NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ—The NYC theater hit, “I Hope They Serve Beer on Broadway by Tucker Max” is coming to New Brunswick for eight performances beginning tonight at the George Street Playhouse.

Presented by New Brunswick’s own SmugBug Productions, the show had previously sold out its debut run on 43rd Street in Manhattan this summer.

The play will be interactive, as audience members will be able to order drinks during the show from cast members, who will be on the stage and in the audience re-enacting Tucker Max’s wild anecdotes as needed.

“The whole show happens in a bar the whole time,” explains author Christopher Carter Sanderson, who is from Princeton, NJ.

“And this is the first time we’ve had the bar actually onstage.”

“We’re going to have video screens all around the space like a real sports bar,” said Daniel Swern, a Rutgers graduate who is directing and producing the show.

Asked to compare the experience to a bar in New Brunswick, Swern said, “I’d have to say McCormack’s on Somerset Street, which is no longer with us.”

This run, at the Black Box Theatre in the George Street Playhouse (9 Livingston Ave.), will be the play’s first regional production.  The run continues through November 5.

  • Wednesday, October 30, 8pm
  • Thursday, October 31, 8pm
  • Friday, November 1, 8pm
  • Friday, November 1, 11pm
  • Saturday, November 2, 8pm
  • Saturday, November 2, 11pm
  • Sunday, November 3, 8pm
  • Tuesday, November 5, 8pm

According to several reviews, the show is a lot different than Max’s heavily-critized novels, and it has a positive message.

Sanderson, a Yale University graduate, has taken the infamous tales of Tucker Max, the author of the best-selling novel “I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell,” and put them into an original play about the character of Tucker Max looking back on his own life.

“The real Tucker Max is pushing 40, and in therapy,” Sanderson told New Brunswick Today.  “He sure isn’t like that anymore.”

The play is about Tucker Max “telling his truths,” says Daniel Stern, who stars as Tucker Max.

“It’s Tucker Max about Tucker Max,” explains Stern, who got his acting start with the sketch-comedy troupe All the King’s Men. “No matter how ridiculous or outlandish the guy is, he has a moral code and limits.”

“Indulging on all these whims takes a toll on him.”

Tickets are available online at the Smugbug website, or at the door for $18.

For more information, email [email protected] or call the George Street Playhouse at (552) 486 – 3253.

Reporter at New Brunswick Today | mobrien@nb.today

Molly O'Brien started writing for New Brunswick Today as a freelance reporter in February 2013.

Molly writes stories on government, arts, free events, bilingual events, education and more.

Molly graduated from Rutgers University with a B.A. in French Linguistics and Linguistics, where she also studied Writing and Journalism. Molly also graduated Rutgers Law School.

She is open to any suggestions for stories or tips. You may contact her via text at 732-743-8993.

Molly O'Brien started writing for New Brunswick Today as a freelance reporter in February 2013.

Molly writes stories on government, arts, free events, bilingual events, education and more.

Molly graduated from Rutgers University with a B.A. in French Linguistics and Linguistics, where she also studied Writing and Journalism. Molly also graduated Rutgers Law School.

She is open to any suggestions for stories or tips. You may contact her via text at 732-743-8993.