By Gary Wien
originally published: 04/26/2017
Long before Paper Mill Playhouse received the 2016 Regional Theatre Tony Award, the theatre was already recognized as a place where shows heading to Broadway could be found first. The 2017-2018 season continues that trend in a big way with 2 World Premieres and 2 East Coast Premieres on the schedule. While much of the buzz deals with Half Time, I’m excited to see what they do with The Honeymooners as a musical comedy.
The season contains World Premieres of The Honeymooners and The Sting (based on the classic movie). The East Coast premieres include The Outsider and Half Time. Fan favorite Annie comes to the theatre for the holidays.
The Honeymooners opens the season on September 28. As a late night tv junkie raised on WPIX 11, The classic show following the exploits of the Kramdens and the Nortons has been a favorite of insomniacs like me for generations.
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 is bound to be a hit.
“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.”
The Honeymooners features Book by Dusty Kay and Bill Nuss; Music by Stephen Weiner; Lyrics by Peter Mills; and is Choreographed by Joshua Bergasse.
Based on legendary Oscar-winning film starring Robert Redford and Paul Newman, The Sting arrives at Paper Mill on March 29.
Taking place in Chicago circa 1936, The Sting brings the audience into a smoke-filled world of cons and capers, where nothing is what it seems and no one is who they appear to be.
The musical 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.
“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.”
Buzz-wise, things don’t get much hotter than the buzz surrounding Half Time. 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, which opens at Paper Mill on May 31.
“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.”
The Outsider makes its East Coast Premiere in January. At once a razor-sharp comedy and a sincere tribute to democracy, The Outsider by Paul Slade Smith 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.
“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,” Mark S. Hoebee, Producing Artistic Director. “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.”
“Paper Mill Playhouse’s 2017-2018 season is one of the most exciting lineups in our theater’s history,” added Managing Director Todd Schmidt.
About the author:
Gary Wien has been covering the arts since 2001 and has had work published with Jersey Arts, Upstage Magazine, Elmore Magazine, Princeton Magazine, Backstreets and other publications. He is a three-time winner of the Asbury Music Award for Top Music Journalist and the author of
Beyond the Palace (the first book on the history of rock and roll in Asbury Park) and
Are You Listening? The Top 100 Albums of 2001-2010 by New Jersey Artists. In addition, he runs New Jersey Stage and the online radio station
The Penguin Rocks. His personal website is at
lightyscorner.com. He can be contacted at
[email protected].
Kean Department Of Theatre Presents "the Drowsy Chaperone"
Sunday, November 15, 2026 @ 2:00pm
Kean Stage - Bauer Boucher Theatre Center
1000 Morris Avenue, Union, NJMusic and lyrics by
Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison
Princeton’s Famous Triangle Show: Roswell That Ends Well
Sunday, November 15, 2026 @ 2:00pm
McCarter Theatre Center (Matthews Theatre)
91 University Place, Princeton, NJIf you’re feeling all alone in the universe – or even if you’re not – Triangle’s newest musical comedy is for you! Join us as Triangle explores what it means to have friends in high – or should we say “sky”? – places. Extraterrestrial visitors, crazy conspiracy theories, and intergalactic shenanigans power this year’s annual laugh-fest of witty jokes, lavish production numbers, and, of course, Triangle’s famous kickline. Can interplanetary goodwill blossom in the dystopian desert of our current times? Get your Triangle tickets now and learn if
Roswell That Ends Well!
For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/when The Rainbow Is Enuf,
Sunday, November 15, 2026 @ 4:00pm
Middletown Arts Center
36 Church Street, Middletown, NJDunbar Repertory Company presents Ntozake Shange’s
FOR COLORED GIRLS Who have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf, the groundbreaking “choreopoem” – a spellbinding collection of vivid prose and free verse narratives about and performed by Black women. Directed by Darrell Lawrence Willis, SR.
Kean Department Of Theatre Presents "the Drowsy Chaperone"
Wednesday, November 18, 2026 @ 7:30pm
Kean Stage - Bauer Boucher Theatre Center
1000 Morris Avenue, Union, NJMusic and lyrics by
Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison
Nyc Musical Marathon & Jack Dallas Presents Musical Comedy Bards Series
Wednesday, November 18, 2026 @ 7:00pm
Divinity Hall @ Centennial AME Zion Church
5 Lewis Place, Closter, NJJack Dallas, AKA, Deacon Jack Beddoe, [@
X.com/JackDallasNYC] is a Musical Comedy Bard, produced by NYC Musical Marathon.
EVENT PREVIEWS
Moorestown Theater Company presents "9 to 5, the Musical"
(MOORESTOWN, NJ) -- Moorestown Theater Company presents 9 to 5, the Musical from November 18-22 at First Methodist Church. Three unlikely friends take control of their office and learn there is nothing they can't do, even in a man's world.
Raritan Valley Community College's Arts & Design department presents "The Laramie Project"
(BRANCHBURG, NJ) -- Raritan Valley Community College's Arts & Design department will present a student theatre production of The Laramie Project by Moises Kaufman and the members of the Tectonic Theater Project, November 18-20, 2026 at 7:00pm each night. The performances, which are free of charge and open to the public, will be held in the Welpe Theatre at the College's Branchburg campus.
Offbook Productions present "The Women of Congress 1776"
(MOUNTAINSIDE, NJ) -- Offbook Productions presents The Women of Congress 1776 on Wednesday, November 18, 2026 at the Trailside Nature & Science Center in Mountainside. Showtime is 6:30pm.
Cape May Stage presents "Murder For Two - The Holiday Edition"
(CAPE MAY, NJ) -- Cape May Stage presents Murder For Two - The Holiday Edition from November 18 through December 27, 2026. Directed by Roy Steinberg, it's a merry and musical whodunit!
Paper Mill Playhouse to open season with "Mary Poppins"
(MILLBURN, NJ) -- Paper Mill Playhouse presents Disney and Cameron Mackintosh’s Mary Poppins to open the company's 88th season. Performances begin Wednesday, November 18 ahead of a Sunday, November 22 opening night for a run that continues through Sunday, January 3, 2027. This is a spectacular musical filled with wonder, wit, and unforgettable songs.
Somerset County Vocational Technical High School Theater Arts Department presents "Come From Away"
(BRIDGEWATER, NJ) -- In a story about strangers becoming family and tragedy giving way to unexpected hope, one real-life couple's love story has given students at Somerset County Vocational Technical High School a personal connection to the musical they are bringing to the stage.
Centenary Stage Company to Close Out 2026 Fringe Festival with "Unseen"
(HACKETTSTOWN, NJ) -- Centenary Stage Company will conclude its 2026 Fringe Festival with Unseen, written and performed by Kimberly Prentice, November 19–22, 2026, in the Kutz Theatre. Blending physical comedy, rapid-fire character changes, and heartfelt storytelling, Unseen takes audiences backstage into the demanding, unpredictable world of Broadway's wardrobe crew, celebrating the people whose essential work often goes unnoticed.
The Road Company presents "Solid Gold: A Show-Stopping Cabaret"
(WILLIAMSTOWN, NJ) -- The Road Company presents Solid Gold: A Show-Stopping Cabaret, an original retrospective revue, from November 19 to December 5, 2026 at the Grand Theatre.
A Work of Heart Productions presents "The Wedding Singer" at Porta
(MONTCLAIR, NJ) -- A Work of Heart Productions presents The Wedding Singer at Porta in Montclair from November 19-21, 2026. Enjoy a themed cocktail and dinner while experiencing a LIVE production of the popular play based on the hit film, featuring an incredible cast and live rock band!
Black Box Studios to Launch 'Writers & Actors At The Barrymore'
(FORT LEE, NJ) -- Black Box Studios presents 'Writers & Actors At The Barrymore', a unique theatrical event featuring "incubations" of new works for theater and film, takes center stage at The Barrymore Film Center & Museum on Thursday, November 19, 2026 at 7:30pm.
