George Street Playhouse 2008-09 Season To Include Laurents
By: BWW News Desk Jul. 14, 2008
After coming off the most successful season in the organization's history, New Brunswick's George Street Playhouse is pleased to announce their 2008-09 season. "Last season was a blockbuster," said Artistic Director David Saint, "we began and ended it with smash hit comedies which became the top two best selling plays in our history. For 2008-09, we are pleased to welcome new and old friends to the Playhouse in what promises to be another exciting season."
The 2008-09 season, the Playhouse's 35th, will open with the world premiere production of The Toxic Avenger. A new musical, based on Lloyd Kaufman's classic cult film, it features a book and score by Joe Di Pietro (I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change) and David Bryan (keyboardist and founding member of New Jersey's own Bon Jovi). Directed by Tony Award-winning director John Rando (Urinetown), The Toxic Avenger will run for five weeks beginning September 30.
Conor McPherson's 2008 Tony Award nominee and Olivier Award winning Christmas ghost story The Seafarer will follow. Directed by Anders Cato (from last season's Doubt), The Seafarer will run November 18 – December 18. Donald Margulies' insightful drama about an artist and his muse, Sight Unseen will begin the New Year, playing January 20 – February 15. The title for the fourth slot of the season is still under consideration, and will be announced at a later date; however the production will play onstage from March 3 – 29.Play Two – The Seafarer Hailed by The New York Times as "a thinking-person's alternative to "It's a Wonderful Life", Conor McPherson's Olivier Award-Winning and Tony-nominated best play, The Seafarer promises to be a funny and haunting alternative to traditional holiday fare. It's going to be a devil of a Christmas in Baldoyle, a costal settlement just north of Dublin City. The fog is dense and a group of friends have gathered for what seems to be a simple game of poker, until a mysterious stranger joins the game and raises the stakes damningly high. Named "The Best New Play of the Year" by the Wall Street Journal, The Seafarer is an unforgettable Irish tale of old friends and holiday spirits - where the whisky bottle is hidden under the couch and everyone lays their cards on the table. Anders Cato, who directed last season's critically acclaimed production of John Patrick Shanley's Doubt, will return to helm The Seafarer. The production will run November 18 through December 14. Opening Night is Friday, November 21. Play Three – Sight Unseen
How much does an artist need his muse? How much does the muse need her artist? Jonathan - a rock-star of the modern art world - wrestles with an unexpected identity crisis after a German critic questions his motives as a Jewish artist. While on business in London he visits Patricia, the now married ex-lover who was the subject of his first great painting, ten years prior. Does she still possess the fire he needs to re-ignite what once existed in his painting? Or is he more interested in possessing the nude that hangs over the fireplace in her home. Pulitzer Prize winner Donald Margulies' OBIE Award-winning play dabbles in the controversial themes of race, religion, and belonging, in a play highlighted with humor and brilliant dialogue. GSP Artistic Director David Saint will helm Sight Unseen, which will run January 20 through February 15. Opening Night is Friday, January 23, 2009. Play Four – To Be Announced The play for the fourth slot of the season has yet to be announced. Typically, Mr. Saint keeps a slot open in the season for any last-minute availabilities or unforeseen opportunities (such as last season's Oscar and the Pink Lady starring Rosemary Harris). The production chosen for this slot will run March 3 through March 29. Opening Night is Friday, March 6, 2009.
Play Five – New Year's Eve What does a smart, funny star do when everything is turning into a bad joke on her? George Street Playhouse Artistic Director David Saint directs the world premiere of this sophisticated new comedy by Tony Award winning playwright Arthur Laurents. New Year's Eve will run April 14 through May 10, with Opening Night set for Friday, April 17, 2009. Mr. Laurents, who is currently represented on Broadway with the Tony Award Winning revival of Gypsy, is perhaps best known for penning the book for West Side Story and screenplay for The Way We Were.
Single Tickets for The Seafarer, Sight Unseen, New Year's Eve and the production yet to be announced range from $28 to $64, and will be available in early September. Tickets for The Toxic Avenger range from $28 – $75 and are on sale now. Discounts are available for senior citizens with proof of age, and students with valid ID. Combination packages, including dinner and premium seating, are also available. Information and tickets can be obtained through the Box Office at 732-246-7717 or at the GSP website www.GSPonline.org.
Under the leadership of Artistic Director David Saint, George Street Playhouse has become a nationally recognized theater, presenting an acclaimed mainstage season while providing an artistic home for established and emerging theatre artists. Founded in 1974, the Playhouse has been well 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 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 addition to its mainstage season, GSP's Touring Theatre features five issue-oriented productions that tour to more than 250 schools in the tri-state area, and is seen by more than 70,000 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, and by funds from the National Endowment for the Arts. Continental Airlines is the official airline of George Street Playhouse.
Photo Credit Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.
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