TheaterWorks Presents THE LEGEND OF GEORGIA MCBRIDE

TheaterWorks (Rob Ruggiero, Director/Producing Artistic Director) announced today that THE LEGEND OF GEORGIA McBRIDE by Matthew Lopez will run March 16 through April 22, 2018. THE LEGEND OF GEORGIA McBRIDE is the 3rd show of TheaterWorks 32nd Season.

Meet Casey! He's young, he's broke, his landlord's knocking at the door, and he's just found out his wife is going to have a baby. When he crosses paths with Miss Tracy Mills, Casey is transformed from a washed up Elvis impersonator to a show stopping drag queen. This "feel-good", music-filled comedy is about finding and celebrating your true voice.

Director Rob Ruggiero said, "Who doesn't love a great laugh? At its core, GEORGIA is a "feel-good", gender-bending comedy with heart. I can't remember the last time I laughed out loud reading a script. But beneath the fun is an important message about tolerance framed around themes of identity and transformation. Matthew's skill as a writer continues to impress, and with this particular play he reveals his agility as a writer of comedy. Besides a great story, he's given us a funny and often glorious tribute to the art of drag."

Originally staged in New York in 2015, Hartford audiences are familiar with Matthew Lopez' work at Hartford Stage including the world premiere of Reverberation as well as productions of Somewhere and The Whipping Man.

Making their TheaterWorks debuts are Nik Alexander (Rexy/Jason), Samaria Nixon-Fleming (Jo), Austin Thomas (Casey), and Jamison Stern (Miss Tracy Mills). J. Tucker Smith (Eddie) was previously seen at TheaterWorks in BlackBird. The creative team includes Paul Tate DePoo (Set Design), Leon Dobkowski (Costume Design), John Lasiter (Lighting Design), Ed Chapman (Sound Design) and Mark Adam Rampmeyer (Wig Design).

Nik Alexander (Rexy/Jason) is making his TheaterWorks debut. Nik is ecstatic to be joining this awesome company of actors and creators. He was last seen on Broadway in Motown The Musical. Other credits include Jesus Christ Superstar, Priscilla Queen Of the Desert, Dreamgirls and Smokey Joe's Cafe. Nik would like to thank his friends and family for their endless moral support. Song and music video Too Good To Be True available on all digital outlets. @nikalexander90 nikalexandermusic.com

Samaria Nixon-Fleming (Jo) is making her TheaterWorks debut. Samaria is honored to be joining the TheaterWorks family. Off-Broadway: Politically Correct (New World Stages) dir. Billy Porter; Regional Theater: All For Joe (Bergen PAC), The Colored Museum (Kumble Theater), Smokey Joes Cafe (Hamilton Theater); TV: Madam Secretary, The Good Fight. She is a proud alumna of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. This performance goes out to her Mom & Dad who've supported her to no end!

Austin Thomas (Casey) is ecstatic to be making his TheaterWorks debut! NYC: October Sky, Brave New World, Broadway Rising Star (Town Hall), Grand Hotel (CAP21). Regional: The Palace Theatre, Fireside and New Stage Theatre. CAP21 Graduate. Sending my love to my wonderfully supportive family and friends, especially my sweet wife Bailey. A tremendous thanks to Rob Ruggiero for giving me the opportunity to work on this amazing story! And a shout out to the TheaterWorks team for making this show possible!

J. Tucker Smith (Eddie) Tucker is a graduate of Northwestern University. He is excited to return to Hartford almost exactly ten years after appearing in the award winning production of Blackbird at TheaterWorks. (Ct. Critics Circle, "Best Production") New York credits include Closer (standby) on Broadway, MTC, One Dream and Cherry Lane theaters. He recently returned from The Pittsburgh Public Theater after playing Erik in The Humans. Other regional credits include, the world premiere of Flight of the Monarch at Gloucester Stage, Chicago Shakespeare, Royal George and the Alliance in Atlanta. Television: Daredevil, Damages (recurring), White Collar, Unforgettable, numerous Law and Orders and most recently, Madam Secretary. Film credits include Thirteen Days, Hi-Life, The Forgotten, Solidarity, ADDICTED and two soon to be released: Sender and The Coolest Girl In The World.

Jamison Stern (Miss Tracy Mills) is making his TheaterWorks debut. Broadway/National Tours: By Jeeves (Bingo Little), How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Palm Springs Who), Little Shop of Horrors (Seymour/Orin) and Disney's Beauty and the Beast (Lumiere). Regionally, Mr. Stern's credits include Baker in Into the Woods (NC Theatre), Zaza in La Cage Aux Folles (Goodspeed Musicals), Arnold in Torch Song Trilogy (The Human Race Theatre Company), Frederic in Young Frankenstein (Fulton Theatre), Fully Committed (Alley Theatre and La Mirada Theatre), Sweet Charity (Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma), [title of show] (Theatreworks), Chapter Two and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Theatre Aspen), She Loves Me (Rubicon Theatre Company) and Black Comedy, The Invention of Love, As Bees in Honey Drown, Flea In Her Ear and A Comedy of Errors (Alley Theatre). Film and TV: Mr. Tweed in the feature film Annabelle Hooper and the Ghosts of Nantucket (available On Demand), My Bakery in Brooklyn, Day Zero, The Finger Lakes, Law & Order and The Entrepreneurs. Eternal gratitude to Rob Ruggiero. @jamisonstern

Matthew Lopez (Playwright) is the author of The Whipping Man, one of the most celebrated and widely produced new American plays of the last decade. The Manhattan Theatre Club production received Obie, Lortel, and Outer Critics Circle awards including the John Gassner New Play Award. It has since been produced at over 100 U.S. theatres as well as internationally. The Legend of Georgia McBride premiered at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts and ran off-Broadway at MCC Theatre in a production that received multiple Drama Desk, Lucille Lortel, and Outer Critics Circle nominations, including Best Play. Other plays include Somewhere (Old Globe, world premiere), Reverberation (Hartford Stage Company, world premiere), The Sentinels (London's Headlong Theatre Company) and Zoey's Perfect Wedding. Matthew holds commissions from Roundabout Theatre Company, Manhattan Theatre Club, South Coast Rep, Williamstown Theatre Festival, and Harford Stage Company, where he served as their AETNA New Voices Fellow. For the past two seasons, he has been the Inaugural Playwriting Fellow at the Denver Center Theatre Company. Matthew was a writer on the HBO series The Newsroom and recently adapted Javier Marias' Your Face Tomorrow trilogy for the screen as well as the biopic Dr. Q for Disney.

Rob Ruggiero (Director/Producing Artistic Director) has been part of TheaterWorks artistic leadership for 25 years. He has directed over 50 shows, including Constellations, Next to Normal, Relativity, Sex with Strangers, Christmas on the Rocks, The Other Place and Time Stands Still. His Broadway credits include Looped (starring Valerie Harper in a Tony-nominated performance) and High (starring Kathleen Turner). Off-Broadway, he conceived and directed the musical revue Make Me a Song: The Music of William Finn (Nominated for Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards). Rob conceived and directed Ella, a musical portrait of Ella Fitzgerald, which has been seen at 24 regional theaters and on National Tour. His work has received multiple awards in Connecticut and around the United States. In his tenth collaboration with Goodspeed Musicals, Rob directed Rags. He also directed highly successful productions of La Cage aux Folles, Fiddler on the Roof (Connecticut Critic's Circle Award for Best Direction), The Most Happy Fella (Connecticut Critic's Circle Award for Best Direction), Carousel (Broadway World Award), Annie Get Your Gun, Camelot, Big River and 1776. His adaptation of Show Boat is now being licensed by the Rogers & Hammerstein Organization. www.robruggiero.com

Celebrating its 32nd season, TheaterWorks produces high quality, contemporary theater that is relevant to our audiences, engages a diverse community, and provides insight into the human experience.

Founded in 1985, TheaterWorks has produced over 150 plays and presents approximately 225 performances per season.

TheaterWorks also owns and manages the historic property at 233 Pearl Street, known as City Arts on Pearl. City Arts provides an affordable home and services to a diverse family of non-profit arts organizations.

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