Carnival

The Paper Mill Playhouse presents Carnival, based on material by Helen Deutsch. A visual and musical extravaganza full of the theater’s most colorful characters and sensational songs like “Love Makes the World Go ‘Round.” As the Grand Imperial Cirque de Paris tours Europe, a lonely orphan named Lili falls under its magical spell. She becomes entangled in a web of romance and illusion as she develops a crush on the dashing magician Marco the Magnificent, and finds solace in the company of some very charming puppets, only to discover that her puppet friends are a conduit for the emotions of their handler, Paul. It’s a truly mesmerizing story about love in all its permutations. Directed by Erica Schmidt.