George Street Playhouse opened their 2019 – 2020 season on Friday, Oct. 25th. This was more than the normal start with the excitement of a new season. After a two year residency in a theater on College Farm Road, George Street Playhouse is now in their new home in the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center. Located at 11 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ, George Street is one of four major arts groups to take residence in the new facility. The new building is a triumph in planning, design, and completion. In addition to toasting the new location, it was also a night to celebrate the premiere of a new musical, Last Days of Summer.
For me, the evening started by finding good parking in the new NBPAC parking garage at 60 Bayard Street. By using the elevator closest to the buildings, I was able to walk down an inside corridor to another door that opened right onto Livingston Avenue. This is a very short walk from the front door of the New Brunswick Performing Arts building. Upon entering, a large lobby area served as the gathering place for theater goers to chat and renew acquaintances. A nicely set up bar area was available for refreshments including Signature Cocktails. Some seating was available at small tables throughout the lobby.
When it was time to get seated, theater goers entered the Elizabeth Ross Johnson Theater, one of two major theaters in the complex. It has 463 seats and is designed to accommodate musical theater, dance, opera, and dramatic theater. An orchestra pit seats the musicians. State of the art theatrical systems are available and the sound in the theater is fantastic. The blue seating is comfortable and well spaced to allow good legroom. Many people remarked that it doesn’t look like there is a bad seat in the house.
Friday night’s Opening Night show was sold out and the crowd was enthusiastic as George Street Playhouse’s Artistic Director, David Saint, took the stage to provide opening remarks. His heartfelt speech demonstrated the depths of gratitude he has for the successful completion of this project. He praised the development of the new PAC. He also praised regional theater on the whole saying that it is very much needed in order to keep new works coming. He continued by saying “You build a great new home, you need to fill it with artists.” And thus the commitment of George Street Playhouse to the arts was reinforced as they begin this new chapter in their history.
As he concluded his remarks, Mr. Saint said something that made a deep impression on me: “The birth of a new theater is something you’ll never forget. . . Relish it.” And with that, the show began.
At the conclusion of the evening’s performance, the audience was treated to champagne, coffee, and marvelous desserts. The lobby was again filled with people enjoying the event and discussing the show they had just seen.
I grew up in Middlesex County and continued to live there for a number of years. Although I now reside in North Jersey, Middlesex still feels like home. I was very proud to be able to attend this event. Seeing the support for the arts makes me happy to be a small part of what it does for people and the culture it develops. I will be doing a separate article on Last Days of Summer. But for now, I wanted to share the excitement and joy of the evening I spent at Opening Night. It is one I will always relish.
