Rehearsals Now Underway for THE FABULOUS LIPITONES at George Street Playhouse

Barbershop quartets will take center stage at New Brunswick's George Street Playhouse as they present John Markus and Mark St. Germain's a cappella musical comedy, The Fabulous Lipitones on stage beginning November 18. The cast includes You Tube sensation Rohan Kymal, and Broadway veterans Donald Corren, Wally Dunn and Jim Walton. Michael Mastro (The Subject Was Roses) returns to helm the production, and Broadway veteran Michael Lichtefeld will put the quartet through their paces as choreographer.

The Fabulous Lipitones begins its first preview performance on Tuesday November 18, and performances continue through Sunday, December 14. Opening night is set for Friday, November 21. Individual tickets, ranging from $25-$68, are now available, as are flexible and affordable subscription packages. For tickets and information, contact the George Street Playhouse Box Office at 732-246-7717 or visit www.GSPonline.org. George Street Playhouse is located at 9 Livingston Avenue, in the center of New Brunswick's vibrant downtown scene, close to parking and myriad dining options for every palate and pocketbook. Visit www.GSPonline.org for parking and dining recommendations.

The Lipitones are an Ohio-based barbershop quartet that has just won the regionals - but lost their tenor in the process, to a literally heart-stopping "high B-flat." In their scramble to find a replacement before the Nationals, they hear the dulcet tones of "Bob." His voice is amazing, but upon meeting him, he is not the person they expected. The uproarious comedy is a tale of battling stereotypes, misunderstandings and pitch-perfect harmony.

Creating the world of the Lipitones are scenic designer R. Michael Miller (GSP season opener Outside Mullingar); costume designer Esther Arroyo and lighting designer Christopher J. Bailey (both from last season's Clever Little Lies); and sound designer Scott Killian (Outside Mullingar). Casting is by McCorkle Casting (Pat McCorkle, Casting Director; Katja Zarolinski, Associate).

Donald Corren's credits include originating the role of Cosme McMoon in the Broadway production of Souvenir, as well as The Fantasticks and Old Jews Telling Jokes off-Broadway; Wally Dunn returns to George Street from his turn as the Professor in last season's Our Town and previous season's Inspecting Carol as well as the Broadway casts of Spamalot and Gypsy with Bernadette Peters. Rohan Kymal's vocal performance on You Tube has garnered him more than 3 million views, and his theatrical credits include appearances on regional stages in Hair and High School Musical. Jim Walton's many credits include the role of Cosme McMoon in the George Street Playhouse production of Souvenir, as well as originating the role of Franklin Shepard in Sondheim's Merrily We Roll Along and the recent revival of The Mystery of Edwin Drood.

John Markus, after an assignment on the acclaimed sitcom Taxi, joined the original writing staff of The Cosby Show. Promoted to supervising producer after only six episodes, by season two he became the hit series' head writer/co-executive producer. He remained the chief writer for five more years, penning 67 episodes, earning an Emmy, four nominations, a Peabody, and two Humanitas prizes. Markus also co-created the Cosby spin-off A Different World for NBC. With Al Franken, he created the critically acclaimed Lateline for Paramount Network Television. He was consulting producer on HBO's The Larry Sanders Show, earning an Emmy-nomination. Markus directed an award-winning documentary, The Kings of BBQ Barbecue Kuwait, chronicling the mission of bringing authentic-style BBQ to our troops. He created the Destination America series, BBQ Pitmasters, which takes an in-depth look at the world of competition barbecue.

Mark St. Germain (Playwright) has written the plays Freud's Last Session (Off Broadway Alliance Award), Camping With Henry and Tom (Outer Critics Circle Award and Lucille Lortel Award),The God Committee, Ears on a Beatle and Forgiving Typhoid Mary, which was presented at George Street with Estelle Parsons. His play Dr. Ruth, All The Way, premiered this past summer at the Barrington Stage Company and will be playing in NYC this spring. The Fabulous Lipitones, a comedy written with John Markus, will premiere in Atlanta at the Theatrical Outfit in April and his newest play, Scott and Hem in the Garden of Allah, will premiere at the Contemporary American Theater Festival in July followed by an August production at the Barrington Stage Company. With composer Randy Courts, Mark wrote the musicals Johnny Pye, which premiered at George Street, and The Gifts of the Magi. His musical Stand By Your Man premiered at the Ryman Theater in Nashville and has toured nationally. Television work includes writer and Creative Consultant for The Cosby Show. He has written the screenplay for Carroll Ballard's film DUMA and directed and produced the documentary My Dog, An Unconditional Love Story, featuring Richard Gere, Lynn Redgrave and Glenn Close among many others. He is an alumnus of New Dramatists, a member of the Dramatists Guild and the Writer's Guild East. He was awarded the "New Voices in American Theatre" award at the William Inge Theatre Festival. Mark is a Board Member and Associate Artist at Barrington Stage Company.

Michael Mastro returns as a director to George Street following his acclaimed production of The Subject Was Roses with Stephanie Zimbalist. As an actor at GSP he has had the great pleasure of appearing in such plays as The Sunshine Boys, The Pillowman and Inspecting Carol. In 2010, Michael helmed a NYC benefit production of the comedy Hate Mail, starring Cynthia Nixon and John Slattery, and he assisted David Saint in the mounting of the first national tour of West Side Story. Past directorial assignments include Love Letters, starring Bernadette Peters and John Dossett, as well as many one-acts by such playwrights as Warren Leight, Geoffrey Nauffts, Dena Douglas, Jeanne Dorsey and Sally Nemith at several NYC theatre companies including Naked Angels, of which he is a member. He has appeared on Broadway in: West Side Story, Twelve Angry Men; Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Ashley Judd/Jason Patric); Mamma Mia!, Judgment at Nuremberg; Side Man; Barrymore (with Christopher Plummer); Love! Valour! Compassion! Off-Broadway: The Water Children (Playwrights Horizons), Escape from Happiness (Naked Angels). Regional: Paper Mill, Old Globe, Coconut Grove, Williamstown and Penguin Rep. Film: Kissing Jessica Stein, The Night We Never Met, Jungle 2 Jungle, Borough of Kings. TV: "Alias," "Hack," "Deadline," "Cosby," lots of "Law and Order".

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