(NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ) -- George Street Playhouse announced that David Saint will retire as Artistic Director at the conclusion of the 2024-2025 season.
George Street Playhouse will honor Saint at the 2025 Gala, which will be held on Saturday May 17 at 4:30pm at the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center. Additional details including performers and presenters will be announced shortly.
Saint has been the Artistic Director of George Street Playhouse since 1997. Under his leadership, the company has produced groundbreaking new works, inspiring productions of the classics, and hit Broadway shows that have galvanized local and regional audiences alike.
“It has truly been my privilege and honor to run George Street Playhouse for the past 27 years!” says Saint. “I now feel it’s time to step down and hand over the reins to new Artistic Leadership who will hopefully bring their own vision for shaping the future of this organization. I only hope the role brings them as much pleasure and rewards as it did me.
“I am so grateful to all the many world class artists who have chosen to work here. From the extraordinary playwrights who have trusted us to premiere their new and developing works: writers like Arthur Laurents, Anne Meara, A.R. Gurney, Joe DiPietro, Stephen Sondheim, Chris Bohjalian, Winnie Holzman, Emily Mann, and many more, to the wonderful directors, designers and the extraordinary actors who have all graced our stage during my tenure.
“I want to thank my loyal Board and staff, for their support, and the local community leaders as well as our faithful audience.
“I leave you with a beautiful new home at the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center and the knowledge that you will always be in my thoughts as George Street Playhouse goes on to a splendid new chapter.”
On behalf of the Board of Trustees of George Street Playhouse, President Dr. Penelope Lattimer and Chairman James Heston stated, “David Saint’s contributions to the arts, to the community, and to the Playhouse have been profound and leave an enduring and most valuable footprint and legacy. David has brought national recognition and great acclaim to the Playhouse by producing world renowned works and ushering in fabulous artistic talent, both on stage and off, during his long tenure.”
Executive Director Edgar Herrera added, “In my time at George Street Playhouse, I have had the privilege of working alongside a truly remarkable leader in David. His passion for theatre isn’t just deep—it is infectious. Mentored by the legendary Arthur Laurents, David has carried forward a legacy of bold storytelling, artistic excellence, and an unwavering commitment to the craft. His vision, his experience, and his relentless dedication have lifted GSP to new heights.
“Of course, none of this would have been possible without the steadfast leadership of our Board of Trustees throughout David’s tenure, whose guidance and commitment have been instrumental in shaping the organization’s success. Alongside them, the unwavering and generous support of our individual donors, private foundations, Middlesex County, and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts has been essential; partners who have championed George Street Playhouse through David’s tenure and whose continued support will help propel us into this next exciting chapter. David’s impact will be felt for years to come, and we look forward to building upon the incredible foundation he has laid.”
In his tenure at George Street, Saint has directed nearly 50 mainstage productions, including most recently Jonathan Larson’s tick, tick…BOOM! and Chris Bohjalian’s The Club, along with past productions like Tales from the Guttenberg Bible written by and starring Steve Guttenberg; virtual productions of Becky Mode’s Fully Committed and Nia Vardalos’s Tiny Beautiful Things; Chris Bohjalian’s Midwives; Joe DiPietro’s Conscience; Walter Anderson’s The Trial of Donna Caine; Christopher Demos-Brown’s American Hero; Joe DiPietro’s musical, I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change and David Javerbaum’s play An Act of God featuring the legendary Kathleen Turner.
Saint has also introduced a variety of new award-winning productions, including the World Premieres of The Toxic Avenger, Proof, The Spitfire Grill, Clever Little Lies, and It Shoulda Been You. Featuring a book by Joe DiPietro with music and lyrics by David Bryan, The Toxic Avengerreceived an Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical, following its run at George Street Playhouse. The show has been staged internationally, with productions in Toronto, Melbourne, London, Edinburgh, and other major cities. David Auburn’s Pulitzer Prize winning play Proof was first developed at George Street Playhouse, before earning the Tony Award for Best Play in 2001. The play was later adapted into a film, starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Jake Gyllenhaal, Anthony Hopkins, and Hope Davis in 2005. Based on the hit 1996 film, The Spitfire Grill featuring music by James Valcq, lyrics by Fred Alley, and a book by James Valcq and Fred Alley won the Richard Rodgers Production Award, bestowed by the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Following the musical’s Off-Broadway transfer, The Spitfire Grill received Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk Award nominations. Joe DiPietro’s Clever Little Lies transferred to New York’s Westside Theatre in 2015 with Saint at the helm, after its successful run at George Street. Saint also programmed It Shoulda Been You in 2011, before transferring to Broadway with Tyne Daly, where it was nominated for six Outer Critics Circle Awards, three Drama League Awards, and three Drama Desk Awards.
Throughout his time at George Street, Saint has collaborated with a multitude of stage and screen artists, including Chris Bohjalian, Winnie Holzman, Emily Mann, Keith Carradine, Tyne Daly, Rachel Dratch, Sandy Duncan, Boyd Gaines, A.R. Gurney, Uta Hagen, Jack Klugman,Kathleen Marshall, Elaine May, Anne Meara, David Hyde Pierce, Chita Rivera, Paul Rudd, Stephen Sondheim, Marlo Thomas, Eli Wallach, Arthur Laurents, and many others.
In addition to his role at George Street Playhouse, he directed the Primary Stages production of Final Folliesalong with the National Tour and Hollywood Bowl production of West Side Story, starring Jeremy Jordan and Solea Pfeiffer. In Summer 2019, he directed a revolutionary new production of West Side Story for IHI Stage Around in Tokyo and served as an Associate Producer for the Academy Award-nominated film, West Side Story, directed by Steven Spielberg. He has directed on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and regionally, with productions at Playwrights Horizons, Manhattan Theatre Club, Primary Stages, McCarter, Williamstown, Seattle Rep, Pasadena Playhouse, Pittsburg Public, Long Wharf and many others. He has worked with critically acclaimed writers like Aaron Sorkin, Wendy Wasserstein, Peter Parnell, Jonathan Marc Sherman, Joe DiPietro, and Jonathan Larson. He is the recipient of the Alan Schneider Award, Helen Hayes Award, LA Drama Critics Award, several Drama League Awards and is the President of The Laurents/Hatcher Foundation.
New artistic leadership will be announced with the full 2025-26 season this Spring.
Under the leadership of Artistic Director David Saint since 1997, 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. Entering its 50th season, the organization has a rich 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.George Street Playhouse recently announced the appointment of Edgar Herrera as Managing Director.
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.
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