Relations said, "New Jersey is a state rich with top-notch professional theatre companies -- which makes George Street Playhouse all the more thrilled and honored to be named the People's Choice for Professional Theatre. We are very fortunate to have a loyal audience that is so very supportive of the new plays and musicals that we produce. We are grateful for their support, their patronage and their vote!"

View the results

Catching up with the GSP!

So it's been almost a whole month since our last blog post! Blame the holidays, but a lot has still been going on!

George Street Playhouse's production of Oscar and the Pink Lady is gearing up for a run at Florence Gould Hall at the French Institute in NYC. So the props and set are coming out of storage, and Rosemary Harris will soon go back into rehearsal with director, Frank Dunlop.

If you missed it at George Street, now's your chance to catch it for 3 weekends only Janaury 16 - February 1st.

In case you haven't heard, The Toxic Avenger which opened our season, is readying for a spring bow at New World Stages! You can read about it here, here and here, and if you haven't signed up, join www.toxiefans.com today! It's like Facebook, for fans of the show!

Meanwhile for the past two months, our Artistic Director, David Saint has been in rehearsals for the Broadway revival of West Side Story currently playing an out of town tryout at the National Theatre in D.C, for which he's the Associate Director. The much anticipated revival is directed by Arthur Laurents, who directed Gypsy with Patti Lupone, but also has brought nine new works to the stage at George Street including this year's New Year's Eve which will star Marlo Thomas.

Included in the cast are GSP alumns Matt Cavenaugh (as Tony, 2 Lives at GSP), Michael Mastro (as Gladhand, Pillowman, Inspecting Carol at GSP), Lee Sellars (as Krupke, Pillowman at GSP). In addition, both designers Jim Youmans and David Woolard have worked here as well.
See all you guys in New York

But for now, David' s back rehearsing for Sight Unseen with Matthew Arkin, Kathleen McNenny, Heidi Armbruster, and Christopher Curry. The set is currently being loaded in, and performances begin January 20th!

Margulies Mania!

In David Saint's first season here at the playhouse he brought the extraordinary Uta Hagen in Donald Margulies' Collected Stories fresh from its run in New York. In January, Margulies's OBIE award winning play, Sight Unseen will open here starring Matthew Arkin (from last year's The Scene and the original cast of Dinner with Friends). Mr. Margulies who has also written Dinner with Friends and Brooklyn Boy, has two new works opening this year on both coasts. Shipwrecked, An Entertainment, will open with in New York at Primary Stages starring GSP alumn Michael Countryman, and Time Stands Still starring Alicia Silverstone at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles directed by Dan Sullivan. As the saying goes, it's all in the timing. Incidentally, all three shows will be running virtually at the same time. We're thrilled to be apart of Margulies Mania this year!

posted by Scott Goldman, Executive Assistant

Tony Nominees perform at GSP for the Holidays

and now for a shameless plug and late breaking news.

Tony Nominees Sally Mayes (She Loves Me) and Robert Cuccioli (Jekyll & Hyde) will perform in our 1st annual Holiday Cabaret.

Sally is perhaps best known for her performance in the Roundabout Theatre revival of She Loves Me for which she won Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle nominations. Urban Cowboy garnered her another Drama Desk nomination, (Featured Actress in a Musical), and she most recently appeared in Steel Magnolias. She has also starred in several Off-Broadway productions, including Closer Than Ever (Outer Critics Circle nomination), and Das Barbecue, Pete N'Keely (Drama Desk nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Musical), She drew raves as Mae West in the National Tour of Dirty Blonde. Sally also appears on countless cast recordings, including Closer Than Ever, She Loves Me, Das Barbecue, Bye Bye Birdie, Lost in Boston, Unsung Musicals, Unsung Sondheim, Night of the Hunter, etc. Sally has four solo albums, The Dorothy Fields Songbook and Our Private World, The Comden and Green Songbook, The Story Hour, Boys and Girls Like You and Me, and her latest release, Valentine. You can visit her website at www.sallymayes.net

Bob is currently here performing as Mr. Lockhart in The Seafarer, but is best known as a musical theatre performer having recently done Camelot, Phantom, and Jacque Brel....

Below is a clip from his performance shortly after receiving the Tony Nomination for Jekyll and Hyde on the Rosie O'Donnell Show.

posted by Scott Goldman, Executive Assistant