- 2023-10-08
The Legend of Georgia McBride | Bay Area Premiere
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MARIN THEATRE COMPANY TO PRODUCE Production Dates: June 8, 2017 - July 2, 2017 MILL VALLEY, CA—Marin Theatre Company (MTC) is proudly pulling out all the stops for the Bay Area Premiere production of Matthew Lopez’s sparkling The Legend of Georgia McBride, its 50th Anniversary Season finale. A stark contrast to other works in the award-winning playwright’s repertoire, this sassy, charming 90-minute comedy will be directed by the prestigious Kent Gash, who helmed MTC’s famed productions of Choir Boy (2015) and August Wilson’s Seven Guitars (2011). MTC is thrilled to have this fierce, fabulous, and raucous showbiz comedy wrapping up its 2016-17 season. Georgia McBride premiered in 2015 at the Denver Center Theatre for the Performing Arts, and has since been produced nationally at the off-Broadway MCC Theatre in New York, the Ringwald Theater in Michigan, the Arden Theatre Company in Philadelphia and most recently at the Geffen Theatre in Los Angeles. More about Award Winning Playwright Matthew Lopez Matthew Lopez is the author of The Whipping Man, one of the most widely produced new American plays of the last several years. The play premiered at Luna Stage in Montclair, NJ and debuted in New York at Manhattan Theatre Club. That production was directed by Doug Hughes and starred Andre Braugher. The sold-out production extended four times, ultimately running 101 performances off-Broadway and garnering Obie and Lucille Lortel Awards. Matthew was awarded the John Gassner New Play Award from the New York Outer Critics Circle for the play. Since then, it has been received over 40 productions worldwide. His play Somewhere has been produced at the Old Globe, TheatreWorks in Palo Alto and most recently at Hartford Stage Company, where his play Reverberation received its world premiere in 2015. His newest play, The Legend of Georgia McBride, also premiered in 2015 at the Denver Theatre Center for the Performing Arts. His play The Sentinels premiered in London at Headlong Theatre Company in 2011. Matthew currently holds new play commissions from Roundabout Theatre Company, Manhattan Theatre Club, Hartford Stage, and South Coast Rep. Matthew was a staff writer on HBO’s “The Newsroom” and is currently adapting Javier Marias’ trilogy “Your Face Tomorrow” for the screen. http://www.matthewlopez.com Marin Theatre Company Welcomes Back Kent Gash, Director MTC is more than excited to have director Kent Gash direct once again for the production of The Legend of Georgia McBride. Encoring his 2015 role as director in Marin Theatre Company’s Choir Boy, Mr. Gash is back for this magical comedy that will without a doubt tickle audience’s funny bones while also capturing their hearts. Mr. Gash is the Founding Director of NYU Tisch School of the Arts’ New Studio on Broadway, where he has directed The Wild Party (Wolfe/LaChiusa), The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Nine, Sweeney Todd, Will Power’s The Seven, Assassins, and The Who’s Tommy. With Broadway veteran Walter Marks, Mr. Gash is co-author and director of the new musical, LANGSTON IN HARLEM, whose off-off Broadway production won Four 2010 Audelco Awards including Best Musical. New York productions include Brooke-Ology at the Juilliard School, the critically acclaimed Off Broadway premiere of Miss Ever’s Boys for the Melting Pot Theatre Co., the World Premiere musical Call The Children Home for Primary Stages, the York Theatre concert presentation of Duke Ellington’s Beggar’s Holiday and the Off-Broadway revival of Samm-Art William’s Home. Mr. Gash has directed multiple readings for the Emerging Writers series at the Public Theatre; including the hip-hop/spoken word-verse drama Sound Is Vibration, The Ball Player. Partnership with UrbanSitter Continues to Make Theatre Accessible for Parents MTC is pleased to continue to partner with UrbanSitter, a website and app that helps busy parents find trusted babysitters and nannies, to enable the numerous young families in the Bay Area to attend live theater more easily. Rounding out our 50th Season, UrbanSitter will provide babysitters for MTC’s Sitter Saturday event for The Legend of Georgia McBride on Saturday, June 17, at 2:00 pm. Read David Templeton’s feature about this partnership in the North Bay Stage and Screen here. -- CALENDAR LISTING WHAT WHO Directed by Kent Gash FEATURING WHEN PERFORMANCES Evenings Matinees WHERE ABOUT Tickets starting at $22. Discounts for seniors, teens, military families, Bay Area teachers and groups of 7 or more are available. Contact the Box Office for more details. marintheatre.org | (415) 388-5208 | boxoffice@marintheatre.org MTC ENGAGED SPECIAL EVENTS Pre-Show Discussions: Join members of MTC’s artistic staff and cast of the show to discuss the play, playwright and play’s themes on Wednesdays before the 7:30pm performances. After Words: Join a member of MTC’s artistic staff (often with one or more members of the cast) for a Q&A talkback after every performance, except Saturday evenings and Opening and Closing Nights. Window on the Work: Join members of MTC’s artistic staff and cast of the show to discuss artistic and production elements of MTC’s production of the play, Thursday January 12 at 7:30pm at the Mill Valley Public Library. Sitter Saturday: MTC is pleased to continue to partner with UrbanSitter, a website and app that helps busy parents find trusted babysitters and nannies, to enable the numerous young families in the Bay Area to attend live theater more easily. We are beyond thrilled to continue our partnership with UrbanSitter this season, who will provide babysitters for the matinee performance of The Legend of Georgia McBride on Saturday, June 17 at 2:00pm. Perspectives: The third Thursday of each show is the Perspectives matinee performance which includes a pre-show topical lecture. For The Legend of Georgia McBride, the Perspectives matinee is scheduled for Thursday, June 22, with the pre-show lecture beginning at 12:30pm, and the performance beginning at 1:00pm. MTC After Hours: Following the Saturday, June 17, 7:30pm performance, join members of the audience and cast in the lobby to continue the conversation. Featuring music and drink specials. ACCESS Marin Theatre Company is proud to partner with the Theatre Development Fund's Open Captioning Initiative to provide open captioned performances of each of the plays in our mainstage series on the Thursday matinee. The open captioned performance for The Legend of Georgia McBride will be Thursday, June 22, at 1:00pm. For visually impaired patrons, Large Print playbills are available with one week’s advance notice. To request a Large Print playbill, call MTC’s Box Office, (415) 388-5208, or use the California Telecommunications Relay Service by dialing “711.” For hearing impaired patrons, amplified sound. Assistive Listening Devices are available. CONTACT ABOUT MTC PRESS CONTACT ##### Reviews from past productions: VARIETY Denver Theatre Review: 'The Legend of Georgia McBride' (2014) NY Times Review: ‘The Legend of Georgia McBride,’ From Elvis Impersonator to Drag Queen (2015) LA Times Review: Pull off the wig and falsies, and 'Georgia McBride' hits its groove (2017) WATCH: Playwright Matthew Lopez (The Whipping Man), director Mike Donahue (MTC's 2016 Swimmers) and the MCC cast gush over The Legend of Georgia McBride!
May 5, 2017
BAY AREA PREMIERE OF MATTHEW LOPEZ’S HEARTWARMING, HEEL-TOTING COMEDY
THE LEGEND OF GEORGIA MCBRIDE
Opening Night: Tuesday, June 13, 2017
Mr. Gash is a graduate of the Carnegie-Mellon University School of Drama with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting and the University of California at Los Angeles’ School of Theatre, Film and Television with a Master of Fine Arts in Directing for the Theatre and Television.
Theatre/Performing Arts
The Legend of Georgia McBride
By Matthew Lopez
*author of The Whipping Man
*director of Choir Boy
Adam Magill (Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley, Native Son), Tatiana Wechsler, Kraig Swartz, Jason Kapoor (The Invisible Hand, Guards at the Taj) and John R. Lewis (The Jungle Book)
June 8 - July 2, 2017
OPENING NIGHT: Tuesday, June 13, 2017 at 7:30pm
Tue - Sun 7:30pm
Sun (Preview) June 11, 4:00pm
Thu (Perspectives) June 22, 2:00pm
Sat June 17 & July 1, 2:00pm
Sun June 18 & 25, July 2, 2:00pm
Marin Theatre Company | 397 Miller Ave | Mill Valley, CA 94941
Times are tough for Elvis impersonator Casey, who performs his act for an audience of zero in a Panama City, Florida dive bar. With the rent long overdue and a baby on the way, desperate Casey watches as a seasoned drag queen named Miss Tracy Mills brings her show to town. After filling in for one of Tracy’s regular girls on short notice one night, Casey decides to trade in his sequin jumpsuit for a sequin dress, and under Miss Tracy’s tutelage, finally achieves stardom. With The Legend of Georgia McBride, MTC joyfully and campily brings a very different side of Matthew Lopez’s repertoire to the Bay Area with this fierce, fabulous and heel-toting showbiz comedy.
marintheatre.org | (415) 388-5208 | boxoffice@marintheatre.org
Marin Theatre Company is the Bay Area’s premier mid-sized theater and the leading professional theater in the North Bay. We produce a six-show season focused on new American plays, and a Family Series. We are committed to the development and production of new plays, with a comprehensive New Play Program that includes productions of world premieres, two nationally recognized annual playwriting awards and readings and workshops by the nation’s best emerging and established playwrights. Our numerous education programs serve more than 12,000+ students from over 40 Bay Area schools each year. MTC strives to create intimate, powerful and emotional experiences that engage audiences to discuss new ideas and adopt a broader point of view. We believe in taking risks and inspiring people to participate in live theater, regardless of personal means. MTC celebrates the intellectual curiosity of our community, and we believe that theater is an important tool to help build empathy. MTC was founded in 1966 and is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.
Sara Waugh, Director of Marketing & Communications
(415) 322-6022 | saraw@marintheatre.org
