At the Public Theater: Grounded, by George Brant

An old old friend of mine, George Brant, has written a play that just opened at The Public, and it’s directed by Julie Taymor and starring Anne Hathaway. It is called Grounded, and it’s already had successful runs all over the place, and this is the play’s major New York premiere. It’s super exciting. George and I were in the same theatre company back in Chicago, and were in many productions together. I was also in a couple of plays that he wrote, way back in the day. We were in the award-winning production of James Agee’s A Death in the Family at The Shattered Globe (my last show in Chicago before moving to New York), and I just could not be happier for my friend in all of his success! He has been plugging along at his work all this time, and Grounded started small, and then you could feel it … you could feel the momentum of it accelerating. Finally, Julie Taymor and Anne Hathaway signed on. A major moment for any playwright. It is a one-woman show about an Air Force pilot, “grounded” when she becomes pregnant.

A group of us are all going to see it tomorrow night and it will be an unofficial reunion of that old Chicago group of people. Jackie and Derek and Emily and Bridget and many many others. Old friends, many of whom I have not seen in years. I haven’t seen George since my father’s wake. I am so looking forward to the celebration of tomorrow’s event.

Here is Charles Isherwood’s review of Grounded in The New York Times.

Congratulations, George!

Anne Hathaway, “Grounded,” The Public, directed by Julie Taymor, written by George Brant.