Regional Premiere
THE GARBOLOGISTS
by Lindsay Joelle
Directed by REBECCA BRADSHAWº
One of the “16 theater productions to see this summer” by WBUR‘s Jacquinn Sinclair
When Marlowe joins Danny’s route, the two get off to a rocky start with constant sparring and squabbling over everything from trash hunting to 19th century printmaking. Danny, a white, blue-collar, NYC sanitation worker values seniority and “house rules.” While Marlowe, a Black, Ivy-league educated sanitation rookie is determined to prove a point and make amends. These two worlds collide and improbable bonds form in this new, laugh-out-loud comedy.
Written by Lindsay Joelle and directed by Rebecca Bradshawº, The Garbologists offer a comedic take on unlikely friendships. Running from July 3 to 26, all performances are at Gloucester Stage’s Theater 267 East Main Street, Gloucester. Showtimes are Wednesdays & Thursdays at 7:30pm, Fridays & Saturdays at 8:00pm, and matinees Saturdays & Sunday at 3:00pm.
THE GARBOLOGISTS is rated PG-13
JULY 3 – 26
Performances
7:30 pm, WED + THU
8:00 pm, FRI + SAT
3:00 pm, SAT + SUN
Preview Performances
July 3 @ 7:30 pm + 5 @ 8:00 pm
Champagne Opening
Sunday, July 6 @ 3:00 pm
Artist Talk Backs
July 12 + 19 @ 4:30 pm
Pre-show Coffee Break w/ Artistic Director Rebecca Bradshaw
July 13 + 26 @ 2:00 pm
Critical Praise for Gloucester Stage’s The Garbologists
“The Garbologists” is a worthy addition in the American theater’s ever-growing roster of comic dramas.”
“The audience quickly rose to their feet with rousing applause.”
“Funny, sometimes a little silly”
“Being given a first-rate regional premiere…has the smell of success thanks to Rebecca Bradshaw’s realistic direction.”
“Entertaining … insightful”
“Sharply honed script and spot-on, crisp direction…belly laugh lines and hysterical scenes”
“It’s a play with serious heart, plenty of laughs, and a surprising amount of emotional weight tucked into the bags and bins on the curb”
Kapiolani Kassal, Booked and Scene (read full review here)
“THE GARBOLOGISTS is a comical, eye-opening, and heartfelt show about letting others in and respecting the workforce.”
Marielle Sabbag, GEEKS (read full review here)
“Beautifully bagged premiere.“
Jules Becker, South End News (read full review here)
“Is a treasure… moving and poignant.“
The Sleepless Critic (read full review here)
Trailers and Behind the Scenes videos for The Garbologists
Meet the Creative Team
Lindsay Joelle (she/her) / Playwright
Rebecca Bradshawº (she/her) / Director
Rebecca Bradshaw is in her third season as Gloucester Stage’s Producing Artistic Director. Directing credits at Gloucester Stage: Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike and The Ding Dongs. Other directing credits: Witch (Huntington Theatre Company), Dial M for Murder (Penobscot Theatre Company), The Ding Dongs, Do You Feel Anger?, and Hurricane Diane (Kitchen Theatre Company), The Treasurer (Lyric Stage Company), Photograph 51 (The Nora), Our Dear Dead Drug Lord (Off the Grid Theatre), Familiar (A.R.T. Institute), Stupid F*cking Bird and Mrs. Warren’s Profession (Emerson Stage), Big Love (Brandeis), The Earth Room and Fire on Earth (Fresh Ink Theatre), The Tempest and The Secret in the Wings (Weston Drama Workshop), Speech and Debate (Bad Habit Productions), Oleanna and Red (The Umbrella Center for the Arts), Luna Gale (Greater Boston Stage Company), Bad Jews (SpeakEasy Stage), among others. She is a part of the Affiliated Faculty of Emerson College teaching directing/producing and a proud member of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.
Meet the Cast
Thomika Marie Bridwell* / Marlowe
Thrilled to be making her Gloucester Stage Company Debut. Thomika has been seen in- Actor Shakespeare Project: A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The Lyric Stage Company: Crumbs From The Table Of Joy. Co-Production between The Alliance Theater/The Huntington And Front Porch Arts Collective: Fat Ham. The Huntington: Joy and Pandemic. Front Porch Arts Collective and The Huntington: K-I-S-S-I-N-G. Front Porch Arts Collective: Chicken and Biscuits. Regional: A Light Under The Dome(Plays In Place) A Christmas Carol (Hanover Theater), BLKS (SpeakEasy Stage), A Midsummers Night Dream (Boston Theater Company), Miss You Like Hell (Company One/ART), Coriolanus and For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf (Praxis Stage). Thomika is Elliot Norton Award Nominated and a member of the 2023 Class of The British American Dramatic Academy MIO Program. Thomika dedicates her performance to her family and the memory of her father-Lucius. IG: @Thomika_Marie_Bridwell FB: ThomikaBridwell
Paul Melendy* / Danny
Paul is reeking of excitement to play as a Garbologist in Gloucester Stage Company’s 2025 season. Paul was last seen at GSC as host of the most recent “Home for the Holidays” special, but other mainstage favorites include “Cyrano”, “The Last Schartz”, and “The 39 Steps”, to name a few. Recent area credits include collaborations with Greater Boston Stage Company(“The Play That Goes Wrong”, “Dinner for One”, “Clue”, and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”(Elliot Norton Award — Outstanding Solo Performance), and Lyric Stage Company(“The Drowsy Chaperone”(Elliot Norton Award Nomination – Outstanding Lead Performance in a Musical)). You may catch Paul on your local TV screens in commercials for VistaPrint or Plymouth Rock Assurance’s season 4 of “The Bostonians”, or in season one of HBO’s “Julia”. Film credits include “Love, Weddings, & Other Disasters”, “Father of the Year”, “Unfinished Business”, “The Makeover”, “The Pink Panther Deux”, and the upcoming Amy Adams film “At the Sea”. You can next see Paul on stage in Greater Boston Stage Company’s season opener “Featherbaby”, where Paul will be dropping all the curse words on Stoneham’s audiences as a foul-mouthed pet parrot. To contact Paul or to take a peek at his website, please check out www.paulmelendy.com. Thank you for your gracious attendance, and for placing all your garbage in the proper receptacles!
Meet the Production Team
Anshuman Bhatia / Lighting Designer
Anshuman Bhatia design’s for Opera, Theater, and Dance have been seen at Arena Stage, Austin Opera, Bard Music Festival, Beijing’s National Center for the Performing Arts, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Chautauqua Theater Company, Classic Stage Company, Dublin’s Civic Theater, Hartford Stage, HERE Arts Center, Keen Company, Kentucky Opera, LoftOpera, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Ma-Yi Theater Company, Madison Opera, Opera Columbus, Opera Omaha, Opera San Jose, Pacific Symphony, Palm Beach Opera, Primary Stages Puerto Rican Traveling Theater, Repertory Theater of Saint Louis, Santa Fe Opera, Soho Rep, The Atlantic, The Juilliard School, The McKittrick Hotel, The Park Avenue Armory, The Public, Virginia Arts Festival, WP Theater, Writers Theater | Member USA829 | M.F.A. NYU | www.bhatiadesign.com
Julian Crocamo / Sound Designer
Julian Crocamo is a composer, audio engineer and sound designer based in Portland, ME. His work has appeared at The Kitchen Theatre Company in Ithaca, NY (The Thanksgiving Play, The Chinese Lady), in The Huntington Theatre Company’s audio play Sherlock in the Fog. He is happy to be back with Gloucester Stage again, after 2023’s The Ding Dongs and last year’s The Hombres.
Jen Greeke / Costume Designer
Jen is excited to be back working in her home town with Gloucester Stage! Her previous works with GSC include Wipeout, Thin Place, Love From Halifax and Think Of Me Tuesday as well as Spongebob Squarepants The Musical, Midsummer Night’s Dream, James And The Giant Peach and Holiday Delights for GSC’s youth company. Her other current productions include MassOpera’s Alcina and Lanes Coven Theater Company’s TopDog / UnderDog and Love’s Labour’s Lost. She is also currently designing for the Boston Conservatory’s dance department and is the costume designer for Bosoma Dance Company.
Colby Hairston / Assistant Stage Manager
Garbologist’s marks Colby Hairston’s first production working with Gloucester Stage Company! Colby is a recent graduate of Fitchburg State University with a B.S. in Technical Theatre. He has worked as a stage manager in previous productions such as The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, 35MM: A Musical Exhibition, A Game, and It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play. He is so excited to work as an Assistant Stage Manager with this company. He would like to thank his friends for being his biggest supporters and coming to see his shows no matter what.
Kristin Loeffler / Set Designer
The Hombres; Vanya & Sonya & Masha & Spike; Tiny Beautiful Things (Elliot Norton Outstanding Production), Gloucester Stage Company. Bat Boy; Stupid Kids, SpeakEasy Stage Company. Our Dear Dead Drug Lord, Off the Grid. Photograph 51, Central Square Theater. Popcorn Falls, Greater Boston Stage Company. No Victors, No Vanquished, Punctuate4 Productions. Thumbelina, A Little Musical; Assistance; Familiar, Harvard/ART. Moby Dick (IRNE Award); Tartuffe, New Rep Theatre. Ms. Loeffler has also designed sets and costumes for Lyric Stage, Boston Playwrights’ Theatre, Centastage, The Theatre Offensive, Barrington Stage, Sugan Theatre, Pittsburgh Playhouse, American Living Room@HERE, NYC, and New Georges, NYC. Education: BA, English and Studio Art, Stanford University; MFA, Set Design, Carnegie Mellon University.
Marsha Smith*/ Production Stage Manager
Marsha is from a small farm in southern NH and earned her bachelor’s degree from Emerson College. She has been working professionally in and around Boston, with a few brief stops in NYC and beyond, for over 20 years. Marsha loves her work and thanks her friends and family for the lifetime of support they have given her.
Critical Praise for Lindsay Joelle’s The Garbologists
“Audiences can expect a rousing comedy that tugs on the soul.”
“Brimming with extraordinary eclectic characters, intimate life affirming passions, laughter and even tears”
“The Garbologists is a brilliant 90-minute production that cycles through the grief, joy, insecurity, and vulnerabilities of life from the lens of those who see our worst.”
*Member of Actors’ Equity Association (AEA)
ºThe Director is a member of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC)
^Represented by United Scenic Artists, Local USA-829 of the IATSE
THE GARBOLOGISTS is presented by special arrangement with Broadway Licensing Group / Dramatists Play Service.