The Gallery Players

The Gallery Players production of Urinetown: The Musical won “Outstanding Production of a Musical” at the 2007 NY Innovative Theater Awards on September 24, 2007! Julie Halston hosted this awards program, now in its 3rd year. Producer Katie Adams and director Tom Wojtunik were on-hand to accept the award. Actor Jon Frazier also was nominated for his performance as Office Lockstock in this production.

View photos from this production.

Read the Playbill.com announcement of the NY Innovative Theater Award winners!

Read the TheaterMania announcement of the award winners.

Read the BroadwayWorld.com announcement of the award winners.

Read the Back Stage announcement of the award winners.

The cast of The Gallery Players production of Urinetown. Photo by Jennifer Maufrais.

Originally directed on Broadway by Gallery Players alum John Rando, Urinetown is a brilliantly funny and engaging satire of musical theater traditions with a Brechtian edge. In a Gotham-like city, a terrible water shortage, caused by a 20-year drought, has led to a government-enforced ban on private toilets. The citizens must use public amenities, regulated by a single malevolent company that profits by charging admission for one of humanity’s most basic needs. Amid the people, a hero decides he’s had enough, and plans a revolution to lead them all to freedom.

The cast of The Gallery Players production of Urinetown. Photo by Jennifer Maufrais.

Urinetown ran October 14-November 5, 2006, prouced by Katie Adams. Other credits: director, Tom Wojtunik; choreographer, Ryan Kasprzak; musical director, Brenna Sage; scenic design, Joseph Trainor; costume design, David Withrow; lighting design, Travis I. Walker; sound design, Sara Bader; casting by Rosen & Wojcik; C.J. LaRoche was Production Stage Manager.

The cast included Jon Frazier (also nominated for a Chicago Equity Jeff Award for Best Supporting Actor and winner of the Chicago’s After Dark Award for Best Male Performance for his performance as Officer Lockstock), Kat Aberle, Joshua James Campbell, Tom Cleary, De’Lon Grant, Allison Guinn, Tauren Hagins, Daniel Haggard, Jean Liuzzi, Jared R. Lopatin, Jennifer McCabe, Catia Ojeda, Jan-Peter Pedross, Adam Riccio, Mitchell Scott Shapiro, and Kim Shipley.

(l to r) Catio Ojeda (cast member), Tom Wojtunik (director), Katie Adams (producer), David Withrow (costume designer), and Tauren Hagans (cast member) at the NY IT Awards, where The Gallery Players production of Urinetown won “Outstanding Production of a Musical”.

The Gallery Players, Brooklyn’s premier Off-Off Broadway theater, shares images from its 40 seasons in Park Slope with its audience and the entire community in its photo display “The Gallery Players: Live Theater in Brooklyn Since 1967!”. The display is unveiled at the opening of its first play of the 2007-2008 season, Six Degrees of Separation, on September 15, 2007, and will be a permanent feature at the theater.

The display is funded in part by a generous grant from the Park Slope Civic Council. Fifty-two digital prints of production photos spanning from 1967 to 2007 now appear on the walls of the Park Slope Neighborhood Family Center, home to The Gallery Players. Included amongst the photos are images of Harvey Fierstein – a founding member of The Gallery Players – in a 1974 production of Barefoot in the Park; Tony Award nominee Manoel Felciano in a 1997 production of Assassins; and theater personality Seth Rudetsky in last season’s production of Torch Song Trilogy.

Executive Director of The Gallery Players, Matt Schicker, states that: “We are very grateful to the Park Slope Civic Council for this opportunity to get a true sense of the remarkable history of this ‘little theater that could’ through this photo display. Hundreds, if not thousands, of theater companies have come and gone in New York since 1967, and it really is extraordinary that The Gallery Players still thrives after 40 years. Visually, the display also makes the scope of the artistic work that has been produced by The Gallery Players in Brooklyn very apparent and very real. It’s also just fun: since so many professional actors made their New York City debut here, longtime subscribers and new audiences alike may recognize a face or two in the photos from Broadway, film, and television.”

The photo display is free to all. Ticket holders to any production at The Gallery Players can view the display as they enter or leave the theater and at intermission. All others are encouraged to arrive at the theater at curtain time for any performance to check in with the box office representative to be granted access to the stairwell and landing where the photos are on display.

More information about The Gallery Players history and its programs can be found at www.galleryplayers.com. Tickets to Six Degrees of Separation are $18 for Adults, $14 for Senior Citizens and children 12 and under. Tickets can be purchased 24/7 online at www.galleryplayers.com or by calling TheaterMania at (212) 352-3101 (phone hours 9-9 weekdays, 10-6 weekends).

The Gallery Players is located at 199 14th St., between 4th and 5th Aves. in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Take the F Train to 4th Ave. or the R Train to 9th Street. By car: BQE to Hamilton Avenue to 14th Street.

A New York institution since 1967, The Gallery Players has served actors and audiences alike for more than 4 decades by showcasing burgeoning new talent and offering a home base for theater professionals. The company’s eclectic programming of intimate revivals and ambitious new work in inventive productions has earned it the reputation of “New York’s Best Kept Secret.” Among its famous alumni are founding member Harvey Fierstein, Broadway regular Diedre Goodwin, New York theater personality Seth Rudetsky, and many others.

Other productions at The Gallery Players in 07-08: Six Degrees of Separation (September 15-30), Yank! A New Musical (October 20-November 4), The Santaland Diaries (December 1-16), The Wild Party (Lippa) (February 2-24, 2008), Lysistrata (March 15-30, 2008), Man of La Mancha (April 26-May 18, 2008), and the 11th Annual Black Box New Play Festival (June 2008). The Peanut Gallery, a summer musical theater adventure camp for kids now in its 4th year, will take place in July 2008 as well as its free Shakespeare program for teenagers, co-produced with AmeriKick.

Carlos Wesley Jackson attended a performance of the musical Violet at The Gallery Players and won two round-trip tickets to Prague! He also won free playbills for The Gallery Players. Read how it happened at the United Stages website.

Congratulations, Carlos!

On Monday, April 9, 2007 Gerry Newman of Gerald Newman Graphic Design was awarded the ART/NY DeWitt Stern Local Hero Award for his contributions to The Gallery Players. (Photo below.)

For 4 seasons, Newman has created gorgeous full-color brochures for The Gallery Players. In addition to this, he has designed dozens of graphics for show postcards for The Gallery Players’ productions – 8 every year for many years. Normally a not-for-profit theater of The Gallery Players’ size and financial means wouldn’t have the option to have such professional, effective show artwork and printed materials, but Gerry Newman has always generously only charged a nominal fee, mostly to cover his expenses.

The pay-off for the theater has been big: subscriptions and ticket sales have increased as a result of the eye-catching brochures and postcards, and the beautiful print pieces are used throughout the year in press kits, industry packets, and fundraising appeals. His latest contribution to The Gallery Players is a beautiful invitation for our 40th Anniversary Gala Fundraiser.

Gerry’s background as a set designer and theatrical Renaissance man certainly has contributed to his understanding of what a busy theater’s needs are – how urgently ticket sales are needed and how limited the budget is. It also has helped him understand The Gallery Players Board’s busy schedule – and he has patiently and gracefully put up with requests for revisions, last minute text changes, and unreasonable deadlines!

The Gallery Players wishes to thank Gerry Newman for his years of generosity and quality design work by nominating him for the DeWitt-Stern Local Hero Awards. Congratulations, Gerry!

Gerry Newman (center) with his award certificate with The Gallery Players’ Heather Siobhan Curran and Matt Schicker at the DeWitt Stern Local Heroes Award presentation at The New Victory Theatre.