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Paper Mill Playhouse will begin the new year with the world premiere Unmasked: The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and written with Richard Curtis.  Unmasked: The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber runs Jan 30—March 1, 2020.  JPMorgan Chase & Co.  is the major sponsor of Unmasked: The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber. The 2019–2020 season is proudly sponsored by Investors Bank. Opening Night is Sunday evening, February 9, 2020 at 7PM.

Directed and choreographed by JoAnn M. Hunter (School of Rock, Paper Mill’s Cinderella), with music direction by Michael Patrick Walker, the cast will feature Nicholas Edwards (Frozen), Alex Finke (Come From Away), Alyssa Giannetti (Love Never Dies), Jeremy Landon Hays (The Phantom of the Opera), Kara Haller (School of Rock), Amy Justman (Company), Andrew Kober (School of Rock, Paper Mill’s Cinderella), Angel Lozada (NBC’s Jesus Christ Superstar), Mauricio Martinez (On Your Feet!), Bronson Norris Murphy (Love Never Dies), Mamie Parris (School of Rock, Cats), Dave Schoonover (Love Never Dies, Paper Mill’s Cinderella), and Rema Webb (Escape to Margaritaville).

The production team includes scenic and costume design by Alexander Dodge (Paper Mill’s Chasing Rainbows: The Road to Oz, A Gentleman’s Guide…, Anastasia), lighting design by Tony Award nominee Ed McCarthy (Tony Awards, Kathleen Turner: Finding My Voice), and sound design by Jon Weston (Thoroughly Modern Millie, Big Fish). The Production Stage Manager is Frank Lombardi. Max Quinlan will serve as associate director and Liz Ramos will serve as associate choreographer. Casting is by Tara Rubin Casting.

Unmasked: The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber will be performed at Paper Mill Playhouse eight times a week, Wed–Sun and will play the following schedule: Wed at 7:30PM, Thu at 1:30PM and 7:30PM, Fri at 8:00PM, Sat at 1:30PM and 8PM, and Sun at 1:30PM and 7:00PM. Tickets start at $32 and may be purchased by calling 973.376.4343, or clicking here. All major credit cards accepted. Groups of 10 or more may receive up to a 40% discount on tickets and should call 973.315.1680. Students may order $20 rush tickets over the phone or in person at the Paper Mill Playhouse Box Office on the day of the performance.

MEET THE COMPANY

NICHOLAS EDWARDS is thrilled to be back in his home state and making his debut at Paper Mill Playhouse! Broadway: Frozen (ensemble, u/s Kristoff, u/s Pabbie). Off Broadway: Spamilton. National Tours: Les Misérables (ensemble, u/s Enjolras), Sister Act (Pablo). DC Area: Jesus Christ Superstar (Jesus, Signature Theatre). Other credits include Valentin in Kiss of the Spider Woman and Judah in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. BFA, Musical Theatre, Montclair State University.

ALEX FINKE was most recently seen as Janice & Others in the hit Broadway musical Come From Away. Other credits include: Broadway: Les Misérables (Cosette); Off Broadway: Johanna in the critically acclaimed revival of Sweeney Todd at Barrow Street Theatre; First National Tour: Anything Goes (Hope Harcourt); Regional: The Unsinkable Molly Brown at the Denver Center, Footloose at PCLO, Music Theatre Wichita. University of Michigan, BFA, Musical Theatre.

ALYSSA GIANNETTI is thrilled to be performing at Paper Mill Playhouse for the first time. She made her professional debut as the Christine Daaé understudy and ensemble swing with the first national tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Love Never Dies. Originally from Bloomfield Hills, MI, Alyssa holds a BM in Voice and Opera Performance from Northwestern University.

KARA HALLER. Paper Mill debut! Broadway: School of Rock. National Tours: School of Rock (first national), Beauty and the Beast. Select regional: Harmony (Ahmanson Theatre), Anything Goes (Ogunquit Playhouse, Gateway Playhouse), Beauty and the Beast (Musical Theatre West).

JEREMY LANDON HAYS. Broadway: The Phantom of the Opera (Raoul), Les Misérables. National Tour: Les Misérables (Enjolras, originating at Paper Mill), Cats (Tugger). Television: The Oath (Crackle), Bull (CBS), FBI (CBS), The Blacklist (NBC), Broad City (Comedy Central). Film: Compliance (FX, starring Mary Louise Parker), Sometime Other Than Now (starring Kate Walsh). Jeremy has penned the book to Everything in the Dim Light, a new Broadway musical currently in development, with music and lyrics by The Bones, adapted from the Thomas Hardy novel Far from the Madding Crowd. Jeremy has also written two television pilots, Buried Deep and Take the Black.

AMY JUSTMAN. Paper Mill debut! Broadway: Carousel, In Transit, The Phantom of the Opera, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder, White Christmas, Company (PBS Great Performances). National Tour: The Phantom of the Opera. New York: Passion (Classic Stage Company), four Encores! shows. Regional: Cincinnati Playhouse, Baltimore Center Stage, Flat Rock Playhouse, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis. Opera and concert credits include prisoner of the state (New York Philharmonic), Bernstein’s Mass (Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra), A Midsummer’s Night Dream (New York City Ballet), and The Threepenny Opera (Syracuse Opera). TV: Fosse/Verdon. Winner of the Lotte Lenya Competition.

ANDREW KOBER. Most recently: Cinderella at Paper Mill. Broadway: Beautiful, School of Rock, Sunday in the Park with George, She Loves Me, Les Misérables, Hair. National Tour: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Off Broadway and regional: Roundabout Theatre Company, the Public Theater, MCC, New York Theatre Workshop, the Old Globe, Yale Rep, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Bucks County Playhouse, Denver Center Theatre, Barrington Stage Company, and four summers at Shakespeare in the Park. TV: Fosse/Verdon (FX Network), Ray Donovan (Showtime), House of Cards (Netflix), Boardwalk Empire (HBO), Blue Bloods (CBS), Pan Am (ABC), The Plot Against America (HBO).

ANGEL LOZADA is proud to make his Paper Mill Playhouse debut in Unmasked! He is originally from Orlando, Florida, and is a proud son of Puerto Rican parents! Angel is a Florida State University alumnus (class of 2017) with a BM in Music Theatre. Favorite credits include Jesus Christ Superstar both live on NBC and at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Che in Evita at Riverside Theatre and ACT of Connecticut, and Bernardo in West Side Story at Maltz Jupiter Theatre.

MAURICIO MARTINEZ is a Mexican actor and recording artist. Broadway/National Tour: On Your Feet! (Emilio Estefan). Regional: Evita as Che (Kansas City Rep). TV: El Vato (Netflix—International Emmy Award), Señora Acero 2 (Telemundo), and numerous telenovelas for Univision. On the Mexico City stage, he starred in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Saturday Night Fever, The Drowsy Chaperone, Sweet Charity, and A View from the Bridge, among others. Mauricio has released two pop albums available on iTunes and is currently working on his third solo album.

BRONSON NORRIS MURPHY makes his Paper Mill Playhouse debut with Unmasked. In a career full of celebrating the music of Andrew Lloyd Webber, Mr. Murphy became best known to American audiences for premiering the role of the Phantom in the first North American production of Love Never Dies: The Phantom Returns. Broadway/NYC: The Phantom of the Opera, Evita (NY City Center). National Tours: Cats, Love Never Dies.

MAMIE PARRIS. Unmasked marks Mamie’s Paper Mill Playhouse debut. On Broadway she garnered acclaim as Grizabella in the revival of Cats and originated the role of Patty in School of Rock. Additional Broadway and first national tour credits include Wicked (Elphaba), 9 to 5 (Judy), On the Twentieth Century, Ragtime, The Drowsy Chaperone, Legally Blonde, and 110 in the Shade. Regional credits include the new musicals Dave (Ellen) at Arena Stage and Life After (Beth) at the Old Globe, as well as roles at Goodspeed, Pittsburgh CLO, and the Muny. Film and television credits include The Blacklist, State of Affairs, and A Standup Guy.

DAVE SCHOONOVER is loving this immediate return to Paper Mill after Cinderella (u/s Sebastian, Lord Pinkleton). National Tours: Love Never Dies (u/s Phantom, Raoul, Gangle), White Christmas (Sheldrake, u/s Bob), Young Frankenstein (u/s Dr. Frankenstein), Cats (Tugger). Off Broadway: The Fantasticks (El Gallo standby). Regional: Annie (Rooster, TUTS), Sweeney Todd (Pirelli, Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival), Parade (Governor Slaton, Merry-Go-Round), The Music Man (Harold Hill, Forestburgh Playhouse), White Christmas (Bob, Westchester Broadway), Young Frankenstein (Dr. Frankenstein, Ogunquit), Toxic Avenger (Toxie, Hippodrome Theatre), Little Shop… (Orin, Arrow Rock Lyceum).

REMA WEBB most recently appeared in Footloose (Kennedy Center), Hercules (Public Theater/Disney Theatrical), and Little Shop of Horrors (Cape Playhouse). Broadway credits: Escape to Margaritaville, The Color Purple, Violet, The Lion King, The Book of Mormon, Ragtime. Off Broadway and regional credits: Little Shop of Horrors, The Cradle Will Rock, The Colored Museum, A New Brain, You’re Standing in My Way: A New Song Cycle, Being Alive.

THE CREATIVE TEAM

ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER (Composer) is the composer of some of the world’s best-known musicals, including Cats, Evita, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar, The Phantom of the Opera, Sunset Boulevard, and School of Rock. His awards, both as composer and producer, include seven Tonys, seven Oliviers, a Golden Globe, an Oscar, an Emmy, the Praemium Imperiale, PCLO’s Richard Rodgers Award for Excellence in Musical Theater, a BASCA Fellowship, the Kennedy Center Honor, and a Grammy for Best Contemporary Classical Composition for Requiem, his setting of the Latin Requiem mass, which contains one of his best-known compositions, “Pie Jesu.” He owns seven London theaters, including the Theatre Royal Drury Lane and the London Palladium. He was knighted by Her Majesty the Queen in 1992 and created an honorary member of the House of Lords in 1997. He is passionate about the importance of music in education, and the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation is one of Britain’s leading charities supporting the arts and music. In 2016, the foundation announced a $1.3 million arts education initiative with the American Theatre Wing.

RICHARD CURTIS (Cowriter) is a film writer and director, responsible for Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, Bridget Jones’s Diary, Mr. Bean, Love Actually, The Boat That Rocked, and most recently Trash, About Time, and Yesterday. In the other half of his life, he is cofounder and vice chair of Comic Relief, which he started after visiting Ethiopia during the 1985 famine, leading to the fundraising event Red Nose Day. He has coproduced the charity’s 16 live broadcasts for the BBC since 1988, raising over £1.3 billion for projects in the UK and internationally. In 2015, Richard helped bring Red Nose Day to the United States, in a partnership with NBC and Walgreens, where it has raised nearly $150 million to help children here and around the world.

JOANN M. HUNTER (Director & Choreographer) is always honored to be back at Paper Mill, where she choreographed Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella, Annie, Pump Boys and Dinettes, Grease, Oliver!, and Curtains. She has 20 Broadway shows to her credit as choreographer, associate choreographer, and performer. Choreography includes: Broadway: School of Rock (also national tour, West End), Disaster, On a Clear Day…, Broadway Bound; Off Broadway: Rock and Roll Refugee, Dedalus Lounge, The Twelve (workshop); Regional: Ever After (Alliance), world premiere of Beatsville (Asolo), A Sign of the Times by Bruce Vilanch (Goodspeed), Harmony by Barry Manilow and Bruce Sussman (Ahmanson), world premiere of The Nutty Professor directed by Jerry Lewis; National Tour: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. She directed and choreographed Debra Monk’s Birthday Bash for BC/EFA. Upcoming: Love Life and SuperYou Off Broadway.

MICHAEL PATRICK WALKER (Music Director). Broadway: 2017 revival of Sunset Boulevard (assistant conductor), Frozen, Aladdin, If/Then, Avenue Q (conductor), Cats, and more. Concert Performances: Carnegie Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, and ten amazing years as Chita Rivera’s associate musical director and pianist. As a composer/lyricist he was honored with an Outer Critics Circle Award and multiple Drama Desk nominations. His musicals include Being Theo, Dog and Pony (with Rick Elice), and the ninth longest running Off Broadway musical of all time, Altar Boyz (with Gary Adler and Kevin Del Aguila). Recordings: Out of Context: The Songs of Michael Patrick Walker, Johnny and the Sprites (coproducer), and the Altar Boyz cast album

ALEXANDER DODGE (Scenic & Costume Design). Paper Mill: Chasing Rainbows, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Importance of Being Earnest, Master Class. Broadway: Anastasia (Outer Critics Circle nomination), A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder (Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle nominations), Present Laughter (Tony nomination), Old Acquaintance, Butley, Hedda Gabler. Recent Off Broadway and regional: Harry Clarke (Minetta Lane/Audible), the premiere of the musical The Flamingo Kid choreographed by Denis Jones (Hartford Stage). Opera: Samson et Dalila (Metropolitan Opera), The Thirteenth Child (Santa Fe Opera), Ghosts of Versailles (LA Opera), Dinner at Eight (Minnesota and Wexford), Il trittico (Deutsche Oper Berlin), and Lohengrin (Budapest). MFA, Yale.

ED McCARTHY (Lighting Design). Recent: Kathleen Turner: Finding My Voice, The Heart of Robin Hood in Hong Kong, Peter Brook’s Tragedy of Carmen. Public Theater: Southern Comfort. Broadway: Adaptation of Coram Boy (2007 Tony nomination for best lighting design of a play). Radio City Christmas Spectacular; over 70 Off Broadway and regional shows; associate lighting designer for all companies of Mamma Mia! in the Western Hemisphere; and many others. Television: the last 20 Tony Awards (earning four Emmy nominations), Live from Lincoln Center, Grammy Awards, Prairie Home Companion, and more. Graduate of, and teacher at, NYU Tisch School of the Arts.

JON WESTON (Sound Design). Paris and West End:  An American in Paris. West End: Thoroughly Modern Millie, Rent, The Who’s Tommy. Broadway design credits include Prince of Broadway; She Loves Me; Amazing Grace; An American in Paris; On the Twentieth Century; You Can’t Take It With You; The Bridges of Madison County; How to Succeed…; The Color Purple; Caroline, or Change; Nine; The Green Bird; Thoroughly Modern Millie. Off Broadway and Regional: Footloose (Kennedy Center); Scotland, PA (Roundabout); Evita (Bay Street); Grey Gardens (Bay Street); The Last Five Years (Second Stage); Death Takes a Holiday (Roundabout); Parade (Mark Taper Forum); Family Guy, Live! (Carnegie Hall).

FRANK LOMBARDI (Production Stage Manager). Paper Mill Playhouse: Million Dollar Quartet, Mary Poppins. Broadway: Betrayal, The Cher Show, Torch Song, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, A Behanding in Spokane, Hamlet (twice, with Jude Law and Ralph Fiennes), Spamalot, Disney’s Tarzan, Hairspray, The Sound of Music, Steel Pier, The Phantom of the Opera, Passion, Side Show, Footloose, The Red Shoes, The Secret Garden. Off Broadway: Plenty (Public). Regional: Camelot (Westport Country Playhouse, CT); Idaho! (Smith Center, Las Vegas); The Will Rogers Follies (Maltz Jupiter Theatre, FL); world premieres of Catch Me If You Can (Seattle’s 5th Avenue Theatre) and Randy Newman’s Faust (La Jolla Playhouse); The Lion King (original L.A. company).

TARA RUBIN CASTING (Casting). Previous Paper Mill: Chasing Rainbows, The Sting, Bandstand, A Bronx Tale, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Can-Can, Les Misérables 25th Anniversary Tour. Broadway and National Tours: Ain’t Too Proud, King Kong, Summer: The Donna Summer Musical, The Band’s Visit, Prince of Broadway, Indecent, Sunset Boulevard, Miss Saigon, Dear Evan Hansen, Cats, Falsettos, Disaster!, School of Rock, Bullets Over Broadway, Les Misérables, Big Fish, The Phantom of the Opera, Billy Elliot, Shrek, Spamalot, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, The Producers, Mamma Mia!, Jersey Boys. Off Broadway: Sing Street, The Other Josh Cohen, Clueless, Gloria: A Life, Smokey Joe’s Cafe, Here Lies Love.

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ACCESSIBILITY PERFORMANCES FOR UNMASKED: THE MUSIC OF ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER

Paper Mill Playhouse, a leader in accessibility, will offer audio-described performances for Unmasked: The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber on Sun, Feb 23, at 1:30PM and Saturday, Feb 29, at 1:30PM. Prior to these performances at noon, the theater will offer free sensory seminars. Sensory seminars offer an opportunity for patrons with vision loss to hear a live, in-depth description of the production elements of the show and hands-on interaction with key sets, props, and costumes.  There will be a sign-interpreted and open-captioned performance on Sun, March 1, at 7:00PM.

FREE AUDIENCE ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES FOR UNMASKED: THE MUSIC OF ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER

CONVERSATION CLUB: Join us Thu evenings, Jan 30, Feb 6, 13, and 20, one hour before curtain for an informal, informative gathering. You’ll learn more about the performance you’re about to see.
THE DIRECTOR’S VIEWPOINT: One hour before curtain on Wed, Feb 5, a pre-show discussion with the show’s director in the Renee Foosaner Art Gallery.
Q&A WITH THE CAST: After the matinee on Sat, Feb 29, stick around for a lively Q&A with cast members directly following the performance.
Paper Mill Playhouse Education & Outreach are proudly sponsored by The Goren Family & the Harmony Helper App.

The post Unmasked: The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber–Cast and Team Announced appeared first on Paper Mill Playhouse.

• Chasing Rainbows: The Road to Oz (New Jersey Premiere)
• Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella
• Unmasked: The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber (World Premiere)
• Sister Act
• The Wanderer (World Premiere)

SEASON SUBSCRIPTIONS ON SALE NOW!

Paper Mill Playhouse (Mark S. Hoebee-Producing Artistic Director, Michael Stotts-Managing Director), recipient of the 2016 Regional Theatre Tony Award, is proud to announce the lineup for its 2019–2020 season with three premieres and a total of five musicals. Season subscriptions are on sale now and are available by calling 973.379.3717 or by clicking here. Paper Mill Playhouse’s 2019–2020 season is proudly sponsored by Investors Bank. Paper Mill Playhouse education and outreach programs are proudly sponsored by The Goren Family & Harmony Helper.

Paper Mill Playhouse will open its 2019–2020 season with a highly anticipated new musical about one of the world’s most beloved entertainment icons. Chasing Rainbows: The Road to Oz (Sep 26–Oct 27) is the story of how five-year-old Frances Gumm became Judy Garland, chronicling her early career from vaudeville to her rise at MGM, where she wins the role of Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. Next, a dash of fairytale romance, magical onstage transformations, and of course, glass slippers in this family musical just in time for the holidays, Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella (Nov 20–Dec 29). This enchanting, Tony-nominated Broadway adaptation of the beloved musical will put a spell on audiences of all ages. Next winter, Paper Mill Playhouse presents the world-premiere musical Unmasked: The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber (Jan 30–Mar 1), about the remarkable life and celebrated work of Andrew Lloyd Webber. Unmasked will feature new material and rediscovered gems, along with the history of their creation intertwined with Andrew’s extraordinary personal story. In the spring, Paper Mill Playhouse welcomes back our good friend and eight-time Oscar winner Alan Menken with his Tony-nominated musical Sister Act (Apr 1–Ap 26). Based on the 1992 hit film, this feel-good musical follows Deloris Van Cartier as she goes into hiding in a convent—where she clashes, hilariously, with cloistered life. Deloris inspires the sisters with her soulful style, but the church choir’s newfound fame attracts some unwanted attention. Paper Mill Playhouse closes its 81st season with the world-premiere musical The Wanderer (May 28–Jun 28), the story of Dion DiMucci and how he 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.

“Paper Mill Playhouse delivers high-quality, engaging performances to broad audiences. By making good theater accessible, Paper Mill enriches our local communities,” said Investors Bank Chairman and CEO Kevin Cummings. “But most importantly, it provides unique educational opportunities to more than 40,000 students each year and continues to offer invaluable experiences that would not otherwise be available to them. Arts education is key to the development of our children and young adults.”

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 $111. Each subscription package includes a different level of special benefits, click here for details. Youth subscriptions are available for children ages 4–18 with the purchase of an adult subscription with accessible discount pricing. Single tickets will go on sale on August 19 starting at just $35. Groups of ten or more can receive up to a 40% discount on tickets and should call 973.315.1680. Titles, casting and dates subject to change.

PAPER MILL PLAYHOUSE’S 2019–2020 SEASON

CHASING RAINBOWS: The Road to Oz
September 26–October 27
Book by Marc Acito
Music Adapted & Additional Music by David Libby
Conceived & Created by Tina Marie Casamento
Directed & Choreographed by Denis Jones

This highly anticipated new musical about one of the world’s most beloved entertainment icons, Chasing Rainbows: The Road to Oz is the story of how five-year-old Frances Gumm became Judy Garland, chronicling her early career from vaudeville to her rise at MGM, where she wins the role of Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. Chasing Rainbows features legendary songs, including “Over the Rainbow,” “You Made Me Love You,” and “Everybody Sing.” The show has already earned praise from Liza Minnelli, who said, “My mother said that her biography is in her music, and now a talented creative team is using that music to tell the story of her early years and her extraordinary rise to fame.”

Rodgers + Hammerstein’s CINDERELLA
November 20–December 29
Music by Richard Rodgers
Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
New Book by Douglas Carter Beane
Original Book by Oscar Hammerstein II
Directed by Mark S. Hoebee

This enchanting, Tony-nominated Broadway adaptation of the beloved musical will put a spell on audiences of all ages. Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella showcases some of the songwriting duo’s loveliest tunes, including “In My Own Little Corner,” “Impossible/It’s Possible,” and “Ten Minutes Ago,” as well as some new characters and surprising twists. Add a dash of fairytale romance, magical onstage transformations, and the iconic pumpkin and glass slippers—and you’re guaranteed to have a ball!

UNMASKED: The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber
January 30–March 1
Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber
Written with Richard Curtis
Directed by Laurence Connor

One of the most successful musical theater composers of all time takes audiences on a behind-the-scenes journey in Unmasked: The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber. Written with Richard Curtis and directed by Laurence Connor, Unmasked is a not-always-reverential look at Andrew’s life and musical career. You’ll hear his best-loved work, including classics from Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, Cats, Phantom of the Opera, and Sunset Boulevard, in sometimes new and unexpected ways. This new production will also feature new material and rediscovered gems, along with the history of their creation intertwined with Andrew’s extraordinary personal story.

SISTER ACT
April 1–April 26
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

Based on the 1992 hit film, this feel-good musical comedy smash sizzles with powerful music, spectacular dancing, and a story brimming with heart. 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 clashes, hilariously, with cloistered life. Deloris inspires the sisters with her soulful style, but the church choir’s newfound fame attracts the attention of the bad guys. Featuring original music by Tony and eight-time Oscar winner Alan Menken (Newsies, Beauty and the Beast, Little Shop of Horrors), the musical was nominated for five Tony Awards, including Best Musical.

THE WANDERER
May 28–June 28
Book by Charles Messina
Directed by Kenneth Ferone

Dion. One name set the standard of cool for a generation. But how does a kid from the Bronx make it to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? In The Wanderer, the incredible musical journey of a troubled young man turned teenage heartthrob (and, ultimately, rock and roll icon) is told in intimate and no-holds-barred detail. Dion’s music helped define a generation of rock and rollers. His lifelong battle with addiction shed a stark light on the darker side of fame and success. This musical takes both subjects head on, set to the iconic sound of an incomparable era in American music, and celebrates the triumph of the human spirit against all odds. The Wanderer is the riveting true story of Dion, New York’s rebel king, the man Bruce Springsteen calls “the link between Frank Sinatra and rock and roll.”

Paper Mill Playhouse offers its audience an 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.

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. In addition, Paper Mill Playhouse provides autism-friendly performances of both mainstage and children’s shows throughout the season. Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella will feature an autism-friendly performance on Thursday, December 26, at 1:30PM.

PAPER MILL PLAYHOUSE, a not-for-profit arts organization under the direction of Mark S. Hoebee (Producing Artistic Director) and Michael Stotts (Managing Director) and recipient of the 2016 Regional Theatre Tony Award, is one of the country’s leading regional theaters.  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.

The post NEW SEASON ANNOUNCED appeared first on Paper Mill Playhouse.

UNMASKED will be a funny and warm musical portrait drawing from Andrew’s extensive body of work, with intimate and sometimes unexpected interpretations of his best-loved songs, rediscovered gems and some new material specially written for this production.

In the year Andrew Lloyd Webber releases his memoir*, also titled Unmasked, and the personally curated Platinum Collection album**, this new stage production will be an exploration of a man and his music, his creative process and the often surprising manner in which his songs, and the musicals in which they feature, came to be. It will include some of Lloyd Webber’s most recognizable characters interacting with one another for the first time, and new takes on his music, including a cappella versions of his songs and an often wry look at the genre he has, for many, come to define.

UNMASKED is co-created with Richard Curtis, the award-winning screenwriter, producer and film director behind Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, and Love Actually, and John Doyle, who won the 2006 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical for his Broadway version of Sweeney Todd. His revival of The Color Purple won two Tony Awards in 2016 and he is the Artistic Director of the Classic Stage Company in New York.

“I’m so excited to be involved in Unmasked,”

said Richard Curtis.

“We start from the position of having in the show a huge collection of some of the greatest songs ever written for musical theater—and then learn more about Andrew and his way of working and how the music relates to him and his life. With luck there’ll be some very fun new stuff too. I love Andrew and his work—in real life, he has always made me laugh—and in the theater, a lot of his music has made me cry. I’m thrilled to be part of something that I hope will make the audience do both, laugh and cry.”

John Doyle said,

“I’m thrilled to help create this exciting new theater piece celebrating Andrew’s remarkable body of work. An event that explores the art behind his melodies, whilst reflecting his somewhat irreverent, self-deprecating sensibility. It’s going to be a lot of fun!”

Mark S. Hoebee, Producing Artistic Director of Paper Mill Playhouse, commented,

“Unmasked is another amazing opportunity for our theater to introduce a new title to the musical theater canon. Andrew Lloyd Webber is a legend and we are fortunate to be working with him, along with Richard and John, on this incredible project.”

A limited run of this brand-new production will start September 27, 2018, and run through October 28, 2018. Subscriptions for Paper Mill Playhouse’s new season will be available in March and may be purchased by calling 973.379.3717. Individual show tickets will go on sale Monday, August 20, 2018. Tickets may be purchased by calling 973.376.4343, at the Paper Mill Playhouse Box Office or by going online.  Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express accepted. Groups of 10 or more can receive up to a 40% discount on tickets and should call 973.315.1680. Students may order discounted rush tickets over the phone or in person at the Paper Mill Playhouse box office on the day of the performance. Paper Mill Playhouse’s 2018–2019 season is proudly sponsored by Investors Bank.

*Unmasked A Memoir is released globally on March 6, 2018.
**Unmasked: The Platinum Collection is released globally on March 16, 2018, and available to pre-order now with instant downloads of new tracks by Lana Del Rey and Nicole Scherzinger.

BIOGRAPHIES

ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER
Andrew Lloyd Webber is the composer of some of the world’s best known musicals including Cats, Evita, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar, The Phantom of the Opera (which celebrated its 30th anniversary on Broadway this year), and Sunset Boulevard.

When Sunset Boulevard joined School of Rock–The Musical, Cats, and Phantom on Broadway in February 2017, he became the only person to equal the record set in 1953 by Rodgers and Hammerstein with four shows running concurrently.

As well as The Phantom of the Opera and Cats, his productions include the groundbreaking Bombay Dreams, which introduced the double Oscar-winning Bollywood composer AR Rahman to the Western stage.

His awards, both as composer and producer, include seven Tonys, seven Oliviers, a Golden Globe, an Oscar, the Praemium Imperiale, the Richard Rodgers Award for Excellence in Musical Theatre, a BASCA Fellowship, the Kennedy Center Honor, and a Grammy for Best Contemporary Classical Composition for Requiem, his setting of the Latin Requiem mass which contains one of his best-known compositions, “Pie Jesu.” He owns seven London theaters including the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane and the London Palladium.

He was knighted by Her Majesty The Queen in 1992 and created a life peer in 1997.

He is passionate about the importance of music in education and the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation has become one of Britain’s leading charities supporting the arts and music. In 2016 the Foundation funded a major new national initiative which endowed the American Theatre Wing with a $1.3 million, three-year grant to support theater education opportunities for underserved young people and public schools across the U.S.

For additional information, please visit: www.andrewlloydwebber.com

RICHARD CURTIS
Richard Curtis is a screenwriter and director, responsible for films such as Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, Bridget Jones’s Diary, Mr. Bean, Love Actually, The Boat That Rocked, About Time, and most recently Trash and Esio Trot.

In the other half of Richard’s life, he is the Co-Founder and Vice-Chair of Comic Relief, which he started after visiting Ethiopia during the 1985 famine. In 1988, Comic Relief launched its Red Nose Day fundraising initiative, including a live TV broadcast for the BBC, which brought together some of the biggest celebrities of the day. Since then, Richard has produced more than 16 live nights of television and Red Nose Day has raised more than £1 billion for projects in the UK and around the world.

In 2015, Richard launched Red Nose Day in the United States, dedicated to ending child poverty. It included a live telecast on NBC and raised over $23 million and has since gone on to raise almost $100 million.

Richard was a founding member of Make Poverty History and worked both on that campaign and on Live 8 in 2005. As part of his contribution to the campaign Richard wrote The Girl in the Café for HBO and the BBC – a television drama based around the G8 Summit, which won three Emmys. In 2012, Phillip Noyce directed Richard’s TV movie Mary and Martha, a film about two mothers losing their sons to malaria. It has been shown in 50 countries around the world and used as a campaigning tool by many organizations committed to ending malaria.

In 2014 Richard founded Project Everyone. Working alongside the United Nations, Project Everyone helped to launch and promote the Global Goals for Sustainable Development, a series of ambitious targets to end extreme poverty, fight inequality and injustice and combat climate change by 2030. In 2015 as part of this endeavour Richard co-produced the Global Citizen Festival, live from Central Park, which was broadcast in 150 territories worldwide.

In January 2016 Richard was formally appointed as a UN Sustainable Development Goals Advocate alongside 16 others including Shakira, Paul Polman and Graça Machel.

JOHN DOYLE
John Doyle has been Artistic Director of four prestigious regional theaters in the UK. He now has an extensive directing career in theater, film, and opera. His credits in the US include productions of Sweeney Todd (Tony Award for Best Director of a Musical), Company (Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical), The Visit (Tony Nom. Best Musical, Drama Desk Nom. Best Director), The Color Purple (Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical, Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Musical, Grammy Award), Mahagonny (Los Angeles Opera, two Grammy Awards), Passion (Classic Stage Company, Drama Desk Nom. Best Director of a Musical), Road Show (Public Theater), Caucasian Chalk Circle (American Conservatory Theatre), Kiss Me, Kate (Stratford Festival Theatre). As well as numerous credits in London’s West End, John has also directed at Sydney Opera House, the Metropolitan Opera, Houston Grand Opera, La Fenice in Venice, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Second Stage Theatre, Princeton McCarter Theatre, and Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. He recently became Artistic Director of Classic Stage Company.

PAPER MILL PLAYHOUSE
Paper Mill Playhouse, a not-for-profit theater under the direction of Mark S. Hoebee (Producing Artistic Director) and Todd Schmidt (Managing Director) and recipient of the 2016 Regional Theatre Tony Award, is where American musical theater is celebrated, cherished, and pushed in exciting new directions. A beloved New Jersey arts institution since 1938, Paper Mill has been consistently recognized for the high-quality artistry of its reimagined classic musicals as well as its commitment to supporting the development of new works and the careers of Broadway’s best talent and emerging artists both onstage and behind the scenes. Paper Mill Playhouse boasts award-winning access services and outreach initiatives as well as performer training programs that impact more than 35,000 students each year. Paper Mill Playhouse productions have launched national tours and gone on to Broadway-including Disney’s Newsies, 25th Anniversary production of Les Misérables, Honeymoon in Vegas, A Bronx Tale, Bandstand, The Bodyguard-as well as television broadcasts on Showtime and PBS and original cast recordings. 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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