George Street Playhouse Announces Casting for Season-Opening MAMA'S BOY

George Street Playhouse today announced the cast of Rob Urbinati's Mama's Boy, which runs October 18 through November 6 at the New Brunswick theatre. Betsy Aidem (Broadway's All the Way, GSP's God of Carnage) stars as Marguerite Oswald, the headstrong mother of Lee Harvey Oswald, played by Michael Goldsmith (TV's Doctor Who, Gotham).

Rounding out the cast are Laurel Casillo (Broadway's Act One), who reprises the role of Lee Harvey's wife, Marina, from the play's 2015 world premiere at The Good Theatre Company (Portland, Maine); and Miles G. Jackson, who returns to George Street following last season's My Name is Asher Lev to play Lee Harvey's brother, Robert. Helming the production will be George Street Playhouse Artistic Director David Saint, who is celebrating his 20th anniversary at The Playhouse.

Marguerite Oswald was domineering, obsessive and desperate in her need to be loved by her younger son, Lee Harvey. She never believed her son was a monster -- but was she the cause? Mama's Boy presents a chilling glimpse into the Oswald household before and after that fateful November morning in Dallas. This New York metro area premiere was called "a gripping family drama that illuminates history by adding a touch of humanity" by The Portland Press Herald.

Individual tickets, starting at $40, and full- and partial-season ticket packages are now on sale. Contact the George Street Playhouse Box Office at 732-246-7717 or visit www.GSPonline.org for tickets and information. George Street Playhouse is located at 9 Livingston Avenue in the heart of New Brunswick's vibrant downtown dining and entertainment district, steps away from plentiful parking and dining options for every palate and pocketbook.

"I am thrilled to kick off my 20th anniversary at George Street Playhouse directing this incredible cast in such a riveting drama like Mama's Boy," said Mr. Saint. "With all the talk of conspiracies and government distrust during this unprecedented election cycle, it seems appropriate to revisit what many consider America's greatest conspiracy from a very different perspective."

Mr. Saint's two decades at The Playhouse include the world premieres of productions such as The Toxic Avenger, The Spitfire Grill, Clever Little Lies and It Shoulda Been You - all of which moved on to regional, off-Broadway and Broadway stages.

Betsy Aidem (Marguerite Oswald), returns to George Street Playhouse, where she starred in God of Carnage and Jolson Sings Again. She was recently seen on Broadway as Lady Bird Johnson opposite Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston as President Lyndon B. Johnson in the Tony Award-winning All the Way. Film credits include Margaret, You Can Count on Me and The Bleeding House. She also starred in Woody Allen's Irrational Man, alongside her Mama's Boy castmate, Michael Goldsmith. On television, she has appeared on The Americans, The Big C, Rescue Me and Nurse Jackie. She received an Obie Award for Sustained Excellence in 2007.

Laurel Casillo (Marina Oswald) is a New York City-based actress who made her Broadway debut in the Tony-nominated Act One (Lincoln Center Theater). She was nominated for a Connecticut Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play for her performance as Ramona in the world premiere of Elevada at Yale Repertory Theatre. She has appeared in film, television, commercials, regional theater and off-Broadway productions with her troupe Five Flights Theater Company, and plays for laughs in the web series Harry and Lucy.

Michael Goldsmith (Lee Harvey Oswald) makes his George Street Playhouse debut in Mama's Boy. His New York theatre credits include Tales From Red Vienna (Manhattan Theatre Club) and Final Analysis (June Havoc Theatre), for which he won Outstanding Lead Actor at the Midtown International Theatre Festival. He also starred as Kenneth in the Olivier-winning production of Clybourne Park at London's Royal Court and West End. On television, he has appeared in BBC's Doctor Who: The Waters of Mars and Fox's Gotham. He also featured in Woody Allen's 2015 film, Irrational Man, alongside Betsy Aidem.

Miles G. Jackson (Robert Oswald), a New Jersey native, returns for his second consecutive appearance on the George Street stage after playing the titular role in last season's finale, My Name is Asher Lev. Other recent stage credits include 4000 Miles (Capital Repertory Theatre), Good Men Wanted (Arena Stage/Naked Angels), When I Started Dating Men (Dixon Place), In the Dark (Ars Nova) and Mad Forest (Williamstown Theatre Festival). Film appearances include Flora, which earned best screenplay honors at the 2015 Amsterdam Film Festival.

Rob Urbinati (Playwright) was a Theatre Consultant for Home Box Office in New York City, and has directed over fifty plays at theatres, colleges and universities across the country. Mr. Urbinati's first play as a writer, Hazelwood Jr. High, includes a scene that appears in Smith & Kraus's Best Stage Scenes 2000. Mr. Urbinati's play, Karaoke Night at the Suicide Shack, and his musical, Shangri La, based on the 1960s girl group, both premiered at Queens Theatre. Rebel Voices, his adaptation of Howard Zinn and Anthony Arnove's "Voices of a People's History of the United States," premiered at the Culture Project. West Moon Street, based on a novella by Oscar Wilde, was part of The Acting Company's Salon Series, and has been produced by the Prospect Theatre Company in New York and at theatres across the United States, England, Canada and Australia. In New York City, Mr. Urbinati has directed for The Public Theatre, Culture Project, Abingdon Theatre, York Theatre, New York University, Classic Stage Company, HERE, Cherry Lane Theatre, Pearl Theatre and the New York Music Theatre Festival. Mr. Urbinati has enjoyed a continuing association with the Drama League since receiving a Fellowship from that organization in 1995. He is Literary Manager of The Private Theatre in New York City, and Director of New Play Development at Queens Theatre, where he curates the Immigrant Voices Project. Rob is a member of the Dramatists Guild, and the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.

David Saint (Artistic Director/Director) is celebrating his 20th anniversary as Artistic Director of George Street Playhouse. Mama's Boy marks his 35th mainstage production at GSP, which includes Sex With Strangers, Buyer & Cellar, Outside Mullingar, Clever Little Lies, Good People, Twelve Angry Men, God of Carnage, Creating Claire and Sylvia. 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 addition, many new award-winning works have begun their life here during his tenure, such as The Toxic Avenger, Proof, The Spitfire Grill, Clever Little Lies and It Shoulda Been You. He has also directed Clever Little Lies at Guild Hall in East Hampton, N.Y. in 2014 and Off-Broadway at NYC's Westside Theatre in late 2015/early 2016, and the National Tour of West Side Story. In July 2016, he directed a special two-night concert presentation of West Side Story staged at the historic Hollywood Bowl. 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, working on premieres by writers such as Aaron Sorkin, Wendy Wasserstein, Peter Parnell, Jonathan Marc Sherman, Joe Di Pietro 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.

The creative team includes scenic designer Michael Anania (GSP's The Fox on the Fairway, Creating Claire), Tony Award-nominated costume designer Michael McDonald (GSP's Sex With Strangers, Broadway's Hair), lighting designer and 1997 Tony Award winner Ken Billington (GSP's Gettin' The Band Back Together, Broadway's Chicago), original music composer/Sound Designer Scott Killian (GSP's My Name is Asher Lev, Nureyev's Eyes), and stage manager Tom Clewell (GSP's My Name is Asher Lev, Nureyev's Eyes). Casting is by McCorkle Casting, Ltd.

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

About George Street Playhouse
George Street Playhouse is 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 with the Broadway production of It Shoulda Been You and Joe DiPietro's Clever Little Lies, which opened off-Broadway that same year. 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.

October 18 - November 6, 2016

Opening night: Friday, October 21, 2016

George Street Playhouse
9 Livingston Avenue • New Brunswick
Box Office 732-246-7717 • www.GSPonline.org

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