The Legend of Georgia McBride

The Legend of Georgia McBride
Written byMatthew Lopez
CharactersCasey
Jo
Miss Tracy Mills
Rexy
Jason
Eddie
Date premieredJanuary 2014[1]
Place premieredDenver Center for the Performing Arts[1]
Original languageEnglish
SubjectFemale impersonator
GenreComedy

The Legend of Georgia McBride is a 2014 American play written by Matthew Lopez.[2][3]

Plot

Casey, a young Elvis Presley impersonator barely making a living, finds a path to prosperity by becoming a lip-syncing drag queen. He's young, he's broke, his landlord's knocking at the door, and he's just found out his wife is pregnant. To make matters even more desperate, Casey is fired from his gig as an Elvis impersonator in a run-down, small-town Florida bar. When the bar owner brings in a B-level drag show to replace his act, Casey finds that he has a whole lot to learn about show business—and himself.

Productions

The Legend of Georgia McBride premiered at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts[4] in January 2014. The production was directed by Mike Donahue.[1] That production was subsequently produced Off-Broadway at MCC Theater, opening in September 2015, again directed by Mike Donahue, featuring choreography by Paul McGill.[5] The play ran at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles from April to May 2017, directed by Donahue with McGill's choreography.[3]

The play has been produced at Marin Theatre Company in 2017 in Mill Valley, California, directed by Kent Gash,[6][7] the Arden Theatre in Philadelphia in October to December 4, 2016, directed by Emmanuelle Delpech,[8][9] at Redwood Curtain Theatre[10] in Humboldt County, directed by Shea King, and at ACT in Seattle in 2017, directed by David Bennett.[11]

The play was produced at Cygnet Theatre Company in 2017 in San Diego, California[12] and Hippodrome State Theatre[13] in Gainesville, Florida as a part of the fall portion of their 2017/2018 seasons.

The Southwest Regional premiere was produced at Uptown Players in Dallas, Texas in December 2017.[14][15]

The Hawaii premiere of the play was by Manoa Valley Theatre in Honolulu in November 2017.[16][17]

In 2018, The Legend of Georgia McBride was produced at the Guthrie Theater, under the direction of Jeffrey Meanza and running from June 16 to August 26.[18]

Round House Theatre in Bethesda, Maryland produced The Legend of Georgia McBride in June to July 1, 2018, directed by Tom Story.[19]

Flying Anvil Theatre in Knoxville, Tennessee, staged their production of the play from May 30, 2018, to June 24, 2018.[20]

Los Altos Stage presented the play September 6 to 30, 2018 in Los Altos, California.[21][22] B Street Theatre at The Sofia in Sacramento, California produced the play from November 6 to December 9, 2018, directed by Jerry Montoya.[23][24]

The Central Florida premiere of The Legend of Georgia McBride ran from January 18 - February 3, 2019 at the Garden Theatre in Winter Garden, Florida.[25]

Vermont Stage ran the play April 17-May 5, 2019 at the Black Box Theatre in Burlington, Vermont, starring Irving Green, Bob Bolyard, Larry Connolly, Britt Michael Gordon, and Lia-Shea Tillett.[26][27]

The Connecticut premiere took place at the Seven Angels Theater in Waterbury, Connecticut on November 7, 2019, where it ran until December 1.

With its premiere at Bavarias state theater Staatstheater Nürnberg on January 25, 2020, the play was performed for the first time in Germany.[28]

The Barnstormers Playhouse in Tamworth, NH produced it as part of their 2022 season, running from July 14 - July 23.

Awards and nominations

Source: Internet Off-Broadway database[29]

2016 Lucille Lortel Award[30]
  • Outstanding Choreographer — Paul McGill, Choreographer (nominated)
  • Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play — Matt McGrath (win)
  • Outstanding Costume Design — Anita Yavich (win)
  • Outstanding Lighting Design — Ben Stanton (nominated)
2016 Drama Desk Award[31]
  • Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play — Matt McGrath (nominated)
  • Outstanding Wig and Hair — Jason Hayes (nominated)
  • Outstanding Costume Design — Anita Yavich (win)
2016 Hewes Design Award, Costume Design (nominated)
2016 Outer Critics Circle Award
  • Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play (nominated)
  • Outstanding Director of a Play — Donahue (nominated)
  • Lucille Lortel Award for New Director — Donahue (nominated)

References

  1. ^ a b c Bows, Bob. "Denver Theater Review: The Legend of Georgia McBride " Variety, January 22, 2014
  2. ^ Isherwood, Charles (September 9, 2015). "Review: 'The Legend of Georgia McBride,' From Elvis Impersonator to Drag Queen". The New York Times.
  3. ^ a b McNulty, Charles (April 13, 2017). "Pull off the wig and falsies, and 'Georgia McBride' hits its groove". Los Angeles Times.
  4. ^ "Denver Center for the Performing Arts". Denver Center.
  5. ^ "The Verdict: Critics Review Matthew Lopez's 'The Legend of Georgia McBride' " Playbill, September 10, 2015
  6. ^ Horwitz, Barry. " The Legend of Georgia McBride Ties a Bow on Drag, at Marin Theatre, Mill Valley" theatrius.com, June 23, 2017
  7. ^ "Marin Theatre Company".
  8. ^ Zinman, Toby. "Arden Theatre Company presents Matthew Lopez’s The Legend of Georgia McBride" Broad Street Review, October 20, 2016
  9. ^ Miller, Deb. "Review: The Legend of Georgia McBride at Arden Theatre Company in Philadelphia" dcmetrotheaterarts.com, October 20, 2016
  10. ^ "Redwood Curtain Theatre". Redwood Curtain.
  11. ^ Irwin, Jay. "BWW Review: ACT's Legend Of Georgia McBride Struts and Sashay's into Seattle" broadwayworld.com, June 16, 2017
  12. ^ Shapiro, Milo."San Diego Theater Review: The Legend Of Georgia McBride (Cygnet Theatre Company)" stageandcinema.com, October 23, 2017
  13. ^ "The Legend Of Georgia McBride". 18 August 2017. Retrieved August 10, 2019.
  14. ^ "About" uptownplayers.org
  15. ^ Churnin, Nancy. "'Tootsie' meets 'Kinky Boots' in The Legend of Georgia McBride from Uptown Players" Dallas News, December 2017
  16. ^ " The Legend of Georgia McBride is Anything but a Drag at MVT" hittingthestage.org, November 18, 2017
  17. ^ "Manoa Valley Theatre".
  18. ^ Sasseville, Erika; Froelich, Jacob. The Legend of Georgia McBride aislesaytwincities.com, July 26, 2018
  19. ^ Ruth-Brineger, Liz. Theatre Review: ‘The Legend of Georgia McBride’ at Round House Theatre" mdtheatreguide.com, June 14, 2018
  20. ^ Sherrod, Alan. "Review: The Legend of Georgia McBride at Flying Anvil Theatre" artsknoxville.com, June 3, 2018
  21. ^ "Georgia McBride". Los Altos Stage Company. Retrieved 2018-09-08.
  22. ^ Engelhardt, Joanne. "'Georgia' full of campy fun, but a bit of a drag" Mercury News, September 19, 2018
  23. ^ "The Legend of Georgia McBride". B st. @ The Sofia. Retrieved 2018-11-15.
  24. ^ Carnes, Jim. "Short review: The Legend of Georgia McBride News Review, November 22, 2018
  25. ^ Wallace, Aaron. "BWW Review: It's Hamilton Month in Orlando, but Don't Sleep on The Legend Of Georgia McBride at Garden Theater" broadwayworld.com, January 24, 2019
  26. ^ [1] vermontstage.org
  27. ^ Brown, Alex. "Theater Review: The Legend of Georgia McBride, Vermont Stage" sevendaysvt.com, April 24, 2019
  28. ^ "The Legend of Georgia McBride (DSE)". Staatstheater Nürnberg (in German). Retrieved 2020-02-03.
  29. ^ The Legend of Georgia McBride Internet Off-Broadway database, accessed August 10, 2019
  30. ^ "Steven Pasquale, Phylicia Rashad, and More Win 2016 Lucille Lortel Awards" theatermania.com, May 1, 2016
  31. ^ " Shuffle Along, The Humans, and More Take Home 2016 Drama Desk Awards" theatermania.com. June 5, 2016

External links

  • The Legend of Georgia McBride Internet Off-Broadway database
  • Playwright's official site, captured on the Internet Archive