Bad Dates Virtual Program

GEORGE STREET PLAYHOUSE

VIRTUAL

2021 SEASON

Make your move to a happier healthier lifestyle in our Assisted Living Residence High quality, affordable care for your loved one, and peace of mind for you • Spacious, luxurious suites with private bathroom and many amenities including a beauty salon, fitness center with a gym, heated pool, and hot tub • Elegant dining on healthy, chef-inspired meals • Onsite nursing available 24 hours a day • Housekeeping, transportation, medical support and medication administration • We meet all NJ Department of Health infection control requirements for senior living communities

Call and ask how we keep your loved one safe in our care

732-902-4200 We are here for you!

100 Vaccin % ated

Parker at Stonegate 443 River Road, Highland Park, NJ 08904 Parkerlife.org |

Board of Trustees Chairman: James N. Heston* President: Penelope Lattimer, Ph.D.* Vice President: Mark McMahon* Treasurer: Ronald Bleich* Secretary: Sharon Karmazin* Wanda J. Blanchett, PhD Lucy Hughes Philip L. Kirstein* Adele T. Macula, Ed.D. C. Sharon Parker Norman Politziner*

Kelly Ryman* David Saint* Jocelyn Schwartzman Nonny Stahlin Janice Stolar Lora Tremayne *Denotes Members of the Executive Committee

Trustees Emeritus Al D’Augusta Cody P. Eckert Kenneth M. Fisher

Peter Goldberg William Hagaman Clarence E. Lockett

Anthony L. Marchetta Alan W. Voorhees George Wolansky

Honorary Board of Trustees James Cahill

Thomas H. Kean

Eric Krebs, Founder

Honorary Memoriam Maurice Aaron∆ Dr. Edward Bloustein∆ Robert L. Bramson∆∆ Dora Center∆∆ Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.∆ Milton Goldman∆ John Hila

Betty Wold Johnson∆ Arthur Laurents∆ Richard Sellars∆ Barbara Voorhees∆∆ Edward K. Zuckerman∆ Adelaide M. Zagoren ∆∆ – Denotes Trustee Emeritus ∆ – Denotes Honorary Trustee

GEORGE STREET PLAYHOUSE

VIRTUAL

GALA BENEFIT April 29, 2021

Please join us for this special evening in honor of our 2021 Thomas H. Kean Arts Advocacy Award Recipients

The Honorable Thomas H. Kean 48th Governor of New Jersey

Thomas F. Kelso, Esq.

Chairman, New Brunswick Cultural Center

James N. Heston

Chairman of the Board, George Street Playhouse

Thursday, April 29, 2021 7:30 PM ET An Exclusive Virtual Event on the George Street Playhouse Digital Stage For further information: 732-846-2895 x7556 gala@georgestplayhouse.org

From the Artistic Director Dear theatregoers, It is approaching one year since we, along with every theatre in the country, had to shut down our productions (ours being Conscience) on March 12th due to the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

It has been a tumultuous year with only just now a hopeful light at the end of the tunnel.

David Saint Artistic Director

During that year we have tried to stay in touch with our faithful subscribers. So many of you generously gave to our emergency fund drive back in June.

We also tried to keep in touch by producing a videocast series called Putting it Together, about what goes on behind the scenes in the creation of live theatre. More recently we presented a special “zoom encore” presentation of Joe DiPietro’s timely play, Conscience.

Heartened by the response, we decided to present a “virtual season” this Spring.

Theresa Rebeck’s Bad Dates is the premier presentation of that season.

Due to the generosity of Board Member Sharon Karmazin we were able to produce, using her magnificent home as a “quarantine bubble” in which the artists could live and work together under strict COVID testing and safety protocols ensuring the health and protection of everyone involved. Then we would film the well rehearsed, designed and staged show and offer it on a streaming platform to our audiences.

I immediately thought of the wonderful Broadway actress Andréa Burns to star as the irrepressible Haley Walker. Here is a woman choosing to go back out into the world and engage! How many of us are in her shoes at this moment in our lives longing to do just that!

Next, her husband, Peter Flynn, would be perfect to direct. He helmed the very clever and poignant Curvy Widow at GSP a few years ago.

And how lucky that their son Hudson, a young film student could make it a family affair by filming the whole enterprise!

The result has been a joyous experiment in a hybrid of theatre and film to quench our thirst for theatre during this long pandemic! Along with their talented designers they have created an event that you and yours are sure to enjoy from the safety of your homes!

We plan on presenting three more works in this way ( thank you Sharon!) to keep you engaged until it is completely safe for us all to gather as a community in person again next fall to be enriched by the extraordinary art of live theatre.

Please stay safe and enjoy the funny and touching Bad Dates.

Sincerely, David Saint Artistic Director

David Saint, Artistic Director

Productions sponsored by The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation (from top-left clockwise): Sutton Foster and the cast of the New Group production of Sweet Charity; the cast of Holiday Inn the Irving Berlin musical at Roundabout Theatre Company; Primary Stages production of Bronx Bombers; and Lauren Ambrose and the cast of Lincoln Center Theater’s produciton of My Fair Lady.

THE BLANCHE & IRVING LAURIE F O U N D AT I O N

GEORGE STREET PLAYHOUSE David Saint, Artistic Director Kelly Ryman, Managing Director Presents Andréa Burns in

Bad Dates

by Theresa Rebeck Directed by Peter Flynn Costume Design by Lisa Zinni Lighting Design by Alan C. Edwards Original Music and Sound Design by Ryan Rummery Hair and Make up Design by Dorothy Petersen Production Stage Manager Samantha Flint* Cinematography and Editing by Hudson Flynn Prop Master and Set Dressing by Helen Tewksbury Executive Producer: Sharon Karmazin Casting: McCorkle Casting, Ltd. Production Manager: Christopher J. Bailey

February 23 - March 14, 2021 Bad Dates is sponsored by The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation The filming of Bad Dates is sponsored by The Merrill G. and Emita E. Hastings Foundation.

GEORGE STREET PLAYHOUSE THANKS THE JON BEN SNOW MEMORIAL TRUST FOR THEIR SUPPORT OF OUR STREAMING PLATFORM.

Bad Dates is produced by special arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. www.concordtheatricals.com

Grant funding has been provided by the Middlesex County Board of County Commissioners through a grant award from the Middlesex County Cultural and Arts Trust Fund.

Made possible 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 is a constituent of the League of Resident Theatres (LORT) and a member of the New Jersey Theatre Alliance. The theatre operates under an agreement between LORT and Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States, and is a member of the New Brunswick Cultural Center.

STREAMING NEXT ON OUR VIRTUAL STAGE

CAST in order of appearance Haley................................................................................Andréa Burns*

Setting: New York City *- denotes member of Actors’ Equity Association

The actors and stage managers employed in this production are members of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

The director is a member of The Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, Inc., an independent national labor union.

The stage technicians of George Street Playhouse are proud members of IATSE Local 21.

The Scenic, Costume, Lighting and Sound Designers in LORT theatres are represented by United Scenic Artists Local USA-829, IATSE.

BOOK COST-FREE FOR EDUCATORS www.GeorgeStreetPlayhouse.org

ANYTOWN

VIRTUAL TOUR 2021 A musical about opioid misuse for grades 6-12.

Book by Jim Jack Music and lyrics by Anna K. Jacobs Directed by Portia Krieger

The Anytown Virtual Tour is cost-free for educators & includes: • • •

Password Protected Link to stream at your convenience Virtual Resources addressing substance misuse and prevention Live Virtual Meeting with a cast member from the show

BOOK NOW: Tour@GeorgeStPlayhouse.org • (732) 497-8097

Statewide sponsorship provided by

COMPANY bios.

Andréa Burns (Haley) received an Outer Critics Circle Award Nomination for her performance in “On Your Feet! The Story of Gloria Estefan.” She is a Drama Desk Award winner for Daniela, the saucy hairdresser role she created in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Tony Award-winning musical, In The Heights. A versatile actress, Ms. Burns garnered rave reviews for her portrayal of Hollywood comedienne Judy Holliday, in the acclaimed Off-Broadway play, Smart Blonde.

Broadway credits: The Rose Tattoo, On Your Feet!, The Nance, In the Heights, The Ritz, The Full Monty, and Beauty and the Beast. Andréa began her career in the original company of Jason Robert Brown’s Songs For A New World, and was handpicked by Stephen Sondheim to play Celeste in his musical, Saturday Night shortly thereafter. She received a National Broadway Award nomination for her performance as “Lucille Frank” in Parade under the direction of Harold Prince. Andréa can be heard as the voice of Elaine Stritch in Alexandra Jacob’s audiobook, Still Here - The Madcap, Nervy, Singular Life of Elaine Stritch. TV: Blue Bloods, Kevin Can Wait, Jessica Jones, Mindhunter, Mad About You (reboot), Law & Order SVU. Her solo album, A Deeper Shade of Red, is available at www.psclassics. com Ms. Burns creates the new role of “Fausta” in Stephen Spielberg’s film adaptation of West Side Story, due for

release in December of 2021. Andréa is honored to join George Street Playhouse in this trailblazing effort to bring theatre to remote audiences everywhere.

Theresa Rebeck (Playwright) is a widely produced playwright throughout the United States and abroad. New York productions of her work include Dead Accounts at the Music Box Theatre; Seminar at the Golden Theatre; Mauritius at the Biltmore Theatre in a Manhattan Theater Club Production; The Scene, The Water’s Edge, Loose Knit, The Family of Mann, and Spike Heels at Second Stage; Bad Dates, The Butterfly Collection, and Our House at Playwrights Horizons; The Understudy at the Laura Pels Theater in a Roundabout Theatre Company production; and View of the Dome at New York Theatre Workshop.

Omnium Gatherum (co-written, finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2003) was featured at the Humana Festival, and had a commercial run at the Variety Arts Theatre. Her newest work, Poor Behavior premiered at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles in 2011. Ms. Rebeck’s other publications are Free Fire Zone, a book of comedic essays about writing and show business.

She has written for American Theatre Magazine and has had excerpts of her plays published in the Harvard Review. Ms. Rebeck’s novels, Three Girls and Their Brother and Twelve Rooms With A View were published

by Random House/Shaye Areheart

COMPANY bios.

Books respectively in April 2008 and May 2010. Both novels are available online and at booksellers everywhere.

Her third novel, I’m Glad About You, will be published by Putnam in February 2016. In television, Ms. Rebeck has written for Dream On, Brooklyn Bridge, L.A. Law, American Dreamer, Maximum Bob, First Wave, Third Watch, and she created the NBC drama Smash. She has been a writer/ producer for Canterbury’s Law, Smith, Law and Order: Criminal Intent and NYPD Blue. Her produced feature films include Harriet the Spy, Gossip, and the independent features Sunday on the Rocks and Seducing Charlie Barker, an adaptation of her play, The Scene.

Awards include the Mystery Writer’s of America’s Edgar Award, the Writer’s Guild of America award for Episodic Drama, the Hispanic Images Imagen Award, and the Peabody, all for her work on NYPD Blue. She has won the National Theatre Conference Award (for The Family of Mann), and was awarded the William Inge New Voices Playwriting Award in 2003 for The Bells. Mauritius was originally produced at Boston’s Huntington Theatre, where it received the 2007 IRNE Award for Best New Play as well as the Eliot Norton Award. Other awards include the PEN/Laura Pels Foundation Award, the Athena Film Festival Award, an Alex Award, a Lilly Award and in 2011 she was named one of the 150 Fearless Women in the World by Newsweek. Ms. Rebeck is originally from Cincinnati and holds an MFA in Playwrighting and a PhD

in Victorian Melodrama, both from Brandeis University. She is a proud board member of the Dramatists Guild, a Contributing Editor to the Harvard Review, an Associate Artist of the Roundabout Theatre Company and has taught at Brandeis University and Columbia University. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two children.

Peter Flynn (Director) is delighted to be returning to the George Street Playhouse where he directed the premiere of Curvy Widow by Bobby Goldman & Drew Brody. He was most recently the Founding Artistic Director of Plays In The House, raising money for the Actors’ Fund during the pandemic. New York credits include the off-Broadway premiere of Smart Blonde by Willy Holtzman starring Andréa Burns; Curvy Widow at the Westside Theatre; Chess with Josh Groban & Julia Murney; Funny Girl with Whoopi Goldberg, Jane Krakowski, & Sutton Foster; Our Town with B.D. Wong, and S. Epatha Merkerson; On the 20th Century with Douglas Sills & Marin Mazzie; Skippyjon Jones, and Junie B. Jones (two Lucille Lortel Award nominations); & Rhapsody in Seth starring Seth Rudetsky. Other credits include Sweeney Todd for Connecticut Repertory; Ragtime for Ford’s Theatre (Helen Hayes Award nominee); Born Yesterday for the Maltz-Jupiter Theatre; Andrea Martin’s one woman show, Andrea Martin: Final Days Everything Must Go; Katori Hall’s The Mountaintop; Gypsy

COMPANY bios. for the St. Louis MUNY; 1776 & Into the Woods for Ford’s Theatre; & Man of La Mancha for the Maltz-Jupiter Theatre (Carbonell Award, Best Direction).

Peter is an Associate Professor of Musical Theatre at Montclair State University; and a graduate of Northwestern University.

Lisa Zinni (Costume Designer) Lisa designed the new stage adaptation of Midwives by Chris Bojalian for George Street Playhouse and worked with Artistic Director David Saint designing the groundbreaking production of West Side Story at the IHI Stage Around in Tokyo. Broadway Credits include Freestyle Love Supreme, Associate Costume Designer for School of Rock, CATS, An American in Paris, The Play that Goes Wrong, The Glass Menagerie, RENT and HAIR. Additional Design Credits include Remember our Song, a new work created and choreographed by Andy Blankenbuehler for the Tulsa Ballet.

Lisa has designed for over 20 Seasons with The Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival and The Orlando Shakespeare Theatre. Favorite productions include: Evita, Shakespeare in Love, Sweeney Todd, Macbeth and Pericles.

Lisa has also designed regionally and Off Broadway; venues include The Round About, 59 E 59th, Ars Nova, TUTS, Walnut Street Theatre, Riverside Theatre in Vero, Two River Shakespeare, Bristol Riverside Theatre, The Arden theatre company.

LISAZINNI.com

Alan C. Edwards (Lighting Designer) is a lighting designer whose work OffBroadway includes the world premier of Harry Clarke at The Vineyard, for which he received a Lucille Lortel Award, the world premier of Kill Move Paradise at the National Black Theatre which received a Drama Desk nomination, and Anna Deavere Smith’s Fires in the Mirror at the Signature Theatre which also received a Lucille Lortel nomination. Regionally, he’s had the pleasure of designing three plays by Dominique Morisseau: Pipeline, Skeleton Crew (Actors Theatre of Louisville), and Detroit ’67 (Chautauqua Theatre Co.), Twisted Melodies, a new musical about Donny Hathaway at Center Stage Baltimore, and the new musical Lights Out: Nat King Cole at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles. A production of Twilight: Los Angeles 1992, by Anna Deavere Smith begins streaming Feb 3rd, produced by Syracuse Stage.

Additional credits include The Hot Wing King by Katori Hall at Signature Theatre in New York, The New Englanders at Manhattan Theatre Club • Stage II, American Moor (Red Bull), Native Son (The Acting Company), productions of Dutchman, Antigone and Macbeth for the Classical Theatre of Harlem, and a special collaboration between CTH and The Apollo Theatre in New York, the new musical The First Noel by Lelund Durond Thompson and Jason Michael Webb. His work has been seen in many theatres including Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Asolo Rep, Miami New Drama, Dallas

COMPANY bios.

Theatre Center, Cincinnati Playhouse in The Park, Cleveland Playhouse, Westport Playhouse, Connecticut Repertory Theatre, The Guthrie, and The Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. On Broadway he was the associate to Jennifer Tipton on The Testament of Mary. He received his B.F.A. from Ithaca College, and M.F.A. from the Yale School of Drama where he is also on the lighting faculty. For more information, please visit www.alancedwards.com.

Ryan Rummery (Original Music and Sound Designer) Broadway: The Lightning Thief, Be More Chill, Fool for Love, Thurgood. National Tours: The Lightning Thief (Theatreworks).

Off Broadway: Over 50 productions.

Regional: Over 250 productions. Film: Ottolenghi and the Cakes of Versailles (Tribeca and IFC 2020), When We Walk (AFI, Hot Docs), Awake: A Dream from Standing Rock (Tribeca 2017), How to Let Go of the World (Sundance 2017), City of Gold (Sundance 2015).

Selected composer for the Sundance Institute of Music and Sound Design Labs at Skywalker Sound (2017), and Obie Award for Sustained Excellence in Sound Design and Composition.

Dorothy Petersen (Hair and Make up Designer) BROADWAY & NYC: Hello, Dolly!, The Rose Tattoo, A Strange Loop, Unknown Soldier, Hercules, Pagliacci. FILM/TV: Inventing Anna, Salacia (on permanent display at the Museum of Modern Art), Samaria, Lost Cat Corona, Treasures

Under The Rocks, Happy Birthday, Marsha!, Call Out, Jabberwocky (Best Makeup Design London’s Music Video Awards) OPERA: Washington National Opera (La Bohème, Fidelio), Opera Ithaca (Cinderella, Hamlet, Masquerade, Pagliacci) Metropolis Opera Project (Il Sogno, Bully Pulpit) PRINT/FASHION/COMMERCIAL/ RED CARPET: Mercedes Benz Fashion Week, Sephora, Power Starz, The Tony Awards, TriBeCa Film Festival, Broadway Roulette. Proud member IATSE. Follow along on Instagram @ DottyDoesMakeup Samantha Flint (Production Stage Manager) Previously at George Street Playhouse: Conscience, Midwives, The Immigrant. Broadway: Venus in Fur (MTC). Off Broadway: Final Follies, HIM (Primary Stages); Measure for Measure, In the Wake, The Winter’s Tale, The Brother/Sister Plays (The Public). Selected Regional: Twelfth Night (Shakespeare on the Sound); Murder on the Orient Express, Disgraced, The Winter’s Tale, The Brother/Sister Plays, Herringbone (McCarter Theatre Center); Murder on the Orient Express, Somewhere (Hartford Stage); Camelot (Two River Theater); June Moon, The Visit (Williamstown); Barefoot in the Park, …Spelling Bee (Bucks County Playhouse); And A Nightingale Sang (Westport Country Playhouse).

Education: The Theatre School at DePaul University.

E B I R C S B U S !

M A E R T S &

See 3 more great show this season & enjoy this quality you love from George Street in your own home!

VISIT US: www.GeorgeStreetPlayhouse.org

COMPANY bios.

Hudson Flynn (Cinematographer and Editor) is a 17-year-old award winning filmmaker in New York City, where he studies Film at the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts. Hudson is best known for writing and directing his short narrative films, available to stream on NightOfOni Production’s YouTube channel. You can follow him on instagram @hudsonmakesmovies.

Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, Echo Valley Arts in Vermont, and The Ohio Valley Summer Theatre. Her fine art has been sold at auction to benefit local non-profit theater. She is a proud member of IATSE Local 21.

Sharon Karmazin (Executive Producer) is a four time Tony Award winning producer for Clybourne Park, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Dear Evan Hanson and The Band’s Visit. She has co-produced 25+ shows on and off Broadway, on tour and in the West End. On Broadway she has Dear Evan Hansen and Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations and in London, two Olivier Award winning shows, Come From Away and Dear Evan Hansen, all waiting to reopen.

Sharon is a longtime George Street Playhouse Board member and an Actors Fund Board member. She received the Thomas H. Kean Arts Advocacy Award from the Playhouse and serves as President of The Karma Foundation, her family philanthropy.

Pat McCorkle (C.S.A.), McCorkle Casting LTD (Casting) Broadway: Over 50 productions including; On The Town, Amazing Grace, End of the Rainbow, A Few Good Men. etc.

Off-Broadway Over 60 productions: Highlights; Our Town (Barrow Street), Freud’s Last Session, Toxic Avenger, Almost Maine, Driving Miss Daisy. Regional Theatre: Guthrie, Barrington Stage, St. Louis Rep, George Street Playhouse, Pittsburgh Public, Connecticut Rep, and multiple hundreds of individual productions.

Feature films: Senior Moment, Year by the Sea, Premium Rush, GhostTown, The Thomas Crown Affair, Die Hard with a Vengeance, School Ties, etc. Television: Twisted, Humans for Sesame Street, Hack (CBS), Californication (Emmy Nomination), Max Bickford (CBS), Chappelle’s Show, Strangers with Candy, etc. www.mccorklecasting. com.

Helen Tewksbury (Prop Master and Set Dressing) This is Helen’s 7th season as Props Master with the George St. Playhouse. Helen has been a professional Props Master, Artisan, and fine artist in NJ for 12 years. She has worked throughout the country with Premiere Stages, The Paper Mill Playhouse, The State Theater, The

The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation (Production Sponsor) was established in 1983 by New Brunswick philanthropist Irving Laurie.

The Foundation supports a variety of projects across broad issue areas. In 2021 the Foundation has focused on providing pandemic relief support to the New Jersey Pandemic Relief

COMPANY bios.

Fund and various hospitals in New Jersey for the acquisition of protective equipment. The Foundation’s support for organizations in the arts has manifested itself in significant grants for general operating support, capital improvement grants to enable facilities to reopen with appropriate Covid-19 compliant upgrades and to enable virtual programming until such time as public performances can safely resume. The Foundation was gratified to have been selected as the Outstanding Foundation of 2016 by the New Jersey Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. It is proud to report that the Foundation has provided approximately $90,000,000 in grants to philanthropic endeavors, addressing the Foundation’s interest in the arts, education, health care and social services.

Christopher J. Bailey (GSP Production Manager) This season marks Mr. Bailey’s 23rd at George Street Playhouse and 16th as its Production Manager, having previously served the Playhouse as Technical Coordinator and Sound and Lighting Manager.

Recently for GSP he was Lighting Designer for last season’s production of The Immigrant. Was also Lighting Designer for GSP’s production of Clever Little Lies, which moved to the Guild Hall Theatre in East Hampton and then off-Broadway to the Westside Theatre. His other designs for GSP includes 6 scenic designs and 9 sound designs for GSP’s

Educational Touring productions, 28 lighting designs and 40 sound designs for GSP’s mainstage productions.

Also, has designed for: Pearl Theatre, Barrington Stage, Premiere Stages, Bickford Theatre, Abingdon Theatre, Strand Theatre, Berkshire Theatre Festival, Two River Theater, Ashlawn Highland Opera, LKB Dance, Randy James Dance, Rand Theater, The Irish Repertory Theatre, Westport Country Playhouse, Long Wharf, Delaware Theatre Company, Jacob’s Pillow, and more. Mr. Bailey also teaches Stagecraft at Middlesex County College and serves as the Production Coordinator for the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center.

David Saint (Artistic Director) is in his 24th season as Artistic Director of George Street Playhouse. He has directed 40 mainstage productions at GSP, having most recently helmed last season’s Conscience in addition to Midwives, The Trial of Donna Caine, American Hero; I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change and An Act of God starring the legendary Kathleen Turner in the 2017-18 season. His time here has been marked by collaborations with such artists as Keith Carradine, Tyne Daly, Rachel Dratch, Sandy Duncan, Boyd Gaines, A.R. Gurney, Uta Hagen, Jack Klugman, Dan Lauria, Kathleen Marshall, Elaine May, Anne Meara, David Hyde Pierce, Chita Rivera, Paul Rudd, Stephen Sondheim, Marlo Thomas, Eli Wallach and many others, including a remarkable partnership with Arthur Laurents. In

COMPANY bios. addition, many new award-winning works have begun their life here during his tenure, such as The Toxic Avenger, Proof, The Spitfire Grill, Joe DiPietro’s Clever Little Lies and It Shoulda Been You. He has directed Final Follies at Primary Stages, Clever Little Lies at Guild Hall in East Hampton, NY, and off-Broadway at Westside Theatre, as well as the National Tour of West Side Story. In July 2016, he directed a twonight concert performance of West Side Story at the legendary Hollywood Bowl. In Summer 2019, he directed a revolutionary new production of West Side Story for IHI Stage Around in Tokyo and currently serves as a Associate Producer for a new film version of West Side Story directed by Steven Spielberg. He also has directed on Broadway, off-Broadway and regionally at Playwrights Horizons, Manhattan Theatre Club, Primary Stages, McCarter, Williamstown, Seattle Rep, Pasadena Playhouse, Pittsburgh Public, Long Wharf and many others on premieres by writers such as Aaron Sorkin, Wendy Wasserstein, Peter Parnell, Jonathan Marc Sherman, Joe DiPietro and Jonathan Larson. He is the recipient of the Alan Schneider Award, Helen Hayes Award, L.A. Drama Critics Award, several Drama-Logue Awards and is the President of The Laurents/ Hatcher Foundation.

Kelly Ryman (Managing Director) is celebrating her 21st season with George Street Playhouse, having recently led the company through a transformative chapter in its history – overseeing the planning, construction and operations of the move to its interim home on Rutgers Cook Campus in 2017 as well as the move back downtown as a Founding Resident Company of New Brunswick Performing Arts Center. From 2000 to 2013, as the company’s Director of Marketing and Public Relations, she spearheaded promotional efforts that resulted in the top tenhighest grossing productions in the Playhouse’s history, including the hit musical It Shoulda Been You which moved to Broadway in 2015. OffBroadway, Kelly was a member of the marketing team for The Toxic Avenger, which premiered at George Street Playhouse and went on to win the 2009 Outer Critics’ Circle Award for Best New Musical. Active in the nonprofit arts community throughout New Jersey, she was the Central NJ Chair of Jersey Arts Marketers for over a decade. She serves on the Board of Directors of New Brunswick City Center and is an adjunct professor of Arts and Entertainment Business at Mercer County College. Prior to her tenure at George Street Playhouse, Ms. Ryman worked at McCarter Theatre and The Wilma Theater. Kelly was recognized in 2012 by ArtPride NJ with their Leadership Award.

A CONVERSATION WITH THE PLAYWRIGHT

Theresa Rebeck

This interview originally appeared in the Huntington Theatre Company’s Spring 2018 Spotlight newsletter, and is reprinted by permission.

What inspired you to write Haley?

At the time I had been hanging out with my friend, actress Julie White. One night when we were sitting around making each other laugh, we thought about this idea to do a cable show called “Bad Dates” in that we would interview people about the worst dates they’d ever had, and then we’d do dramatic reenactments of them. That conversation moved into the idea of this one person who hasn’t been dating and decides to start dating again.

The play is centered around Haley’s dating life, but the strongest relationship we see is with her daughter, Vera. What was your choice in showcasing a single working mother?

Listen, I know plenty of people who that’s their story, and at a certain point, that romantic dream of having the perfect partner show up falls by the wayside. There is so much life right in front of you. And that life itself becomes more important than that particular dream. I think that is what happened to Haley. I have a friend who doesn’t date very much anymore. She gets asked out a lot, and she said to me, “Euch… it’s so much work. Men are so much work. I got enough to do.” She was from a different generation, but I understood what she meant. I think that’s a little bit of what happened to Haley. But then, I have two kids and you do go through the moment where you realize that your children will move on and the closeness that you have with a child is going to open up. Haley’s at a time where she can think about [dating] again.

I read an article about how you thought of yourself as an “impatient person” and that the words stream out of you like a spigot – was this play a quick write?

No. It took four years. It was the most time I’ve ever spent on a play. The form of a one-person play is very challenging. I felt like I was being dragged backward all of the time. It’s not a form that tells you what comes next, which is what storytelling is all about. Because she is telling the story of what happened to her the night before or last week, there is a kind of drag on the narrative. It became very important for me to have her daughter Vera to talk to or have a box of money under the bed. There are things in the present moment that were pushing her life forward. It took a while to figure that out.

What makes something funny to you? What type of comedy inspires your comedy?

It’s extremely difficult to talk about comedy. Everybody sounds like an idiot when they do it.

I will say there are several things to be aware of: there’s a surprise element, there’s a timing element, and for me, there’s a kind of simplicity. And blood on the floor. There’s pain. There’s a lot of pain. I’m not very interested in jokes, unless they have larger spiritual context.

Do you have a shoe that is associated with a pivotal moment in your life?

Well, the shoes I got married in. They’re black with cute beads all over them. And there was also a pair of Frye boots that I lived in when I was an undergraduate. I wore them to graduation, so they show up in all of my graduation pictures.

CORPORATIONS, FOUNDATIONS & GOVERNMENT

GEORGE STREET PLAYHOUSE gratefully acknowledges the following for their annual support* EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS $100,000 and Above

The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation Johnson & Johnson Laurents/Hatcher Foundation Middlesex County Cultural and Arts Trust Fund New Jersey State Council on the Arts Novo Nordisk Robert Wood Johnson Foundation The Wunderkinder Foundation

PRODUCERS $50,000 - $99,999

The Cecelia Joyce and Seward Johnson Foundation The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey The Karma Foundation National Endowment for the Humanities RWJ Barnabas Health The Shubert Foundation

THANK YOU for your annual support CO-PRODUCERS $20,000 - $49,999

The Fred C. Rummel Foundation

Bank of America Charitable Foundation

The John Ben Snow Memorial Trust

Bloomberg Philanthropies

The Merrill G. and Emita E. Hastings Foundation

E. J. Grassmann Trust

Northfield Bank

Rutgers Community Health Foundation

The Schumann Fund for New Jersey

Union Foundation

The Thomas and Agnes Carvel Foundation

ASSOCIATE PRODUCERS $10,000 - $19,999

GUARANTORS $2,500 - $4,999

Investors Foundation PNC Foundation Princeton Area Community Foundation, The Robert Wood Johnson III Fund The Provident Bank Foundation Wells Fargo Foundation

CONTRIBUTING PARTNER $5,000 - $9,999 The Amboy Foundation Anela Kolohe Foundation Civic League of Greater New Brunswick

Somerset Health Foundation

PATRONS $1,000 - $2,499 Fund for the New Jersey Blind, Inc. The Morey Family Foundation, Inc.

BACKERS $500 - $999 Actors Equity Foundation, Inc. University Radiology Vantage Group

GIFTS-IN-KIND The Heldrich Nassau Communications

MAXIMIZE THE IMPACT OF YOUR GIFT with a matching gift from your company!

Double or triple the impact of your gift to George Street Playhouse! Include the name of your affiliation on your pledge form and your company’s matching gift form. You will be entitled to donor benefits based on the combined gift total. Matching gifts play an essential role in the financial support of George Street Playhouse.

Current Matching Gift Companies Supporting GEORGE STREET PLAYHOUSE ATT Bristol-Myers Squibb GE Corporation Goldman Sachs The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey IBM Corporation Johnson & Johnson

Merck Company Merrill Lynch & Co Pfizer Prudential Foundation Robert Wood Johnson Foundation S&P Global Foundation UBS *Gifts from January 1 - December 31, 2020

INDIVIDUALS PRODUCER’S CIRCLE VISIONARIES $25,000+

Joan and Robert Campbell James N. Heston Peter Jewell and Fred Eisinger Betty Wold Johnson Sharon Karmazin Nancy and Duncan MacMillan Elizabeth and Arthur Roswell Marlene and Anthony Volpe

SUSTAINERS $10,000– $24,999

Lucy Hughes and Sean Devlin Anne Hayden Melinda Raso Kirstein and Philip Kirstein Suzanne and Eric Krebs David Saint

AMBASSADORS $7,500 – $9,999 JoAnn and Ken Fisher Mark McMahon and Roberto Moreira Christine Renz and Noah Levy Mary and Edward Hartnett

ADVOCATES $5,000 – $7,499 Laura Baron Isa and Michael Beck Al Berger Ron and Lois Bleich Suzanne Engel William Hagaman The Honorable Thomas H. Kean Leonard Littman Ellen Ozur and Stuart Brown Jocelyn Schwartzman Cuyler and Lexine Tremayne Lora Tremayne

BENEFACTORS $2,500 – $4,999 Edward S. Atwater, IV Walter Bradhering Jean Cheever William Engel Susan and Bryan Garruto Judy and James Hancock Tillie and Bob Kahle Josh Kalafer Penelope E. Lattimer, Ph.D. Lisa Moro and Alan Voorhees Elizabeth Otterbein Rita Paszamant Dorothy and Norman Politziner

Adrienne and Andrew Ross Nonny and Paul Stahlin Janice and Lewis Stolar Bob Virgadamo

ANGELS $1,000 – $2,499

Deborah Alexander Mary and Patrick Callan Josi Irene Callan-Cole MaryLou and Al D’Augusta D’Maris and Joseph Dempsey Barbara and Paul Eggerman Gerald and Barbara Essig Susan Forman Alison Fraser and Steven Plavakis Ellen Frede and Steven Barnett Julie and Robert Goldstein Marc Gonzer Margaret and Thomas Gorrie Christine Grant and Michael Halpern David M. Greene Margaret Grove Sharon and Mark Gruber Jean and Claude Heller Lorraine and Robert Henry Joyce and William Jonat Ellen Kennedy and David Feigley Kathleen Campbell Jackson Nancy L. and Arthur E. Lee Irene and Steven Lieberman Laura and Dean Livingston Sara Logan Pamela and Andrew Lovasz Adele T. Macula, Ed.D. Barbara and Robert Martalus Amy and Michael Moorby C. Sharon and Jonathan Parker Richard A. Patt Ann and Robert Rafano Kristen Rich and Anthony Camioni, II Carole and Stephen Schneider Kathy and Ken Schurzky Jocelyn Schwartzman in memory of William Tremayne Lynn and Barry Sherman Michele Shields-Buono Noreen and Patrick Sinko Renée Troiano Margaret Velden Nancy and Edward Winant Rebecca and Philip Witt Michele and George Wolansky

THANK YOU for your annual support BACKERS $500 – $999

Beatrice and Larry Abrams Jeanne and James Barrett Shirley and Stuart Bauer Karen Beverly Chris Bohjalian Jennifer and Richard Bullock Linda Choplick Carol Ciorciari Brenda and Jerome Deener Dina and Peter Engler Rick Engler Marie Foucher and Daniel Hyman Willard Geller L. Goldstein and I. Novak Robert Grant Laura Graumann Clara and John Grosso Nancy and Richard Hines Ellen and George Horowitz Ellen Horowitz Laurie Kamhi Lena Kaminsky Lynda and John Kazmark Gregory King Joan and Richard Barry McCormick Daphne and Steven Mishkin Randi Neuman Robert Nolan Dennis O’Dea Mary and Theodore Petti Mona and Barry Portnoy Bethany and Jonathan Rabinowitz Julie and Robert Rafano Kathy Raymiel Marie and Marshall Rosen Karen and Henry Ross Barbara and Howard Sorkin James Teal Blanquita Valenti Jeff Venezia Carolyn and Dan Vickery Vicki and Neil Weisfeld

PARTNERS $250 – $499

Juhi and Kamal Agrawal in honor of Mrs. Maureen McVeigh-Berzok Eric Allender Mona Ascher Barbara Baier Peggy Barbarella Susan and Alan Blanchette Karen and David Blivaiss Nancy Brannegan Barbara Broggi Andrea and James Carroll Judy Cohen Rose Condello Mark Corso Elizabeth V. Counselman Norman J. Diamond Jennifer and John Dowd David Drinkwater Lyn and David Fasanella Barbara Fisk Barbara and Sheldon Freidenreich Stacey and David Garfield Diana and Pat Gatti Rita Gordon Stacie and Rick Grant Denise and Irwin Hametz Evelyn Hartmann Robert Hartmann Ellen and Joel Henkin Paula Henry Angela Horan Donald Humphrey Dr. and Mrs. Frank Jones Lynn and Ed Josell Nancy and Lee Kevin Scott Killian Elisabeth King Florence Klancer Pat and Roger Klein Sharon and Joseph Kosmo

Robert Kramer Suzanne and Alex Kucsma George Kupczak and Kevin Janis Mary and John Larkin Ruth and Charles Larsson John and Ann Lech Carolyn and Francis Lumia Joanne and Thomas Marino Richard McAdams Mary Ann McLaughlin Richard McAdams Cheryl and Jeff McBride Karol and Wayne Morrison Bruce Moskovitz and John Fellin Judith Musicant and Hugh Clark Henry E. and Debbie Newman Brenda Overcash and Thomas West Jerome Pasichow Christopher Pavon Marcus Porcelli Karen Price Valli Re Steven Rifkin and Merle Soroco Stephen and Ellen Ritz Lisa Robinson Rita Seplowitz Saltz Karen Satterthwaite Rene and Marguerite Schlag Randy Schwartzman Megan Shook Rachel Silverstein Karen Spiler Scott Steinhauer David and Bonnie Sudol Rolfe Swinton Thomas Tomy Linda Tondow Michael Triebe Kim Vernon and Chauncey Phillips Caroline Willard

Includes contributions made through December 31, 2020.

If you notice an error here, please do not hesitate to contact us at development@georgestplayhouse.org so that we may correct it for our next printing.

A contribution to the arts is an investment in the quality of life for all citizens.

As a not-for-profit theatre, we depend on annual support from individuals, corporations, foundations, and government to produce world class theater in New Jersey, provide highly acclaimed arts education programming to over 30,000 students each year, and make theater accessible to everyone in our community.

C reating our future, together.

artscouncil.nj.gov

(609) 292-6130

1814 - Playbill Ads - Half Size - 2018- 5.5x8.5.indd 1

2/16/18 2:34 PM

Celebrating the arts and the joy they bring to life every day.

Thank you, George Street Playhouse, for sharing your talents with everyone in the community.

Contact our Wealth Director Aquatia Owens to learn more about PNC Wealth Management.

Aquatia Owens 609-497-6602 aquatia.owens@pnc.com

©2019 The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. All rights reserved. PNC Bank, National Association. Member FDIC CON PDF 0618-0106

LIKE A GOOD UNDERSTUDY, WE’VE GOT YOU COVERED Insuring and supporting the George Street Playhouse since 1974.

As part of one of the nation’s largest property and casualty insurance brokers, CBIZ Borden Perlman combines national resources with personalized service.

We work tirelessly to insure what’s important to you.

609.896.3434 | 800.932.4476 B O RD E N PE RLMAN . COM Ewing Office: 250 Phillips Blvd., Suite 280, Ewing, NJ 08618 New Brunswick Office: 120 Albany St., Tower II, Suite 405, New Brunswick, NJ 08901

STAFF David Saint, Artistic Director • Kelly Ryman, Managing Director

ARTISTIC General Manager Scott Goldman Aristic Associate Laiona Michelle Casting McCorkle Casting, Ltd.

EDUCATION Director of Education and Community Artisitc Programming Jim Jack Assistant Director of Education Christa Cillaroto Tour and Academy Programs Manager Catherine Del Castillo Resident Teaching Artist / Project Coordinator Annie Rutherford Lutz Teaching Artists Dustin Ballard

Brooke Garfinkel Emily Goggin Sam Leichter Annie Rutherford Lutz Rachel Matusewicz Angela Peletier Lucas Pinner Dave Seamon

MARKETING & PUBLIC RELATIONS Director of Marketing & Public Relations Rick Engler Assistant Director of Marketing & Public Relations Matthew Holowienka Group Sales Manager Megan Cherry Production Key Art Graphic Design & Art Direction Alycia Yerves Creative

PATRON SERVICES Sales and Patron Services Manager Molly Sullivan

DEVELOPMENT Director of Development Jacqueline Brendel

FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION Director of Finance Karen Price Assistant to the Managing Director Cassidy Nogueira Data and Special Projects Manager Shakera Blakney

PRODUCTION Production Manager Christopher J. Bailey

FOR THIS PRODUCTION Costume Shop Manager & Seamstress Joleen Addleman Loyd Company Manager Megan Cherry Audio Description Dustin Ballard

Special Thanks to Pat Irons Speical Thanks to Designer Revival