NEWS | FEATURES | PREVIEWS | EVENTS

originally published: 04/14/2022

(NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ) -- George Street Playhouse (GSP) has reiterated its commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion at the organizational level and in its new educational programs, as the theatre recently announced the appointment of Nadiyah S. Dorsey as the new Director of Education.

“We are truly honored to welcome Nadiyah to George Street Playhouse,” said Artistic Director David Saint. “With over a decade of experience working at the intersection of arts, community development, and education, her commitment to civic engagement runs deep. We’re so thrilled to have Nadiyah lead our Education Department andspearhead the development and launch of new programming for the department beginning with the 2022-23 season.”

Nadiyah S. Dorsey previously served as Program Manager for the Creative Catalyst Initiative at the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, where she managed the Institute’s Creative Community Lab and Creative CoWorks spaces. She successfully secured and maintained the University's first Our Town National Endowment for the Arts award in a historic collaboration between the local government, the school, and the adjacent neighborhood association. Nadiyah has also served in several capacities in the arts industry, including as Executive Director for the Delta Fine Arts (DFA) Center, leading the organization through incremental growth that increased annual fund support and grew public engagement by 300%, as well as serving on several boards and committees as a trusted thought partner and resourceful advocate.

A recipient of the Outstanding Women Leaders award presented by the City of Winston-Salem for leadership and service to her community, Nadiyah will play a significant role in supporting the theatre’s commitment to seeking opportunities to develop lives through learning and celebrating others.

Under the leadership of Artistic Director David Saint since 1997, and Kelly Ryman -- Managing Director since 2013, George Street Playhouse produces groundbreaking new works, inspiring productions of the classics, and hit Broadway plays and musicals that speak to the heart and mind, with an unwavering commitment to producing new work. As New Brunswick’s first producing theatre, George Street Playhouse became the cornerstone of the revitalization of the City’s arts and cultural landscape. With its 45-year history of producing nationally renowned theatre, the Playhouse continues to fill a unique theatre and arts education role in the city, state and greater metropolitan region.

 

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Beginning with the 2019-20 Season, George Street Playhouse moved to the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center in downtown New Brunswick. Featuring two state-of-the-art theatres -- The Arthur Laurents Theater with 253 seats and The Elizabeth Ross Johnson Theater which seats 465-- and myriad amenities, the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center marks a new era in the esteemed history of George Street Playhouse.

Founded by Eric Krebs, George Street Playhouse, originally located in an abandoned supermarket on the corner of George and Albany Streets, was the first professional theatre in New Brunswick. In 1984, the Playhouse moved to a renovated YMCA on Livingston Avenue, and in 2017 took temporary residence in the former Agricultural Museum at Rutgers University during construction of its new home.

The Playhouse has been well represented by numerous productions both on and off-Broadway. In 2018, George Street Playhouse was represented on Broadway with Gettin’ the Band Back Together which premiered on the Playhouse mainstage in 2013. American Son, produced by George Street Playhouse in 2017, opened on Broadway in 2018 starring Kerry Washington and Stephen Pasquale, and appeared on Netflix. Other productions include the Outer Critics’ Circle Best Musical Award-winner The Toxic Avenger. In 2015, It Shoulda Been You opened on Broadway and Joe DiPietro’s Clever Little Lies opened off-Broadway. Both shows received their premieres at the Playhouse. Others include the Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk and Drama League nominated production of The Spitfire Grill; and the Broadway hit and Tony and Pulitzer Prize winning play Proof by David Auburn, which was developed at the Playhouse during the 1999 Next Stage Series of new plays.

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. Grant funding has been provided by the Middlesex County Board of Chosen Commissioners through a grant award from the Middlesex County Cultural and Arts Trust Fund. 

PHOTO CREDIT: GEORGE STREET PLAYHOUSE