the arts
Tony Danza
TONY DANZA
Tony Danza as
Tommy Korman in
Honeymoon in
Vegas at Paper Mill
Playhouse.
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FALL 2017 MILLBURN & SHORT HILLS MAGAZINE
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“THE PAPER MILL
TEAM BELIEVED
IN THE SHOW.”
ver the course of his long
career, Tony Danza has
been a boxer, starred on
Taxi and Who’s the Boss?,
emerged as a talented song and
dance man, and appeared on
Broadway in a drama (The Iceman
Cometh) and a blockbuster musical
(The Producers). One of his proud-
est achievements, however, is
Honeymoon in Vegas. He starred
in Paper Mill Playhouse’s popular
2013 premiere production, as well
as its subsequent Broadway run
and national tour. Danza deeply
appreciated Paper Mill Playhouse’s
involvement with Honeymoon.
“The Paper Mill team believed in
the show,” Danza says. “That belief
and their support, as we began
production, helped give us all the
confidence one needs to mount this
type of massive show. Mark Hoebee
and Todd Schmidt were completely
devoted to putting on a Broadway-
caliber show — and that’s what
we did.”
Danza describes working at the
theater and living for an extended
period in Millburn as “such a joy.”
He proceeds to rattle off the rea-
sons. “The house is spacious and
there’s plenty of room to work,”
Danza says. “The crew is superb
at every position and just great to
collaborate with. The audiences
were enthusiastic, while very
discerning, and in the end, so fun
to play for. The community was
also so welcoming.
“I lived in a little house on the
corner, across the street from the
theater,” he continues. “I was
upstairs and my pal, the wonderful
Rob McClure (TURN TO PAGE 40) , lived
downstairs. I shopped, almost every
day, because I cooked for Rob, and
I went to the gym every day and
worked out. I felt a part of the
community and was sad when we
finished our run and I had to go
back to reality. [It was] truly one of
the best theatrical experiences of
my career. Thanks, Millburn.”