(MILLBURN, NJ) -- Paper Mill Playhouse Producing Artistic Director Mark S. Hoebee and Managing Director Michael Stotts have announced the reimagined 2020–2021 season. Paper Mill Playhouse will move forward with a mostly digital season, including several original productions to be captured on the Paper Mill stage and optimistically anticipating bringing smaller audiences back to the theater if that becomes possible by late spring or early summer of 2021.
“We are excited to announce our new season and plan to keep our audience entertained and safe as we cautiously move forward on this uncharted path back to the theater,” said Producing Artistic Director Mark S. Hoebee. “We designed the season to take us one step at a time from solo virtual concerts to full productions in the theater in front of a small number of loyal subscribers. The shows previously announced, including The Wanderer, Clue, and Bruce, will be rescheduled in the 2021–2022 season.”
“We are eager to begin this journey with our subscribers,” added Michael Stotts, Paper Mill’s Managing Director. “The support of our subscribers, donors, and sponsors will ensure we survive through this difficult time. In early September we held focus groups with subscribers to discuss digital programming and their willingness to participate with Paper Mill in this virtual way this season. We were very encouraged by the overwhelmingly positive response. We thank them for taking this journey with us, and we look forward to a post-pandemic future when we will be able to invite everyone back to the theater.”
Paper Mill begins the season with a three-part virtual concert series, Live from the West Side: The Women of Broadway featuring two-time Tony Award winner Patti LuPone on October 24, Tony Award winner and Paper Mill alumna Laura Benanti on November 14, and Tony-, Grammy-, and Emmy-nominated superstar Vanessa Williams on December 5. These livestreamed concerts are presented in partnership with of a select group of nonprofit arts organizations from around the country and are a co-production with Dallas Summer Musicals and Entertainment Benefits Group.
The lineup continues with a series of original Paper Mill–produced productions offered exclusively to season subscribers. The first is titled Sing in a New Year!, streaming December 19, 2020–January 2, 2021, a celebratory holiday cabaret featuring over a dozen esteemed Paper Mill performers, recorded safely on the storied Paper Mill stage. Next, subscribers will enjoy a hit parade of the most beloved classics from the American musical theater canon in Some Enchanted Evening: The Songs of Rodgers & Hammerstein, streaming February 13–27, 2021. The final productions are the charming and hilarious two-person musical romance Pete ’n’ Keely and the empowering girl-group tribute Beehive: The ’60s Musical. Both are currently announced without dates in the hopes that limited audiences (subscribers only) may be invited to safely return to the theater by late spring or summer 2021; otherwise, these productions will be digitally captured and streamed exclusively to Paper Mill subscribers.
“Investors Bank is honored to support Paper Mill Playhouse’s 2020–2021 season as the board and staff has reimagined the season to keep the Paper Mill family safe while continuing to enrich our community by bringing Broadway-quality productions to local families and theater lovers,” said Investors Bank Chairman and CEO Kevin Cummings. “We are prouder than ever to support Paper Mill and are committed to do our part to get the organization through these difficult times.”
Paper Mill Playhouse’s 2020–2021 season is proudly sponsored by Investors Bank. Paper Mill Playhouse Education and Outreach programs are proudly sponsored by The Goren Family & the Harmony Helper App.
Paper Mill’s 2020–2021 subscription package is $275 per person for all seven shows and will be available for purchase to new subscribers beginning October 5. Visit www.PaperMill.org for more information.
In addition, individual tickets are now on sale for Live from the West Side: The Women of Broadway featuring Patti LuPone, Laura Benanti, and Vanessa Williams in concert, for $30 per household for each livestream event. Visit www.PaperMill.org. Please note: These events are included in the 2020–2021 subscription package and there is no need for subscribers to purchase tickets separately.
PLEASE NOTE: Due to health restrictions, the box office is closed for in-person transactions until further notice. Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express accepted over the phone or on the website. Programs, casting, prices, and dates subject to change.
PAPER MILL PLAYHOUSE’S 2020–2021 SEASON
PATTI LUPONE
Streamed Live on October 24, 2020, at 8:00pm
Available to stream on demand for 72 hours after the live presentation
LAURA BENANTI
Streamed Live on November 14, 2020, at 8:00pm
Available to stream on demand for 72 hours after the live presentation
VANESSA WILLIAMS
Streamed Live on December 5, 2020, at 8:00pm
Available to stream on demand for 72 hours after the live presentation
This series of live concert events showcases Broadway’s absolute best and brightest talents sharing beloved show tunes, lesser-known gems, and heartwarming tales, plus a live Q&A with the stars.
SING IN A NEW YEAR!
Directed by Mark S. Hoebee
Streaming December 19, 2020–January 2, 2021
Delivered Virtually from the Paper Mill Stage
Subscriber Exclusive!
Paper Mill Playhouse’s popular summertime outdoor Brookside Cabaret comes inside and onto the Paper Mill stage for a very special concert presentation! A dozen popular Paper Mill performers, directed by Producing Artistic Director Mark S. Hoebee, will sing a unique selection of seasonal favorites just in time to ring in the new year.
SOME ENCHANTED EVENING: THE SONGS OF RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN
Streaming February 13-27, 2021
Music by Richard Rodgers
Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
Concept by Jeffrey B. Moss
For Jerry Kravat Entertainment Services Inc.
Directed by Mark S. Hoebee
Delivered Virtually from the Paper Mill Stage
Subscriber Exclusive!
This stunning collection of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s most beloved compositions will shine the spotlight on five magnificent Paper Mill singers in a glorious parade of hits from Carousel, South Pacific, The King and I, Oklahoma!, The Sound of Music, and more. Paper Mill’s own Mark S. Hoebee directs.
PETE ’N’ KEELY
Dates TBA*
Book by James Hindman
Music by Patrick Brady
Lyrics by Mark Waldrop
Directed by Mark Waldrop
Subscriber Exclusive!
Staged as a live taping of a 1968 television special that reunites a divorced singing duo, this kitschy spoof had New York critics singing its praises. As Pete and Keely stroll down memory lane reprising songs from their days of stardom, they take “unscripted” swipes at each other that dredge up hilarious moments from their turbulent past. This charming musical features unforgettable renditions of the era’s popular favorites such as “Fever,” “Bésame Mucho,” and “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” as well as original songs in the spirit of the times. Mark Waldrop (When Pigs Fly, Bette Midler’s Divine Miss Millennium Tour, Paper Mill’s Gypsy and Little Shop of Horrors) directs.
BEEHIVE: THE ’60S MUSICAL
Dates TBA*
Created by Larry Gallagher
Directed & Choreographed by JoAnn M. Hunter
Subscriber Exclusive!
Big hairdos and even bigger voices command the stage in this tuneful tribute to women who rock—the girl groups that made their mark on the music of the ’60s. Featuring such hits as “My Boyfriend’s Back,” “Son of a Preacher Man,” and “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” Beehive chronicles the dramatic transformations of a volatile decade, told from the perspective of six young women who live through it. JoAnn M. Hunter (Broadway’s School of Rock, Paper Mill’s Unmasked and Cinderella) directs and choreographs.
*Performance dates for Pete ’n’ Keely and Beehive are to be announced, in the hopes that limited audiences (subscribers only) may be invited to safely return to the theater by late spring or summer 2021.
Note: A livestream option will be available for all shows this season and may become the only possibility if reconvening live audiences is not feasible.
Paper Mill Playhouse, a not-for-profit arts organization under the direction of Mark S. Hoebee (Producing Artistic Director) and Michael Stotts (Managing Director), recipient of the 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.
Paper Mill Playhouse needs your support now more than ever. Donate online here.
