George Street Playhouse Board Chair James N. Heston; GSP Board President Penelope Lattimer, Ph.D, and GSP Artistic Director David Saint at the 2018 George Street Playhouse Annual Gala Benefit held Sunday, May 6, 2018. (Photo by Jerry Dalia)
George Street Playhouse’s Annual Gala Benefit, held Sunday, May 6, at the Heldrich in downtown New Brunswick, saw GSP Board President Dr. Penelope Lattimer honored with the Thomas H. Kean Arts Advocacy Award. The black-tie event also celebrated the work of renowned playwright and friend of the Playhouse, the late Arthur Laurents, who would have turned 100 this year, with performances of songs from West Side Story, Gypsy, La Cage aux Folles, and his other Broadway hits.
The Thomas H. Kean Arts Advocacy Award pays tribute to an individual, corporation or foundation whose dedication to the arts enhances the cultural life of the citizens of New Jersey. Dr. Lattimer was this year’s recipient for her career as a distinguished educator and a leading voice for the arts and arts integration in education in New Jersey. Dr. Lattimer’s passion for the arts carried over into her service as a board trustee for several prominent New Jersey arts organizations, including George Street Playhouse, Crossroads Theatre, American Repertory Ballet/Princeton Ballet School, Grounds for Sculpture, and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.
GSP Artistic Director David Saint hosted the evening’s Cabaret, which featured performances from Michele Ragusa (Broadway’s Young Frankenstein, Urinetown), Lee Roy Reams (Broadway’s 42nd Street, The Producers), Ross Lekites (Broadway’s Frozen, Kinky Boots), Solea Pfeifer (West Coast tour of Hamilton, TV’s Scandal), and renowned tenor Richard Troxell (New York City Center Encores! Do I Hear A Waltz?, Lt. Pinkerton in Frédéric Mitterrand's 1995 film version of Madama Butterfly). Representing George Street Playhouse’s 2017-18 season were Laiona Michelle (Broadway’s Amazing Grace, GSP’s American Hero), Lindsay Nicole Chambers(Broadway’s Lysistrata Jones, GSP’s I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change) and Kally Duling(Broadway’s Fun Home, GSP’s American Hero).
Each year, the Gala draws corporate, civic and social leaders from throughout the region and raises hundreds of thousands of dollars to support George Street Playhouse’s world-class mainstage productions and nationally recognized educational programs. A silent auction is one of the highlights of the Gala, and offers tickets to hard-to-get Broadway shows and top sports venues, luxury vacation trips and getaways, fine-dining experiences and much more.
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Photos from the 2018 Annual Benefit Gala featuring performances from Broadway’s best.
(L to R:) George Street Playhouse Board Chair James N. Heston; Robert Campbell; GSP Board President Penelope Lattimer, Ph.D.; and GSP Gala Committee Chair Ken Fisher at the 2018 George Street Playhouse Annual Gala Benefit. Photo by Jerry Dalia)
George Street Playhouse Board Chair James N. Heston at the 2018 George Street Playhouse Annual Gala Benefit held Sunday, May 6, 2018, at the Heldrich in New Brunswick, N.J. (Photo by Jerry Dalia)
(L to R:) Reed Kean, son of former New Jersey Gov. Thomas H. Kean; George Street Playhouse Board President Penelope Lattimer, Ph.D, and GSP Artistic Director David Saint at the 2018 George Street Playhouse Annual Gala Benefit. (Photo by Jerry Dalia)
George Street Playhouse Board President Penelope Lattimer, Ph.D, accepts the Thomas H. Kean Arts Advocacy Award at the 2018 George Street Playhouse Annual Gala Benefit held Sunday, May 6, 2018, at the Heldrich in New Brunswick, N.J. (Photo by Jerry Dalia)
George Street Playhouse Artistic Director David Saint speaks at the 2018 George Street Playhouse Annual Gala Benefit held Sunday, May 6, 2018, at the Heldrich in New Brunswick, N.J. (Photo by Jerry Dalia)
Michele Ragusa (Broadway’s "Young Frankenstein", "Urinetown") performs at the 2018 George Street Playhouse Annual Gala Benefit held Sunday, May 6, 2018, at the Heldrich in New Brunswick, N.J. (Photo by Jerry Dalia)
Lee Roy Reams (Broadway’s "42nd Street", "The Producers") performs at the 2018 George Street Playhouse Annual Gala Benefit held Sunday, May 6, 2018, at the Heldrich in New Brunswick, N.J. (Photo by Jerry Dalia)
(L to R:) Kally Duling (Broadway’s "Fun Home," GSP’s "American Hero") and Lindsay Nicole Chambers (Broadway’s "Lysistrata Jones," GSP’s "I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change") perform at the 2018 GSP Annual Gala Benefit (Photo by Jerry Dalia)
Opera tenor Richard Troxell (New York City Center Encores! "Do I Hear A Waltz?"; "Madama Butterfly") performs at the 2018 George Street Playhouse Annual Gala Benefit held Sunday, May 6, 2018, at the Heldrich in New Brunswick, N.J. (Photo by Jerry Dalia)
Laiona Michelle (Broadway’s "Amazing Grace," GSP’s "American Hero") performs at the 2018 George Street Playhouse Annual Gala Benefit held Sunday, May 6, 2018, at the Heldrich in New Brunswick, N.J. (Photo by Jerry Dalia)
Ross Lekites (Broadway’s "Frozen," "Kinky Boots") and Solea Pfeifer (West Coast tour of "Hamilton," TV’s "Scandal") perform at the 2018 George Street Playhouse Annual Gala Benefit. (Photo by Jerry Dalia)
George Street Playhouse's 2018-19 five-play mainstage season features a Tony Award-nominated play, a Laurents/Hatcher Foundation Award winner set during the early days of the Civil Rights movement, a suspenseful courtroom drama, a heartwarming story of arriving in a strange land for the first time, and the world premiere of a new musical.
A landmark partnership spearheaded by the City of New Brunswick, the New Brunswick Development Corporation (DEVCO), and several additional agencies and organizations, has funded construction of a performing arts complex on the site of our current theatre that will break ground in the Fall of 2017 and be completed in time for the grand opening of George Street Playhouse’s 2019-2020 Season.