MEDIA RELEASE – DRAFT FOR REVIEW
Monday, March 25, 2024
PAPER MILL PLAYHOUSE
ANNOUNCES 2024–2025 SEASON
JERSEY BOYS
OCT 2–NOV 3, 2024
IRVING BERLIN’S WHITE CHRISTMAS
NOV 27–DEC 29, 2024
MYSTIC PIZZA
A NEW MUSICAL
JAN 29–FEB 23, 2025
TAKE THE LEAD
A WORLD-PREMIERE MUSICAL
MAR 29–APR 27, 2025
DISNEY’S THE LITTLE MERMAID
MAY 29–JUN 29, 2025
(March 25, 2024 – Millburn, NJ) – Paper Mill Playhouse (Mark S. Hoebee, Producing Artistic Director; Michael Stotts, Executive Director), recipient of the Regional Theatre Tony Award, is proud to announce its 2024–2025 season, including a world premiere, the first New Jersey production of a Tony Award winner, family favorites, and a new musical based on a classic romantic comedy.
Paper Mill Playhouse’s 2024–2025 lineup of five musicals features Jersey Boys, Irving Berlin’s White Christmas, Mystic Pizza, Take the Lead, and Disney’s The Little Mermaid.
“Every year, Paper Mill Playhouse offers audiences a fresh take on award-winning Broadway musicals, and this year is no exception!” said Mark S. Hoebee. “This fall, Paper Mill will be the proud home of the first-ever production of Jersey Boys to originate in New Jersey. This Tony-winning Best Musical keeps the hits coming with the unforgettable music of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. The holidays will usher in the timeless beauty of Irving Berlin’s White Christmas, with show-stopping performances and heartwarming romance in snowy Vermont. To end the season for theatre lovers of all ages, Disney returns to Paper Mill with the enchanting under-sea adventure of The Little Mermaid, featuring a beloved score by Alan Menken, Howard Ashman and Glenn Slater that’s delighted audiences for generations.”
“In addition to celebrated Broadway musicals, Paper Mill also gives audiences the chance to be first in the tri-state area – and often first in the world! – to see brand new work on stage,” said Michael Stotts. “Who better to deliver a first taste of Mystic Pizza than Paper Mill favorites Sandy Rustin and Casey Hushion, the team behind our productions of Clue and A Jolly Holiday? This feel-good adaptation of the beloved Julia Roberts rom-com will take audiences back to the 80s with hit songs from Cyndi Lauper, Huey Lewis, The Bangles, and more. Christopher Gattelli, whom Paper Mill audiences know from his exhilarating choreography for Newsies, returns with the world premiere of Take the Lead, based on the electric, dance-filled Antonio Banderas film.”
Paper Mill Playhouse’s 2024–2025 Season
Jersey Boys
The Story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons
October 2–November 3, 2024
Book by Marshall Brickman & Rick Elice
Music by Bob Gaudio
Lyrics by Bob Crewe
With phenomenal music, memorable characters, and great storytelling, Jersey Boys follows the fascinating evolution of four blue-collar kids who became one of the greatest successes in pop-music history. This Tony Award-winning Best Musical takes you behind the music of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons to discover the secret of a 40-year friendship as the foursome work their way from the streets of New Jersey to the heights of stardom. Witness thrilling performances of chart-topping hits including “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You,” “Dawn,” and “My Eyes Adored You.”
Jersey Boys is presented through special arrangement with Theatrical Rights Worldwide.
Irving Berlin’s White Christmas
November 27–December 29, 2024
Based on the Paramount Pictures film written for the screen by Norman Krasna, Norman Panama & Melvin Frank
Music & Lyrics by Irving Berlin
Book by David Ives & Paul Blake
Original stage production directed by Walter Bobbie
Based on the classic 1954 holiday film, Irving Berlin’s White Christmas is a Technicolor Broadway musical extravaganza. Two army buddies enlist the help of their showbiz pals to put on a show at a picturesque Vermont inn and end up finding their perfect mates. This incredible score contains some of Berlin’s most popular tunes including “Blue Skies,” “I Love a Piano,” “How Deep Is the Ocean?,” ”Count Your Blessings,” and the title song, “White Christmas.”
Irving Berlin’s White Christmas is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals.
New Musical
Mystic Pizza
January 29–February 23, 2025
Book by Sandy Rustin
Based on the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer motion picture with story and characters by Amy Holden Jones
Choreographed by Connor Gallagher
Directed by Casey Hushion
Mystic Pizza is a new musical based on the 1988 rom-com that starred Julia Roberts. Adapted by Sandy Rustin (Clue) and directed by Casey Hushion (Beehive), Mystic Pizza tells the story of three working-class waitresses who navigate the complexities of life, love, and family in a small-town pizza joint. The infectious score features megahits of the ’80s and ’90s, from “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” to “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” and songs originally recorded by Cyndi Lauper, John Cougar Mellencamp, Wilson Phillips, The Bangles, Belinda Carlisle, Huey Lewis and the News, Debbie Gibson and Bryan Adams, among many others. It’s a new musical you’ll love at first slice!
World Premiere
Take the Lead
March 29–April 27, 2025
Book by Robert Cary & Jonathan Tolins
Music & Lyrics by Elliah Heifetz & Zeniba Now
Based on the New Line Cinema film written by Dianne Houston, by special arrangement with Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures
Co-choreographed by Jennifer Weber & Maria Torres
Directed & Choreographed by Christopher Gattelli
Set in the pulsating heart of New York City, Take the Lead is a joyful new musical based on the 2006 dance film that starred Antonio Banderas. This electrifying tale is the true story of Pierre Dulaine, a former professional dancer who, against all odds, brought the art of ballroom dance into New York City public schools. This world-premiere musical spotlights a dynamic fusion of ballroom and hip-hop in its music and choreography with a book by Robert Cary and Jonathan Tolins (Schmigadoon!) and a score by Elliah Heifetz and Zeniba Now with music production by !llmind. Take the Lead will be co-choreographed by Jennifer Weber (& Juliet) and Maria Torres (So You Think You Can Dance) and directed and choreographed by Christopher Gattelli (Newsies).
Disney’s The Little Mermaid
May 29–June 29, 2025
Music by Alan Menken
Lyrics by Howard Ashman & Glenn Slater
Book by Doug Wright
Based on the Hans Christian Andersen story and the Disney film produced by Howard Ashman & John Musker and written & directed by John Musker & Ron Clements
In a magical kingdom beneath the sea, the young mermaid Ariel longs to leave her ocean home to live in the world above. Based on one of the world’s most beloved stories and the enchanting Disney animated film, The Little Mermaid is equal parts love story and adventure for the whole family to enjoy. This fishy fable boasts such irresistible songs as “Part of Your World,” “Kiss the Girl,” and the Academy Award-winning “Under the Sea,” along with a colorful cast of characters including Flounder the fish, Scuttle the seagull, Ursula the sea witch, and Sebastian the crab.
This production of The Little Mermaid is licensed by Music Theatre International.
Paper Mill Playhouse offers its audiences the opportunity to enhance their theater experience with behind-the-scenes views of mainstage productions, including Q&As held live in the theater with cast members. Paper Mill Prologues will be available to everyone on-demand in the Paper Mill Playhouse mobile app and on YouTube.
Award-winning access programs and services are available at all Paper Mill Playhouse productions, including audio-described performances, American Sign Language interpreted and open-captioned performances, Braille and large-print programs, and assistive listening devices.
Paper Mill Playhouse offers three-, four- and five-show subscription packages starting at just $111. Each subscription package includes a different level of special benefits – see www.PaperMill.org for details. Accessibly priced youth subscriptions are available for children under 18 with the purchase of an adult subscription. Tickets to individual shows will be on sale beginning Monday, August 5, 2024. Tickets and subscriptions may be purchased by calling 973.376.4343, online at www.PaperMill.org, or at the box office.
Programs, dates, and artists are subject to change.
ABOUT PAPER MILL PLAYHOUSE
PAPER MILL PLAYHOUSE, recipient of the Regional Theatre Tony Award, is a nationally renowned not-for-profit theater under the direction of Mark S. Hoebee (Producing Artistic Director) and Michael Stotts (Executive Director). A beloved New Jersey arts institution since 1938, Paper Mill creates and produces groundbreaking new musicals and reimagined classics. Several productions have gone on to Broadway and launched national tours, including Disney’s Newsies, Les Misérables (25th Anniversary production), Honeymoon in Vegas, A Bronx Tale, and Bandstand. The theater is also the home to an award-winning center for musical theater education and artist training, with outreach programs that impact thousands of students each year. As one of the nation’s premier musical theaters, Paper Mill fosters a creative environment to advance the art form, educate students, develop future theater lovers, nurture inclusion, and provide access for all. We acknowledge that our theater stands on the traditional land of the Lenni-Lenape, and we honor the Indigenous people who inhabited it for thousands of years before European settlers arrived. Paper Mill Playhouse programs are made possible, in part, by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts. Paper Mill Playhouse is a member of the National Alliance for Musical Theatre, the Council of Stock Theatres, and the New Jersey Theatre Alliance.
WEBSITE/SOCIAL ACCOUNTS
Website: PaperMill.org
Facebook: facebook.com/PaperMillPlayhouse
X: twitter.com/Paper_Mill
Instagram: instagram.com/papermillplayhouse
YouTube: youtube.com/user/PaperMillPlayhouse
TikTok: tiktok.com/@papermillplayhouse
MEDIA CONTACTS
The Press Room – 212-763-7724
Contact: Jim Byk / Kelly Guiod / Louisa Pancoast / Maddie Greenberg
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