(NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ) -- George Street Playhouse has announced their lineup for the 2026–2027 Season. Productions includes The Unexpected 3rd, 2 Pianos 4 Hands, Bad Dates: End Game, and The Cocktail Party Effect. There will also be two special events with limited runs - Laura Benanti: Nobody Cares and Vicki Lawrence & Mama: A Two-Woman Show.
“Next season invites audiences into a series of personal, entertaining journeys—stories grounded in humor and heart that explore who we are at every stage of life and how we keep evolving,” said Christopher J. Bailey, Scott Goldman, and Laiona Michelle, GSP’s Artistic Producing Triumvirate. “This lineup brings together artists at the height of their craft, blending wit, honesty, and virtuosity. Told in a variety of ways, it’s a season about connection—between generations, between artists and audiences, and in the joy of experiencing it together."
George Street’s season will begin in October 2026 with The Unexpected 3rd, written by and starring Kathryn Grody (A Mom’s Life), directed by Timothy Near (A Doll’s House, Part 2); followed by 2 Pianos 4 Hands, written by TedDykstra (“The Expanse”) & Richard Greenblatt (Letters from Lehrer), and directed by Tom Frey (Souvenir) in December 2026.
The season will continue in March 2027 with Bad Dates: End Game by Emmy Award nominee Theresa Rebeck (I Need That), starring Tony Award winner Julie White (POTUS); and will conclude with The Cocktail Party Effect, a new comedy by Scooter Pietsch (Windfall), directed by Emmy and Tony Award winner Jason Alexander(“Seinfeld”) in April 2027.
George Street also announced two special events as part of the GSP Select Series. Laura Benanti: Nobody Cares, starring and created by Tony Award winner Laura Benanti (My Fair Lady) will run August 26 – 30, 2026; and Vicki Lawrence & Mama: A Two-Woman Show, written by and starring Vicki Lawrence (“The Carol Burnett Show,” “Mama’s Family”), will play November 13 – 14, 2026.
October 13 – November 1, 2026 | The Unexpected 3rd - Written by and Starring Kathryn Grody; Directed by Timothy Near. A Radical, Rollicking Rumination on the Optimism of Staying Alive. Deep into her 3rd and final act of being a person, award-winning actor Kathryn Grody investigates an eclectic, devastating and hilarious potpourri of shocking discoveries as she finds herself at 79 becoming…not quite old, but elder.
Another boomer that didn’t think the aging process would apply to them, Grody enters elderhood with equal parts empowerment and utter bewilderment. Marching onward through crumbling democracy, a boiling planet and an increasingly dead roster of friends and colleagues, she is buoyed by discovering parts of herself she didn’t know were hiding, perhaps waiting for this period to bloom.
Mother, artist, wife, grandmother, friend and accidental influencer, Kathryn is astonished with her life, your life, and the stunning, deeply funny, heart-breaking impermanence of it all.
December 1 – 20, 2026 | 2 Pianos 4 Hands; Written by Ted Dykstra & Richard Greenblatt; Directed by Tom Frey. Two wildly talented performers bring a whole cast of characters to life in this fast-paced, hilarious, and music-filled journey of ambition and obsession. 2 Pianos 4 Hands follows Ted & Richard from eager young students to aspiring concert pianists, navigating demanding teachers, pushy parents, and the pressures of competition along the way. Featuring everything from Bach and Beethoven to Billy Joel, this crowd-pleasing hit blends virtuosic piano-playing with sharp comedy sure to strike a chord with anyone who’s ever chased a dream.
March 16 – April 4, 2027 | Bad Dates: End Game; By Emmy Award nominee Theresa Rebeck; Starring Tony Award winner Julie White. The follow-up to Theresa Rebeck’s acclaimed comedy Bad Dates reunites audiences with Haley—now 58 and widowed—as she navigates new technology and dating apps. Rebeck’s quick-witted, hilarious, and heartfelt writing captures the courage it takes to step back into life when everything has changed.
Starring Tony Award winner Julie White, Bad Dates: End Game is funny, fearless, and a fresh portrait of a woman learning on her own terms what comes next. Fans of the original and those meeting Haley for the first time will fall in love with this vibrant new chapter.
April 27 – May 16, 2027 | The Cocktail Party Effect; A New Comedy by Scooter Pietsch; Directed by Emmy and Tony Award winner Jason Alexander. Three “best friend” couples are celebrating a new phase in life together. After years of bonding over the trials and tribulations of childrearing, their kids are now off to college, and they’re left “alone together” wondering exactly who and what should be a part of their new lives. The stage is set for brutally honest (and hilarious) evaluations, self-reflections, and dramatic resolutions. The Cocktail Party Effect shows what can happen to us when we are “fired” from the greatest job we’ve ever had—being a parent.
Performance schedules, casting, and full creative teams for all productions will be announced at a later date.
Full season subscriptions begin at $188 and are available for purchase online. Single tickets, 3-Play Packages and Flex Packages will go on sale at a later date.
GSP SELECT SERIES:
August 26 – August 30, 2026 | Laura Benanti: Nobody Cares; Starring and Created by Tony Award winner Laura Benanti; Songs Co-Written by Todd Almond; Directed by Annie Tippe. Direct from an acclaimed run at Edinburgh Fringe and two sold-out Off-Broadway engagements comes Laura Benanti: Nobody Cares, a one-woman comedy show from the mind of Tony Award® winner Laura Benanti. Known for her dazzling Broadway performances and razor-sharp wit, Benanti takes the stage to share her hilarious, heartfelt, and sometimes brutally honest takes on motherhood, people pleasing, and the joys of aging. Blending side-splitting storytelling with original songs, New York Times Critic's Pick Nobody Cares is a love letter to recovering people pleasers, mothers, and anybody working on themselves.
November 13 – 14, 2026 | Vicki Lawrence & Mama: A Two-Woman Show; Written by and Starring Vicki Lawrence. The legendary actress, comedian, and singer, brings her signature wit and charm to the stage in Vicki Lawrence & Mama: A Two-Woman Show. Best known for her iconic role as Thelma Harper, or ‘Mama,’ from “The Carol Burnett Show” and “Mama’s Family,” Lawrence delivers a hilarious and heartfelt performance that takes audiences on a journey through her extraordinary career. From her Emmy-winning years alongside Carol Burnett to her chart-topping hit, “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia,” she shares behind-the-scenes stories, comedy, and music—all with her trademark humor. Whether reminiscing about her Hollywood adventures or embodying the feisty Mama, Lawrence proves that laughter is timeless.
Tickets to Laura Benanti: Nobody Cares and Vicki Lawrence & Mama: A Two-Woman Show are available now for George Street donors and subscribers. Single tickets to these special events will go on sale to the public Tuesday April 28 at 12:00pm ET.
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. George Street Playhouse appointed Edgar Herrera from Managing Director to Executive Director in January 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.
