Disney Theatrical: New Jersey's Paper Mill Playhouse An Excellent Broadway Testing Ground

The old system of new musicals playing a couple of weeks in Boston, Philadelphia or New Haven before landing in Times Square has vanished from the current Broadway landscape, as current hits arrive through workshops, readings and transfers from regional productions and Off-Broadway.

Literally 45 minutes from Broadway (one subway stop to a Penn Station New Jersey Transit Train), lies Milburn's Paper Mill Playhouse, described by producer and investor Lee Seymour in a recent Forbes article as "perhaps the premiere place to prep a show for the Great White Way."

As proof, he consults with Tom Schumacher, president of Disney Theatrical Productions, who says Paper Mill's directors, Mark Hoebee and Todd Schmidt, "have found a canny way to raise Paper Mill's profile within the industry while simultaneously growing their audience, as proven by the sheer number of pre-Broadway premieres and dramatic increase in attendance. It has been a pleasure to partner with them."

Certainly, it was a pleasure to try out their premiere production of NEWSIES at Paper Mill, where the enormously positive reception by audiences led to a transfer that turned a profit quicker than any previous Disney musical.

San Diego's La Jolla Playhouse has fostered many Broadway transfers directed by its former artistic director Des McAnuff (JERSEY BOYS) and current one, Christopher Ashley (MEMPHIS, SIDE SHOW revival), and director Diana Paulus (FINDING NEVERLAND, PIPPIN) has done the same as artistic director of Cambridge's American Repertory Theater, but Seymour cites Paper Mill's Broadway size (1,200 seats) as a huge advantage, allowing producers to not only see if a show can fill the house, but also to save money by building sets on a Broadway scale instead and have them ready to go.

Paper Mill's close proximity to New York was once considered a disadvantage, as word of mouth of a potential flop could reach the wrong ears quicker than it would while trying out in a more distant city, but the Internet has leveled that playing field and the opportunity to save money on housing by rehearsing in the city and to get a feel for how a show is received by local audiences and media are both big plusses.

Of course, there's never a guarantee of success. HONEYMOON IN VEGAS was a smash hit at Paper Mill but never built enough of a Broadway audience.

Last season Paper Mill housed two high-profile new musicals, EVER AFTER and Disney's THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME that have yet to announce immediate Broadway plans. Their current production is the world premiere of THE BANDSTAND. Click here for further information.