New Musical to be directed and choreographed by Kathleen Marshall

Sept. 1, 2009 - PRLog -- Two-time Tony Award Winning Director/Choreographer KATHLEEN MARSHALL To Helm George Street Playhouse Production Of New Musical Calvin Berger in 2010

New Brunswick, NJ – George Street Playhouse announced today that it has finalized arrangements with two-time Tony Award winning director/choreographer Kathleen Marshall to helm the third production of the New Brunswick theatre’s season. That show, Calvin Berger, with book, music and lyrics by Barry Wyner, is a musical retelling of Rostand’s classic tale, Cyrano de Bergerac set in a modern-day high school.  Casting and production staff will be announced at a later date.  Calvin Berger is scheduled to begin previews on February 9, 2010 and run through March 14.  Opening night is set for February 19.



“I have long admired Kathleen’s work on stage, and I am so pleased she will be joining us here at George Street Playhouse,” said Artistic Director David Saint.  “We are so thrilled to welcome Kathleen as well as all our esteemed directors this season.  Their choosing to work at George Street Playhouse is further evidence that we have established a national reputation for first-class work.”



Kathleen Marshall directed and choreographed the most recent Tony-nominated Broadway revival of GREASE, and served as a judge on NBC’s You’re the One That I Want, the reality show which cast the two leads.  She was recently represented on Broadway by The Pajama Game as director/choreographer (Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Awards for Best Choreography and nominations for direction) starring Harry Connick, Jr.  She directed and choreographed the Disney/ABC tele-pic, Once Upon a Mattress, starring Tracey Ullman and Carol Burnett, and choreographed their previous tele-pic, The Music Man, starring Matthew Broderick (Emmy nomination). Broadway credits include Wonderful Town (director/choreographer) (Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics and Astaire Awards for Best Choreography and nominations for direction).  In addition, she choreographed the Broadway productions of Little Shop of Horrors, Follies (Outer Critics Circle Award nomination), Seussical, Kiss Me, Kate (Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Astaire Award nominations), Ring ‘Round the Moon (Lincoln Center Theater), 1776 (Roundabout) and Swingin’ On a Star (Drama Desk nomination), as well as the West End revival of Kiss Me, Kate (Olivier Award nomination).  She is an Artistic Associate of City Center Encores!, where she was the Artistic Director for four seasons.  For Encores!, she directed and choreographed Applause, Carnival, Hair, Wonderful Town and Babes in Arms and co-conceived and staged the “Broadway Bash” concert.  She also choreographed the Encores! productions of L’il Abner, The Boys from Syracuse, Dubarry Was a Lady and Call Me Madam.  For the New York Shakespeare Festival, she directed and choreographed Two Gentlemen of Verona and for Second Stage Theatre, she directed and choreographed Saturday Night, the New York premiere of Stephen Sondheim’s first musical. Her national tours include Kiss Me, Kate, Sunset Boulevard starring Petula Clark and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Music of the Night.  Other credits include Violet (Playwrights Horizons), As Thousands Cheer (The Drama Dept.) and Time And Again (Old Globe Theatre).  For the Library of Congress, she directed a 70th Birthday Celebration for Stephen Sondheim and she has staged tributes to Jason Robards, Angela Lansbury and Steve Martin for the Kennedy Center Honors.  She served as assistant choreographer to her brother, Rob Marshall, on the Broadway productions of Kiss of the Spider Woman, She Loves Me and Damn Yankees.  She is the Vice President of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society and is an Associate Artist of the Roundabout Theatre Company.



Under the leadership of Artistic Director David Saint, George Street Playhouse has become a nationally recognized theater, presenting an acclaimed mainstage season while providing an artistic home for established and emerging theatre artists.  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, currently playing off-Broadway, 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.  In addition to its mainstage season, GSP’s Touring Theatre features four issue-oriented productions that are seen by more than 60,000 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.  Continental Airlines is the official airline of George Street Playhouse.