Paper Mill Announces Brookside Cabaret's Exciting Lineup For Summer 2022

Paper Mill has announced the return of its popular Brookside Cabaret starting Wednesday, June 29. The outdoor series features world-class performers and fine dining under the stars at the F.M. Kirby Carriage House Restaurant.

A dazzling array of singers from Paper Mill, Broadway, and beyond will return to the Brookside Cabaret for performances presented Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings at 7:00pm (seating for dinner begins at 5:30pm), featuring Jenna Pastuszek (June 29-July 2), Marieann Meringolo (July 6-9), Susan Speidel and Joe Regan (July 13-16), Alexander Kariotis (July 20-23), Kelli Rabke (August 3-6), Major Attaway (August 10-13), Elena Shaddow (August 17-20), The Playbillies (August 24-27), Elizabeth Ward Land (August 31-September 3), Belinda Allyn (September 7-10), and Kissy Simmons (September 14-17).

In addition to enjoying top-notch entertainment, patrons will enjoy Chef Jacques Marra's inspired menu, featuring upscale New American cuisine including mussels Provencal, lobster quesadilla, caprese salad and other seasonal favorites.

Brookside seating is $35 plus a $36 per person prix fixe menu. Bar seating is $20 plus a $25 food and drink minimum per person from an à la carte menu.

The Carriage House Restaurant at the F.M. Kirby Carriage House opens for alfresco dining at 5:30pm Wednesday-Saturday beginning June 29. Reservations are required. Visit www.PaperMill.org or call 973.376.4343.

BROOKSIDE CABARET PERFORMERS

Jenna Pastuszek: Me, Myself & Barbra

June 29-July 2

Happy days are here again! After her glorious Judy Garland tribute last summer, acclaimed performer Jenna Pastuszek returns to the brookside stage with a fresh evening that features the early hits of superstar Barbra Streisand. At 21, Babs spent her nights singing in hot cabaret clubs dressed in funky thrift store finds. At 21, Jenna Pastuszek spent her evenings serving mini hot dogs at bar mitzvahs and sporting a patterned bow tie-until she met Barbra, and everything changed. Learn how Barbra's self-confidence, power, and unique panache inspired a young performer to embrace her own kooky self. With music direction by Joshua Zecher-Ross, Jenna's new show boasts such beloved songs as "A Sleepin' Bee," "Miss Marmelstein," "Bewitched," "Don't Rain on My Parade," and more.

Marieann Meringolo: Shades of Love

July 6-9

Award-winning and critically acclaimed songstress Marieann Meringolo wowed brookside audiences last year with her outstanding show Between Yesterday and Tomorrow, celebrating the Academy Award-winning songwriting team of Alan and Marilyn Bergman. Likened to both k.d. lang and Barbra Streisand, Marieann makes her much-anticipated return with a brand-new show, Shades of Love, taking audiences on a journey through the ebbs and flows and highs and lows of life and love. She'll sing fresh interpretations of songs written by Joni Mitchell, Janis Ian, Billy Joel, Marsha Malamet, Neil Sedaka, Christina Perri, and more, directed by WILL NUNZIATA with music direction by Doyle Newmyer. It's an evening not to be missed!

Susan Speidel and Joe Regan

July 13-16

Susan Speidel and Joe Regan have been Brookside Cabaret favorites since inaugurating the series in 2020, known for their jolly renditions of standards and show tunes. Susan Speidel has appeared on the Paper Mill main stage and has presented cabaret shows in New York and beyond. She has soloed with symphonies and pops orchestras, and she has appeared in leading roles in Hello, Dolly!, Gypsy, Nunsense, Chicago, The Pirates of Penzance, Sweeney Todd, and more. Joe Regan is a fixture on the cabaret scene in the metropolitan area, appearing in piano bars and cabaret rooms as well as on international river cruises and at various resorts. He has been nominated numerous times as Outstanding Piano Bar Instrumentalist by the Manhattan Association of Cabaret.

Alexander Kariotis

July 20-23

One of the most distinctive operatic tenors on the international music scene, Alexander Kariotis has sung leading roles in La bohème, Tosca, and Pagliacci, to name a few. As a classical crossover artist, he also possesses a powerful, searing rock voice likened to Steve Perry and Freddie Mercury. Together he and his Rock Opera Orchestra (piano, acoustic and electric guitars, bass, drums) weave timeless operatic arias into soaring rock melodies, now with two albums out. Their Brookside Cabaret debut last year brought the house down with innovative arrangements of the greatest hits from the opera and rock worlds plus Broadway favorites, leaving audiences both exhilarated and breathless. Alexander is a top 10 Billboard artist (compilation album with Dan Aykroyd), and he appeared in the Broadway tour of Master Class by Terrence McNally alongside Elizabeth Ashley.

Kelli Rabke: Tiny Giants: The Broadway Edition

August 3-6

Broadway powerhouse and Paper Mill favorite Kelli Rabke proves that good things do come in small packages! She returns to the Brookside Cabaret with the newest version of her hit cabaret show Tiny Giants: Petite Powerhouses from Garland to Gaga, now featuring legendary ladies of the stage in Tiny Giants: The Broadway Edition! Kelli and music director John Fischer take us on musical journey through vertically challenged territory-a subject she was born to explore! Kelli got her "big break" as Dorothy in Paper Mill Playhouse's The Wizard of Oz, made her Broadway debut as the Narrator in the revival of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, starred as Eponine in Les Misérables on Broadway, and returned to Paper Mill in the landmark production of Children of Eden. Kelli is a staple in the concert world, singing with symphony orchestras across the country and creating her own cabaret shows.

Major Attaway

August 10-13

Broadway vet Major Attaway, who made his Paper Mill debut this season in A Jolly Holiday, brings his upbeat and unique one-man show The Genie's Jukebox to the Brookside Cabaret. Major holds the record as the longest-running Genie in Disney's Aladdin on Broadway, and he has developed this show to explore the entirety of the Genie's world-free of his duties to the lamp-a version of the character we all know and love, dipped in jazz. Who are the Genie's favorite would-be magical friends and villain cohorts? Come hear Major cover all the answers as he performs a surprising and enjoyable mix of pop, Broadway, and the American songbook, featuring new arrangements of Frank Sinatra classics. His voice talents can be heard on the anime series One Piece and on numerous video games, and his credits also include Mack and Mabel at City Center Encores! and on Netflix's Orange Is the New Black.

Elena Shaddow

August 17-20

Elena Shaddow, a familiar face at Paper Mill, lends her glorious soprano stylings to favorite Broadway tunes and love songs. She appeared on the main stage as Mary in Mary Poppins, Maria in The Sound of Music, Mother in A Christmas Story, and Lili in Carnival!. Broadway: The Visit, La Cage aux Folles, The Bridges of Madison County, The Woman in White, Fiddler on the Roof, Nine, Sweet Smell of Success, Les Misérables. Select NYC, tour, and regional credits include Anna in The King and I, Clara in The Light in the Piazza, Fanny in Fanny at City Center Encores!, The Bacchae at the Public, Marian in The Music Man (Muny), Francesca in The Bridges of Madison County (Williamstown), Olivia in Twelfth Night (Shakespeare NJ). Concerts with the Orchestra of Saint Luke's at Carnegie Hall, Royal Philharmonic at the Royal Albert Hall, Pacific Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, North Carolina Symphony, and others.

The Playbillies: Bluegrass Broadway

August 24-27

The Playbillies, Broadway's bluegrass band, were a huge hit last summer and return to great demand. Comprised of Mike Rosengarten (banjo), Matt Cusack (bass), Armando Gutierrez (guitar), and Erica Swindell (fiddle), the quartet was formed when Mike turned to his friends and said, "These show tunes are great, but I just wish there were more banjo." They all readily agreed and took off on an adventure to "bluegrassify" every show tune they could! Since 2016, the Playbillies have continued to share original arrangements, marrying two of America's greatest traditions-bluegrass and Broadway-via social media, live concerts, and private events. Their lively, eclectic set list includes favorites from Chicago, Bandstand, Fiddler on the Roof, Rent, Hello, Dolly!, even Bruce Springsteen, and more.

Elizabeth Ward Land: Still Within the Sound of My Voice

August 31-September 3

Elizabeth Ward Land returns to the Brookside Cabaret series for her third summer with her ravishing Linda Ronstadt tribute concert, Still Within the Sound of My Voice; it won the 2020 Bistro Award for Outstanding Tribute Show. Liz is known for her versatile career encompassing musicals, plays, concerts, voice-overs, commercials, film, and television. Her Broadway, Off Broadway, tour, and regional credits include Amazing Grace, Memphis, Passion, Sunset Boulevard, The Bedwetter, Curvy Widow, City of Angels, Les Misérables, The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber, Singin' in the Rain, and more. She's performed sold-out concerts at the Green Room 42, 54 Below, SOPAC, and elsewhere across the country. Liz's acclaimed debut CD, First Harvest, is available on iTunes, Spotify, etc., and the album recording of Still Within the Sound of My Voice will be released July 15 - both on LML Music.

Belinda Allyn

September 7-10

Belinda Allyn has become recognized as Paper Mill's resident ingenue in recent years, having starred in Beauty and the Beast (Belle), West Side Story (Maria), and Sister Act (upcoming, Sister Mary Robert) as well as the digital Some Enchanted Evening. She debuted her cabaret program last year at Forestburgh Playhouse's inaugural In the Works-In the Woods Cab Lab, featuring favorites by Rodgers and Hammerstein, Alan Menken, and Stephen Sondheim, plus pop hits and beloved standards. Belinda's other credits include Once Upon a One More Time (pre-Broadway, Shakespeare Theatre Company), Allegiance (Broadway), understudy Imelda Marcos in Here Lies Love (Seattle Rep), Mrs. Claus in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular (NYC), and solo gigs around town.

Kissy Simmons

September 14-17

Vocal powerhouse Kissy Simmons, best known for her nine years as Nala in Broadway's The Lion King and recently a star of Paper Mill's own A Jolly Holiday, closes out the Brookside Cabaret season with a delightful set of jazzy standards, R&B favorites, and show tune hits-ranging from Ella to Whitney to Barbra to Disney. Kissy's theatrical credits include Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Little Shop of Horrors, Sondheim on Sondheim, and Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, among others. She has performed in cabarets and on concert stages around the country and has appeared on television on The Detour, Smash, Hope & Faith, 30 Rock, and Six Degrees.

Artists and programs are subject to change.