George Street Playhouse
Encyclopedia
George Street Playhouse is a theatre
in New Brunswick, New Jersey
, one of the state's preeminent professional theatres committed to the production of new and established plays.
Under the leadership of Artistic Director David Saint
, George Street Playhouse is a nationally recognized thrust theatre, presenting an acclaimed mainstage season while providing an artistic home for established and emerging theatre artists. Founded in 1974 by Eric Krebs, the Playhouse has been represented by numerous productions both on and off-Broadway
– recent productions include Anne Meara
's Down the Garden Paths, the Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk and Drama League-nominated production of The Spitfire Grill - musical
, and the Tony Award
and Pulitzer Prize
-winning play Proof
by David Auburn
, which was developed at GSP during the 1999 Next Stage Series of new plays. In addition to its mainstage season, GSP's Touring Theatre features five issue-oriented productions that tours to more than 250 schools in the tri-state area, and are seen by more than 80,000 students annually.
When founded, the theatre was located on George Street and moved later to its current location on Livingstone Avenue.
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
in New Brunswick, New Jersey
New Brunswick, New Jersey
New Brunswick is a city in Middlesex County, New Jersey, USA. It is the county seat and the home of Rutgers University. The city is located on the Northeast Corridor rail line, southwest of Manhattan, on the southern bank of the Raritan River. At the 2010 United States Census, the population of...
, one of the state's preeminent professional theatres committed to the production of new and established plays.
Under the leadership of Artistic Director David Saint
David Saint
Now in his 14th season at George Street Playhouse, Artistic Director David Saint has directed twenty-six mainstage productions, most recently Marlo Thomas and Keith Carradine in Arthur Laurents’ New Year’s Eve, Matthew Arkin in Donald Marguiles’ Sight Unseen, Neil Simon’s The Sunshine Boys, William...
, George Street Playhouse is a nationally recognized thrust theatre, presenting an acclaimed mainstage season while providing an artistic home for established and emerging theatre artists. Founded in 1974 by Eric Krebs, the Playhouse has been represented by numerous productions both on and off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
– recent productions include Anne Meara
Anne Meara
Anne Meara is an American actress and comedian. She and Jerry Stiller were a prominent 1960s comedy team, appearing as Stiller and Meara, and are the parents of actor/comedian Ben and actress Amy Stiller.- Personal life :...
's Down the Garden Paths, the Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk and Drama League-nominated production of The Spitfire Grill - musical
The Spitfire Grill (musical)
The Spitfire Grill is an American musical with music and book by James Valcq and lyrics and book by Fred Alley, based on the film by Lee David Zlotoff. The Off-Broadway production by Playwrights Horizons began previews at the Duke Theatre on 42nd Street on September 7, 2001 and concluded its...
, and the Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
and Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
-winning play Proof
Proof (play)
Proof is a play by David Auburn originally produced by the Manhattan Theatre Club on 23 May 2000. It then went to Broadway on 24 October 2000 at the Walter Kerr Theatre, and was directed by Daniel J. Sullivan, with Mary-Louise Parker as Catherine, Larry Bryggman as Robert, Ben Shenkman as Hal, and...
by David Auburn
David Auburn
David Auburn is an American playwright.He was raised in Ohio and Arkansas. He attended the University of Chicago, where he was a member of Off-Off Campus, and received a degree in English literature....
, which was developed at GSP during the 1999 Next Stage Series of new plays. In addition to its mainstage season, GSP's Touring Theatre features five issue-oriented productions that tours to more than 250 schools in the tri-state area, and are seen by more than 80,000 students annually.
When founded, the theatre was located on George Street and moved later to its current location on Livingstone Avenue.
Production history
- 1994: Swinging on a Star, a revue of the works of Johnny BurkeJohnny Burke (lyricist)Johnny Burke was a lyricist, widely regarded as one of the finest writers of popular songs in America between the 1920s and 1950s.-Biography:...
, premieres at GSP, then moves to BroadwayBroadway theatreBroadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
. - 1996: And Then They Came for Me: Remembering the World of Anne FrankAnne FrankAnnelies Marie "Anne" Frank is one of the most renowned and most discussed Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Acknowledged for the quality of her writing, her diary has become one of the world's most widely read books, and has been the basis for several plays and films.Born in the city of Frankfurt...
is commissioned by GSP for the Touring Theatre Company and is subsequently produced worldwide - 2000: Down the Garden Paths by Anne MearaAnne MearaAnne Meara is an American actress and comedian. She and Jerry Stiller were a prominent 1960s comedy team, appearing as Stiller and Meara, and are the parents of actor/comedian Ben and actress Amy Stiller.- Personal life :...
, directed by David Saint and starring Eli WallachEli WallachEli Herschel Wallach is an American film, television and stage actor, who gained fame in the late 1950s. For his performance in Baby Doll he won a BAFTA Award for Best Newcomer and a Golden Globe nomination. One of his most famous roles is that of Tuco in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly...
and Anne JacksonAnne JacksonAnne Jackson is an American actress of television, stage, and screen.-Life and career:Jackson, the youngest of three sisters, was born in Millvale, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Stella Germaine and John Ivan Jackson, a barber who ran a beauty parlor...
, 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 ValcqJames ValcqJames Valcq is an American musical theatre composer, lyricist, and librettist.-Biography:Valcq is among the “new guard” of theatre composers championed by Playwrights Horizons and Ira Weitzman, who co-produced the 2001 Off-Broadway production of The Spitfire Grill for which Valcq composed the...
and Fred AlleyFred AlleyFred Alley was an American musical theatre lyricist and librettist who died unexpectedly just as his work gained national recognition. His collaboration on the musical The Spitfire Grill with composer James Valcq won the American Academy of Arts and Letters' prestigious Richard Rodgers Production...
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 NostrandAmy Van NostrandAmy Van Nostrand is an American actress. She has appeared on Broadway in The Hothouse by Harold Pinter; off-Broadway, she appeared in Pearl Theatre's Dance With Me....
, Paul RuddPaul RuddPaul Stephen Rudd is an American actor and screenwriter. He has primarily appeared in comedies, and is known for his roles in the films Clueless, Wet Hot American Summer, Anchorman, Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Dinner for Schmucks, The Object of My...
and Fred SavageFred SavageFredrick Aaron "Fred" Savage is an American actor, director and producer of television and film.He is best known for his role as Kevin Arnold in the American television series The Wonder Years and as the grandson in The Princess Bride...
- 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 HolidayBillie HolidayBillie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing...
. - 2004: Arthur LaurentsArthur LaurentsArthur Laurents was an American playwright, stage director and screenwriter.After writing scripts for radio shows after college and then training films for the U.S...
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 StageArena StageArena Stage is a not-for-profit regional theater based in Southwest Washington, D.C. Its declared mission"is to produce huge plays of all that is passionate, exuberant, profound, deep and dangerous in the American spirit. Arena has broad shoulders and a capacity to produce anything from vast epics...
in Washington DC. Miss Duquesney is awarded the Helen Hayes AwardHelen Hayes AwardA Helen Hayes Award is a theater award named for the famed actress Helen Hayes to recognize excellence in professional theater in the Washington, D.C. area since 1983. The awards are managed by Linda Levy Grossman. and presented by the Washington Theatre Awards Society.-Awards:The Helen Hayes...
for her performance.- Academy Award nominee Amy IrvingAmy IrvingAmy Davis Irving is an American actress, known for her roles in the films Crossing Delancey, The Fury, Carrie, and Yentl as well as acclaimed roles on Broadway and Off-Broadway. She has been nominated for an Academy Award, two Golden Globes, and has won an Obie award...
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
- Academy Award nominee Amy Irving
- 2005: Inspecting Carol, a comedy by Daniel Sullivan from the Seattle Repertory TheatreSeattle Repertory TheatreSeattle Repertory Theatre is a major regional theatre located in Seattle, Washington, at the Seattle Center. It is a member of Theatre Puget Sound and Theatre Communications Group. Founded in 1963, it is led by Artistic Director Jerry Manning and Managing Director Benjamin Moore...
, starring Dan LauriaDan LauriaDaniel Joseph "Dan" Lauria is an American television and film actor.-Early life:Lauria, an Italian-American, was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Carmela and Joseph J. Lauria. He also lived in Lindenhurst, New York...
and Peter ScolariPeter ScolariPeter Scolari is an American television, film and stage actor best known for his roles in the television shows Newhart, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show, and Bosom Buddies.-Career:...
, becomes the highest grossing play at GSP.- The West Wing's Richard SchiffRichard SchiffRichard Schiff is an American actor. He is best known for playing Toby Ziegler on the NBC television drama The West Wing, a role for which he received an Emmy Award...
stars in Underneath the LintelUnderneath the LintelUnderneath the Lintel is a play by Glen Berger that premièred in 2001. The sole character—the Librarian—embarks on a quest to find out who anonymously returned a library book that is 113 years overdue...
, a play by Glen BergerGlen BergerGlen Berger is an American playwright.Berger has received commissions from the Children’s Theater of Minneapolis, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, the Alley Theatre, and the Lookingglass Theater...
, sets a new record for per-performance attendance.
- The West Wing's Richard Schiff
- 2006: Jack KlugmanJack KlugmanJacob Joachim "Jack" Klugman is an American stage, film and television actor known for his roles in sitcoms, movies, and television and on Broadway...
stars in The Value of Names by Jeffrey Sweet with Dan Lauria and Liz Larsen. - 2007 Artistic Director, David Saint celebrates his 10th Anniversary Season with the opening of The Sunshine Boys starring Jack Klugman and Paul DooleyPaul Dooley-Personal life:Dooley was born Paul Dooley Brown in Parkersburg, West Virginia, the son of Ruth Irene , a homemaker, and Peter James Brown, a factory worker. Dooley was a cartoonist as a youth and drew a strip for a local paper in Parkersburg. He joined the Navy before discovering acting while at...
- Rosemary HarrisRosemary HarrisRosemary Ann Harris is an English actress and a member of the American Theatre Hall of Fame. Throughout her career she has been nominated for an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award and has won a Golden Globe, an Emmy, a Tony Award, an Obie, and five Drama Desk Awards.-Early life:Harris was born in...
stars in Oscar and the Lady in Pink by Eric-Emmanuel SchmittÉric-Emmanuel SchmittEric-Emmanuel Schmitt is a French dramatist, novelist and fiction writer. His plays have been staged in over fifty countries all over the world.- Life :...
, directed by Frank Dunlop
- Rosemary Harris
- 2008: Tony Award Winner Idina MenzelIdina MenzelIdina Kim Menzel is an American actress, singer and songwriter. She is widely known for originating the roles of Maureen in Rent and Elphaba in Wicked.-Early life:...
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 MayElaine MayElaine May is an American film director, screenwriter and actress. She achieved her greatest fame in the 1950s from her improvisational comedy routines in partnership with Mike Nichols...
with Marlo ThomasMarlo ThomasMargaret Julia “Marlo” Thomas is an American actress, producer, and social activist known for her starring role on the TV series That Girl . She also serves as National Outreach Director for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital...
debuts.
- Roger is Dead, a new play written and directed by Elaine May
- 2010: Kathleen MarshallKathleen MarshallKathleen Marshall is an American choreographer, director, and creative consultant.-Life and career:Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Marshall graduated from Taylor Allderdice High School and Smith College. She worked in the Pittsburgh theatre scene when she was younger, performing with such...
directs the musical Calvin BergerCalvin BergerCalvin Berger is a musical with book, lyrics, and music written by Barry Wyner. Its story is loosely based on Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac.-Plot:...
. - 2011: David Hyde PierceDavid Hyde PierceDavid Hyde Pierce is an American actor and comedian best known for playing psychiatrist Dr. Niles Crane on the NBC sitcom Frasier, for which he received many accolades including four Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.-Early life:Pierce, the youngest of four siblings,...
directs the musical It Shoulda Been You written by Brian HargroveBrian HargroveDavid Brian Hargrove is an American television writer and producer.He earned his BFA degree from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and studied acting at the Juilliard School...
and Barbara Anselmi, starring Tyne DalyTyne DalyTyne Daly is an American stage and screen actress, widely known for her work as Detective Mary Beth Lacey in the television series Cagney & Lacey and as Maxine Gray in the television series Judging Amy. She is also known for her role as Alice Henderson in television series Christy...
, Harriet Harris, Edward HibbertEdward HibbertEdward Hibbert is an American-born English actor and literary agent.-Biography:Hibbert was born in Long Island, New York, the son of Geoffrey Hibbert. He has one sister. He was raised in England, where he attended London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art...
, Richard KlineRichard KlineRichard Kline is an American actor and television director. He is best known for playing the sleazy neighbor and used car salesman, Larry Dallas, on the sitcom, Three's Company.-Early life:...
, and Howard McGillinHoward McGillinHoward McGillin is a Tony-nominated stage, screen and television actor, perhaps best-known for being the world's longest running Phantom in Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera....