Paper Mill Playhouse Launches Plan to Keep Doors Open

A strong and innovative public and private community response will be able to keep the doors from closing at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, local officials said yesterday.

Ken Thorn, Chairman of the 70-year-old Playhouses' Board of Trustees, said a coalition of committed and dedicated business leaders and township officials together with a local banking institution have embraced a plan that once implemented "should revitalize Paper Mill and create an exciting and innovative long-term business model that will ensure a dynamic future for the Theater, and preserve an important cultural, business and esthetic asset of the township. The success of our efforts will require ongoing philanthropic support."

Thorn states that Playhouse officials said the plan should not only permit them to continue with the current season's last play, Pirates!, but also to proceed with planning the future. The plan evolved in the weeks after the Theater announced it was in danger of closing its doors due to a severe financial crisis. "It is the tremendous outpouring of financial commitments, structured financial thinking, including a surge in ticket sales, partnership with the town and grass roots support and planning that will bring more stability to the Theater," Thorn said.

The Playhouse and its Board of Trustees have worked tirelessly to develop the plan that includes the following:

- Funding from Investors Savings Bank, that has expressed a willingness to extend a "significant" loan to aid in the financial restructuring of the Playhouse.  
- The Board of Trustees and other business leaders have stepped forward to offer increased support and help identify and recruit guarantors for the loan.
- Millburn township officials are taking steps to enable the township to financially participate in and support the preservation of the theater, which, they said, is a critical economic asset to downtown businesses.
- The planned administrative reorganization of the Playhouse that will incorporate a sound longer-term business and financing plan.

Kevin Cummings, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Investors Savings Bank comments, "Investors Savings Bank is headquartered in Millburn and Paper Mill Playhouse has been a source of pride for Millburn and New Jersey for many years.  It is Investors Savings Bank's corporate responsibility to support this theater in any way we can."

Millburn Mayor Dan Baer said several financially prudent strategies are under review by township officials.  "There is a general township government consensus to participate with others in the Playhouse's financial repositioning initiative," he said.  Township approval on a specific option is expected in a few weeks.

"Paper Mill Playhouse is not only one of the economic engines for downtown Millburn, but it is what makes Millburn unique from our neighbors," the mayor said.  "The support we extend will be a reflection of its historical role in our community and beyond, and it is one of the keys to the successful redevelopment of our downtown."

Thorn said this partnership with Millburn is the beginning of defining a new roadmap to success. The Paper Mill Playhouse Board of Trustees and staff are poised to begin the process of revitalizing the theatre through a newly adopted mission that positions Paper Mill as "an artistic and educational center for 'intergenerational' audiences."  "By expanding our education and outreach programs Paper Mill will deepen its engagement with the community and reach a new generation of families throughout the State of New Jersey."

The recently stepped-up fund-raising campaign, necessitated by increasingly adverse financial circumstances, demonstrated the desire of patrons and friends to save Paper Mill Playhouse. Thousands of donors have made contributions exceeding a million dollars. The outpouring of grassroots support affirmed the Board of Trustees' commitment to redefine the theatre and its relationship to its community.

According to Theater Communications Group (Theater Facts 2005), the estimated 2005 universe of U.S. not-for-profit professional theatres shows that 51% of total income is earned and 49% of total income is contributed.  Paper Mill Playhouse has been operating with 80% earned income and 20% contributed under their current business model.  "One of the keys to the long-term success of Paper Mill Playhouse is raising our contributed goals," says Paper Mill Trustee Scott Fergang, "Paper Mill is a not-for-profit arts organization that needs improved and continued support."

If the plan succeeds, the Playhouse should be able to complete its 2006-2007 season with Pirates!, A swashbuckling adaptation of The Pirates of Penzance. This newly reworked masterpiece conceived by Gordon Greenberg (Jacques Brel…), Nell Benjamin (Legally Blonde), and John McDaniel ("The Rosie O'Donnell Show") will run at the Millburn theatre from June 7, 2007 through July 8, 2007.

"We are thrilled we can fulfill the commitment to our subscribers by producing six world-class productions this season," says Diane Claussen, Paper Mill Playhouse Managing Director, "it is the combination of our dedicated Board of Trustees, tireless staff, and generous patrons that allows us to produce this new work, Pirates!." 

Mark Hoebee, Paper Mill's Acting Artistic Director points out, "It took some time to be able to come to a consensus on whether Paper Mill could produce Pirates! in both a fiscally responsible and artistically outstanding way.  We are currently preparing a new vision for the piece that meets both these goals."

Paper Mill Playhouse, not-for-profit arts organization, is one of the country's leading regional theatres and is supported in part by grants from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Dept. of State, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, in addition to contributions from many corporations, foundations, businesses and individuals.  Paper Mill Playhouse is a member of the Theatre Communications Group, the National Alliance for Musical Theatre, the Council of Stock Theatres, and the New Jersey Theatre Alliance.

Pirates! will play the following performance schedule: Wednesdays at 7:30PM, Thursdays at 2:00PM & 7:30PM, Fridays at 8:00PM, Saturdays at 2:00PM & 8:00PM and Sundays at 2:00PM & 7:30PM.  Single tickets are now on sale and range in price from $19 to $68.  Student rush tickets are $16.25 and are available the day of performance in person with current student ID. Tickets may be purchased by calling 973-376-4343, or at the Paper Mill Box Office on Brookside Drive in Millburn, or online at www.papermill.org.