A glimpse of George Street Playhouse’s future

by JAY LUSTIG
George Street 2019-20

An artist’s rendering of plans for the Elizabeth Ross Johnson Theater at The New Brunswick Performing Arts Center, which will open in the fall.

The George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick will begin previews of the last show of its 2018-19 season, “Too Heavy for Your Pocket,” on April 23. And it also, this month, announced its 2019-20 season, which will be its first in its new location.

The new New Brunswick Performing Arts Center is still being built, partially on the site where the George Street Playhouse used to be (George Street is now presenting plays at another, temporary site). But the project is planned to be finished by the fall. The photo above shows an artist’s rendering of NBPAC’s 463-seat Elizabeth Ross Johnson Theater, which will host two of George Street’s 2019-20 productions. NJPAC will also be the home of the 259-seat Arthur Laurents Theater, which will be the site for the other three.

NJPAC will have three other member companies, as well: Crossroads Theatre Company, American Repertory Ballet, and Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts. According to a press release, NBPAC will give its member companies “a donor lounge, expanded restroom facilities, an expansive two-story lobby, and elevator access to the lobbies and theaters … It will also offer expanded theater technology, such as a fly loft that will allow for scenery to raise and lower, an expansive orchestra pit, and more.”

Here are the five shows in George Street’s season:

Oct. 15-Nov. 11: “Last Days of Summer,” a new musical based on the 1998 novel by Steve Kluger about a boy who develops a friendship with a professional baseball player in the 1940s. (Elizabeth Ross Johnson Theater)

Nov. 19-Dec. 15: “My Life on a Diet,” an autobiographical comedy starring Renée Taylor, written by Taylor and her husband, the late Joseph Bologna, in which she looks back on her life and career. (Arthur Laurents Theater)

Jan. 21-Feb. 16: “Midwives,” a world premiere of a play based on the 1997 novel by Chris Bohjalian, which also was made into a TV movie, starring Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie, in 2001. (Arthur Laurents Theater)

March 3-29: “Conscience,” a historical drama by Joe DiPietro (“Toxic Avenger,” “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change,” “Clever Little Lies”) about a senator who stands up to McCarthyism in the 1950s. (Arthur Laurents Theater)

April 21-May 17: “A Walk on the Moon,” a new musical based on the 1999 film (starring Diane Lane, Viggo Mortensen, Liev Schreiber and Anna Paquin) set in the Catskills in 1969.

For information, visit georgestreetplayhouse.org.

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