(NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ) -- George Street Playhouse (Christopher J. Bailey, Scott Goldman, and Laiona Michelle, Artistic Producing Triumvirate; Edgar Herrera, Executive Director) have announced the performers for their 2026 Gala Benefit, taking place on Wednesday, May 6, 2026. The evening will begin with a champagne reception and dinner at Stage Left/Catherine Lombardi followed by a cabaret and awards presentation at New Brunswick Performing Arts Center.
Performers will include Tony Award winner Victoria Clark (Punch, Kimberly Akimbo), Tony Award nominee Norm Lewis (Chicken & Biscuits, Porgy and Bess), Tony Award nominee Tony Yazbeck (Flying Over Sunset, On the Town), Rashidra Scott (GSP’s My Lord, What a Night; SUNSET BLVD.) and Obie and Actor Award winner Lea DeLaria (POTUS, “Orange is the New Black”).
The 2026 Gala Benefit will honor Emily Mann with the Arthur Laurents Award for Distinguished Artistic Achievement; and Thomas M. Gorrie, Ph.D. and Roberto Muñiz, President and CEO of Parker Health Group, with the Thomas H. Kean Arts Advocacy Award. Together, the three honorees represent a powerful intersection of artistic excellence, healthcare leadership, and civic advocacy.
The 2026 Gala Benefit will bring together business leaders, philanthropists, artists, and community members for an evening celebrating visionary leadership and artistic achievement. Proceeds will support George Street Playhouse’s productions, arts education programs, and community engagement initiatives.
Tickets for the 2026 Gala Benefit, including dinner and cabaret performance, begin at $600. Tickets are available for purchase online.
For more than 50 years, George Street Playhouse has produced 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. Entering its 52nd season, the organization has a rich history of producing nationally renowned theatre.
Under the leadership of Artistic Director David Saint (1997-2025), the Playhouse filled a unique theatre and arts education role in the city, state, and greater metropolitan region. Edgar Herrera joined George Street Playhouse in 2023 and has served as Executive Director since 2025.
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 was seen 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. Other productions include the Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk and Drama League Award-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.
