New Brunswick, NJ – George Street Playhouse and Artistic Director David Saint have finalized casting on the final production of the New Brunswick theatre’s 2011-12 season, THE 39 STEPS. Joining two-time Tony Award nominee Howard McGillin will be Broadway and Regional vets Michael Thomas Holmes, Stacie Morgain Lewis and Mark Price. Directed by Mark Shanahan, THE 39 STEPS will begin performances Tuesday, April 24 and continue through Sunday, May 20. Opening night is set for Friday, April 27.
“I am so thrilled to be closing this extraordinary season with such a wonderful, and very funny spoof,” said Mr. Saint. “THE 39 STEPS is parody at its finest, and Howard McGillin is the perfect choice to lead this merry band of farceurs. I am also a great fan of Mark’s work, and can’t wait to see what he and the cast have in store for us.”
The world of THE 39 STEPS will be created by scenic designer Yoshi Tanokura (Passage Theatre, Berkshire Theatre Festival); lighting designer Rui Rita (Broadway’s Present Laughter); costume designer and GSP veteran David Murin (GSP’s The Nutcracker and I) and sound designer Ryan Rumery (Second Stage’s Gruesome Playground Injuries, Let Me Down Easy). Movement director Jen Waldman will help stage the fast-paced, whirlwind of a comedy.
Tickets for THE 39 STEPS are priced from $26.50, and may be obtained by contacting the George Street Playhouse Box Office by phone at 732-246-7717. Tickets may also be purchased online via the Playhouse website: www.GSPonline.org. George Street Playhouse is located at 9 Livingston Avenue, in the heart of New Brunswick’s Dining and Entertainment district, steps away from dining for every cuisine and budget. Visit GSPonline.org for directions as well as parking and restaurant recommendations.
Just what ARE THE 39 STEPS? When the beautiful and mysterious Annabella Schmidt turns up dead in his apartment, Richard Hannay (played by Mr. McGillin) goes on the lam to prove his innocence. In the process he must find the man with the missing finger, romance the beautiful blonde – and solve a mystery of magnificent proportions. Based on the well-known Hitchcock film, THE 39 STEPS is sure to delight theatergoers who don’t know Rear Window from Vertigo, as well as those who know every frame of every film.
Michael Thomas Holmes’ New York credits include the workshop of Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Slut at the New York Fringe Festival and The Comedy of Errors for The Acting Company. He has appeared in tours of 101 Dalmations, Irving Berlin’s White Christmas, The Producers and Oklahoma!. Regional credits include appearances at Barrington Stage, The Guthrie (most notably as John Adams in their production of 1776); Signature Theatre in Washington DC, in the world premiere of Giant; Alley Theatre, Westport Country Playhouse, Goodspeed Opera House, Hargar Theatre, Capital Rep, the Arden Theatre, Utah Sheakespeare Festival and the St. Louis MUNY. Television and film credits include a guest starring role on Law & Order, Double Platinum on ABC with Diana Ross and Brandy, and the films The Producers and Love is Deaf.
Stacie Morgain Lewis has appeared on Broadway in the recent Broadway revival of Sunday in the Park With George, Wicked, Urinetown and Titanic. Other credits include don’t Quit Your Night Job and Best Foot Forward off-Broadway, and tours of Wicked, South Pacific and Titanic. Regional credits include appearances at the Hangar Theatre, the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center, Westchester Broadway Theatre and Pennsylvania’s Centre Stage. She has appeared on film in Elephant Shoes, winner of the Audience Award at the Santa Fe Film Festival; Sara’s Diary and Zoolander. She is an alumna of Ithaca College.
Howard McGillin returns to George Street Playhouse after appearing earlier this season in It Shoulda Been You, and recently appeared as Mr. Applegate, better known as the Devil, in Damn Yankees at Paper Mill Playhouse. He is perhaps best known for his record-setting performance in the title role of The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway. Other Broadway appearances have included She Loves Me, The Kiss Of The Spider Woman, Anything Goes (Tony and Drama Desk nominations), The Mystery of Edwin Drood (Tony and Drama Desk nominations, Theatre World Award) and Sunday in the Park with George. On London’s West End, Howard starred in Mack and Mabel and Anything Goes. He appeared in Stephen Sondheim’s musical Bounce in its world premiere at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago and later in its Kennedy Center run in Washington, D.C., (nominated for a Helen Hayes Award). He made his New York theatrical debut in the New York Shakespeare Festival’s production of La Bohème (nominated for a Drama Desk Award). Howard has narrated numerous episodes of Nature for PBS, and has also provided voices for the animated feature films South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut and The Swan Princess. His solo CD Howard McGillin: Where Time Stands Still is available online at cdbaby.com.
Mark Price has appeared in the Broadway casts of Mary Poppins, All Shook Up, Wonderful Town, Dance of the Vampires, Mamma Mia!, Rocky Horror Picture Show, You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown, Chicago and Paul Simon’s The Capeman. Other New York credits include 70, Girls, 70 for City Center’s Encores! Series, as a featured performer in Lincoln Center’s Sondheim Celebration, Buddy Movie at the NY Fringe Festival, and Our David for The Kitchen. Regional credits include appearances at Alliance Theatre, Tobias in The Kennedy Center’s Sweeney Todd (for which he was nominated for a Helen Hayes Award); the Prince Theatre and the Hangar Theatre. He has made guest appearances on Law & Order and is featured in the film Broadway’s Finest.
Mark Shanahan (Director) Mark’s work as a director has been performed at such theatres as The Alley Theater, Cape Playhouse, The Penguin Repertory Company, The Michael Howard Studio Theatre and The Actor’s Theatre of Nantucket. New York acting credits include the original Broadway company of THE 39 STEPS (The Cort Theatre); As Bees In Honey Drown (Lucille Lortel Theatre); Philadelphia, Here I Come! (Roundabout); The Internationalist (45 Bleecker and Fairfield Theatre Company); Downwinders, Lake Wanaga Macbeth, (Soho Rep); Madame Killer, Demon Baby (Ohio Theatre); Regional theatre appearances include Journey’s End (directed by Gregory Boyd), Tryst, Sedition, Around The World In 80 Days (Westport Country Playhouse); David Copperfield, (directed by Joanne Woodward and Anne Keefe); Dial M For Murder (The Fulton Opera House); Dead Man’s Cell Phone (Hartford Theatreworks); The West End Horror (Bay Street Theatre, Pioneer Theatre); One Foot On The Floor (Denver Center Theatre); Andromeda Shack (The Kennedy Center); Augusta (Merrimack Rep); Noises Off!; Bus Stop; Picasso at The Lapin Agile, and others. Film includes Safe Men, Bug, Kinsey, Three, Endsville, Mad About Harry. On television Mark has appeared on David Letterman and All My Children. Mark is a graduate of Brown University and holds an MA from Fordham University, where he teaches courses on Shakespeare and the films of Alfred Hitchcock. Mark is an award winning voice over artist, an Edgar Award nominated playwright, and the co-story writer for the screenplay of The Troubleshooter, purchased by Universal Studios.
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. Noted Arts Administrator Norma Kaplan was appointed Managing Director in September 2011. 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. 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, and by its lead season sponsor, Johnson & Johnson. The Star Ledger is 2011-2012 print media sponsor of George Street Playhouse.
