George Street Playhouse Announces Cast for THE SECOND MRS. WILSON

TONY AWARD WINNER JOHN GLOVER (TV’s Smallville) and LAILA ROBINS (TV’s Homeland) to play Woodrow Wilson and Edith Galt in story of the REAL first female president

• George Street Playhouse to produce THE SECOND MRS. WILSON by Two-Time Tony Award Winner JOE DiPIETRO November 10-29 to be Directed by GORDON EDELSTEIN 
• Three Tony Award Winners grace cast of New Jersey Premier 
• Performances begin just after Election Day this November 

New Brunswick, NJ -- George Street Playhouse is excited to announce the Award-Winning cast of Joe DiPietro’s The Second Mrs. Wilson, to run at the New Brunswick theatre November 10-29. John Glover, a Tony Award winner for Love! Valour! Compassion! also known to TV audiences for portraying Lionel Luthor on the long-running television series, Smallville, and Laila Robins, well known for a role in the hit drama Homeland and for frequent performances at The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, headline a cast featuring a number of veteran actors of stage and screen in this fascinating look at the real-life events in which a woman became the de facto President of the United States. Gordon Edelstein, Artistic Director of Long Wharf Theatre, helms the production. Tony Award winners Michael McGrath and Stephen Spinella join Sherman Howard, Richmond Hoxie and Stephen Barker Turner in rounding out the stellar cast.

“These actors are among the finest working today,” said George Street Playhouse Artistic Director David Saint. “I am thrilled to welcome them and the very talented Gordon Edelstein to George Street, and into the world of this remarkable play by our good friend Joe DiPietro.“

Creating the world of the play are scenic designer Alexander Dodge (Tony Award nominations for A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder and Present Laughter); costume designer Linda Cho (Tony Award winner for A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder); lighting designer Ben Stanton (Tony Award nomination for Fun Home) and sound designer John Gromada (Tony Award nominee for The Trip to Bountiful).

Click for tickets and more information about the show

Individual tickets, starting at $28 are now on sale, as are subscription and flexible admission packages. Contact the George Street Playhouse Box Office at 732-246-7717 or visit www.GSPonline.org for tickets and information. George Street Playhouse is located at 9 Livingston Avenue in heart of New Brunswick’s vibrant downtown dining and entertainment district, steps away from plentiful parking and dining options for every palate and pocketbook. Consult www.GSPonline.org when planning your trip for helpful parking tips and restaurant recommendations.

ABOUT THE CAST

John Glover (President Woodrow Wilson) created the role of Woodrow Wilson in the play’s world premiere at Long Wharf Theatre. Shakespeare in the Park: Much Ado About Nothing. Broadway: Macbeth, Death of a Salesman, The Royal Family, Waiting for Godot (Tony nomination), The Drowsy Chaperone, Love! Valour! Compassion! (Tony and Obie Awards), The Great God Brown (Drama Desk Award). Off-Broadway: Nikolai and The Others, The Atmosphere of Memory, Secrets of the Trade, The Marriage of Bette and Boo, The Paris Letter (Drama Desk, Lucille Lortel, Drama League Nominations), Sorrows and Rejoicings, Give Me Your Answer, Do! Long Wharf Theatre: The Skin of Our Teeth, Yegor Bulychev, The Doctors Dilemma, Juno and the Paycock, TV: 5 Emmy Nominations. Film: Love! Valour! Compassion!, Scrooged, Batman and Robin, Gremlins II, Julia, and Annie Hall.


Sherman Howard (Senator Henry Cabot Lodge) Broadway: All My Sons and Inherit The Wind. Off-Broadway: Another Part of the Forest (Peccadillo Theatre), Tell Out My Soul (Public Theatre), Geography of a Horse Dreamer, The Lady Or the Tiger, The Crate (EST), I'm Not Rappaport (Roundabout). National Tour: Sweet Bird of Youth (with Lauren Bacall). Regional: The Price (Pittsburgh Public), Sheridan (La Jolla), Nine Armenians (Intiman ), The Front Page, Andronicus: A Space Musical, Getting Out (Actors Theatre of Louisville), The Contractor, The Collection, The Merchant of Venice (ACT). Television: Seinfeld, ER, Cold Case, Star Trek, Superboy, The Stand, Op Center, Good and Evil, Law and Order, et al.


Richmond Hoxie (Vice President Thomas Marshall) performed on Broadway and the national tour of I’m Not Rappaport. His other national tour credit is Butley. He appeared Off Broadway in The Film Society, Lenin’s Embalmers, The Dining Room, Vienna: Lusthaus (revisited), Landscape with Waitress, Justice, Louis Slotin Sonata, Waiting for Godot, and Angel Street. His regional performances include Light Up the Sky (La Jolla Playhouse), The Crucible (Hartford Stage), Amadeus, Twelve Angry Men, and Secret Order (The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis), Travels with My Aunt (Seattle Repertory Theatre), Inspecting Carol (Bay Street Theater), and Loot and Council of Thirty (George Street Playhouse). His film work includes JFK, Still of the Night, For Love or Money, and My Own Love Song. His television credits include Boardwalk Empire, China Beach, Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Christine Cromwell, LA Law, Cosby and others.

Michael McGrath (Secretary Joe Tumulty) won a Tony Award for his performance in Nice Work If You Can Get It on Broadway. Other Broadway credits include Born Yesterday, Memphis, Is He Dead?, Spamalot (Tony Award nomination), Wonderful Town, Little Me, Swinging On A Star (Theatre World Award), The Goodbye Girl and My Favorite Year. Michael also appeared in the City Center Encores! productions of Follies, The Boys from Syracuse, and DuBarry Was A Lady. His off-Broadway credits include: The Cocoanuts, The Butter And Egg Man, Game Show, Louisiana Purchase and Forbidden Broadway. Michael has appeared on television in The Martin Short Show. His film credits include: The Interpreter, Changing Lanes and Ira and Abby.

Laila Robins (Edith Bolling Galt) Broadway: Heartbreak House, Frozen (Lucille Lortell nomination for Best Supporting Actress), The Herbal Bed and The Real Thing. Off-Broadway and national tour: Mrs. Klein, opposite Uta Hagen (Joseph Jefferson Award; Helen Hayes Award nomination); New York credits: Anthony and Cleopatra, Sore Throats (Lucille Lortell Award nomination for Best Actress), The Film Society,Tiny Alice, The Merchant of Venice (Calloway Award), The Extra Man and Bloody Poetry. Eleven Seasons at Shakespeare Theatre of NJ including A Streetcar Named Desire, The Cherry Orchard, Macbeth, King John, Three Sisters, The Homecoming, Electra, The Comedy of Errors, Arms and the Man, The Seagull and Twelfth Night. Regional credits: Hedda Gabler, Summer and Smoke, Antony and Cleopatra and the world premiere of Arthur Miller’s Resurrection Blues (Guthrie Theater); Skylight (Mark Taper Forum; Drama-Logue Award); A Streetcar Named Desire (Steppenwolf Theatre; Jefferson Award); and Fiction and Fool for Love (McCarter Theatre). Film and television credits include: Homeland; Murder in the First; Person of Interest; Damages; Blue Bloods; The Good Wife; The Good Shepherd (directed by Robert De Niro); True Crime; Planes, Trains and Automobiles; Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael; Bored to Death; In Treatment; God in America; 30 Rock; Gabriel’s Fire; Book of Daniel; Sex and the City; all three Law & Orders; and The Sopranos. She received her M.F.A. from Yale School of Drama, and coaches privately in NYC.

Stephen Spinella (Colonel Edward House) is a two-time Tony Award winner who has performed in Angels in America: Millennium Approaches, Angels in America: Perestroika, A View from the Bridge and Spring Awakening. His TV work includes Royal Pains, Desperate Housewives and 24, and his film credits include Cradle Will Rock and Love! Valour! Compassion! (with John Glover).

Stephen Barker Turner (Dr. Cary Grayson) Off-Broadway: Michael Frayn’s Benefactors, The Keen Company; Race, Classic Stage Company; All My Sons, Roundabout Theatre Company; Richard III, All’s Well That Ends Well, Measure for Measure, New York Shakespeare Festival; A Letter from Ethel Kennedy, MCC Theater; Lips, Primary Stages. Regional: Premieres of Dead Accounts, The Scene and The Novelist, all by Theresa Rebeck; premieres of The Evildoers by David Adjmi and Compulsion by Rinne Groff, both at Yale Repertory Theatre; premiere of Gina Gionfriddo’s After Ashley, Humana Festival; among others. Television & Film: Seducing Charlie Barker (based on Rebeck’s The Scene), Cosmopolitan, We Pedal Uphill, Blair Witch 2, Warrior Class, Body of Proof (ABC); Blue Bloods (CBS); all three Law and Order franchises (NBC); Sex and the City (HBO); Hack (CBS); Swift Justice (UPN); One Life to Live and All My Children (ABC), among others.

ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT

Joe DiPietro is thrilled to be returning to George Street for his fifth show. Previously at George Street: The Toxic Avenger, Creating Claire, Clever Little Lies and Ernest Shackleton Loves Me. He is a two-time Tony Award winner for Memphis, which also received the 2010 Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards for Best Musical. He received a Tony nomination & Drama Desk Award for Nice Work If You Can Get It. His Clever Little Lies, which stars Marlo Thomas and premiered at GSP in 2013, recently opened off-Broadway under the direction of GSP Artistic Director David Saint. Another recent work, Living on Love, a comedy starring Renée Fleming, debuted on Broadway earlier this year. He also wrote the long-running off-Broadway hits, I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change and Over the River and Through the Woods.

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR

Gordon Edelstein is in his 13th season as Long Wharf Theatre’s Artistic Director. In addition to his recent work on the world premiere of Athol Fugard’s Have You Seen Us? and his own adaptation of A Doll’s House, Mr. Edelstein directed Coming Home at Berkeley Rep and Long Wharf Theatre’s production of The Glass Menagerie, starring Judith Ivey, at the Roundabout Theatre. As a director, he has garnered three Connecticut Critics Circle Awards and during his tenure at Long Wharf, the theatre has produced world premieres by Athol Fugard, Paula Vogel, Craig Lucas, Julia Cho, Noah Haidle, Dael Orlandersmith, and Anna Deavere Smith. Over the course of his career, he has also directed and/or produced premieres by Philip Glass, Arthur Miller, Paula Vogel, Donald Margulies, James Lapine, Charles Mee, Mac Wellman, and Martin McDonagh, among many others, and has directed an extremely diverse body of work from Sophocles to Pinter, and from Shakespeare to Beckett.

ABOUT GEORGE STREET PLAYHOUSE

In the 42 years since its founding, 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. Its leadership consists of Artistic Director David Saint, Resident Artistic Director Michael Mastro and Managing Director Kelly Ryman. 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 recent 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 has been represented by two productions in New York: the recent Broadway production of It Shoulda Been You, and Joe DiPietro’s Clever Little Lies, which opened off-Broadway in October. Both shows received their premieres at the Playhouse. In addition to its mainstage season, GSP’s Touring Educational Theatre features three 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.

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The Second Mrs. Wilson
By Joe DiPietro
Directed by Gordon Edelstein

With John Glover, Sherman Howard, Richmond Hoxie, Michael McGrath, Laila Robins, Stephen Spinella and Stephen Barker Turner

The Second Mrs. Wilson is sponsored by The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation.

November 10-29, 2015

George Street Playhouse • 9 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick

Box Office 732-246-7717 • www.GSPonline.org

George Street Playhouse celebrates healthy kids in the arts Sept. 19

George Street Playhouse presents "Be Unstoppable: A Celebration of Healthy Kids in the Arts" on Sept. 19

FREE interactive activities, nutritious food and performances by GSP’s Educational Touring Theatre and American Repertory Ballet highlight special Hub City Sounds event

The 2014-15 George Street Playhouse Educational Touring Theatre cast in "Austin the Unstoppable." (Photo by David Kelly Crowne)

New Brunswick, NJ -- George Street Playhouse is proud to host “Be Unstoppable: A Celebration of Healthy Kids in the Arts” as part of the New Brunswick Cultural Center’s Hub City Sounds Festival on Saturday, September 19, 2015, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The free event, which also serves as the official “kick-off” of a collaboration between The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey and George Street Playhouse for Austin the Unstoppable, will feature a performance by GSP’s Educational Touring Theatre of Austin on the Playhouse’s Mainstage at 10:30 a.m. The day also includes interactive activities, a healthy lunch and an afternoon performance by American Repertory Ballet dancers.

An original GSP musical promoting health and wellness, Austin the Unstoppable is the tale of an 11-year-old gamer and junk-food junkie who – along with his family – must face the consequences of an unhealthy lifestyle when his mother is diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. The production explores the challenges the family must face when having to make healthy choices together.

The musical, with book and lyrics by Barry Wyner and music by Daniel Israel, was commissioned by George Street Playhouse through the Victoria J. Mastrobuono New Work Development Program, Bristol-Myers Squibb and The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey. Research for the development of Austin the Unstoppable was provided by Shaping NJ. The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey is the presenting sponsor of the production, providing $550,000 in grants to make it possible for Austin to tour in schools statewide.

The show is stage managed by Erica Leigh, and features the talents of Alexa Adderley, Kirk Geritano, Alexa Johnson and James Ross. (A PDF with detailed show information, including cast and crew bios, can be downloaded here.)

Immediately following the performance, a discussion with the audience about topics and issues explored during the performance will take place in the Mainstage theatre. A free healthy lunch and dessert bar catered by Elijah’s Promise follows in the Playhouse’s Cabaret, with activity and information tables available to guests.

The event is capped off at 12:30 p.m. by American Repertory Ballet dancers who will present Grumpy Bird, a children's ballet based on the children’s book by Jeremy Tankard that is choreographed by Matthew Keefe and set to music by Mozart, and Mary Barton’s Once Upon a Summer’s Day.

The performance will mark the fourth consecutive year that GSP’s Educational Touring Theatre has participated in the Hub City Sounds Festival. For further information on this and other GSP Touring Theatre performances, contact GSP’s Education Department at (732) 846-2895, ext. 117, or education@georgestplayhouse.org.

GSP Adds 'The Second Mrs. Wilson' To Revised 2015-16 Schedule; Single Tickets On Sale Aug. 10

• Joe DiPietro’s Fascinating History Play, The Second Mrs. Wilson, Completes George Street Playhouse’s 2015-16 Season
• DiPietro Play to Take Second Slot in Season, directed by GORDON EDELSTEIN
• My Name is Asher Lev will close season
• Individual Tickets for Entire Season Go On Sale MONDAY, AUGUST 10

New Brunswick, NJ – George Street Playhouse has announced that Joe DiPietro’s The Second Mrs. Wilson will occupy the previously to-be-announced slot in the New Brunswick theatre’s 2015-16 season. Gordon Edelstein, Artistic Director of New Haven’s Long Wharf Theatre, will helm the production, which will play New Brunswick in advance of an anticipated New York run in 2016. Casting will be announced at a later date.  It will run November 10-29, taking the slot previously occupied by My Name is Asher Lev. Aaron Posner’s adaptation of the Chaim Potok novel instead will end George Street’s 2015-16 season, running April 12 – May 1, 2016.  

“We are so excited to welcome Joe DiPietro in his fifth production at George Street, “ said Artistic Director David Saint. “I am equally as thrilled to welcome Gordon here to direct – I have wanted to get him to come to New Brunswick for some time. And with the possibility of a female president in the future, the show is timely as well."

Full season and flexible admission packages for George Street Playhouse’s season are currently on sale. Individual tickets for each of the theatre’s five productions will go on sale Monday, August 10. For tickets and information contact the George Street Playhouse Box Office, 732-246-7717, or visit www.GSPonline.org. George Street Playhouse is located at 9 Livingston Avenue, in the center of New Brunswick’s lively downtown, steps away from plentiful parking and dining options for every palate and pocketbook. Visit GSPonline.org to help plan your visit.

The Second Mrs. Wilson is the story of the woman who many believe served as the first female President. It is April 1915.  President Woodrow Wilson (former New Jersey Governor and Princeton University President), reeling from the loss of his wife, meets, falls in love with and marries Edith Galt.  She very quickly becomes important – and influential – to her husband, and inconvenient to his circle of advisors.  With the first World War looming, the President falls ill, and it is left to Edith to outsmart the men of Washington who would derail her beloved husband’s dream of world peace and the League of Nations. But will her unstinting devotion to her husband’s ideals be their downfall?  A fascinating look at the real-life events in which a woman became the de facto President of the United States, from the author of Clever Little Lies, Memphis and The Toxic Avenger.

Joe DiPietro  is thrilled to be returning to George Street for his fifth show. Previously at George Street: The Toxic Avenger, Creating Claire, Clever Little Lies and Ernest Shackleton Loves Me.  He is a two-time Tony Award winner for Memphis, which also received the 2010 Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards for Best Musical. He received a Tony nomination & Drama Desk Award for Nice Work If You Can Get It.  His newest comedy, Living on Love, recently debuted on Broadway, starring Renée Fleming. He also wrote the long-running off-Broadway hits, I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change and Over the River and Through the Woods.

Gordon Edelstein is in his 13th season as Long Wharf Theatre’s Artistic Director. In addition to his recent work on the world premiere of Athol Fugard’s Have You Seen Us? and his own adaptation of A Doll’s House, Mr. Edelstein directed Coming Home at Berkeley Rep and Long Wharf Theatre’s production of The Glass Menagerie starring Judith Ivey at the Roundabout Theatre. As a director, he has garnered three Connecticut Critics Circle Awards and during his tenure at Long Wharf Theatre, the theatre has produced world premieres by Athol Fugard, Paula Vogel, Craig Lucas, Julia Cho, Noah Haidle, Dael Orlandersmith, and Anna Deavere Smith. Over the course of his career, he has also directed and/or produced premieres by Philip Glass, Arthur Miller, Paula Vogel, Donald Margulies, James Lapine, Charles Mee, Mac Wellman, and Martin McDonagh, among many others, and has directed an extremely diverse body of work from Sophocles to Pinter, and from Shakespeare to Beckett.

Under his artistic leadership, Long Wharf Theatre has received 14 additional Connecticut Critics Circle Awards, including six best actor or actress awards in plays that he directed. He was also given the organization’s Tom Killen Award, given annually to an individual who has made an indelible impact on the Connecticut theatrical landscape. Mr. Edelstein has directed countless plays and workshops for Long Wharf Theatre including the world premieres of BFE (transfer to Playwrights Horizons), The Day the Bronx Died (transfer to NY and London), A Dance Lesson, and The Times, as well as We Won’t Pay! We Won’t Pay!, A New War, A Moon for the Misbegotten, Anna Christie,The Front Page, and Mourning Becomes Electra, starring Jane Alexander. Prior to assuming artistic leadership of Long Wharf Theatre, Mr. Edelstein helmed Seattle’s ACT Theatre for five years.  He received a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors in History and Religious Studies from Grinnell College in 1976 and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from Grinnell College in 2003.

In the 42 years since its founding, 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. Its leadership consists of Artistic Director David Saint, Resident Artistic Director Michael Mastro and Managing Director Kelly Ryman. 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 recent 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, opening off-Broadway this fall. Both shows received their premieres at the Playhouse. In addition to its mainstage season, GSP’s Touring Educational Theatre features three 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.

Click image for PDF of season flyer

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.

George Street Playhouse announces 2015-16 Mainstage Season

A Musical Murder Mystery, Art and Family, Nureyev and Wyeth, And Sex With Strangers Comprise George Street Playhouse’s  2015-2016 Season

The Musical Comedy Mystery Murder for Two To Open Season, Followed by My Name is Asher Lev, Nureyev’s Eyes, Sex With Strangers And One Additional Title to be Announced

New Brunswick, NJ – George Street Playhouse Artistic Director David Saint has announced the slate of plays scheduled for the New Brunswick theatre’s 2015-2016 season. George Street’s 42nd Season consists of a slate of four plays ranging from Mysterious Musical Comedy Mayhem to Sex With Strangers. The season begins with the musical comedy whodunit Murder for Two, followed by the story of an artist’s struggle with faith and family, My Name is Asher Lev. 2016 brings the tale of two great artists’ – one a dancer, the other a painter -- verbal sparring and ultimate friendship with Nureyev’s Eyes, as well as the recent off-Broadway hit comedy Sex With Strangers. One additional production is yet to be selected, and will be announced at a later date. 

“This season’s selections span the gamut from uproarious musical farce to the touching interaction between two great artists in Nureyev’s Eyes, to a real commentary on today’s technology and the times we live in with Sex With Strangers,” said Mr. Saint. “I always strive to select plays that are both thought provoking and full of heart, and think this season achieves that.”

Five-play, three-play and flexible admission packages are currently on sale, as are tickets for groups of 10 or more. George Street Playhouse is located at 9 Livingston Avenue, in the heart of New Brunswick’s dining and entertainment district. For tickets and information, patrons may contact the Box Office directly at 732-246-7717 or may purchase online at GSPonline.org. George Street Playhouse sponsors bus and theatre packages from many active adult communities in the Monroe Township area. For information on bus and theatre packages, as well as pricing and reservation information for groups of ten or more, please contact the Group Sales office at 732-846-2895, ext. 134.

The Plays:

Murder for Two
Book and Music by Joe Kinosian
Book and Lyrics by Kellen Blair
Directed by Scott Schwartz

October 6 – 25, 2015

Not exactly the happiest of birthdays! Novelist Arthur Whitney is murdered at his own birthday party, and his killer could very possibly be one of the guests. But this is not your ordinary whodunit. The entire world of this hilarious musical is brought to life by two incredible performers: one plays the detective, the other plays all 10 suspects – and they both play the piano!

My Name Is Asher Lev
By Aaron Posner
Adapted from the novel by Chaim Potok
Directed by Jim Jack

November 10 – 29, 2015

Faith – Tradition – Art. Which wins out?

Asher Lev is a young Hasid growing up in post-war Brooklyn. He is a young painter of prodigious talent – he can’t imagine himself doing anything else. He must create art at any cost, regardless of the will of his family, his community and tradition. The Outer Critics Circle award-winning play by Aaron Posner based on the best-selling novel by Chaim Potok.

Nureyev’s Eyes
By David Rush
Directed by Michael Mastro

February 2 – 21, 2016

“It’s in the eyes,” says Jamie, “they’re the hardest to get.” So says Jamie Wyeth, the son of Andrew. The visual artist’s relentless pursuit of dancer Rudolf Nureyev to sit for him as subject of a portrait has resulted in a number of sessions in which two artists trade poses, barbs, jokes, and unrevealed truths. A riveting fictional account of the very real interaction between two great artists.

Sex With Strangers
By Laura Eason
Directed by David Saint

March 8 – 27, 2016

In an increasingly digital world where images – and your persona – can be tweaked or even totally fabricated online, it can get tricky to figure out just who is lying in bed beside you. Ethan is a hot young writer whose online accounts of his sexual escapades have garnered him likes and followers by the score – as well as a movie deal. Olivia is an attractive teacher and erstwhile writer whose career never took off. Trapped by a snowstorm in a Bed and Breakfast, opposites instantly attract, undeniable chemistry ignites and sex is imminent. Sex turns to dating, which turns into something a bit more complicated. Sex with Strangers explores what happens when our online and offline identities intersect.

Recommended for mature audiences due to adult themes and nudity.

One additional selection, to be announced at a later date, will run April 12 – May 1, 2016, with opening night set for Friday, April 15.

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 recent 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 will be represented by two productions in New York: the current Broadway production of It Shoulda Been You, and Joe DiPietro’s Clever Little Lies, opening off-Broadway later this year. Both shows received their premieres at the Playhouse. In addition to its mainstage season, GSP’s Educational Touring 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.

George Street Playhouse/ 2015-2016 Season:

Murder for Two/ October 6-25, 2015
My Name is Asher Lev/ November 10 – 29, 2015
Nureyev’s Eyes/ February 2-21, 2016
Sex With Strangers/ March 8-27, 2016
Title to be announced/ April 12 – May 1, 2016