# Gingold Theatrical Group

Gingold Theatrical Group, often abbreviated as GTG, is a New York-based non-profit theatre company. It was founded in 2006 by American actor and director David Staller. Its mission is to present works that carry the humanitarian values of writer and critic George Bernard Shaw. It presents several series, including the annual festival Shaw New York, and the monthly series of staged readings, Project Shaw. Through this series, GTG became the first theatre group to present all 65 of George Bernard Shaw's plays.

## History and description

Gingold Theatrical Group is a Manhattan-based theatre company under the Artistic Direction of David Staller, who founded the group in 2006. Staller believed that the English playwright and critic, George Bernard Shaw, created work that made the strongest statements on human rights. He named the group after his friend Hermione Gingold, together with whom he read Shaw's plays.

### Project Shaw

Staller began the group's work with staged readings of plays either by Shaw, his contemporaries, or those inspired by him. The series, Project Shaw, presents 11 staged readings a year. Each of these staged readings are either plays by or inspired by George Bernard Shaw. In 2009, Gingold Theatrical Group became the first theatre group to have produced all 65 of George Bernard Shaw's plays through Project Shaw. Initially held at New York's Players' Club, the performances were moved to a larger venue at New York's Symphony Space in 2014.
On January 19, 2015, Project Shaw held its 100th performance. As of July 2017, 124 Project Shaw had presented 124 concert productions.

### Shaw New York

In 2012, the group began to hold an annual festival called Shaw New York. Here, they produce a fully staged production, together with symposiums, concerts, and staged readings. They began the annual festival with their production of Shaw's Man and Superman, which was a New York Times Critics' Pick. The play was co-produced by The Irish Repertory Theatre and was extended past its initial limited engagement. Since then, GTG has presented Shaw's You Never Can Tell and Major Barbara in a co-production with The Pearl Theatre, and Shaw's Widowers' Houses with The Actors Company Theatre.
In October 2022 David Staller directed GTG's production of Candida at NYC's Theater Row at 410 West 42nd St. It was "funny last-paced one-act feminist rom-com" and "wild and witty whirlwind of a story" reset from a London suburb to a 1929 Harlem Renaissance home with a mostly African- American cast.

### New works

GTG currently holds two programs which focus on the development of new works. The first program, Press Cuttings, was inspired by Shaw's career. Prior to becoming a playwright, Shaw was an art critic. The program's focus is to develop the works of art critics looking to follow in Shaw's footsteps. This program led to the development of David Cote's play Otherland.
In 2017, GTG announced another program, Speakers' Corner, in which a group of writers of diverse backgrounds develops new work inspired by narratives of George Bernard Shaw.

## Response

In New York Magazine, Jesse Green stated that "Gingold Theatrical Group provides an invaluable – and unique – service to New Yorkers. Not only does it keep topnotch productions of great works of art before the public on a regular basis as no other theater company can, but it also does something less obvious. It keeps the tradition of intelligent argument, embodied in Shaw's plays but otherwise much lacking from public discourse, alive for those who need it most: the thinking people of a great city."
In a 2012 review of Man and Superman, Andy Webster of The New York Times said that Staller's "fluency is apparent. … In its intellectual energy and exhilarating vivacity, this production honors Shaw’s life force as well."
Michael Musto stated, "David Staller's Project Shaw is an invaluable testament to the beauty of Shaw's work... Anyone who cares about theater and history treasures this project."

## Off-Broadway productions

| Year | Production | Featuring |
| 2012 | Man and Superman | Will Bradley, Janie Brookshire, Jonathan Hammond, Evan Zes, Laurie Kennedy, Max Gordon Moore, Brian Murray, Paul O’Brien, Brian Sgambati, Zachary Spicer, Margaret Robinson |
| 2013 | You Never Can Tell | Robin Leslie Brown, Bradford Cover, Dominic Cuskern, Dan Daily, Sean McNall, Ben Charles, Amelia Pedlow, Zachary Spicer, Emma Wisniewski |
| 2014 | Major Barbara | Robin Leslie Brown, Bradford Cover, Dan Daily, Carol Schultz, Becky Baumwoll, Hannah Cabell, Cary Donaldson, Richard Gallagher, Alec Shaw |
| 2016 | Widowers’ Houses | Jeremy Beck, Hannah Cheek, Jonathan Hadley, Terry Layman, Talene Monahon, John Plumpis |
| 2018 | Heartbreak House | Kimberly Immanuel, Jeff Hiller, Raphael Nash Thompson, Karen Ziemba, Alison Fraser, Lenny Wolpe, Tom Hewitt, Derek Smith |
| 2019 | Caesar & Cleopatra | Robert Cuccioli, Teresa Avia Lim, Brenda Braxton, Jeff Applegate, Jonathan Hadley, Rajesh Bose, Dan Domingues |
| 2021 | Mrs.Warren's Profession | Karen Ziemba, Nicole King, Robert Cuccioli, David Lee Huynh, Alvin Keith, Raphael Nash Thompson |
| 2022 | Candida | R.J. Foster, Peter Romano, David Ryan Smith, Avanthika Srinivasan, Amber Reauchean Williams, Avery Whitted |
| 2023 | Arms and The Man | Shanel Bailey, Delphi Borich, Ben Davis, Kesav Moodliar, Thomas Jay Ryan, Evan Zes, Karen Ziemba |
| 2024 | The Devil's Disciple | Nadia Brown, Susan Cella, Tina Chilip, Teresa Avia Lim, Folami Williams |

## Speaker's Corner Alumni

| Writer | Play |
| Kate Douglas | The Apiary |
| Seth McNeill | Untitled Conspiracy Play |
| Sophie Sagan-Gutherz | the scold's bridle |
| Aeneas Hemphill | Karma Sutra Chai Tea Latte |
| Divya Mangwani | Vigil-Aunties |
| Marcus Scott | There Goes The Neighborhood |
| Mallory Jane Weiss | Howl From Up High |
| Max Yu | Call Me Comrade |
| Gloria Oladipo | I Wanna Kill, Annie G |
| Ruth Geye | How Can I Help You? |
| Kaela Mei-Shing Garvin | Ping Pong Play |