George Street Presents 'Toxic Avenger' by DiPietro & Bryan

"It's a brand new day in New Jersey."  That's a lyric from the new musical "The Toxic Avenger", which George Street Playhouse is pleased to announce will open the New Brunswick theatre's 2008-09 season.  Based on the cult classic film by Lloyd Kaufman, the new rock musical comedy is penned by Joe DiPietro (I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change) and David Bryan, keyboardist and founding member of Bon Jovi.  John Rando, who won a Tony Award for the Broadway smash Urinetown, will direct the musical love story about New Jersey's own radioactive superhero.  The production will have a limited, five-week engagement, beginning September 30 and running through November 2, 2008.  Press Opening is Friday, October 10.
 
"I am very excited about this show," said George Street Playhouse's Artistic Director David Saint.  "It is innovative and wildly funny.  I am thrilled to premiere it here in New Jersey, and to welcome these incredible artists and musicians to George Street Playhouse."
 
Tickets for The Toxic Avenger will go on sale beginning Friday, March 28.  Prices range from $28 - $66, depending on seat location and day of performance.  In addition, the Playhouse is offering a limited amount of "super toxic" seats (within the first five rows of the center three seating sections) for a premium price.  For tickets and further information contact the George Street Playhouse Box Office at 732-246-7717 or shop online at www.GSPonline.org.  A link to purchase tickets can also be found at the official website www.TheToxicAvengerMusical.com.
 
Fans can visit also www.TheToxicAvengerMusical.com to play toxic games, hear selections from the score, including songs "Hot Toxic Love," "It's a Brand New Day in New Jersey" and "Evil is Hot," and register as a fan club member for the chance to receive a free Toxic T-shirt or a chance to visit with the Creative team before a preview performance.
 
George Street Playhouse is located at 9 Livingston Avenue, in the heart of New Brunswick's Dining and Entertainment District, and is easily reachable by car or public transportation.  For dining recommendations and parking tips, patrons are directed to the Playhouse website:  www.GSPonline.org.

Tromaville is one exit you don't want to take off the New Jersey Turnpike – but Melvin Ferd the Third is determined to change all that. Tossed into a big vat of radioactive goo, he is transformed into The Toxic Avenger — New Jersey's own superhero — righting wrongs, beating bullies and seducing his ladylove, Sarah the Blind Librarian.  Set to a fabulous new score by David Bryan, keyboardist and founding member of Bon Jovi, The Toxic Avenger will rock your world and win your heart!

The Toxic Avenger takes the terrific characters from the 1980s cult classic film by Lloyd Kaufman and creates a smart, clever and extremely entertaining new Rock Musical and love story.
 
Joe DiPietro (Book & Lyrics) is the author of the musical comedy hit I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change, the longest running musical revue in off-Broadway history, with more than 4,500 performances and productions staged in over 400 cities around the world (including a Mandarin Chinese version which debuted in Beijing in June 2007). Other credits: the Broadway musical comedy All Shook Up; off-Broadway musical The Thing About Men; off-Broadway comedy Over the River and Through the Woods, The Kiss at City Hall, The Virgin Weeps, and the comic thriller The Art of Murder (winner of the 2000 Edgar Award). He is the recipient of the Wm. Inge Theater Festival New Voices in American Theater Award; won O'Neill National Playwright's Conference MacArthur Award for comic writing.  Joe was born and raised off Exit 166 in New Jersey and thus has been a Toxic Avenger fan for the last twenty years.
 
David Bryan (Music & Lyrics) is the keyboardist and founding member of Bon Jovi.  The band has sold 120+ million albums to date and performed more than 3,000 shows in 42 countries. He has won a Grammy and several American Music Awards for his work with the band.  David co-wrote the Bon Jovi hit "In These Arms" with Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora and continues to write with them and for other artists, including Curtis Steiger's rendition of "This Time," a major international hit.  David is a board member for Only Make Believe, a non-profit organization that provides theatrical workshops free-of-charge to children living with chronic illnesses and disabilities, and Music For All which secures funding for school music programs across the country.  He is a national spokesperson for VH1's Save The Music Program, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality of education in America's public schools by restoring music education programs in cities across the U.S. and raising awareness of the importance of music participation for our nation's youth.  A proud lifelong resident of New Jersey, David grew up off Exit 11 of the Turnpike and currently resides off Exit 109 of the Parkway.
 
Joe and David co-wrote the rock and roll musical Memphis, which debuted at North Shore Music Theatre & Theatreworks.   This season, Memphis will play at LaJolla Playhouse and Seattle Fifth Avenue, prior to its Broadway debut.

John Rando is the Tony Award-winning director of Urinetown.  Other Broadway credits include The Wedding Singer (nominated best musical), Neil Simon's The Dinner Party and A Thousand Clowns.  In 2005, he directed the Canadian premiere of Urinetown (winner of six Dora Awards, including Outstanding Production and Outstanding Direction).  For City Center Encores! he directed Strike Up the Band, Do Re Mi, The Pajama Game and Of Thee I Sing.  In 2004, Rando directed the inaugural presentation of The Downtown Plays for Tribeca Theatre Festival.  Other off-Broadway credits include Bright Ideas (MCC), Polish Joke (MTC), Mere Mortals (Primary Stages), Things You Shouldn't Say Past Midnight (Promenade), Comedy of Errors (Acting Company), Venetian Twins (Pearl Theatre) and Pig Farm (Roundabout Theatre Company).  He has directed regionally at the Alley Theatre, Old Globe Theatre, Mark Taper Forum, Geffen Playhouse, Berkshire Theatre Festival, Cleveland Play House and Philadelphia Theatre Company, among others.

Founded in 1974 by Yale graduates Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz, Troma Entertainment is best known for their low budget genre-bending movies which have developed a significant world-wide cult following. Troma's most notable films include The Toxic Avenger franchise, Class of Nuke 'Em High and Sgt. Kabukiman NYPD.  The Troma collection of over 800 movies and T.V. programs contains early work of Oliver Stone, South Park's Trey Parker and Matt Stone, Marissa Tomei , Kevin Costner , Vincent Donofrio , Robert De Niro , and Samuel L. Jackson . There have been major retrospectives of Troma Movies at the Cinemateque Francaise, the American Film Institute at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., the British Film Institute and other important archival organizations and museums. Troma's "The Toxic Avenger" has become part of the American Lexicon.
 
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 Todd Schmidt was appointed in October 2007.  Founded in 1974, the Playhouse has been well represented by numerous productions both on and off-Broadway including Anne Meara's Down the Garden Paths, 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 addition to its mainstage season, GSP's Touring Theatre features five issue-oriented productions that tour to more than 250 schools in the tri-state area, and are seen by more than 75,000 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, and by funds from the National Endowment for the Arts. George Street Playhouse gratefully acknowledges the Media Sponsorship of the 2007-2008 Season by our Community Arts Partner, New York Public Radio WNYC 93.9 FM/ 820 AM and Greater Media Newspapers.

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