Nancy Opel-Led CURVY WIDOW Will Land at George Street Playhouse in May

George Street Playhouse has announced that the new musical comedy Curvy Widow, starring Broadway's Nancy Opel (GSP's The Toxic Avenger, Broadway's Honeymoon in Vegas), will be the fifth and final show of the New Brunswick theatre's 2016-17 season. The show runs May 2-21, 2017, with opening night scheduled for May 5, 2017.

The musical features an autobiographical book by Bobby Goldman with music and lyrics by Drew Brody. The show will be directed by Peter Flynn and choreographed by Marcos Santana. Additional casting and creative team will be announced in the coming weeks.

Opel returns to GSP after her hilarious, show-stealing performance as Ma/The Mayor in The Toxic Avenger to star in this sassy, frank and witty musical comedy about the exploits of a fifty-something widow whose adventures in the least expected places reveal unexpected truths about life, love, survival and sex.

Opel's extensive Broadway credits also include Beautiful - The Carole King Musical, Memphis, Evita and Urinetown (Tony nomination). She will lead a cast of seven in Curvy Widow.

"Our patrons still rave about Nancy Opel's show-stealing performance as Ma Ferd and the Mayor in our 2008 world premiere of The Toxic Avenger, and she's going to be even more outrageous in Curvy Widow," said artistic director David Saint. "What better way to bring down the house than with a force of nature like Nancy in a hilarious, bawdy musical comedy."

Curvy Widow will follow the gripping drama American Son (February 7-26) and the biting comedy Bad Jews (March 21-April 9). GSP patrons can see all three shows for just $90 with a 3-Play subscription. Each subscription gives the holder one admission to each of the last three shows. Order online at gsponline.org, via phone at 732-246-7717 or in person at the GSP box office. The offer cannot be combined with any other offer and cannot be applied to previously purchased tickets.

George Street Playhouse is located at 9 Livingston Avenue, in the heart of New Brunswick's dining and entertainment district. For tickets and information, patrons may contact the Box Office directly at 732-246-7717 or may purchase online at GSPonline.org.

Nancy Opel has appeared in the following productions: Broadway: Beautiful, Honeymoon in Vegas, Memphis, Gypsy, Fiddler, Urinetown, Triumph of Love, Anything Goes, Sunday in the Park with George, Evita, and others. Recent: Follies (St. Louis Rep), Fiddler on the Roof (St. Louis Muny), Prince of Broadway (Japan), Holiday Inn (St. Louis Muny). Off-Broadway: Toxic Avenger, My Deah, Polish Joke, Mere Mortals, All In The Timing, and others. National Tour: The Drowsy Chaperone. TV: The Big C, L&O's. Visit www.nancyopel.com for more.

Drew Brody is a New York City-based songwriter who brings his experience in the rock, pop, and folk music world to his musical theater sensibility. His unique background allows him to work comfortably across many genres, and his songs have been sung by Broadway stars including Alan Cumming, Beth Malone, Robert Cuccioli, Sally Mayes, Lilli Cooper, Justin Sargent, Adrienne Warren, and many more. Brody wrote music for the comedy Oh, Hello, starring Nick Kroll and John Mulaney and directed by Alex Timbers, which opened on Broadway in October 2016; music and lyrics for Cutman, produced by Goodspeed Theaters in the spring of 2011; Derma, which ran at the Piccolo Spoleto festival in 2013; Wilshire, book by Bobby Goldman; Mudge Boy, an adaptation of the Showtime movie, adapted by Brett Smock; and two other new musicals currently in development. Brody wrote and recorded two albums with Richard Rodgers award-winning composer Derek Gregor as the rock band M-LAB, with which Brody performed as lead singer and toured during the 2000s. Brody also released two solo albums on Baskethouse Records and co-produced two albums for songwriter Jay Brannan. Recently, Brody composed the score for the acclaimed film, Stephen Winter's Jason and Shirley, and released an EP, A Little Single, in collaboration with fellow singer-songwriter Lance Horne.

Peter Flynn has recent credits including the off-Broadway premiere of Marcy Heisler's and Zina Goldrich's Junie B's Essential Survival Guide to School; the world premiere of Willy Holtzman's new play, Smart Blonde at Pittsburgh's City Theatre starring Andréa Burns; and the upcoming production of Ragtime at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. where he is an Associate Artist. New York credits include On the 20th Century with Douglas Sills and Marin Mazzie; Chess with Josh Groban, Adam Pascal, Sutton Foster and Julia Murney; Funny Girl with Whoopi Goldberg and Andrea Martin; SkippyJon Jones and Junie B. Jones (nominated for two Lucille Lortel Awards, including Best Musical), Rhapsody in Seth - Actors' Playhouse starring Seth Rudetsky. Regional credits include Katori Hall's The Mountaintop; Gypsy at the St. Louis MUNY; Kiss Me, Kate for the Maltz-Jupiter Theatre, where he has directed productions of Man of LaMancha (Carbonell Award, Best Director & Best Musical) and Other Desert Cities; and 1776 and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee for Ford's Theatre. Flynn is the director of Musical Theatre for the Stella Adler Studio for Acting and is on the faculty of Adler's NYU Tisch Division. He is also a graduate of Northwestern University.

Marcos Santana (Choreographer) is a New York-based choreographer, director, performer and educator. Broadway credits include On Your Feet (Associate Choreographer/Tony nomination), Rocky (Associate Choreographer/Tony nomination), Guys & Dolls (Associate Choreographer). Off-Broadway: Brazil Brazil (New Victory Theater), Randy Newman's Faust (City Center Encores), Mr. Magoo's A Christmas Carol (BCEFA), Fortress Of Solitude (Public Theater, Associate Choreographer), Paul Simon's Capeman (Delacorte Theater, Assoc. Choreographer). Other: Pirates Of Penzance (Stratford Shakespeare Festival), Much Ado About Nothing, My Fair Lady, Guys & Dolls, In The Heights (2009 Gypsy of the Year), A Christmas Carol (Arkansas Rep), Rock Of Ages (National Tour/West End/Vegas-Associate Choreographer) and Man Of La Mancha (STC).

In the 42 years since its founding, George Street Playhouse has become a nationally recognized theatre, presenting an acclaimed mainstage season while providing an artistic home for established and emerging theatre artists. Its leadership consists of Artistic Director David Saint, Resident Artistic Director Michael Mastro and Managing Director Kelly Ryman. Founded in 1974, The Playhouse has been well represented by numerous productions both on and off-Broadway, including the Outer Critics' Circle Best Musical Award-winner The Toxic Avenger; the Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk and Drama League nominated production of The Spitfire Grill; and the 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 2015, George Street Playhouse was represented by two productions in New York: the recent Broadway production of It Shoulda Been You, and Joe DiPietro's Clever Little Lies, which opened off-Broadway in October. Both shows received their premieres at The Playhouse. In addition to its mainstage season, GSP's Touring Educational Theatre features three issue-oriented productions that are seen by more than 40,000 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.