SONGS FOR A NEW WORLD
A JOLLY HOLIDAY WITH DISNEY ON BROADWAY
CLUE
THE WANDERER (World Premiere)
SISTER ACT

MILLBURN, NJ (May 18, 2021) — Paper Mill Playhouse Producing Artistic Director Mark S. Hoebee and Managing Director Michael Stotts have announced the lineup for the upcoming reopening season and look forward to welcoming audiences back to the theater for live performances.

The Paper Mill Playhouse 2021–2022 lineup includes three eagerly anticipated productions that were postponed from previous seasons—Sister Act, Clue, and the world-premiere musical The Wanderer. Season subscriptions are on sale now and are available by visiting the theater’s website at www.PaperMill.org. Paper Mill Playhouse’s 2021–2022 season is proudly sponsored by Investors Bank.

Paper Mill will open its 2021–2022 season with Songs for a New World, the groundbreaking musical that put Tony Award–winning composer-lyricist Jason Robert Brown on the map (October 13–November 7, 2021). From the deck of a Spanish sailing ship bound for a new land to the ledge of a Fifth Avenue penthouse, Songs for a New World transports audiences through time to meet a startling array of characters on the brink of a life-changing decision. Brown (Honeymoon in Vegas, Parade, The Bridges of Madison County) weaves their stories together in a powerful collection of songs that examine life, love, and the choices we make. Carolyn Cantor (Paper Mill’s Diary of Anne Frank) directs.

Next up, Paper Mill brings audiences a delightful show for the whole family—A Jolly Holiday with Disney on Broadway (December 1, 2021–January 2, 2022). Some of Broadway’s brightest stars will perform hits from Disney’s biggest Broadway shows in this festive concert. Enjoy your favorite songs from The Lion King, Tarzan, Mary Poppins, Aladdin, Hercules, The Little Mermaid, Newsies, Beauty and the Beast, Aida, High School Musical, Freaky Friday, and Frozen. Like Mary Poppins herself, this show is guaranteed to make your heart feel light!

Murder and blackmail are back on the menu with Clue (January 26–February 20, 2022), which gets its Paper Mill production after a postponement from the fall of 2020. Casey Hushion (Paper Mill’s upcoming streaming production of Beehive) directs this hilarious farce-meets-murder-mystery based on the cult 1985 Paramount movie and inspired by the classic Hasbro game. Was it Mrs. Peacock in the study with the knife? Or Colonel Mustard in the library with the wrench? One of America’s most treasured pieces of pop culture comes to the stage in a production that will leave you dying of laughter.

The season continues with the long-awaited world-premiere musical The Wanderer (March 24–April 24, 2022), rescheduled from the 2019–2020 season, directed by Kenneth Ferrone and choreographed by Sarah O’Gleby. The new musical is based on the life and music of Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Dion DiMucci, an Italian-American kid from the Bronx who skyrocketed to fame as a teenage heartthrob in the 1950s and early ’60s with hits like “Runaround Sue,” “Teenager in Love,” and “I Wonder Why.” Now, his extraordinary journey comes to the stage in a moving and intimate new musical about a life lived in the glow of the spotlight and in the shadow of addiction. The Wanderer is the riveting true story of New York’s rebel king, the man Bruce Springsteen calls “the link between Frank Sinatra and rock and roll.” Starring Michael Wartella (Chasing Rainbows, Wicked) as Dion, Christy Altomare (Anastasia), and Joey McIntyre (Wicked, Waitress, New Kids on the Block). The Wanderer is written by Charles Messina (A Room of My Own) and is produced in association with Jill Menza and Charles Messina.

And finally, the sisters will sing when Sister Act takes the stage (June 1–26, 2022) after a postponement from the spring of 2020. Based on the 1992 hit film, this feel-good musical comedy smash sizzles with powerful music, spectacular dancing, and a story that’s guaranteed to lift your spirits. The madcap plot is set in motion when disco diva Deloris Van Cartier witnesses a murder and must go into hiding in a convent, where she helps her fellow sisters find their voices as she unexpectedly rediscovers her own. Featuring original music by Tony and eight-time Oscar winner Alan Menken (Newsies, Beauty and the Beast, Little Shop of Horrors), Sister Act was nominated for five Tony Awards, including Best Musical.

“We are so thrilled that we are able to bring three of our previously postponed shows into next season—Sister Act, Clue, and the world premiere of The Wanderer,” said Mark S. Hoebee, Producing Artistic Director of the Millburn theater. “And the entire family of course will enjoy A Jolly Holiday on Broadway with Disney. We chose to kick off this reopening season with Jason Robert Brown’s Songs for a New World, because right now all of us are re-emerging into a new world. At this moment, we need the power of theater to help us begin to heal and move forward. After this long, dark year, we are ecstatic to be able to welcome live audiences back to Paper Mill for a season filled with music, laughter, and light.”

“We simply could not have made it through this crisis without the support of the loyal subscribers and donors who have kept our theater going and our spirits lifted while our doors have been closed,” said Managing Director Michael Stotts. “Thanks to their generosity, we were able not only to survive but to emerge ready and able to continue producing the world-class musical theater for which Paper Mill is renowned. We are eternally grateful, and our hearts are full. All of us at Paper Mill Playhouse look forward to turning the lights back on and welcoming our Paper Mill family back to our theater for a joyful 2021–2022 season!”

“After the devastating year we all have endured, the 2021-2022 season of Paper Mill Playhouse is a beacon of hope. Investors Bank is honored to provide its support, particularly for the inspiration, enrichment, and arts education Paper Mill brings to our students, our families, and our community. We are proud to see the lights shining and the curtain going up on the treasure that is Paper Mill’s new season.” said Investors Bank Chairman and CEO Kevin Cummings.

Paper Mill Playhouse continues to prepare for the most responsible opening possible and will reopen in the fall with a thorough Covid safety plan that incorporates the latest recommendations from its medical advisors and the CDC. The theater will announce the full details of our finalized plan over the summer. The health and safety of patrons, artists, and staff remains Paper Mill’s top priority as they plan their return.

Paper Mill Playhouse will produce eight performances a week, Wednesday through Sunday. Three-, four- and five-show subscription packages are available now starting at just $114. 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 September 7. That date may be adjusted if there are continuing unknowns about mandated Covid-related capacity and distancing restrictions. Visit www.Papermill.org for the most up-to-date information. Tickets and subscriptions may be purchased by calling 973.671.4355, or online at www.PaperMill.org. The box office will reopen in person on September 7 at noon. Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express accepted.

PAPER MILL PLAYHOUSE’S 2021-2022 SEASON

SONGS FOR A NEW WORLD

Music and Lyrics by Jason Robert Brown
Directed by Carolyn Cantor
Oct 13–Nov 7, 2021

It’s about one moment, that moment you think you know where you stand…

This groundbreaking musical put Tony Award–winning composer-lyricist Jason Robert Brown on the map. From the deck of a Spanish sailing ship bound for a new land to the ledge of a Fifth Avenue penthouse, Songs for a New World transports audiences through time to meet a startling array of characters on the brink of a life-changing decision. Brown (Honeymoon in Vegas, Parade, The Bridges of Madison County) weaves their stories together in a powerful collection of songs that examine life, love, and the choices we make.

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A JOLLY HOLIDAY WITH DISNEY ON BROADWAY

Dec 1, 2021–Jan 2, 2022

A merry and magical celebration for the whole family

Celebrate the holidays with some of Broadway’s brightest stars performing hits from Disney’s biggest Broadway shows in this festive concert. Enjoy your favorite songs from The Lion King, Tarzan, Mary Poppins, Aladdin, Hercules, The Little Mermaid, Newsies, Beauty and the Beast, Aida, High School Musical, Freaky Friday and Frozen. Like Mary Poppins herself, this show is guaranteed to make your heart feel light!

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CLUE

Based on the Screenplay by Jonathan Lynn
Written by Sandy Rustin
Additional Material by Hunter Foster and Eric Price
Based on the Paramount Pictures Motion Picture
Based on the Hasbro Board Game Clue
Original Music by Michael Holland
Directed by Casey Hushion
Jan 26–Feb 20, 2022

A hilarious farce-meets-murder-mystery

Getting its Paper Mill production after a postponement in the fall of 2020, Clue puts murder and blackmail back on the menu when six mysterious guests assemble for a dinner party at Boddy Manor. Was it Mrs. Peacock in the study with the knife? Or Colonel Mustard in the library with the wrench? Based on the cult 1985 Paramount movie and inspired by the classic Hasbro game, this farce-meets murder-mystery is bloody good fun.

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THE WANDERER

Book by Charles Messina
Choreographed by Sarah O’Gleby
Directed by Kenneth Ferrone
Mar 24–Apr 24, 2022

The riveting true story of New York’s rebel king

Dion. One name set the standard of cool for a generation. An Italian-American kid from the Bronx, Dion DiMucci skyrocketed to fame as a teenage heartthrob in the 1950s and early ’60s with hits like “Runaround Sue,” “Teenager in Love,” and “I Wonder Why.” Now, his extraordinary journey comes to the stage in a moving and intimate new musical about a life lived in the glow of the spotlight and in the shadow of addiction. Starring Michael Wartella (Chasing Rainbows, Wicked) as Dion, Christy Altomare (Anastasia), and Joey McIntyre (Wicked, Waitress, New Kids on the Block).

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SISTER ACT

Music by Alan Menken
Lyrics by Glenn Slater
Book by Cheri Steinkellner & Bill Steinkellner
Additional Book Material by Douglas Carter Beane
Based on the Touchstone Pictures Motion Picture Sister Act Written by Joseph Howard
Choreographed by Anthony Van Laast
Directed by Jerry Zaks
Choreography Recreated by Janet Rothermel
Direction Recreated by Steven Beckler

June 1–26, 2022

“One big, spirit-soaring joyful noise!” —The London Times

Finally, the sisters will sing after a postponement in the spring of 2020. Based on the 1992 hit film, this feel-good musical comedy smash sizzles with powerful music, spectacular dancing, and a story that’s guaranteed to lift your spirits. The madcap plot is set in motion when disco diva Deloris Van Cartier witnesses a murder and must go into hiding in a convent, where she helps her fellow sisters find their voices as she unexpectedly rediscovers her own. Featuring original music by Tony winner and eight-time Oscar winner Alan Menken (Newsies, Beauty and the Beast, Little Shop of Horrors), Sister Act was nominated for five Tony Awards, including Best Musical.

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Paper Mill Playhouse offers its audiences the opportunity to enhance their theater experience with behind-the-scenes views of mainstage productions.  Have you ever wanted to sneak a peek behind the curtain? Or wondered what the director was thinking, or how the cast prepares for a show? Join us for one of many revealing insider’s experiences.  Visit the Paper Mill Playhouse website at www.PaperMill.org for dates for our Director’s Viewpoint Series, Conversation Club Series, Q&As with the cast, and more.

Paper Mill Playhouse offers people with disabilities the opportunity to see live theater with dignity and independence through a myriad of award-winning access programs and services, including audio description and sensory seminars for the blind, Braille and large-print programs, American Sign Language interpretation for the Deaf, open-captioning for those with hearing loss, and assistive listening devices.

Programs, dates, and artists are subject to change.

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 Michael 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.

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The post PAPER MILL PLAYHOUSE ANNOUNCES 2021–2022 SEASON AND PLANS TO REOPEN IN THE FALL appeared first on Paper Mill Playhouse.

Paper Mill Playhouse is proud to announce the appointment of Michael Stotts as the theater’s Managing Director. A search committee consisting of members of Paper Mill Playhouse Board of Trustees (including James V. Fakult, Board Chair, President, Jersey Central Power & Light and Andy Gottesman, Vice Chair and Search Committee Chair, Chief Executive Officer of Gottesman Real Estate Partners) and key staff conducted a nationwide search to find the right candidate to join Producing Artistic Director Mark S. Hoebee to co-lead Paper Mill Playhouse into its next chapter. The committee was seeking a candidate that would embrace and articulate the artistic and institutional vision, and the educational and outreach mission, of Paper Mill Playhouse to staff, board, and patrons, as well as the New Jersey region and the national theater community. Michael (“Mike”) Stotts will oversee the organizational, financial, and business affairs of Paper Mill Playhouse.

A graduate of Queen’s University, Ontario and Columbia University, New York, Stotts has over 32 years of arts management experience, with 28 years in senior leadership positions. He is a motivating leader and strategic thinker with significant experience in producing, marketing, fundraising, finance, contract negotiation/labor relations, board development and human resources. For the past 12 years he served as Managing Director of Hartford Stage in Connecticut, where he led a multi-year campaign to expand and renovate the Stage’s theater facility He held the same position at Long Wharf Theater in New Haven, CT, George Street Playhouse and Shakespeare Theater of New Jersey. In 2006, Stotts was hired by Paper Mill Playhouse as a consultant for institutional planning and advancement, where he assisted with fundraising, strategic planning and capital campaign research. As a respected arts leader, Stotts has been a guest lecturer at several universities, and he has served on more than a dozen not-for-profit boards and committees in Connecticut and New Jersey. He has produced several shows that made the transfer to Broadway including Hartford Stage productions of Anastasia, of which he is a co-producer of the Broadway production, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder (2014 Tony Award for Best Musical) and Long Wharf Theatre’s production of Sixteen Wounded, and to Off-Broadway including Horton Foote’s The Orphans’ Home Cycle, among many others.

After nearly 80 seasons of live theater, Paper Mill Playhouse welcomes more than 200,000 visitors each year. The annual scope of Paper Mill’s work includes more than 180 mainstage performances, 70 audience enrichment and access programs, 150 education classes, outreach programs, and shows for young audiences. Over the last ten years under the leadership of Mark S. Hoebee, Paper Mill Playhouse has seen a remarkable renaissance with an established business model that boasts of solid financial results and has laid a foundation for significant growth through an exciting new strategic plan.

“Paper Mill Playhouse is in a great place, with a strong financial foundation, national recognition, world-class artistry and award-winning education and access programs. We are extremely pleased to have an accomplished leader like Mike join Mark Hoebee and the outstanding team at Paper Mill and look forward to building on the tremendous growth and success we have experienced over the past several years.” stated Board Chair James V. Fakult.

Much of Paper Mill Playhouse’s recent institutional achievement can be attributed to its success in developing new musicals and launching national tours of existing shows. Premiering and subsequent transfers of  Newsies (in association with Disney Theatrical Group), Bandstand (in association with Tom Smedes Productions LLC), Honeymoon in Vegas (in association with Dena Hammerstein and Roy Gabay) and A Bronx Tale (in association with Dodger Productions) to Broadway, as well as launching national tours of Little House on the Prairie, The Bodyguard, and the 25th Anniversary Production of Les Misérables, has established Paper Mill Playhouse as a leading incubator of new musicals. Receipt of the 2016 Regional Theatre Tony Award speaks to the success of the artistic accomplishments of the last decade.

Paper Mill Playhouse is justly proud of its impressive array of education programs that reach nearly 40,000 students each year. Programs as varied as the Adopt-A-School Project, Theater for Everyone, Theater School, Broadway Show Choir, Rising Star Awards, and the Summer Musical Theater Conservatory are examples of this important work. Of many accomplishments in the education realm, one of the most notable is that the playhouse presented the country’s first full-service, autism-friendly performance in 2011. This year, the Theatre for Everyone initiative will serve 3,000 children at these autism-friendly performances and classes especially designed for students with developmental disabilities.  Stotts’s experience includes overseeing the growth of the Hartford Stage education programs into the leading provider of theatre education programs in the state of Connecticut.

Paper Mill Playhouse has developed an Autism Advisory Team to assist in the theater’s programs for people with autism and other developmental disabilities. Findings from this team are shared with other performing arts organizations that are interested in serving these communities. In addition, Paper Mill Playhouse is deeply rooted in its own community and the state of New Jersey. Members of Paper Mill Playhouse’s staff serve on an array of boards, committees, charitable and business organizations to expand its impact on the region.

“Mike will be able to hit the ground running, re-establish his deep roots in New Jersey and continue to build on the strong relationships and ties that bind together Paper Mill Playhouse and its community,” remarked Andy Gottesman Paper Mill Playhouse Vice Chair and chair of the search committee.

Paper Mill Playhouse just completed a critically acclaimed remounting of John Doyle’s The Color Purple to open its 80th anniversary season. The Millburn theater will produce a season of all musicals in its 2018-2019 lineup including a world premiere and an East Coast premiere. Paper Mill Playhouse’s 80th anniversary season also includes Irving Berlin’s Holiday Inn (November 21-December 30), based on the beloved Bing Crosby/Fred Astaire film. This heartwarming, toe-tapping production features more than 20 classic songs from the Berlin catalog, including “Easter Parade,” “Cheek to Cheek,” “Steppin’ Out with My Baby,” and “White Christmas.” In the winter, Paper Mill Playhouse presents the world-premiere musical My Very Own British Invasion (January 31-March 3), directed and choreographed by Tony Award winner Jerry Mitchell. The 1960s British music scene comes to life with songs from Herman’s Hermits, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Petula Clark, The Moody Blues, and other legendary bands of the era. The spring brings the East Coast premiere of Benny & Joon (April 4-May 5). Based on the 1993 film which starred Johnny Depp and Mary Stuart Masterson, this new musical is a smart, funny, tender-hearted celebration of love: between children and parents; romantic partners; friends; and, most of all, siblings. The final production of the season, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (May 29-June 30) is an international sensation that has played to more than 35 million people in 13 countries. Based on the Academy Award-winning animated feature, the stage production includes all of the original songs from the movie by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, plus additional gems by Menken and Tim Rice.

ABOUT MIKE STOTTS
Mike Stotts has over 32 years’ experience working in the professional theater, including 28 years leading four regional theaters as Managing Director. He is currently in his 13th season as Managing Director of Hartford Stage in Hartford, CT, one of the preeminent theaters in the country, where he led a multi-year, expansion and renovation of the Stage’s theatre facility, completed in the summer of 2018. Working in collaboration with artistic directors, Darko Tresnjak, and Michael Wilson before, he has produced over 70 plays at Hartford Stage, including over 25 world premieres. Prominent productions include Anastasia, currently running on Broadway, national tour and in Madrid, Spain; A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, which received its world premiere at Hartford Stage in 2012 and went on to Broadway and won the 2014 Tony Award for Best Musical; the Pulitzer Prize-winning play Water by the Spoonful by Quiara Alegria Hudes; and in 2010 Horton Foote’s The Orphans’ Home Cycle, which enjoyed a celebrated run in Hartford and subsequently at the Signature Theatre in New York, where it won the Drama Desk, Lucille Lortel and Outer Critics Circle awards, among others. Since arriving at Hartford Stage in 2006, he has overseen the growth of the education programs, which have expanded to serve nearly 21,000 students annually. In 2013, he spearheaded the acquisition of the Hartford Children’s Theatre and the integration of its programs into the Hartford Stage Studio program. Prior to Hartford Stage, he served as Managing Director at Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, CT, George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick, NJ and the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey in Madison, NJ.  He began his career in the general management office at the Manhattan Theatre Club. Stotts currently serves on the board of directors of Billings Forge Community Works, and is a corporator of Hartford Hospital, the Hartford Public Library and the iQuilt Partnership. He was a co-founder and president of the Connecticut Arts Alliance and continues to serve on that board. He served as co-chair of Hartford Performs from 2010 to 2016, and on the boards of the Edward C. and Ann T. Robert Foundation, the National Corporate Theatre Fund (now Theatre Forward), New Jersey Theatre Alliance and ArtPride, NJ. Stotts is originally from Calgary, Alberta. He obtained a B.A. in Economics and Drama at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, and an MFA from Columbia University in New York. In 2016, he attended Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management at the Harvard Business School, and in the fall of 2018 he was a member of a delegation of US arts leaders at the 7th Annual Workshop on Theatre Management at the Central Academy of Drama in Beijing, China.

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