Paper Mill Playhouse


Paper Mill Playhouse is a regional theater containing approximately 1,200 seats located in Millburn, within Essex County, New Jersey, United States, on the banks of the Rahway River. Due to its relative proximity to Manhattan, the theater draws from the pool of actors who live in New York City. Paper Mill was officially designated as the "State Theater of New Jersey". From 1971 to 2008, Paper Mill held the New Jersey Ballet as its resident ballet company, with the annual production of Nutcracker until the premiere of the 25th Anniversary tour of Les Misérables took up the ballet's performance slot. Mark S. Hoebee serves as the producing artistic director, and is often credited as saving the Paper Mill during the 2008 financial crisis.
In 2016, the playhouse received the Regional Theatre Tony Award.

History

Building

In March 1795, Sam Campbell built The Thistle Paper Mill on land along the Rahway River in the town of Millville, later renamed Millburn. Campbell ran his business for about 20 years until he was forced to close down due to a fire. The building remained vacant for several years and ownership changed several times. In the late 1870s, Diamond Mill Paper Company took over the property and used it for their paper making business until 1928.
Writer and performer Antoinette Scudder, along with actor and director Frank Carrington formed a partnership in the late 1920s to create their own theater. They eventually found the vacant mill, and spent many years working on it, turning it into a theater.
Another fire in 1980 changed the course of the theater, and it closed for rebuilding. On October 30, 1982, the Paper Mill reopened for their first theatrical production since the fire. This period of time became the focal point of a lawsuit between the theater and Millburn on whether or not they would be exempt from property taxes during the time the property was not in use.

Theater

Founded in 1934, Paper Mill Playhouse raised the curtain on its first performance with Gregorio Martinez Sierra’s The Kingdom of God on November 14, 1938. By the end of the first year, Carrington had coaxed entertainer Irene Castle out of retirement to make her dramatic debut in Noël Coward’s Shadow Play. The first few years featured a variety of classical and modern plays. By 1941, the Playhouse had begun to specialize in operettas, which it continued until the early 1950s.
Change marked this period in Paper Mill’s history, especially with Miss Scudder’s death in 1958. Angelo Del Rossi joined as associate producer in 1964, working closely with Carrington until his death in 1975. Del Rossi became executive producer and remained in that role for nearly 40 years until his death in August 2014.
In 1971, the New Jersey Ballet staged its first production of The Nutcracker at Paper Mill with world-renowned dancer Edward Villella in the role of the Cavalier. The Nutcracker production has been produced annually at Paper Mill since then.
In 1972, Governor of New Jersey William Cahill proclaimed Paper Mill the "Official State Theater of New Jersey." The theater has been cited as a State Center of Artistic Excellence and as a Major Impact and Distinguished Arts Organization by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.
In 1998 Paper Mill staged a landmark production of Stephen Sondheim's Follies led by music director Tom Helm which Sondheim described as the first staging of the musical to utilize the complete score. The Paper Mill production was later recorded with Follies original orchestrator, Jonathan Tunick, leading the musical forces. Helm also conducted Paper Mill's 1999 production of Crazy for You which was filmed for national broadcast on PBS's Great Performances.
Through the years, Paper Mill Playhouse has welcomed such talent as Christopher Patterson, Gloria Stuart, Alice Ripley, Eddie Bracken, Laura Benanti, Orson Bean, Betty Buckley, Carol Channing, Kristin Chenoweth, Christine Ebersole, George S. Irving, Tiffany Giardina, Laurence Guittard, Anne Hathaway, Shanice Williams, Dee Hoty, John Mahoney, Dorothy Louden, Donna McKechnie, Ann Miller, Stephanie Mills, Liza Minnelli, Estelle Parsons, Bernadette Peters, Chita Rivera, Tony Roberts, Ali Brustofski, Patrick Swayze, Karen Ziemba, Adrian Zmed, Nick Jonas, Bailey Hanks, Lynn Redgrave, Lorna Luft, David Garrison, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Mickey Rooney, Barbara Rush, Betsy Palmer, Robert Horton, Vivian Vance, Jerome Hines, Sarah Hyland, Shelley Winters, Hugh O'Brian, Gloria Swanson, Georgia Engel, and Gavin Lee among many.
In April 2003, Michael Gennaro, former executive director of Chicago's Steppenwolf Theater, joined Paper Mill as president and CEO. Paper Mill Playhouse was one of the first theaters to begin the regional theater movement in the United States. It has grown to be one of the most acclaimed not-for-profit professional theaters in the country, and attracts more than 450,000 people annually, and has one of the largest subscription based audiences.

Financial issues

On April 3, 2007, Paper Mill announced that it would need $1.5 million to open its season and an equal amount to complete its season, or it would be forced to close its doors. On April 6, 2007, Paper Mill announced that it had received $300,000, enough to cover costs of rehearsals and preview performances for its production of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.
Paper Mill announced that it would have to do more well-known shows to stay in business. On June 17, 2008, the Township of Millburn voted to purchase building and four acres of land the Paper Mill sits on for $9 million. They have entered into a 75-year lease with the theater; and its operations will remain independent. Prior to this deal the Paper Mill had accumulated $4.5 million in debt. Based on the terms of the lease, the Paper Mill would pay $1 for the first two years. After 2 years the rent would grow to equal 1% of the theater's annual operation income. The Paper Mill maintained an option to repurchase the property from the town after 11 years of the lease. The artistic director at the time, Mark S. Hoebee, is attributed with saving the Paper Mill.

Seasons

SeasonShow 1Show 2Show 3Show 4Show 5Show 6
1992–1993The Wizard of OzSweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet StreetMy Fair LadyPhantom
1993–1994Paper MoonAnimal CrackersSouth PacificSingin' in the RainPeter Pan
1994–1995Forever PlaidOliver!BrigadoonThe Secret Garden
1995–1996NineDreamgirlsYou Never KnowComfortable ShoesCall Me MadamEvita
1996–1997ApplauseGigiNo, No, NanetteMan of La Mancha
1997–1998Big RiverChildren of EdenThe Mask of MoriartyDeath of a SalesmanFolliesThe Will Rogers Follies
1998–1999GypsyJekyll & HydeUp, Up, and AwayWuthering HeightsCrazy for YouJoseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
1999–2000MameRagsNoises OffDeathtrapThe Student PrincePippin
2000–2001Anything GoesVictor/VictoriaArtAn Ideal HusbandFunny GirlCarousel
2001–2002A Chorus LineRed, Hot and BlueThe Dinner PartyI'm Not RappaportThe King and IMy Fair Lady
2002–2003Miss SaigonAnnieBlueRomeo and BernadetteCamelotGrease
2003–2004Ain't Misbehavin'The Sound of MusicThe Tale of the Allergist's WifeThe ChosenBabyGuys and Dolls
2004–2005Of Thee I SingShe Loves MeThe Drawer BoyHarold and MaudeThe Baker's WifeRagtime
2005–2006CinderellaThe Diary of Anne FrankCarnival!A Midsummer Night's DreamHello Dolly!
2006–2007GodspellA Wonderful LifeSummer and SmokeRomance/RomanceSeven Brides for Seven BrothersPirates!
2007–2008Happy Days: The MusicalMeet Me in St. LouisThe Miracle WorkerSteel MagnoliasKiss Me, KateLittle Shop of Horrors
2008–2009Oklahoma!High School MusicalThe Importance of Being EarnestMaster Class1776The Full Monty
2009–2010Little House on the PrairieOn the TownLost in YonkersSmokey Joe's CafePeter Pan
2010–2011HairsprayLes MisérablesThe 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling BeeA Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the ForumCurtains
2011–2012NewsiesWhite ChristmasBoeing-BoeingDamn YankeesOnce on This Island
2012–2013A Chorus LineThe Sound of MusicLend Me a TenorThoroughly Modern MillieThe Little Mermaid
2013–2014Honeymoon in VegasOliver!The Other Josh CohenSouth PacificGrease
2014–2015Can-CanElfVanya and Sonia and Masha and SpikeThe Hunchback of Notre DameEver After The Musical
2015–2016BandstandA Christmas Story: The MusicalA Bronx TalePump Boys and DinettesWest Side Story
2016–2017The ProducersThe BodyguardA Comedy of TenorsMillion Dollar QuartetMary Poppins
2017–2018The HoneymoonersAnnieThe OutsiderThe StingHalf Time
2018–2019The Color PurpleHoliday InnMy Very Own British InvasionBenny & JoonBeauty and the Beast
2019–2020Chasing Rainbows: The Road to OzCinderellaUnmaskedSister ActThe Wanderer
2020-2021ClueThe Sound of MusicAidaThe WandererBruce
2021-2022Songs for a New WorldJolly Holiday- Celebrating Disney's Broadway HitsClueThe WandererSister Act
2022-2023On Your Feet!The Sound of MusicHerculesMurder on the Orient ExpressRENT
2023-2024The Great Gatsby: A New MusicalFiddler on the RoofAfter MidnightGun & PowderBeautiful: The Carole King Musical
2024-2025Jersey BoysIrving Berlin's White ChristmasMystic PizzaTake the LeadThe Little Mermaid
2025-2026Bull DurhamFrozenCome from Away1776West Side Story