Godspell, the musical
A Wonderful Life, Summer and Smoke, Romance/Romance, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and
Pirates! will comprise the Paper Mill Playhouse's 2006-2007 season.
Paper Mill, which is located in Millburn, NJ, is back to its usual offering of six shows a season. After feedback from disappointed subscribers, the five slots of last season (which were cut down for budgetary reasons) were once again expanded, according to
The New Jersey Star-Ledger.The
Stephen Schwartz musical
Godspell, about Jesus Christ and his apostles, will kick off the season; it will run from September 20th through October 22nd.
Godspell, which opened on Broadway in 1976, features a score by Schwartz and a book by John-Michael Tebelak.
A Wonderful Life, the musical version of the 1946 Frank Capra classic about a man whose faith in life is restored by his guardian angel's intervention, will run from November 8th through December 17th. The musical features lyrics and book by
Sheldon Harnick (
Fiddler on the Roof) and music by Joe Raposo.
Summer and Smoke, Tennessee Williams' 1948 classic about a thwarted love, will play Paper Mill from January 10th through February 11th, 2006. Michael Wilson will direct the play, which will be a co-production with Hartford Stage (of which Wilson is the artistic director).
Romance/Romance will waltz across the stage from February 28th through April 1st. Comprised of two one-acts (one set in turn-of-the-century Vienna, the other in the modern day Hamptons), the show opened on Broadway in 1988.
Romance/Romance, which features music by Keith Hermann and a book and lyrics by Barry Harman, will be directed by
Mark S. Hoebee, the associate artistic director of Paper Mill.
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers will next be presented (after first playing Houston's Theatre Under the Stars). At first a 1954 MGM classic, the Pacific Northwest-set musical came to Broadway for a short-lived run in 1982 (and has since become a regional favorite). With added songs by Al
Kasha and Joel Hirschhorn supplementing the original Johnny Mercer-Gene DePaul score, it will run from April 11th through May 13th before moving to the North Shore Music Theatre in Beverly, MA.
The season will come to a close with
Pirates!, a new version of the Gilbert and Sullivan classic
The Pirates of Penzance. Inspired by the film
Pirates of the Carribean, the show will be directed by Gordon Greenburg (
Jacques Brel is Alive and Well...) and run from June 6th through July 15th. The production will first play the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, CT.
The Paper Mill Playhouse is located at Brookside Drive.
Renewal subscriptions are currently available. New subscriptions will be available May 29th, while single tickets will go on sale August 7th. Call (973) 376-4343 or visit
www.papermill.org.
