Performances Begin Tuesday For New Musical LAST DAYS OF SUMMER

Performances are set to begin this Tuesday, October 15th, with the official Opening Night on October 25th, for the new musical LAST DAYS OF SUMMER, presented by George Street Playhouse and directed by Jeff Calhoun (NEWSIES, GREASE, BIG RIVER). LAST DAYS OF SUMMER features book & lyrics by Steve Kluger (based on his best-selling novel) and music by Grammy Award winner Jason Howland (LITTLE WOMEN).

Featuring Teal Wicks (THE CHER SHOW, WICKED, FINDING NEVERLAND) and Bobby Conte Thornton (A BRONX TALE), the cast also includes Danny Binstock ("The Blacklist," "Elementary"), Will Burton (HELLO, DOLLY!; AN AMERICAN IN PARIS), Mylinda Hull (42nd STREET, DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS, "Fosse/Verdon"), Christine Pedi (CHICAGO, Forbidden Broadway), and Don Stephenson (THE PRODUCERS, TITANIC, ROCK OF AGES).

They are joined by a young cast featuring Julian Lerner (LES MISERABLES national tour, "Happy!") and Parker Weathersbee ("The Long Road Home," LES MISERABLES national tour), in addition to Sabatino Cruz (Astoria Performing Arts Center's CAROLINE, OR CHANGE), Gilberto Moretti-Hamilton (SCHOOL OF ROCK national tour), and Jeslyn Zubrycki. Rounding out the cast are Junior Mendez, Julio Rey, Peter Saide, and Sean Watkinson.

In LAST DAYS OF SUMMER, Joe Margolis and his young son open an old box of letters that transport Joe back to his youth in Brooklyn and the summer of 1942, when young Joey and his best friend Craig are writing fan letters to their hero Charlie Banks, the star third baseman of the New York Giants. Amid the tumultuous events of World War II, Joey and Charlie forge an unlikely friendship that might be the very thing they both need. LAST DAYS OF SUMMER features a new score of big band sounds and jazz music of the era.

The Associate Director and Choreographer for LAST DAYS OF SUMMER is Paul McGill (HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH) and the production features set design by Tony Award winner Beowulf Boritt, costume design by two-time Drama Desk nominee Loren Shaw, lighting design by Tony & Drama Desk winner Ken Billington, sound design by two-time Tony winner Brian Ronan, and musical direction by Lon Hoyt (HAIRSPRAY, FOOTLOOSE). LAST DAYS OF SUMMER is produced in association with Daryl Roth.

LAST DAYS OF SUMMER is George Street Playhouse's inaugural production at the Elizabeth Ross Johnson Theater at the brand new state-of-the-art New Brunswick Performing Arts Center (NBPAC), located in downtown New Brunswick, NJ at 11 Livingston Avenue. Performances will run through November 10th.

Under the leadership of Artistic Director David Saint since 1998, and Kelly Ryman, Managing Director since 2013, George Street Playhouse produces groundbreaking new works, inspiring productions of the classics, and hit Broadway plays and musicals that speak to the heart and mind, with an unwavering commitment to producing new work. As New Brunswick's first producing theatre, George Street Playhouse became the cornerstone of the revitalization of the City's arts and cultural landscape. With its 45-year history of producing nationally renowned theatre, the Playhouse continues to fill a unique theatre and arts education role in the city, state and greater metropolitan region.

Following LAST DAYS OF SUMMER will be MY LIFE ON A DIET in NBPAC's intimate Arthur Laurents Theater. Called "fascinating. lighthearted & spicy" by The New York Times, the hilarious comedy stars Academy Award-nominated and Emmy Award-winning writer and actress Renée Taylor, best known for her starring role on TV's "The Nanny." In this acclaimed show, which she wrote with her husband Joseph Bologna, she looks back on a life full of memorable roles in Hollywood and on Broadway, and just as many fad diets. Featuring juicy anecdotes about screen legends like Joan Crawford, Marilyn Monroe and Barbra Streisand, My Life on a Diet begins performances November 19th and will run through December 15th. My Life on a Diet is produced in association with Julian Schlossberg.

Kicking off 2020 is MIDWIVES, a gripping tale of suspense and riveting courtroom drama. When a major snowstorm breaks out during a routine at-home birth, cutting off all communication with the outside world, midwife Sibyl Danforth is forced to make an impossible decision. This world premiere play is adapted by Chris Bohjalian from his bestselling novel of the same name - an early selection of Oprah's Book Club. Under the direction of Artistic Director David Saint, this new play is certain to keep audiences on the edge of their seats. MIDWIVES runs January 21st through February 16th.

Also taking the stage in the Arthur Laurents Theater is CONSCIENCE, a world premiere historical drama set during the American Red Scare, written by Playhouse mainstay Joe DiPietro (MEMPHIS, Tony Award; NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT; I LOVE YOU, YOU'RE PERFECT, NOW CHANGE). Acting boldly against party lines, real-world Senator Margaret Chase Smith becomes one of the first to challenge Joseph McCarthy in an extraordinary tale inspired by real events. Taking the stage under the direction of David Saint, performances begin March 3th and will run through March 29th.

Closing the 2019-20 season in the Elizabeth Ross Johnson Theater is Pamela Gray's A WALK ON THE MOON, a new musical with music & lyrics by Paul Scott Goodman (ROOMS: A ROCK ROMANCE), adapted from the award-winning film of the same title. Longing for more than her life as a housewife, Pearl Kantrowitz catches the eye of a free-spirited traveling salesman while vacationing with her family in the Catskills. As the Woodstock music festival comes to life nearby, their whirlwind romance, set in the summer of 1969 when mankind first stepped on the moon, takes audiences on a nostalgic journey through an iconic moment in American history. Sheryl Kaller (NEXT FALL) will direct A WALK ON THE MOON, which runs April 21st through May 17th. A WALK ON THE MOON is produced by special arrangement with Stephen and Ruth Hendel.

Originally located in an abandoned supermarket on the corner of George and Albany Streets, George Street Playhouse was the first professional theatre in New Brunswick and played a major role in the revitalization of the downtown area. In 1984, the Playhouse moved to a renovated YMCA on Livingston Avenue, and in 2017 took temporary residence in the former Agricultural Museum during construction of its new home.

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 Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle-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 the Playhouse during the 1999 Next Stage Series of new plays. In 2015, IT SHOULDA BEEN YOU opened on Broadway and Joe DiPietro's CLEVER LITTLE LIES opened Off-Broadway. Both shows received their premieres at the Playhouse. In 2018, George Street Playhouse was represented on Broadway with GETTIN' THE BAND BACK TOGETHER, which premiered on the Playhouse mainstage in 2013. AMERICAN SON, produced by George Street Playhouse in 2017, opened on Broadway in 2018 starring Kerry Washington and Steven Pasquale, and will be appearing on Netflix.

In addition to the mainstage season, the Playhouse's education department provides extensive programming for children, youth and adults. Partnering with administrators and educators throughout New Jersey, the Playhouse provides unique education experiences that both reinforce classroom curriculum and investigate issues such as bullying, diversity, immigration, health and wellness, and the rising epidemic of opioid addiction.

To purchase tickets (priced from $25 to $85), buy a subscription, or for more information about George Street Playhouse, visit www.GeorgeStreetPlayhouse.org.

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