George Street Playhouse to Host Annual Gala in May; Honoree Announced

New Brunswick's George Street Playhouse celebrates the end of another successful season on Sunday, May 3 with their Annual Gala Benefit, themed "A Starry Night." As part of the celebration, the Thomas H. Kean Arts Advocacy Award will be conferred upon Stephen K. Jones, President and Chief Executive Officer of Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and Robert Wood Johnson Health System by the former Governor himself. The first award was given to Governor Kean in 1990 and thereafter, named in his honor to pay tribute to an individual, corporation or foundation whose dedication to the arts enhances the cultural life of the citizens of New Jersey. In addition, this year the Playhouse established The Arthur Laurents Award for Distinguished Artistic Achievement, to be conferred upon an outstanding individual that reflects Mr. Laurents' high artistic standard. The recipient will be announced at a later date.

Kenneth M. Fisher, Jr. of Hillsborough, serves as Benefit Chair. Commemorative Journal Chairpersons are Jocelyn Schwartzman of East Brunswick and Lora Tremayne of Piscataway, James Heston of Metuchen and Penelope Lattimer of New Brunswick serve as co-chairs of the Sponsorship Committee, and Janice Stolar of East Brunswick is Tables Chair.

Janice Haggerty of Bedminster and Gabrielle Vajtay of Somerset serve as Auction Co-Chairpersons. The silent auction is one of the highlights of the Playhouse's Annual Gala, and offers luxury vacation trips, home furnishings, tickets to hard-to-get Broadway shows, fine dining experiences, top sports venues and much more. This year's Gala Benefit Auction will once again use BidPal, a company that helps nonprofits use technology to efficiently run automated mobile auctions that make charitable events more fun.

"This year we are thrilled to honor Steve Jones with the Thomas H. Kean Arts Advocacy Award," said George Street Playhouse Artistic Director David Saint. "He has helped us in myriad ways, from facilitating medical assistance for actors who are ill to the Hospital's sponsorship of our productions of Wit and Oscar and the Pink Lady. He is a long-time friend and supporter, and it is more than fitting he be the newest addition to the list of distinguished recipients of this award."

Patrons attending GSP's Gala have come to expect stellar performances during the evening's Cabaret and this year should prove no exception. Past performers have included Constantine Maroulis, David Hyde Pierce, Rita Moreno, Bernadette Peters, Tyne Daly, Sandy Duncan, Kelly Bishop, Brian D'Arcy-James, Alison Fraser, Penny Fuller, Anne Jackson, Anne Meara and Jerry Stiller, Lauren Bacall and Chita Rivera, among others. This year's performers will be announced at a later date.

The Black Tie affair at The Heldrich (located on Livingston Avenue directly across the street from George Street Playhouse) begins at 5 pm with a cocktail reception and silent auction. Dinner follows at 6:30 pm with the Cabaret performance commencing at 7:30. Sponsorship opportunities, tables of ten, as well as individual tickets are available. For further information contact Steve Barry, at (732) 846-2895, ext. 144.

Stephen K. Jones, FACHE was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and the Robert Wood Johnson Health System in September 2007, and served as Interim President and Chief Executive Officer since December 2006. The Robert Wood Johnson Health System is a five-hospital system that includes Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (with campuses in New Brunswick and Somerville) as flagship; The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children's Hospital at RWJUH; Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital - Hamilton; Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital - Rahway; and Children's Specialized Hospital, the largest provider of pediatric rehabilitative care, as well as five comprehensive fitness and wellness centers.

Before being named President, Mr. Jones previously served as Senior Vice President, Operations, of the Hospital since October 1983. Prior to joining the Hospital, Mr. Jones served as Assistant Director at Somerset Medical Center, Somerville, New Jersey and Assistant Director at Barnert Memorial Hospital Center, Paterson, New Jersey.

Mr. Jones is Immediate Past Chairman of the New Jersey Hospitals Association Board and a member of the Board of Directors of University Health System Consortium. Mr. Jones is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives. He is past President of the Senior Healthcare Executives Society of New Jersey and past President of the Assistant Hospital Directors Association of New Jersey. Mr. Jones has a faculty appointment at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey in the Bloustein School undergraduate Public Health Program.

He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from the University of Maryland in 1973, and a Master of Arts in Health Care Administration from George Washington University in 1976. Mr. Jones is a veteran, having served in the United States Air Force from 1966 to 1970. He served as a Russian linguist with the Air Force and with the National Security Agency.

Under the leadership of Artistic Director David Saint, 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. Managing Director Kelly Ryman was appointed in 2013. Founded in 1974, the Playhouse has been well represented by numerous productions both on and off-Broadway - recent productions include 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 recent 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. The musical It Shoulda Been You, directed by David Hyde Pierce and starring Tyne Daly moves to Broadway this spring after beginning its life at the Playhouse in 2011. In addition to its mainstage season, GSP's Touring Theatre features four 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.

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