Georgie: My Adventures With George Rose
written by and starring Ed Dixon
directed by Eric Shaeffer
presented by Martin Platt & David Elliott with Mary Cossette, Jamie deRoy, Richard Winkler,
and Mike Blank
at The Davenport Theatre, NYC
Ed Dixon’s superb play recalls his friendship with the acclaimed, eccentric British stage-star, George Rose, and would earn the show both a Drama Desk and an Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Solo Performance.
Dixon’s one-man show vividly recounts his life in show business over a nearly 20 year period, unflinchingly exploring the the often-dark contrast between the on-stage and off-stage lives of the great Broadway star, George Rose.
Dixon doesn’t spare Rose or himself from honest scrutiny.
Eric Schaeffer, who helmed the production and was also the set designer, created the “backstage” look of a theater with fly ropes, ghost lights, a stack of vintage books, and a worn wing chair. It made for a perfect setting for a backstage yarn.
.The reviews for Georgie were nothing short of outstanding:
“In recent years Ed Dixon—actor, writer, composer—has delivered two of the most wrenching literary stomach punches I’ve ever received: punch one with his autobiographical memoir, Secrets of a Life On Stage… and Off, which I read a few years ago, and punch two with his incandescent performance in his play Georgie, which just opened at The Loft at the Davenport Theater. In both cases, the punch was swift, unpredicted and straight to the gut.” Glen Roven – Huffington Post
“It has been said that theatre at its most basic is great storytelling. Georgie: My Adventures with George Rose is an exhilarating story, and indeed brilliantly told.” – BroadwayWorld
“… a first class ticket on a theatrical time machine ride. We get to sit at the feet of a great storyteller getting punch drunk on theatre memories. Brilliant text, astounding performance, astute direction – unforgettable evening.” – New York Theatre Guide
“Dixon is priceless….he holds you in his thrall for the entire 90-miniutes and proves not only a great interpreter of Rose’s life and work, but a worthy successor to his stage presence. Oh, what a relief!” - Out Magazine
“As the story progresses, the jovial, sunny performance he delivers begins to morph into a rigid and deeply sad one by the end. Director Eric Schaeffer guides this multifaceted performance into a beautifully appropriate balance of lightness and darkness. Yet even as such a horrible story comes to life before our eyes, it’s clear that no matter what, Dixon still respects his late mentor, even if his feelings now are weightier and more complicated than they were when the two first met. Georgie is a tribute to one of Broadway’s greats, while reminding us that everyone we see onstage has a story all their own.” – TheatreMania