Papermill Playhouse: How is it doing?

[massofmen]

Posted: 2/13/08 at 2:21am

all of that talk last year about it possibly folding because of massive financial woes, and now no news.
I was wondering if anyone knew how the theater was doing?
thanks.

[musicalmaster703]

Posted: 2/13/08 at 8:51am

Bishop, Booker, Fowler, Sullivan and Wetherhead to Star in Paper Mill's Magnolias

By Andrew Gans
12 Feb 2008

Casting has been announced for the Paper Mill Playhouse's upcoming production of Steel Magnolias, which will begin previews at the New Jersey venue March 5.

Directed by Karen Carpenter, Robert Harling's bittersweet comedy will run through April 6 with an official opening scheduled for March 9 at 7:30 PM.

The cast will boast Kelly Bishop (Clairee Belcher), Charlotte Booker (Truvy Jones), Beth Fowler (Ouiser Boudreaux), Monique Fowler (M'Lynn Eatenton), Kelly Sullivan (Shelby Eatenton-Latcherie) and Kate Wetherhead (Annelle Dupuy-Desoto).

Steel Magnolias, according to press notes, is set in "Truvy's beauty salon, [where] six very different women come together to share their secrets and bare their souls, throwing in a little neighborly gossip for good measure. From weddings to divorces, babies to funerals, new beginnings to happy endings, they weather every event in their lives en masse with grace, determination, and perfectly coifed hair. When tragedy strikes, it is in the familiar comfort of Truvy's salon where they seek the solace and support that carries them through."

The production will feature scenic design by Hugh Landwehr, costume design by David Murin, lighting design by Jeff Croiter, hair and wig design by Mark Adam Rampmeyer and sound design by Randy Hansen. The production stage manager is Brian Meister.

Paper Mill Playhouse is located on Brookside Drive in Millburn, NJ. Tickets, priced $25-$92, are available by calling [phone] or by visiting www.papermill.org.

[broadwayfan7]

Posted: 2/13/08 at 3:15pm

I think they are doing well. Steel Magnolias sounds like it is going to be great!

[WestVillage]

Posted: 2/13/08 at 3:40pm

Their current production of The Miracle Worker got wonderful reviews.

[blaxx]

Posted: 2/13/08 at 3:45pm

I think the question was financially, not artistically.

[musicalmaster703]

Posted: 2/13/08 at 5:23pm

Kelly Is Back on broadway what could be wrong?

[PlayhouseBeauty]

Posted: 2/13/08 at 8:50pm

I live very close to the Paper Mill and as I understand it there doing ok...There making ends meet and stuff but the orchestra is nowhere near full and they only use a few rows of the mezz if any...I know when i go I can get there 5mins before the show and get a seat in one of the first few rows...If you look arond during intermission its pretty empty...They have also cut back on alot of costs...like there scenery isn't nearly as nice as it used to be...I saw the Miracle worker on there first night of previews and thought it was great...so please go see it, everyone in it is great, especially the two girls that play Helen Keller!!! :)

[lakezurich]

Posted: 2/13/08 at 8:53pm

If only someone could teach PlayhouseBeauty the difference between "there" and "They're."

[PlayhouseBeauty]

Posted: 2/15/08 at 8:21am

Sorry for my grammatical errors...I wasnt paying attention to it bc i was in a rush

[madbrian]

Posted: 2/15/08 at 8:36am

I'm going to see The Miracle Worker tonight, so I'll report back on both the quality of the production as well as the size of the audience.

[PlayhouseBeauty]

Posted: 2/15/08 at 8:38am

Hope you have a great time...I really enjoyed the show!! :)

[Sondheim_Geek]

Posted: 2/15/08 at 8:16pm

It's by no means out in the clear, but it is doing much better than it was last spring. They are trying to stay a little more mainstream and have some great financial advisors working with them.

[ILuv2shop531]

Posted: 2/15/08 at 9:49pm

they have a full season planed so that sort of means they are doing well. & for the longest time when you visited the papermill website the window asking for donations cames up, it is gone now.

[BrookArtsCenter]

Posted: 2/15/08 at 10:35pm

I had the pleasure of meeting the new Executive Director, Mark Jones, this week. He was largely responsible for helping Shakespeare and Co., Glimmerglass Opera and Limon on track financially.

In the 90 days he's been at Paper Mill, he's been concentrating on firing up the board and staff to meet its responsibilities, create an endowment, cutting expenses and putting together a business plan. The plan is to get the town of Millburn to buy the land and building and lease it back to the theatre for a nominal fee. This should get rid of most or all of the debt.

I think this guy can pull it off. He has the experience, the energy and the smarts. Of course, time will tell. But, I'm pulling for him, along with many others.

Gerry

[madbrian]

Posted: 2/16/08 at 9:00am

I saw The Miracle Worker at the Papermill last night, and the show was very, very good. I'm familiar with the movie and the story, but I had never seen a production before. Even though I knew what was coming, it was very emotional. The scene at the breakfast table was very physical, and the actresses had to improvise since they actually broke some furniture (it was obviously not expected).

The theater was a little over half full, which is disappointing, but I don't think their non-musicals frequently sold out.

Next shows are Steel Magnolias, Kiss Me Kate, and Little Shop of Horrors.

[PlayhouseBeauty]

Posted: 2/16/08 at 11:11am

I really do hope that Mark Jones can get the theater out of its debt. But it is a longshot in asking Millburn to buy it...I live over there and my mom works there and we were talking about this and she said that there is only a slight chance that Millburn will buy it...But if they do it will mean wonderful things for the Paper Mill...I would just hate to see this place gone...I have been going there since I was five to see all the children's theater work that they do and then as i got older for my birthday my mom would buy me a subscription for that coming season....I even had my birthday party there once...lol...We saw Huck Finn!!

[adamgreer]

Posted: 2/16/08 at 1:40pm

Their plays rarely, if ever, sell out or make any money, for that matter. Honestly, I don't know why they still stage them. Their bread and butter is definitely well-known musicals that they can mass market. Kiss Me, Kate, and LSOH should do very well (and hopefully offset some of the losses The Miracle Worker and Steel Magnolias will bring).

[bigred3535]

Posted: 2/16/08 at 1:55pm

Didn't they switch from for-profit to non-profit to help alleviate their financial problems?

[BrookArtsCenter]

Posted: 2/16/08 at 2:37pm

Actually, they've been nonprofit as long as I can remember. And they do plays during the cold days of Jan/Feb, because it is difficult to get a crowd to come to even musicals during this time (even on Bway). A non-musical play may bring in less audience, but it is cheaper to produce -- no orchestra, cheaper rights, smaller cast, etc. So, they can probably make their money back with 400, rather than 1300.

[mrkita08]

Posted: 2/16/08 at 4:09pm

I actually just discovered Papermill this year. I saw Happy Day and Meet Me in St. Louis this year and will probably see The Miracle Worker this week. The production values seem very high for the musicals even if the budgets were cut. The two musical I saw weren't anything special but at both performances the theater was half full which is sad. I hope Papermill can turn itself around cause it is truly an amazing place.