Notable Alumni

Alumni Credits

Former Paper Mill students and Rising Star Award nominees & winners have gone on to take the entertainment industry by storm! Academy Award & Golden Globe winner Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married, Les Misérables), Tony Award winners Laura Benanti (Gypsy) and Nikki M. James (The Book of Mormon), and Tony nominee Rob McClure (Chaplin), Olivier Award nominee Jared Gertner (The Book of Mormon-West End), Theatre World Award winner Collin Kelly-Sordelet (Sting’s The Last Ship), Jelani Remy (Simba in Disney’s The Lion King), Joshua Dela Cruz (Aladdin u/s in Disney’s Aladdin), Julia Knitel (Carole King u/s in Beautiful, the Carole King Musical); Ali Stroker (Spring Awakening), Morgan Keene (Katherine in Disney’s Newsies), Jordan Barrow (Themba in Madame Sousatzka) and TV newcomer Shanice Williams (Dorothy in NBC’s The Wiz LIVE!) all got their start on the Paper Mill Playhouse stage. Our alumni appear on Broadway, in national tours, and in television and films.


Growing up, I was always in the ensemble. That was where I’d feel comfortable because I love being a team player. That’s one of the things that was so great about being at Paper Mill Playhouse, because in their Conservatory you had an equal amount of dancing, singing and acting training every day. I got a great foundation in being a team player and ensemble member, and serving a production. The producers and creatives of Beautiful saw in me something they couldn’t find elsewhere.

—JULIA KNITEL
Star of the national tour of
Beautiful: The Carole King Musical

  • * Rising Star Awards nominee or recipient
  • + Summer Professional Training Programs: Conservatory & Intensive/"New Voices" (formerly "Stars of Summer")
  • ^ Paper Mill Theater School
  • @ Paper Mill Broadway Show Choir
  • # Paper Mill Players Camp