Paper Mill Announces 2003-2004 Season

Paper Mill: The State Theatre of New Jersey, located in Millburn, has announced the shows that will make up its 2003-2004 season.

The season will begin with Ain’t Misbehavin’, the 1978 musical revue featuring the songs of Fats Waller (“Honeysuckle Rose,” “Mean to Me,” “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love,” etc.) and based on an idea by Murray Horwitz and Richard Maltby, Jr. It will be followed by The Sound of Music, the beloved 1959 Richard Rodgers/Oscar Hammerstein II show (with a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse) that introduced such songs as “Do Re Mi,” “My Favorite Things,” “Climb Every Mountain,” and “Edelweiss.”

Next up is The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife, Charles Busch’s 2000 comedy about a Manhattan “culture vulture” and what happens to her life when a childhood friend mysteriously reappears. Then comes Theodore Bikel in The Chosen, a play by Chaim Potok and Aaron Posner (based on the novel by Potok) about fathers and sons in 1944 Brooklyn.

The fifth show of the season will be a new version of the 1983 musical Baby — music and lyrics by Richard Maltby, Jr. and David Shire, book by Sybille Pearson — which concerns three couples preparing for parenthood. Capping the season will be Guys and Dolls, the classic 1950 tuner with a score by Frank Loesser (including “A Bushel and a Peck,” “I’ve Never Been in Love Before,” “Luck Be a Lady,” and other famous songs) and a book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows.

Production dates are as follows: Ain’t Misbehavin’ will run September 10-October 19, 2003; The Sound of Music, October 29-December 14; The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife, January 7-February 8, 2004; The Chosen, February 18-March 21; Baby March 31-May 9; and Guys and Dolls, June 2-July 18.

Season subscription packages are currently availble at prices ranging from $112 to $342. Single tickets will go on sale in July. For additional information, call 973-379-3717 or visit the website www.papermill.org.