the arts
P
ALL-STAR LINEUP Clockwise from the top:
Paper Mill Playhouse alum Anne Hathaway
after winning an Oscar for her performance
in Les Miserables; Patrick Swayze, who once
danced in the chorus of Paper Mill’s
production of The Music Man; Betty White,
Sarah Hyland (of Modern Family) and
Gene Wilder, all veterans of Paper Mill
productions.
aper Mill
Playhouse’s story
begins in 1795,
when Samuel
Campbell opened
the Thistle Paper
Mill on what’s now the site of
the Paper Mill Playhouse. A fire
leveled the building in the 1860s,
but it was rebuilt and stayed in
operation for nearly four more
decades. It eventually closed and
fell into disrepair. Then, in 1934,
writer-actress Antoinette
Scudder and actor-director Frank
Carrington bought the property
with the intention of forming a
repertory theater and a theater
school for kids. Paper Mill
Playhouse officially debuted in
November 1938, with a play
called The Kingdom of God by
Gregorio Martinez Sierra.
The show has gone on — and
on — ever since, despite another
fire in 1980 and financial issues
in the mid-2000s. Patrons,
students, actors, directors,
playwrights, musicians, choreog-
raphers, ushers and others come
from Millburn, its surrounding
areas, and from nearby
Manhattan. Over the years,
Paper Mill Playhouse has been
home to hundreds of plays (clas-
sic and new), operettas and bal-
lets. Oscar-winning actress and
former Millburn resident Anne
Hathaway started there and
earned a Paper Mill Playhouse
Rising Star Award nomination.
These days, the playhouse
often partners with complemen-
tary organizations to present
Broadway-bound shows. Recent
examples include Newsies!,
Honeymoon in Vegas, Bandstand
and A Bronx Tale. Paper Mill
Playhouse even offers a number
of autism-friendly shows with
such special accommodations as
dimmed houselights and lower-
volume sound. Just last year,
Paper Mill Playhouse received
the 2016 Regional Theatre
Tony Award.
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FALL 2017 MILLBURN & SHORT HILLS M AGAZINE
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