Paper Mill Playhouse Announces 2007-2008 Season
The financially troubled Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, New Jersey has announced the slate of musicals and plays that it will present during its 2007-2008 season.
Diane Claussen, the theater’s managing director, stated: “Board and staff leadership of Paper Mill Playhouse are in the process of developing a business plan which supports our artistic vision. Through partnerships with other not-for-profit theatres, commercial theatre enhancement collaborations, and the Township of Millburn and other community partners, we will be able to further our mission of producing top quality intergenerational entertainment for New Jersey families.”
Following is a complete rundown of the season. For further information, visit www.papermill.org.
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Happy Days: The Musical (September 26-October 28)
Happy days are here again with Richie, Potsie, Ralph Malph, and the “king of cool,” Arthur “The Fonz” Fonzarelli. Based on the hit Paramount Pictures’ television series, Happy Days: The Musical reintroduces one of America’s best loved families, the Cunninghams, and the days of 1959 Milwaukee, complete with varsity sweaters, hula hoops, and jukebox sock-hoppin’. Adapted by the TV series’ creator, Garry Marshall, with songs by Oscar, Grammy, and Golden Globe winner Paul Williams.
Meet Me in St. Louis (November 7-December 16)
Based on “The Kensington Stories” by Sally Benson and the beloved MGM film of the same title, this stage adaptation will be directed at Paper Mill by the theater’s acting artistic director, Mark S. Hoebee. Audiences will travel back to turn-of-the-century St. Louis, where the streets buzz with trolley cars and the people buzz with excitement. The Hugh Martin-Ralph Blane score includes the standards “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” “The Boy Next Door,” and “The Trolley Song.”
The Miracle Worker (January 23-February 24)
Before Helen Keller became a world famous speaker, author, and advocate, she was a blind, deaf, and mostly mute child living in Alabama in the 1880s. Then Anne Sullivan arrived; she was merely 20 years old herself, but she held the key that would unlock the door between Helen and the world. William Gibson’s Tony Award winning play depicts the trials and tribulations that Anne and Helen encountered as they forged what would become a 49-year-long friendship.
Steel Magnolias (March 5-April 6)
A slice of life in Louisiana that’s as warm and comforting as sweet potato pie. In the haven of Truvy’s beauty salon, six very different women come together to share their secrets and bare their souls, throwing in a little neighborly gossip for good measure. Robert Harling’s enduring comedy is a heart-felt celebration of love, loyalty, and the bonds of sisterhood.
Kiss Me, Kate (April 16-May 18)
With a score by Cole Porter and a book by Sam and Bella Spewack, Kiss Me, Kate is inspired by The Taming of the Shrew. The show examines the volatile relationship between two musical theater actors — once married, now divorced — as they star together in a Broadway-bound musical version of Shakespeare’s play. Songs include “Wunderbar,” “So in Love,” and “Too Darn Hot.”
Little Shop of Horrors (June 4-July 6)
This musical is the third longest-running and highest grossing show in Off-Broadway history. Based on the film by Roger Corman (screenplay by Charles Griffith), it tells the story of Seymour, a down-and-out clerk in a downtown flower shop who discovers an unusual plant. The score is by the Academy Award-winning team of Howard Ashman and Alan Menken, whose credits include Disney’s Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid.
