“TOGETHER AT HOME” 

FRIDAY, JUNE 4, 2021 

Honoring Merck with an evening featuring special guests Andy Blankenbuehler, Deborah Cox, Beth Leavel, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Rob McClure, Alan Menken, Chita Rivera, Stephen Schwartz, Susan Stroman, and more
plus students from Paper Mill education programs.

(Millburn, NJ) Paper Mill Playhouse (Mark S. Hoebee-Producing Artistic Director, Mike Stotts-Managing Director) is hosting its largest fundraising event of the year, the Paper Mill Playhouse Together at Home Gala, to be held virtually on Friday, June 4, 2021. The event will be hosted on Virtual Tables, a unique, interactive platform designed to evoke the excitement and glamour of Paper Mill’s in-person galas. The virtual cocktail party begins at 6:30pm, followed by a star-studded one-hour program at 7:00pm that will include performances, tributes, and a live auction including a chance to bid on tickets to Elton John’s Final Farewell at Madison Square Garden Concert and a New York Yankees luxury suite experience for two people to watch the game with world series champion players. Silent auction will be active during the event and continue until 10:00pm the night of the event. 

The gala is proudly sponsored by Investors Bank, FirstEnergy, and David Yurman. In addition to VIP tickets, show-only tickets are available for a suggested donation of $30. All proceeds from the gala support Paper Mill’s world-class productions, professional training programs, celebrated arts education programs, and community outreach. 

“This year’s event is more critical than ever,” said Mike Stotts, Paper Mill’s managing director. “The proceeds from our gala will help ensure that we are ready to launch an exciting season of live theater this fall, bring students back to our Theater School for in-person instruction, and serve our most vulnerable children through our Theater for Everyone program.” 
 

“This gala promises to be an entertaining and fun way to support the theater when we need it most,” said Producing Artistic Director Mark S. Hoebee. “We’ve lined up several of Paper Mill’s favorite artists to perform and reminisce about their experiences at our theater. There will also be a chance to bid on many exciting auction items. After a long and trying year, this will be an especially joyful celebration.” 

This year’s honoree is Merck, a longtime partner of Paper Mill and steadfast supporter of the performing arts. Paula Alston, Vice President of Facilities at Merck, will receive the Byrne/Keane Arts Advocate Award. And special recognition will be given to the Paper Mill staff for their tireless dedication over the past year.  

“We are thrilled to honor our longtime partner Merck, whose support makes some of our core programs possible,” said Gala Chair Carolyn Ferolito. “And it was especially important to us to recognize the devoted staff members of Paper Mill, who went above and beyond to keep our theater afloat while the world was shut down. Our staff members often don’t get accolades for the critical work they do behind the scenes, but all of them are stars. And this year more than ever, they deserve a standing ovation.”  

For more information on the Paper Mill Playhouse Gala or to purchase individual tickets, tables, or raffle tickets, please contact Leigh Schaedel at 973-315-1663 or lschaedel@papermill.org, or visit Paper Mill’s website at www.papermill.org/support-us/events/. 

PAPER MILL PLAYHOUSE, recipient of the 2016 Regional Theatre Tony Award, is a nationally renowned, not-for-profit theater under the direction of Mark S. Hoebee (Producing Artistic Director) and Mike Stotts (Managing Director). A beloved NJ 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, Honeymoon in Vegas, A Bronx Tale, and Bandstand. The theater is also the home of 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. 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. 

www.PaperMill.org
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LIST OF NOMINEES & WINNERS

2021 Rising Star Awards Program

As one of the nation’s leading theaters, Paper Mill Playhouse has a well-earned reputation for launching both performers and shows for Broadway. The theater was the recipient of the 2016 Regional Theatre Tony Award. Since their inception in 1996, the Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Awards for Excellence in High School Musical Theater presented by the Investors Foundation have ignited the careers of many notable performers, all of whom attended high school in New Jersey. Among the early nominees and winners are Academy Award winner Anne Hathaway (Les Misérables), Tony Award winners Laura Benanti (Gypsy) and Nikki M. James (The Book of Mormon), Tony nominee Rob McClure (Chaplin), Shanice Williams, star of NBC’s The Wiz Live! and Olivier Award nominee Jared Gertner (The Book of Mormon).

This year’s award recipients will be announced during the 2021 Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Awards Presented by the Investors Foundation, which will stream on Paper Mill Playhouse YouTube and Facebook outlets on Monday, June 7 at 7PM.

Among the top nominated high school performances and student achievement efforts, Delaware Valley Regional HS has five nominations, Ridge HS has four nominations, and St. Peter’s Preparatory School, Union HS and Madison HS each have three nominations.

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic caused rolling school building closures and social distancing restrictions, leaving many New Jersey high schools unable to produce a traditional musical at their schools with a live audience.  Despite the restrictions, theater educators found new ways to teach students with strict Covid protocols in place, or explored new concepts for virtual rehearsals and performances.

With this in mind, Paper Mill launched an abridged Rising Star Awards program that preserves essential elements that serve both students and teachers and continues to provide a meaningful recognition platform for the school community.  Paper Mill welcomed video submissions of student performances for a shorter list of categories: Outstanding Solo Performance by an Actor and Actress; Outstanding Performance by a Small Ensemble and Large Ensemble; the Student Achievement Awards for non-performance contributions; the Rising Star Scholarships for graduating seniors and the Theater for Everyone Inclusion and Access Award.  A new honor, Outstanding Educator Award, has been added. Winners will receive the crystal Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Award made exclusively by Tiffany & Company.

“After a most difficult year, the Rising Star Awards are a testament to the determination and commitment of student performers and the dedication of the teachers involved in high school theater programs,” said Investors Bank Chairman and CEO Kevin Cummings. “Investors Bank is proud to present the awards and to encourage students to rise up each day in pursuit of their dreams. You are the essence of the show business mantra, ‘the show must go on.'”

In addition to recognizing performances, Paper Mill Playhouse will award $5,000 in scholarships at the awards ceremony.  Five $1,000 cash scholarships are given to outstanding individual students who plan to continue studying theater performance, education, or technical theater in college. In addition, Paper Mill Playhouse is pleased to award a prize of $1,000 to a school receiving the 2021 Rising Star “Theatre for Everyone” Inclusion and Access Award, a partnership with the New Jersey Theatre Alliance and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, to recognize excellence in the promotion and practice of creative inclusion of students and adults with disabilities as performers, designers, musicians, and production staff. This award seeks to recognize and reward a school that takes steps to ensure their performances are accessible to audiences with disabilities.

New to the Rising Star Awards in 2021 is the Outstanding Educator Award which will put the spotlight on educators nominated by their home school districts for their distinguished service to their students and theater programs.  A $1,000 prize will be granted to the recipients’ school theater programs.

Lastly, students receiving a Final Nomination in the Outstanding Performance by an Actor and Actress categories will receive a full scholarship prize to attend Paper Mill Playhouse’s competitive professional training program, the Summer Musical Theater Conservatory, at the Millburn theater during the month of July. Conservatory students take advanced classes in singing, acting and dance on a hybrid schedule – both in-studio and online—and will appear in the filmed musical theater montage, New Voices of 2021: Stand By Me.  New Voices is directed by Paper Mill’s professional creative staff and will be filmed in July with a World Premiere in September.

Rising Star scholarships are made possible by Ruth Bedford in memory of Jane Burgio, Walt Santner in honor of Janet Sovey, and the Douglas Michael Krueger Scholarship Fund Trust.

The 2021 Rising Star Awards Ceremony and the “Theater for Everyone” Inclusion and Access Award are part of the New Jersey Theatre Alliance 2021 Stages Festival, made possible by support from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts; Bank of America; The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey; OceanFirst Foundation; the George A. Ohl, Jr. Trust; New Jersey Historical Commission; and Fund for the New Jersey Blind. njtheatrealliance.org/stages

LIST OF NOMINEES & WINNERS

 OUTSTANDING SOLO PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS NOMINEES

Alex Belle, Collier HS, “My New Philosophy” from YOU’RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN

Emma Casertano, Ocean County Vocational Technical Schools-Grunin Performing Arts Academy, “The Music and the Mirror” from A CHORUS LINE

Leonor Fontanez, Delaware Valley Regional HS, “Cleaning Women” from WORKING

Halle Lipton, St. Peter’s Preparatory School, “Lying There” from EDGES: A SONG CYCLE

Kyra Longenecker, Madison HS, “I Want to Go to Hollywood” from GRAND HOTEL

Khadijah Sankoh, Union HS, “Waiting for Life” from ONCE ON THIS ISLAND

Yemie Woo, Pascack Hills HS, “Fabulous Baby” from SISTER ACT – WINNER

OUTSTANDING SOLO PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR NOMINEES

Will DeLargy, Morristown HS, “All I Care About is Love” from CHICAGO

Collin Flanagan, Madison HS, The Lady Must be Mad” from ILYRIA

Michael Bryant Kessie, Delaware Valley Regional HS, “Joe” from WORKING – WINNER

Nicholas Matos, St. Peter’s Preparatory School, “Monticello” from EDGES: A SONG CYCLE

Miguel Ramirez, Lawrence HS, “Dulcinea” from MAN OF LA MANCHA

Max Rodriguez, Ridge HS, “Gus: The Theatre Cat” from CATS

Jonah Ruderman, Livingston HS, “Who I’d Be” from SHREK: THE MUSICAL

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A SMALL ENSEMBLE NOMINEES

County Prep HS, ”The Most Amazing Thing” from LITTLE WOMEN, featuring Ivellisses Segovia, Mathew Segovia, Kayla Velazquez

Delaware Valley Regional HS, Brother Trucker” from WORKING, featuring Michael Bryant Kessie, Dakota Krouse, Maddy Clyde, Mark Westling, Gabi Pfefferte, Tori Kelly

Ocean County Vocational Technical Schools-Grunin Performing Arts Academy, ”Sing” from A CHORUS LINE, featuring William Einbinder, Gabriella DeBenedict

Pinelands Regional HS, ”Secrets” from THE ADDAMS FAMILY, featuring Nadia Vito, Lily Targett

Ridge HS, Macavity” from CATS, featuring Elisabeth Schmitt, Eileen Brady, Eve Armstrong, Samantha Rascio, Morgan Connell, Gabriella Hairston, Jordan Perla – WINNER

Summit HS, ”King of New York” from NEWSIES, featuring Sydney Veloso, Hope Pierotti, Avery Johnson, Anna Sullivan, Theo Errig, Ethan Engmann

Union HS, ”Forever Yours” from ONCE ON THIS ISLAND, featuring Khadijah Sankoh, Makayla Michel

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A LARGE ENSEMBLE NOMINEES

Columbia HS, “You Can’t Stop the Beat” from HAIRSPRAY

Delaware Valley Regional HS, All the Livelong Day” from WORKING

Madison HS, ”On My Way” from VIOLET

Ridge HS,  “The Jellicle Ball” from CATS

St. Peter’s Preparatory School, “Become” from EDGES: A SONG CYCLE

Summit HS, “Seize the Day” from NEWSIES – WINNER

Union HS, “Mama Will Provide” from ONCE ON THIS ISLAND

STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AWARD NOMINEES

Atlantic County Institute of Technology, Dominic Roberts, Dance Captain – WINNER

Bridgewater-Raritan HS, Liz Driscoll, Dance Captain

Bridgewater Raritan HS, Sophia Pedroso, Stage Manager – WINNER

Delaware Valley Regional HS, Simon Kinderman, Designer: Cinematography/Production/Pit – WINNER

Immaculate Heart Academy, Grace Capeless, Assistant Director/Film Editor – WINNER

José Martí STEM Academy, Felix Tavarez, Assistant Choreographer

José Martí STEM Academy, Clarisse Moreno, Kathy Bernal, Oliver Villalta, Writing Team – WINNER

Morristown HS Lorelei Eck, Student Director

Mount Saint Dominic Academy, Hema Davalla & Sophia Garske, Production Stage Managers

Mount Saint Dominic Academy, Kiera Carbone, Ava Ciauro, Lynn Jean-Baptiste, Sound Board Operators

Pascack Hills HS, Valentina Cannao, Scenic Designer & Assistant Director

Piscataway HS, Melly Merida, Scenic Illustrations – WINNER

Randolph HS, Kathleen Brennan, Christine Hamilton, Jilliane Najera, Digital Designers

Ridge HS, Morgan Beatty, Student, Director – WINNER

Summit HS, Emma MacPherson, Costume Crew Head – WINNER

Toms River HS North, Archie Bird, Tech Crew – WINNER

Voorhees HS, Owen Tabor, Choreographer/Dance Captain

Westfield HS, Ben Zakharenko, Sound Designer – WINNER

Westfield HS, Josh Saxon, Scenic Designer / Asst. Technical Director

OUTSTANDING EDUCATOR AWARD NOMINEES

Elizabeth Volpe, Atlantic County Institute of Technology

Pete Gambino, Cherry Hill HS East

Michael Penna, Collier HS

John Giresi, Fair Lawn HS – WINNER

Jim DeVivo, Holmdel HS

Blake Spence, Madison HS

Cindy Dwyer, Mater Dei Prep – WINNER

Jodi Bosch, Mount Olive HS

Jensyn Modero, Mount Saint Dominic Academy

Bart DiFrancia, Pinelands Regional HS

Anne Poyner, Summit HS – WINNER

Steven Collins, Union County Academy for Performing Arts

Nancy Reynolds, Voorhees HS

THEATER FOR EVERYONE INCLUSION AND ACCESS AWARD NOMINEES

Collier HS

Madison HS – WINNER

Piscataway HS

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MADISON HIGH SCHOOL TAKES TOP PRIZE

As one of the nation’s leading professional theaters and recipient of the Regional Theatre Tony Award, Paper Mill Playhouse has a well-earned reputation for launching both performers and shows to Broadway. Since their inception in 1996, the Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Awards for Excellence in High School Musical Theater have ignited the careers of many notable performers, all of whom attended high school in New Jersey. Among the early nominees and winners are Academy Award winner Anne Hathaway (Les Misérables), Tony Award winners Laura Benanti (Gypsy) and Nikki M. James (The Book of Mormon), Tony nominee Rob McClure (Chaplin), Shanice Williams, star of NBC’s The Wiz Live! and Olivier Award nominee Jared Gertner (The Book of Mormon).  The 2019 Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Awards Presented by Investors Foundation ceremony took place at Paper Mill Playhouse on Tuesday, June 4, at 7:30PM, featuring presenters from Broadway and beyond. The ceremony was broadcast live on television and online through Paper Mill Playhouse video partner, Hometowne Television (HTTV), of Summit, New Jersey.

Madison High School in Morris County took home the top prize of Outstanding Overall Production of a Musical for their production of Bright Star, along with five other trophies. Summit High School took home an impressive five Rising Star Awards and Harrison High School took home three trophies. Several schools won their very first Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Award this year. See below for a full list of award winners and scholarship recipients.

“Congratulations to this year’s Rising Star Award winners. All of the nominated students are winners. They have poured their hearts and souls into their performances and can take pride in their effort and dedication to their craft. Investors is so proud to celebrate not just the talented students, but the committed high school programs, administrators, faculty, and parents behind them,” said Investors Bank Chairman and CEO Kevin Cummings.

Paper Mill Playhouse also awarded $5,000 in scholarships at the Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Awards Presented by Investors Foundation.  Five $1,000 cash scholarships were given to outstanding individual students who plan to continue studying theater performance or theater education in college. Paper Mill Playhouse was pleased to award a prize of $500 to Perth Amboy High School receiving the 2019 Educational Impact Award, which acknowledges a school that successfully connects the musical to the district’s curriculum, using the production as a teaching tool for the greater student body and local community.  Through the Rising Star “Theater for Everyone” Inclusion and Access Award and a partnership with The Cultural Access Network of New Jersey, a project of the New Jersey Theatre Alliance and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, Paper Mill Playhouse presented a cash award of $1,000 to Carteret High School to recognize excellence in the promotion and practice of creative inclusion of students and adults with disabilities as performers, designers, musicians and production staff. Additionally, this award seeks to recognize and reward a school that takes steps to ensure their performances are accessible to audiences with disabilities.

A total of 63 school districts received at least one nomination or honorable mention in 2019 out of the 100 entered schools. Among the top nominated high schools, Summit High School had 15 nominations, Morristown High School had 13 nominations, Madison High School had 12 nominations, Howell High School had 10 nominations, Hopewell Valley Central High School had 9 nominations, Delaware Valley Regional High School and Westfield High School each had 7 nominations, Academy of Holy Angels and Gill St. Bernard’s School each had 6 nominations and Chatham High school received 5 nominations. These totals did not account for Student Achievement Award nominations.

Past Rising Star nominees and recipients recently appeared in My Fair Lady (Laura Benanti), Beetlejuice (Rob McClure), American Psycho (Morgan Weed) Aladdin (Josh Dela Cruz, Jonathan Schwartz, Kathryn Allison), Les Misérables (Nikki M. James), Disney’s The Lion King (Jelani Remy), Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (Julia Knitel), Jersey Boys (Matthew Scott), The Phantom of the Opera (Julia Udine), London’s West End production of The Book of Mormon (Jared Gertner); the Public Theater’s Grounded (Anne Hathaway). Shanice Williams, star of Hollywood Bowl’s Into the Woods, was nominated for a Rising Star Award in 2014.

The Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Awards Presented by Investors Foundation are modeled after the Tony Awards, and Paper Mill Playhouse’s program serves the entire state of New Jersey, with a full 100 entered productions from public, private and parochial high schools. Paper Mill Playhouse conceived and created the awards in 1996 to give schools the opportunity to showcase their musical arts programs on a statewide level. The musicals are adjudicated by Paper Mill Playhouse throughout the spring by a group of 70 evaluators, with each school receiving four independent evaluations.  Schools nominated for Outstanding Overall Musical and Leading Actor/Actress nominees performed at the event, and award recipients were presented with an engraved crystal award from Tiffany & Co.

Students receiving final nominations in the lead and supporting acting categories receive a scholarship to Paper Mill Playhouse’s competitive Summer Musical Theater Conservatory, a professional training program, which, along with advanced classes in singing, acting and dance, offers the nominees an opportunity to perform in the season finale concert, “New Voices of 2019: Learn Your Lessons Well” on August 2 and August 3 on the main stage at Paper Mill Playhouse.

2019 RISING STAR AWARD WINNERS

Featured Ensemble Group……………………………………. Dance Hall Girls, Westfield High School, SWEET CHARITY
Featured Ensemble Member…………………………………. Abigail Montesino, “Grace”, Fair Lawn High School, WORKING
Educational Impact Award……………………………………. Perth Amboy High School, 9 to 5
Inclusion & Access Award…………………………………….. Carteret High School, FOOTLOOSE
Hair & Make-Up Achievement…………………………….. Harrison High School, JAMES & THE GIANT PEACH
Costume Achievement…………………………………………… Harrison High School, JAMES & THE GIANT PEACH
Scenic Achievement……………………………………………….. Madison High School, BRIGHT STAR
Lighting Achievement……………………………………………. Harrison High School, JAMES & THE GIANT PEACH
Music Director………………………………………………………… Summit High School, PIPPIN
Orchestra ……………………………………………………………….. Summit High School, PIPPIN
Chorus……………………………………………………………….. Summit High School, PIPPIN
Performance in a Featured Role……………………………. Sara Bartoszek, “Peron’s Mistress”, High Tech High School, EVITA
Choreography/ staging………………………………………….. Summit High School, PIPPIN
Direction By A Teacher/Outside Director………….. Blake Spence, Madison High School, BRIGHT STAR
Actor In A Supporting Role………………………………….. Joseph Grisanzio, “Adolpho”, Howell HS, DROWSY CHAPERONE
Actress In A Supporting Role……………………………….. Alex Mroczko, “Margo Crawford”, Madison HS, BRIGHT STAR
Actor In A Leading Role……………………………………….. Jaron Cole, “Jimmy Ray Dobbs”, Madison HS, BRIGHT STAR
Actress In A Leading Role ……………………………………. Kassi McMillan, “Alice Murphy”, St. Joseph Rg. HS, BRIGHT STAR
Overall Production of A Musical………………………….. Madison HS, BRIGHT STAR

Scholarship Awards
◦ Investors Foundation Rising Star Awards Scholarship:  Matthew Green, Millburn High School
◦ Douglas Michael Krueger Scholarship for the Rising Star Awards:  Emery Myers, Rahway High School
◦ Jane Grey Burgio Memorial Scholarship for the Rising Star Awards:  Vicky Fleisch, Howell High School
◦ Janet Sovey Scholarship for Rising Star Awards: Moses Hyman, Cicely L. Tyson School of Performing & Fine Arts
◦ Mickey McNany Theater Education Scholarship for Rising Star Awards:  Lauren Mennen, Morristown-Beard School

Student Achievement Awards
◦ Patricia Vitug, Student Assistant Music Director, Carteret High School, FOOTLOOSE
◦ Erin Quinn, Assistant to the Directors, Madison High School, BRIGHT STAR
◦ Erin Cramer, Stage Manager, Moorestown High School, 9 TO 5
◦ Deanna Swanson, Graphic Designer, Morristown High School, THE ADDAMS FAMILY
◦ McKenna Moore, Stage Manager, Ridge High School, DISNEY’S HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL
◦ Sarah Gorman, Pit Orchestra Keyboardist Rehearsal Accompanist, Scotch Plains-Fanwood HS, MAMMA MIA!
◦ Sophie Li, Stage Manager, Summit High School, PIPPIN
◦ Francesca Morella, Costuming, Voorhees High School, BIG FISH
◦ Matthew Nowell, Lighting, Voorhees High School, BIG FISH
◦ Brandon Rivera, Stage Manager, Perth Amboy High School, 9 TO 5

Rising Star Awards – Presented by Investors Foundation is generously supported by The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation.
Rising Star scholarships are made possible by Ruth Bedford in memory of Jane Burgio, Walt Santner in honor of Janet Sovey, and the Douglas Michael Krueger Scholarship Fund Trust. The Theatre for Everyone Inclusion and Access Award is supported by the New Jersey Theatre Alliance. The Mickey McNany Theater Education Scholarship is provided by Paper Mill Playhouse. Paper Mill Playhouse Education & Outreach are generously sponsored by The Goren Family & Harmony Helper.
Paper Mill Playhouse programs are made possible, in part, by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Paper Mill Playhouse is grateful for generous contributions from numerous corporations, foundations, and individuals.

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