(MILLBURN, NJ) -- Paper Mill Playhouse presents Mystic Pizza - a new musical based on the 1988 movie which starred Julia Roberts - from January 29 through February 23, 2025. Mystic Pizza is about three working-class girls who navigate the complexities of life, love and family in a small-town pizza joint.
The infectious score features megahits of the 80s and 90s, from “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” to “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” and songs originally recorded by Melissa Etheridge, Cyndi Lauper, John Cougar Mellencamp, Debbie Gibson, Wilson Phillips, The Bangles, Belinda Carlisle, Rick Astley, Bryan Adams, among many others.
The cast features Krystina Alabado (Mean Girls) as Daisy Arujo, Alaina Anderson (Dear Evan Hansen) as Katherine “Kat” Arujo, Deánna Giulietti (VH1’s “Fuhgeddabout Christmas”) as Josephine “JoJo” Barboza, Ben Fankhauser (Newsies) as Tim Travers, F. Michael Haynie (Wicked) as Bill Montijo, Vincent Michael (Rent at the Muny) as Charles “Charlie” Gordon Windsor, Jr. and others, Jennifer Fouché (Chicago) as Leona Silvia, Mia Gerachis (Sweeney Todd) as Debbie and others, James Hindman (Mary Poppins) as Charles Windsor, Sr. and others, Michael James (Mystic Pizza at La Mirada Theatre) as Lou and others, April Josephine (Mean Girls) as Mrs. Arujo and others, Alyssa M. Simmons (Mystic Pizza at La Mirada Theatre) as Aunt Bonnie and others, Victor Souffrant (Man of La Mancha at Orlando Shakes) as Mr. Barboza and others, Jake Swain (Mean Girls) as Frank and others, Zephaniah Wages (Once on This Island at Pittsburgh CLO) as George and others, and Rachel Kae Wirtz (Bat Out of Hell at the Paris Las Vegas) as Lorna and others. Chachi Delgado (Evita at San Francisco Playhouse) and Adriana Negron (West Side Story at Pittsburgh CLO) will be swings.
Based on the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer motion picture with story and characters by Amy Holden Jones (Fox’s “The Resident”), Mystic Pizza features a book written by Sandy Rustin (The Cottage); music supervision, arrangements, and orchestrations by Carmel Dean (The Notebook); music direction by Kristin Stowell (First National Tour of The Cher Show); choreography by Connor Gallagher (Beetlejuice); and direction by Casey Hushion (Mean Girls).
The show also features scenic design by Nate Bertone, costume design by Jen Caprio, lighting design by Ryan J. O’Gara, sound design by Matt Kraus, and hair and wig design by Roxanne De Luna. Casting is by Geoff Josselson Casting.
Tickets are available for purchase online. Paper Mill Playhouse is located at 22 Brookside Drive in Millburn, New Jersey.
AUDIO-DESCRIBED PERFORMANCES are scheduled for Saturday, February 22 at 1:30pm and Sunday, February 23 at 1:30pm.
OPEN-CAPTIONED PERFORMANCES are scheduled for Saturday, February 22 at 1:30pm and Sunday, February 23 at 7:00pm.
An ASL-INTERPRETED PERFORMANCE is scheduled for Sunday, February 23 at 7:00pm.
Mystic Pizza is produced in association with Lively McCabe Entertainment, McCoy Rigby Entertainment, Riverside Theatricals, Thomas B. McGrath, and Primary Wave.
Signature Support for Mystic Pizza is provided by The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, with M&T Bank/Wilmington Trust serving as the Production Sponsor and The GenWealth Group as the Opening Night Sponsor.
Following Mystic Pizza, the 2024-2025 season continues with the world premiere musical Take the Lead (March 29-April 27) and Disney’s The Little Mermaid (May 29-June 29).
Paper Mill Playhouse, recipient of the Regional Theatre Tony Award, is a nationally renowned not-for-profit theater under the direction of Mark S. Hoebee (Producing Artistic Director) and Michael Stotts (Executive Director). A beloved New Jersey arts institution since 1938, Paper Mill creates and produces groundbreaking new musicals and reimagined classics. Several productions have gone on to Broadway and launched national tours, including The Great Gatsby, Disney’s Newsies, Bandstand, Honeymoon in Vegas, A Bronx Tale, and Les Misérables (25th Anniversary production). The theater is also the home to an award-winning center for musical theater education and artist training, with outreach programs that impact thousands of students each year. As one of the nation’s premier musical theaters, Paper Mill fosters a creative environment to advance the art form, educate students, develop future theater lovers, nurture inclusion, and provide access for all. 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.
