'That Girl' coming to George St. Playhouse

Wow, Elaine May and Marlo Thomas. Two good gets for George Street Playhouse. Marlo's a first crush for many of us who came of age in the 1960s, although that sort of thing really didn't kick in for me until Marcia Brady. Marlo continues to rival Kathleen Turner for sexiest voice in the business.

Short on time, so I'll let the press release, copied below, fll you in.


Two Great Ladies of Comedy – Elaine May and Marlo Thomas
Come to George Street Playhouse This Spring

The World Premiere of Roger is Dead, Written and to be Directed by
Two-Time Academy Award Nominee Elaine May,
Starring Ms. Thomas, at George Street Playhouse April 8 – May 11


New Brunswick, NJ – George Street Playhouse announced today the final play of its current season: Roger is Dead, written and directed by two-time Academy Award nominee Elaine May. Heading the cast will be another great lady of comedy – Marlo Thomas, of That Girl and Free to Be…You and Me fame. Roger is Dead will make it’s world premiere in New Brunswick beginning April 8 and run through May 11, with opening night set for Friday, April 11.

“It is only fitting that, as we began the season with two great men of comedy – Jack Klugman and Paul Dooley – that we end the season with two great ladies of comedy: the brilliantly talented writer/director and comedienne Elaine May and That Girl Marlo Thomas,” said George Street Playhouse Artistic Director David Saint. “I have long been a fan of Elaine May, beginning with her hilarious partnership with Mike Nichols. In addition, I had the huge honor of directing her and Gene Saks — actors — years ago at Williamstown Theatre Festival. Marlo Thomas in addition to being an amazing actress, is an amazing human being, and I am so pleased she will be coming to George Street. I am thrilled to welcome Ms. May and Ms. Thomas to the George Street family.”

Individual tickets, priced $28-$64, as well as two- and three-play and flexible admission packages are available through the George Street Playhouse Box Office 732-246-7717. In addition, groups of ten or more are eligible for discounted admission – call the GSP Group Sales office at 732-846-2895, ext. 134 or email mbergamo@georgestplayhouse.org for further information. George Street Playhouse is located at 9 Livingston Avenue in the heart of New Brunswick’s dining and entertainment district, within walking distance of numerous dining establishments ranging from fast food to fine dining. It is located three blocks from the New Brunswick train station and is easily reachable by car, bus or train. For directions, parking tips and dining suggestions, visit the Playhouse website: www.GSPonline.org.

In Roger is Dead Marlo Thomas stars as Doreen, a vapid Manhattan socialite who has just lost her husband. She has no one to turn to except Carla, the daughter of Doreen’s favorite nanny. It’s not that Doreen and Carla are friends – it’s just that Doreen doesn’t have any real friends, so she turns to the most real person she knows. Politics, death, love and classes collide in this boisterous comedy from the pen of this two-time Academy Award nominee.

Like her early improvisational comedy sketches, Elaine May’s career continues to take fresh twists and adventurous turns. A comedian, actor, writer and director for both stage and screen, May got her start as an undergraduate at the University of Chicago. While there, she became a member of the improvisational theatre group The Compass Players, founded by Paul Sills and David Shepherd, which later became The Second City. During her membership, she met Mike Nichols, who was then starring in one of Sills’ plays, and began a successful partnership with him. From performances in college and cabaret clubs, Nichols and May went on to become one of the most successful comedy duos of the day, appearing on all the major TV entertainment shows and on Broadway for a year-long sold-out engagement. After splitting with Nichols in the early 60’s, she put her multiple acting, writing and directing talents to use. Among her early memorable projects was a one-act play, Adaptation (Drama Desk Award), which she wrote and directed in an off-Broadway double-bill with Terrence McNally’s Next. In addition, she wrote and performed for radio and recorded several comedy albums. She formed and directed an improvisational company called The Third Ear in New York that included Reni Santori, Peter Boyle, Renee Taylor and Louise Lasser. She also wrote several plays during this period – in addition to Adaptation, other stage plays she has written include Not Enough Rope, Mr. Gogol and Mr. Preen, Hot Line, After the Night and the Music, Power Plays, Taller Than a Dwarf and Adult Entertainment.

Ms. May was one of the first women to pioneer an inroad into Hollywood’s bastion of male directors. Her first credited film was A New Leaf, co-starring Walter Matthau – and Elaine May. A year later, she directed The Heartbreak Kid wich she co-wrote with Neil Simon. In 1978 she teamed with star Warren Beatty to write Heaven Can Wait, a remake of the 1941 film Here Comes Mr. Jordon, which earned May her first Academy Award nomination. In uncredited rewrites, she left her distinctive mark on Reds and Tootsie. For such work, she has earned a reputation as one of the legendary script doctors in the business. Ms. May reunited with her former comic partner Mike Nichols with The Birdcage, which was a retelling of the classic French farce La Cage aux Folles. She received her second Academy Award nomination when she again worked with Nichols on Primary Colors. Other recent films include Down to Earth and Small Time Crooks.

Marlo Thomas the daughter of the late Danny Thomas, first achieved fame on the television series That Girl in the 1960’s. She grew up in Beverly Hills, attending Marymount High School and the University of Southern California (earning a teaching degree). After finishing college, she appeared as a regular on The Joey Bishop Show. She followed that with guest shots on Ben Casey, My Favorite Martian and Bonanza, but it was not until 1966 that she hit her stride as aspiring actress Ann Marie on the ABC sitcom That Girl. The series ran until 1971, garnering her a Golden Globe Award and four Emmy nominations. Equally adept at drama, she proved herself in the television movies It Happened One Christmas (a remake of It’s a Wonderful Life, with Ms. Thomas in the Jimmy Stewart role), Nobody’s Child and The Lost Honor of Kathryn Beck, while she starred in Jenny and Thieves on the big screen. In recent years, she has appeared in guest shots on Ally McBeal, Friends (as Rachel’s mother), and made several guest appearances on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, playing attorney and former judge Mary Conway Clark. She also appeared in the 2000 comedy Playing Mona Lisa with Alicia Witt and Harvey Fierstein.

Ms. Thomas is also known for her children’s books and the recordings and television specials created in conjunction with them: Free to Be…You and Me and Free to Be…A Family, which were born out an attempt to teach her then-young niece Dionne about life. All proceeds from her 2004 book Thanks & Giving: All Year Long, as well as The Right Words at the Right Time and The Right Words at the Right Time Volume 2 (both books are collections of essays written by celebrities and fans, explaining when a friend, family member or perfect stranger said the right thing in the author’s time of need), are donated to her charity, the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. Started by her late father, the organization helps young children suffering from disease, especially cancer and leukemia.

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. Managing Director Todd Schmidt was appointed in October 2007. Founded in 1974, the Playhouse has been well represented by numerous productions both on and off-Broadway – recent productions include Anne Meara’s Down the Garden Paths, 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 five issue-oriented productions that tours to more than 250 schools in the tri-state area, and are seen by more than 75,000 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 funds from the National Endowment for the Arts. George Street Playhouse gratefully acknowledges the Media Sponsorship of the 2007-2008 Season by our Community Arts Partner, New York Public Radio WNYC 93.9 FM/ 820 AM and Greater Media Newspapers.

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Roger is Dead
Written and directed by Elaine May
Starring Marlo Thomas

April 8 – May 11

George Street Playhouse
9 Livingston Avenue • New Brunswick, NJ
Box Office 732-246-7717 • www.GSPonline.org