Millburn-Short Hills Magazine Back to School 2020 | Page 37

SING IT LOUD The Paper Mill Playhouse’s
Broadway Show Choir on stage.
COURTESY OF THE PAPER MILL PLAYHOUSE
The theater’s restaurant, F.M. Kirby
Carriage House Restaurant, has
also reopened for outdoor dining.
Entertainment has been added on
Thursdays and Saturdays, which
Hoebee says gives the restaurant a
caberet-style atmosphere.
HOEBEEHELPSHOSTAPODCAST
Paper Mill started three online
series, one of which Hoebee hosts.
All of the content is streamed on
the theater’s Facebook page and
YouTube channel. On Mondays,
there are archival performances of
their New Voices concerts featuring
Paper Mill’s young students;
Thursdays feature replays from
the theater’s Humanity series
of the 1980s and 1990. Hoebee
hosts “Babbling by the Brook” on
Wednesdays, for which he interviews
Paper Mill Playhouse artists,
including directors, choreographers
and performers. He says he recently
interviewed Ali Stroker, a Ridgewood
resident who was the first actor in a
wheelchair to win a Tony for her performance
in Rogers &Hammerstein’s
Oklahoma.
HOEBEE SAYS A SAFETY PLAN IS
BEING DEVELOPED
Asafety plan is already in place for
the restaurant, requiring diners and
staff to wear masks; their temperatures
need to be taken, and only one
person is allowed in the bathroom,
which is cleaned after every use, at a
time.
The Paper Mill is working on
creating a“very robust safety plan”
for its employees and patrons, too.
Hoebee says the theater and unions
are working on protocols for actors,
musicians and crew members, but do
not have enough medical information
at present to move forward. “We’re
all in a holding pattern,” he says.
HE IS CONCERNED ABOUT THE
LONGTERM SURVIVAL OF ARTS
ORGANIZATIONS
Hoebee fears for the survival of
not only the Paper Mill Playhouse,
but other organizations like it.
Broadway has provided ticket refunds
for up until January, but Hoebee says
that doesn’t mean productions will
start again, as everything depends on
the country’s “health situation.”
“Live performances could be
delayed until January, they could
be delayed until April, they could
be delayed until the fall of 2021,”
Hoebee says. “That’s a real possibility
which makes surviving that time for
an arts organization nearly impossible.”
Paper Mill heavily relies on income
earned through box office sales in
addition to grants from foundations
and corporations, and individual
giving. But much of it is centered
around its programming, and education
programs within schools and at
the playhouse.
Hoebee says he doesn’t know if the
United States will invest money into
saving theater and arts organizations
the way the England Arts Council
has, which created an emergency
package of more than $200 million
to help.
HE PRAISES PAPER MILL
SUPPORTERS
While the pandemic is long-lasting,
“We’ve been so impressed by the
generosity of the Paper Mill family,”
Hoebee says. He says many people
have continued to donate to the organization
or have offered consulting
services to help them design a plan
to move forward, even while facing
hardships themselves. Hoebee says it
would be all too easy for donors to
stop providing financial support
to institutions like the Paper Mill
Playhouse.
“We are an organization that
serves the public,” he says. “We bring
entertainment and arts education to
the community, and they value what
we do. They are stepping up to say
‘We want to help you get through.’
That’s been incredibly moving and
impressive tome.” ■
MILLBURN &SHORT HILLS MAGAZINE BACK TOSCHOOL 2020
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