# 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 (and audience members) 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 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 financial crisis in 2008.
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.
Through the years, Paper Mill Playhouse has welcomed such talent as Christopher Patterson, Gloria Stuart, Alice Ripley, Eddie Bracken, Laura Benanti (Rising Star Award winner), Orson Bean, Betty Buckley, Carol Channing, Kristin Chenoweth, Christine Ebersole, George S. Irving, Tiffany Giardina, Laurence Guittard, Anne Hathaway (Paper Mill Conservatory alumna and Rising Star Award nominee), Shanice Williams (Paper Mill Conservatory alumna, Rising Star Award nominee, and Adopt-A-School participant), 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 (actor, singer and member of the band the Jonas Brothers), Bailey Hanks (the winner of Legally Blonde: The Musical – The Search for Elle Woods), 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

| World premiere | US premiere | East coast premiere | Planned but cancelled due to COVID-19 |
| Season | Show 1 | Show 2 | Show 3 | Show 4 | Show 5 | Show 6 |
| 1992–1993 | The Wizard of Oz | Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street | My Fair Lady | Phantom | | |
| 1993–1994 | Paper Moon | Animal Crackers | South Pacific | Singin' in the Rain | Peter Pan | |
| 1994–1995 | Forever Plaid | Oliver! | Brigadoon | The Secret Garden | | |
| 1995–1996 | Nine | Dreamgirls | You Never Know | Comfortable Shoes | Call Me Madam | Evita |
| 1996–1997 | Applause | Gigi | No, No, Nanette | Man of La Mancha | | |
| 1997–1998 | Big River | Children of Eden | The Mask of Moriarty | Death of a Salesman | Follies | The Will Rogers Follies |
| 1998–1999 | Gypsy | Jekyll & Hyde | Up, Up, and Away | Wuthering Heights | Crazy for You | Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat |
| 1999–2000 | Mame | Rags | Noises Off | Deathtrap | The Student Prince | Pippin |
| 2000–2001 | Anything Goes | Victor/Victoria | Art | An Ideal Husband | Funny Girl | Carousel |
| 2001–2002 | A Chorus Line | Red, Hot and Blue | The Dinner Party | I'm Not Rappaport | The King and I | My Fair Lady |
| 2002–2003 | Miss Saigon | Annie | Blue | Romeo and Bernadette | Camelot | Grease |
| 2003–2004 | Ain't Misbehavin' | The Sound of Music | The Tale of the Allergist's Wife | The Chosen | Baby | Guys and Dolls |
| 2004–2005 | Of Thee I Sing | She Loves Me | The Drawer Boy | Harold and Maude | The Baker's Wife | Ragtime |
| 2005–2006 | Cinderella | The Diary of Anne Frank | Carnival! | A Midsummer Night's Dream | Hello Dolly! | |
| 2006–2007 | Godspell | A Wonderful Life | Summer and Smoke | Romance/Romance | Seven Brides for Seven Brothers | Pirates! |
| 2007–2008 | Happy Days: The Musical | Meet Me in St. Louis | The Miracle Worker | Steel Magnolias | Kiss Me, Kate | Little Shop of Horrors |
| 2008–2009 | Oklahoma! | High School Musical | The Importance of Being Earnest | Master Class | 1776 | The Full Monty |
| 2009–2010 | Little House on the Prairie | On the Town | Lost in Yonkers | Smokey Joe's Cafe | Peter Pan | |
| 2010–2011 | Hairspray | Les Misérables | The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee | A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum | Curtains | |
| 2011–2012 | Newsies | White Christmas | Boeing-Boeing | Damn Yankees | Once on This Island | |
| 2012–2013 | A Chorus Line | The Sound of Music | Lend Me a Tenor | Thoroughly Modern Millie | The Little Mermaid | |
| 2013–2014 | Honeymoon in Vegas | Oliver! | The Other Josh Cohen | South Pacific | Grease | |
| 2014–2015 | Can-Can | Elf | Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike | The Hunchback of Notre Dame | Ever After The Musical | |
| 2015–2016 | Bandstand | A Christmas Story: The Musical | A Bronx Tale | Pump Boys and Dinettes | West Side Story | |
| 2016–2017 | The Producers | The Bodyguard | A Comedy of Tenors | Million Dollar Quartet | Mary Poppins | |
| 2017–2018 | The Honeymooners | Annie | The Outsider | The Sting | Half Time | |
| 2018–2019 | The Color Purple | Holiday Inn | My Very Own British Invasion | Benny & Joon | Beauty and the Beast | |
| 2019–2020 | Chasing Rainbows: The Road to Oz | Cinderella | Unmasked | Sister Act | The Wanderer | |
| 2020-2021 | Clue | The Sound of Music | Aida | The Wanderer | Bruce | |
| 2021-2022 | Songs for a New World | Jolly Holiday- Celebrating Disney's Broadway Hits | Clue | The Wanderer | Sister Act | |
| 2022-2023 | On Your Feet! | The Sound of Music | Hercules | Murder on the Orient Express | RENT | |
| 2023-2024 | The Great Gatsby: A New Musical | Fiddler on the Roof | After Midnight | Gun & Powder | Beautiful: The Carole King Musical | |
| 2024-2025 | Jersey Boys | Irving Berlin's White Christmas | Mystic Pizza | Take the Lead | The Little Mermaid | |

## Affiliations

Paper Mill is a member of the Council of Stock Theatres (COST), a group of theaters who join to negotiate with the various unions that are involved in stage productions. COST's contract with Actors' Equity allows for a minimum weekly salary which is smaller than what Broadway productions must pay their actors; Paper Mill is also allowed to cast a minimal amount of non-union actors, which is forbidden for Broadway shows. This gives Paper Mill the ability to produce shows on a larger scale than most Broadway productions (and in a shorter amount of time).
It is a member company of the New Jersey Theatre Alliance.

## Educational programs

Paper Mill also has a large theater school offering a variety of classes. They have also run classes for developmentally disabled students with VSA New Jersey.

## Rising Star Awards

Starting in 1996, the Paper Mill holds annual Rising Star Awards (modeled after the Tony Awards) every spring, honoring excellence in high school theater performances across the state of New Jersey

### Award recipients

| Year | Outstanding Overall Production of a Musical | Outstanding Leading Performer in a Female-Identified Role | Outstanding Leading Performer in a Male-Identified Role | Outstanding Supporting Performer in a Female-Identified Role | Outstanding Supporting Performer in a Male-Identified Role | Outstanding Performer in a Featured Role | Outstanding Performance by a Featured Ensemble Member | Outstanding Performance by a Featured Ensemble Group | Outstanding Performance by a Chorus | Outstanding Performance by an Orchestra | Outstanding Achievement by a Teacher or Outside Director | Outstanding Achievement in Choreography and Staging | Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction (music director) | Outstanding Scenic Achievement | Outstanding Lighting Achievement | Outstanding Costuming Achievement | Outstanding Hair and Make-Up Achievement | Educational Impact Award | Rising Star “Theatre for Everyone” Inclusion and Access Award |
| 2016 | Summit High School - Mary Poppins | Claire Fitzpatrick as "Mary Poppins" - Summit High School - Mary Poppins | Trevor Braun as "Charlie Chaplin" - Fair Lawn High School - Chaplin The Musical | Jazmin Palmer as "Fraulein Schneider" - Pingry School - Cabaret | Ross Turkington as "Cookie McGee" - Montclair Kimberley Academy - Nice Work If You Can Get It | Eric Judson as "Paul" - West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South - A Chorus Line | Greg Lobo as "Big Jule" - Bernards High School - Guys and Dolls | "The Silly Girls" - Columbia High School - Disney's Beauty and the Beast | Academy of the Holy Angels - Children of Eden | West Morris Central High School - In the Heights | Katie McSherry - Academy of the Holy Angels - Children of Eden | Jennifer Williams - Union High School - Mary Poppins | George Croom - Academy of the Holy Angels - Children of Eden | Robert Vendetti - Passaic County Technical Institute - Man of La Manch | Sharp Edge Lighting Design - Westfield High School - Into the Woods | Katherine Winter - Summit High School - Mary Poppins | Celine Lockman, Fiona Kniaz, Alex Salvitti, Angela Colo, and Gina Freshcoln - Clearview Regional High School - The Addams Family | St. Joseph Regional High School - Urinetown | Morristown High School - Once Upon a Mattress |
| 2017 | Eastern Regional High School - Les Misérables: School Edition | Khailah Johnson as “Deloris van Cartier” - Franklin High School - Sister Act | Gary Bowman as “Jean Valjean” - Eastern Regional High School - Les Misérables: School Edition | Alana Kopelove as “Little Sally” - Gloucester County Institute of Technology - Urinetown | Will Higgins as “Nathan Detroit” - Montclair Kimberley Academy - Guys and Dolls | Shane Daneyko as “Chef Louis” - West Essex High School - Disney's The Little Mermaid | Rachel Maselek as “Little Becky Two Shoes” - Gloucester County Institute of Technology - Urinetown | "The Rebel Poor" - Gloucester County Institute of Technology - Urinetown | Academy of the Holy Angels - The Mystery of Edwin Drood | Union High School - Cinderella | Dr. Gregg Molotsky - Eastern Regional High School - Les Misérables: School Edition | Jensyn Modero - Mount Saint Dominic Academy - 42nd Street | James Mosser and Laura Muller - Union High School - Cinderella | Jason M. Stewart - Ridge High School - Fiddler On The Roof | Christopher Annas-Lee - Union High School - Cinderella | Katherine Winter - Summit High School - How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying | Catherine O'Brien - Mount Saint Dominic Academy - 42nd Street | Fair Lawn High School - Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson | Morristown High School - Legally Blonde |
| 2018 | Union High School - Peter Pan | Mira Mookerjee as “Lilli Vanessi / Katharine” - Moorestown High School Kiss Me, Kate | Jovanni Aparicio as “Usnavi” - Carteret High School - In The Heights | Caroline Herbert as “The Chaperone” - Hopewell Valley Central High School - The Drowsy Chaperone | Matthew Losco as “Igor” - Vernon Township High School - Young Frankenstein Nick Scafuto as “J. Bowden Hapgood” - Bridgewater-Raritan High School - Anyone Can Whistle | Alyssa Carbonell as “Tiger Lily” - Union High School - Peter Pan | Joshua Nilsen as “Eugene Florczyk” - Delaware Valley Regional High School - Greece | "The Lost Boys" - Union High School - Peter Pan | Princeton Day School - Bat Boy the Musical | Fair Lawn High School - Once | Jeff Hogan - West Morris Central High School - The Pirate Queen | Jennifer Williams - Union High School - Peter Pan | Charles Santoro - Fair Lawn High School - Once | Jamie Allaire - Jackson Memorial High School - Disney's Beauty And The Beast | Coby Chasman-Beck - Union High School - Peter Pan | Barbara Canace, Carol Rutledge, and Suzanna Roghanchi - Columbia High School - Hairspray Katie Adams - Morristown High School - Anything Goes | Danielle Garritt and Keleyn Wraga - Toms River High School North - The Addams Family | Summit High School -Legally Blonde | Madison High School - Footloose |
| 2019 | Madison High School - Bright Star | Kassi McMillan as “Alice Murphy” - St. Joseph Regional High School - Bright Star | Jaron Cole as “Jimmy Ray Dobbs” - Madison High School - Bright Star | Alex Mroczko as “Margo Crawford” - Madison High School - Bright Star | Joseph Grisanzio as “Adolpho”, Howell High School - Drowsy Chaperone | Sara Bartoszek as “Peron’s Mistress”, High Tech High School - Evita | Abigail Montesino as “Grace”, Fair Lawn High School - Working | "Dance Hall Girls" - Westfield High School - Sweet Charity | Summit High School - Pippin | Summit High School - Pippin | Blake Spence - Madison High School - Bright Star | Summit High School - Pippin | Summit High School - Pippin | Madison High School - Bright Star | Harrison High School - James & The Giant Peach | Harrison High School - James & The Giant Peach | Harrison High School - James & The Giant Peach | Perth Amboy High School - 9 to 5 | Carteret High School - Footloose |
| 2022 | Ridge High School - Matilda | Libby Schmitt as “Matilda” - Ridge High School -Matilda | Elliot Block as “Edward Bloom” - Hopewell Valley Central High School - Big Fish | Rachel Vanek as “Miss Honey” - Ridge High School - Matilda | Jayden White as “Chip Tolentino” - Ewing High School - The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee Oscar Grob as “Mr. Wormwood” - Ridge High School - Matilda | Elliot Newman as “Bobby” - Oakcrest High School - Memphis | Gabriel Subervi as “Doctor and Escapologist” - Ridge High School Matilda | "The Dance Hall Girls" - Morristown-Beard School - Sweet Charity | Ridge High School - Matilda | Carteret High School Chicago: High School Edition | Martha Harvey - Ridge High School - Matilda | Tricia Benn and Bethany Pettigrew - Columbia High School - Newsies | Romel McInnis and Diana Gable - Clearview Regional High School - The Hunchback of Notre Dame | Louis J. Medrano - Columbia High School - Newsies | Colin Shields - Harrison High School - The Apple Tree | Sabrina Windt and Matt DiDonato - Haddonfield Memorial High School - Rodgers And Hammerstein’s Cinderella | Colin Shields - Harrison High School - The Apple Tree | Christian Brothers Academy - 13 | Moorestown High School - Honk! |
| 2023 | Ridge High School - Newsies | Leah Rose Crossan as “Donna Sheridan” - Clearview Regional High School - Mamma Mia! | Dakota Krouse as “Gomez Addams” - Delaware Valley Regional High School - The Addams Family | Ryan Yuhas as “Ursula” - Sayreville War Memorial High School - The Little Mermaid | Zach Siegel as “Nigel Bottom” - Summit High School - Something Rotten! | Mac Silverstein as “Brother Jeremiah” - Columbia High School - Something Rotten! Elijah Dor as George - Morris Knolls High School - The Drowsy Chaperone Amanda Muldowney as Annie Reilly - Southern Regional High School - 42nd Street | Jaidyn Riley as “Mush” - Ridge High School - Newsies | The Troupe - Summit High School - Something Rotten! | Ridge High School - Newsies | Ridge High School - Newsies | Clinton Ambs - Delaware Valley Regional High School - The Addams Family | Rachel Miranda, Jennifer Digiuseppe - Ridge High School - Newsies | John Brzozowski - Westfield High School - Sunday In The Park With George | Anthony Freitas - Madison High School - Little Women | Michael Kimmel, Lisa Weinshrott - Wallkill Valley Regional High School - The Wizard of OZ | Sabrina Windt - Haddonfield Memorial High School - Head Over Heels | Carrie Snodgrass - Delaware Valley Regional High School - The Addams Family | Cedar Grove High School - The Prom Jonathan Dayton High School - Heathers: School Edition | Eastern Regional High School - Frozen Moorestown High School - Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella |