Paper Mill Playhouse May Be Forced to Shut Down on Friday
The Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, New Jersey may be forced to shut down on Friday if $1.5 million is not raised by that time, according to spokesperson Shayne Miller. The theater would have to cancel its next scheduled production, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, which was to have begun performances next week; and there is a good chance that its final 2007 season offering, Pirates, and its recently announced 2007-2008 season might not happen. (Miller says that another $1.5 million would be needed just to produce Pirates, which is scheduled to start in June).
According to Miller, the theater has only enough cash on hand to make its payroll this week. Paper Mill started the season with a proposed $17 million budget and an acknowledged $2.8 million deficit. The theater’s board of directors had committed to donating $1.1 million and raising up to $2 million, but so far, only $56,000 has been received. Complicating matters further, Paper Mill was denied a $2 million loan by PNC Bank, despite the fact that the theater owns its property outright and that property is worth an estimated $8 million.
Says Ken Thorn, chairman of Paper Mill’s board of directors, “We’ve been talking to other financial institutions about getting support, using the building that we own as collateral; but people are reluctant because they wouldn’t want to foreclose on a theater. We’ve reached out to state, town, and county for emergency loans; we’ve been talking with unions to reducing the cost of producing shows and, each week, we’ve been bringing trustees and donors into the theater to write a check. I think it’s a matter of time to put this together. If we can’t do Seven Brides, we’ll work on doing Pirates. But the biggest problem is that if we don’t have any cash on Friday, we won’t have any staff. ”
Miller acknowledged that poor single-ticket sales for the theater’s last two shows, Tennessee Williams’ Summer and Smoke and the musical Romance/Romance, also contributed to the deficit. Unlike many other non-profit regional theaters, Paper Mill’s revenue comes largely from subscriptions and single ticket sales rather than outside funding.
The announced 2007-2008 season is slated to begin with the world premiere of the new musical Frankenstein, followed by revivals of Meet Me in St. Louis, The Miracle Worker, Steel Magnolias, Kiss Me, Kate, and Little Shop of Horrors. “Our focus from now on has to be intergenerational, family-friendly, and familiar works,” says Miller. “We can no longer invest in plays no one has heard of.”
Regardless of how much money is raised by Friday, the Playhouse will host a rally at 7pm on Monday night with elected officials, performers, and local residents. Miller says that actors Christine Ebersole, Anne Hathaway, and Kristin Chenoweth are currently making phone calls on the Playhouse’s behalf, and producer Roy Miller (The Drowsy Chaperone) is reaching out to the New York entertainment community.
