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Paper Mill Playhouse To Present 4 Premieres In 2017-2018 Season

originally published: 02/27/2017

Paper Mill Playhouse To Present 4 Premieres In 2017-2018 Season

(MILLBURN, NJ) -- Continuing to build upon the momentum of its 2016 Regional Theatre Tony Award, Paper Mill Playhouse has announced an amazing 2017-2018 season which will include The Honeymooners (World Premiere), Annie, The Outsider (East Coast Premiere), The Sting, a new musical (World Premiere), and Half Time, a new musical (East Coast Premiere).

Paper Mill Playhouse will open its 2017-2018 season with beloved television characters Ralph, Alice, Ed and Trixie in a world-premiere musical of The Honeymooners (September 28-October 29). Next, your favorite little redhead, Annie (November 22-December 31), comes to Paper Mill Playhouse just in time for the holidays.  The world’s best-loved family musical returns with all the unforgettable songs like “It’s the Hard-Knock Life,” “Easy Street,” and “Tomorrow.” Next winter, Paper Mill Playhouse presents the East Coast premiere of The Outsider (January 24-February 18), a hilarious and very timely commentary on modern American politics. The spring brings the world premiere of The Sting, a new musical (March 29-April 29) in a new musical stage adaptation of the Oscar-winning film that starred Robert Redford and Paul Newman.  The final production of the season, Half Time, a new musical (May 31-July 1), is choreographed and directed by Jerry Mitchell in the East Coast premiere of an uplifting true story of ten New Jersey seniors with extraordinary dreams who audition to dance at halftime for a major basketball team.

“I am thrilled our new musical Half Time will be a part of the very exciting 2017-2018 Paper Mill season,” stated Tony Award-winning director and choreographer Jerry Mitchell. “Half Time celebrates the singular power of music and dance to unleash big emotions and bring people together.  We can’t wait to share it with the amazing audiences at Paper Mill.”

“Paper Mill Playhouse is thrilled to produce two world premieres, two East Coast premieres, and a tried-and-true family classic for all ages in our exciting 2017-18 season,” commented Mark S. Hoebee, Producing Artistic Director for the Millburn theater. “With two of our recent productions currently playing on Broadway (A Bronx Tale and Bandstand), Paper Mill Playhouse has become one of the nation’s leading theater incubators, nurturing shows in multiple stages of development. This season we're honored to collaborate with some of the finest creative talent in the industry including Tony Award winners Jerry Mitchell and John Rando.”

“We are excited to launch Paper Mill Playhouse’s new season with the world premiere of The Honeymooners, said John Rando, the show’s Tony Award-winning director. “This new American musical comedy celebrates the universal story of two underdogs striving to achieve their dreams, and the compromises of their married lives.  I believe this hilarious and touching show will strongly resonate with Paper Mill audiences.”



 
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“Paper Mill Playhouse’s 2017-2018 season is one of the most exciting lineups in our theater’s history,” remarked Managing Director Todd Schmidt. “The only way you are guaranteed a seat to these amazing premieres is to become a Paper Mill Playhouse subscriber. Subscribers get the best seats at the best price with special insider benefits.  Of course, none of what we do would be possible without the generous support of our subscribers, donors, patrons, foundations and corporate partners, including the many years of season sponsorship from our friends at Investors Bank.”

“We are very excited to bring The Sting to Paper Mill; an American classic reinvented for the stage,” said the show’s Tony award-winning book writer Bob Martin. “It retains all of the wit and depression era charm of the original, the complex characters, the sophisticated story, the twists and surprises, and adds a sly self-awareness that keeps it relevant. The Sting is a rollicking musical comedy confidence game that we are eager to play with the Paper Mill audiences.”

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 $110. Each subscription package includes a different level of special benefits (see www.papermill.org for details).



Paper Mill Playhouse’s 2017-2018 Season

The Honeymooners (World Premiere)

September 28 through October 29, 2017

Book by Dusty Kay and Bill Nuss; Music by Stephen Weiner; Lyrics by Peter Mills; Choreographed by Joshua Bergasse; Directed by John Rando



 
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The Honeymooners is a brand new musical comedy inspired by the classic television series.  Ralph Kramden and his buddy Ed Norton are back and still shooting for the moon in this world-premiere musical.  After shocking their wives by winning a high-profile jingle contest, they are catapulted out of Brooklyn and into the cutthroat world of Madison Avenue advertising, where they discover that their quest for the American Dream might cost them their friendship. Filled with big laughs and an infectious score, The Honeymooners will bang-zoom its way into your heart.

 

Annie

November 22 through December 31, 2017

Book by Thomas Meehan; Music by Charles Strouse; Lyrics by Martin Charnin; Based on “Little Orphan Annie”; Choreographed by Denis Jones; Directed by Mark S. Hoebee

Annie, the world’s best-loved family musical returns to Paper Mill Playhouse just in time for the holidays. Little orphan Annie is taken from her orphanage, and the clutches of cruel Miss Hannigan, to stay at billionaire Oliver Warbucks' mansion for the holidays. When Annie wins the hearts of Warbucks and his staff, they set out on an epic mission to find Annie’s parents.  Winner of the Best Musical Tony Award, Annie includes such unforgettable songs as “It’s the Hard-Knock Life,” “Easy Street,” “A New Deal for Christmas,” plus the eternal anthem of optimism, “Tomorrow.”

 

The Outsider (East Coast Premiere)

January 24 through February 18, 2018

By Paul Slade Smith



 
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At once a razor-sharp comedy and a sincere tribute to democracy, The Outsider is a timely and hilarious take on modern American politics. Ned Newley doesn't even want to be governor. He is terrified of public speaking; his poll numbers are impressively bad. To his ever-supportive chief of staff, Ned seems destined to fail. But a political guru named Arthur Vance sees things a little differently: Ned might be the worst candidate to ever run for office. Unless the public is looking for… the worst candidate to ever run for office.

 

The Sting, a new musical (World Premiere)

March 29 through April 29, 2018

Book by Bob Martin; Music by Mark Hollmann; Lyrics by Mark Hollmann and Greg Kotis; Based on the 1973 film “The Sting”; Choreographed by Warren Carlyle; Directed by John Rando

Chicago. 1936. Get ready to enter a smoke-filled world of cons and capers, where nothing is what it seems and no one is who they appear to be. Based on the 1973 Academy Award-winning film, The Sting tells the tale of a pair of con men, small town grifter Johnny Hooker and big time hustler Henry Gondorff, who plot to bring down the city’s most corrupt racketeer. The Tony Award-winning creative team includes director John Rando (On The Town), choreographer Warren Carlyle (Hello Dolly!), bookwriter Bob Martin (The Drowsy Chaperone), and an original score by composer/lyricist team Mark Hollmann and Greg Kotis (Urinetown). The Sting takes you back to an era where the blues reigns, the stakes are high, and the dice are always loaded.

 

Half Time, a new musical (East Coast Premiere)

May 31 through July 1, 2018

Book by Bob Martin and Chad Beguelin; Music by Matthew Sklar; Lyrics by Nell Benjamin; Additional Music by Marvin Hamlisch and Ester Dean; Co-choreographed by Nick Kenkel; Directed & Choreographed by Jerry Mitchell

From the director/choreographer of Kinky Boots comes the incredible true story of ten ordinary seniors with extraordinary dreams who audition to dance at halftime for a major basketball team. Only after making the cut do they learn they won’t be dancing tap, salsa or swing—instead, they will bring down the house with a style that is entirely new to them: hip-hop. Take the uplifting journey with these dreamers—and the young coaches who inspire them along the way—as they battle self-doubt, stereotypes and even each other for a chance to bust a move at center court in front of 20,000 screaming fans. Together they remind us that in life, when the odds are stacked against you and the challenges seem too great to overcome, it’s not the end of the game—it’s Half Time.



PAPER MILL PLAYHOUSE, a not-for-profit arts organization 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 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. Paper Mill Playhouse is a member of the National Alliance for Musical Theatre, the Council of Stock Theatres, and the New Jersey Theatre Alliance.    

 

PHOTO OF HALFTIME BY MATTHEW MURPHY



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