Paper Mill Playhouse
Victor S. Miller
today to receive the following email:
The Campaign to Save Paper Mill Playhouse
Can you imagine New Jersey without Paper Mill Playhouse? Paper Mill is
in a financial crisis and needs $1.5 million by Friday, April 6th or
the doors must close. You can save this theatre by making a generous
tax-deductible donation online today
http://www.papermill.org/support/annualfund.php
It looks doubtful that I'll get to see the upcoming production of
"Seven Brides for Seven Brothers". It looks like they kept their
troubles under wraps until it was too far gone.
Victor
John W. Kennedy
However, in this area, where the average house costs over $1,000,000,
what they're asking for isn't impossible.
--
John W. Kennedy
"Those in the seat of power oft forget their failings and seek only the
obeisance of others! Thus is bad government born! Hold in your heart
that you and the people are one, human beings all, and good government
shall arise of its own accord! Such is the path of virtue!"
-- Kazuo Koike. "Lone Wolf and Cub: Thirteen Strings" (tr. Dana Lewis)
* TagZilla 0.066 * http://tagzilla.mozdev.org
VINCE
mikes...@webtv.net
production of the most happy fella on pbs which i've never seen re-run.
does anybody know if it's available on vid anywhere?
Steve Newport
televised. MOST HAPPY FELLA was a Broadway revival.
O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O
http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com
O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O
Victor S. Miller
It could be curtains for season at Paper Mill
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
BY PEGGY McGLONE
Star-Ledger Staff
The Paper Mill Playhouse will close its doors -- and cancel the
production of "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" set to open next week
-- if it does not raise $1.5 million by Friday, theater officials said
yesterday.
The Millburn theater's financial crisis stems from a slumping box
office, exacerbated by a recent change in artistic direction that
didn't fare well with the public, and anemic fundraising. The
combination has prevented the 69-year-old theater from keeping up with
the costs of producing a six-show season.
Paper Mill officials said yesterday the theater needs an immediate
infusion of cash to keep the curtain up through the season, which
includes "Seven Brides" in April and May and "Pirates!" in June and
July.
"We've never made it clear that we can't do it on ticket sales alone,"
acting artistic director Mark Hoebee said in making an appeal for
funds. "The general public does not know we need money. We cannot do
what we do on the scale we do without their help."
Paper Mill has reached out to local, county and state government
officials, for grants and loans, and to alumni of the theater who are
working in New York. Donors, subscribers and residents of the
surrounding towns are the next targets, said Kenneth Thorn, chairman
of the board.
"We've had good response. A local bank in town is working with us, the
mayor of Millburn has been fantastic, the restaurateurs
(fantastic). I'm still hopeful," he said. Still, the theater has hired
a bankruptcy attorney.
The problem began last August, when the theater's board of trustees
voted to accept a $17 million budget that included a planned deficit
of $2.8 million. Board members promised to donate $2 million
themselves to cover most of that shortfall.
The board pledged only $1.1 million, but the theater has received just
$56,000 in cash. Bank loans have not been secured and appeals to
donors and subscribers have yielded another $100,000 in pledges,
officials said yesterday.
It is not enough.
"People have to understand, mistakes have been made but change is
happening," said Scott Fergang, who joined the board last year. "We
need help."
Paper Mill's financial woes, while currently at a fever pitch, have
been humming for more than a decade. Known for its splashy revivals of
musical theater classics, the 1,200-seat theater was a national
powerhouse for decades, attracting luminaries like Bernadette Peters,
Jerome Hines and Ann Miller.
But then Broadway experienced a resurgence, with more shows and more
family fare available in a spruced-up Times Square district. Paper
Mill had competition like never before.
The New Jersey Performing Arts Center opened in 1997, bringing a
musical theater series to Newark. And, in the aftermath of the
terrorist attacks of 9/11, audience patterns around the country began
to shift away from pre-sold subscriptions to last-minute,
single-ticket sales.
Paper Mill also experienced a change in artistic direction the past
three years. In 2003, long-time Paper Mill head Angelo Del Rossi
retired and was replaced by Michael Gennaro, an executive with
Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company, who introduced new and edgy
work to the normally traditional Paper Mill repertoire.
Among his offerings were the world premiere of "Harold & Maude: The
Musical" and a musical version of Shakespeare's "A Mid-Summer Night's
Dream."
Audiences accustomed to "My Fair Lady" and "Camelot" responded by
staying home.
When Gennaro left in January, the theater had 6,000 fewer subscribers
and almost $5 million in accumulated debt. In 1990, Paper Mill boasted
more than 40,000 subscribers. This year, there are 19,500.
But some productions have drawn strong single-ticket sales. The
holiday favorite "It's A Wonderful Life" sold almost $1 million in
single tickets in November. "Godspell," which opened in September,
exceeded its single-ticket projections.
The rarely seen "Romance/Romance," however, generated just $3,000
before closing this weekend.
Responding to its audience, Paper Mill plans to return to its
tried-and-true formula for next year, if it should survive this
crisis. Six productions -- all familiar titles -- will appeal to
multiple generations of theater-goers, Hoebee said.
"We have to present the product our community wants to see," said
Hoebee.
The lingering financial problems were addressed with a series of
cutbacks. In 2004, staff took two-week unpaid furloughs and the season
was cut to five productions, which included co-productions with other
regional theaters.
While box office revenues steadily declined, the theater was unable to
raise donations to compensate. Last year's contributions totaled $4.4
million -- including $2.3 million in state funding -- and just
$367,000 from individuals. In comparison, last year the New Jersey
Performing Arts Center raised $4.8 million from individuals.
Paper Mill hired consultant Albert Hall in 2004 to investigate the
hurdles to fundraising. In his report, Hall criticized the theater's
board, noting it "lacks unity and cohesion" and included many members
who did not understand their roles in fundraising.
Only 16 of 25 trustees donated money to the theater's annual campaign
the previous three years and most did not meet the required $10,000
minimum donation.
Yet the theater last year went ahead with a fundraising campaign that
would spruce up the aging facility, improve and expand its education
offerings and provide operating funds to cover a projected deficit.
With only four months remaining in the fiscal year, it needs almost $1
million to make good on its own IOU.
Thorn said Gennaro's abrupt departure "caused the (fundraising
campaign) to come to a grinding halt." Theater officials have yet to
solicit every board member for a pledge, but Thorn said those who have
been approached have agreed to make a donation.
"It's a good sign that they've gotten themselves energized," Thorn
said of the board's response. "I hope it's not too late."
Peggy McGlone may be reached at pmcg...@starledger.com or (973)
392-5982.
Victor S. Miller
The New York Times
April 4, 2007
Financial Emergency for Celebrated Nonprofit Theater in New Jersey
By CAMPBELL ROBERTSON
If things do not change soon, there will be a last-minute substitution
at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, N.J.
The role of "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers," the musical that was to
be the next entry in the Paper Mill's 69th season, will instead be
played by an empty theater, 110 out-of-work employees and a bankruptcy
lawyer.
Officials at the Paper Mill, one of the premier nonprofit theaters in
the region, said yesterday that because of a $1.5 million shortfall,
they were not sure if "Seven Brides," which is scheduled to begin
performances next Wednesday, would be able to open at all. Even if
that money is raised in the coming days, a slightly smaller amount
will be needed to keep the theater running for the last show of the
season, "Pirates!"
In August, Paper Mill's board approved a $17 million budget with a
$2.8 million shortfall built in. The board said it would raise much of
that as part of a capital campaign, and make up the difference with
better ticket sales.
Kenneth Thorn, the board chairman, said yesterday that by
mid-November, about $2.5 million was pledged to the capital campaign,
much of it contingent on plans for the theater's future.
But on Nov. 16, Michael Gennaro, Paper Mill's president and chief
executive, unexpectedly announced his resignation. The capital
campaign "came to a grinding halt," Mr. Thorn said. Almost none of the
pledges have been collected, and ticket sales have not met
projections.
Mr. Gennaro, who is now the executive director of Trinity Repertory
Company in Providence, R.I., said his departure should not be blamed
for the theater's current problems.
"You give to an institution, not an individual," he said. "I don't
understand why my departure would have any bearing on that."
Mr. Thorn said that the board had been confident that a bank loan,
among some other measures, would cover this season's shortfall, but
the bank turned down the loan last Friday, abruptly leaving the rest
of the season in doubt.
Theater officials and trustees have managed to raise about $100,000
recently in new pledges from donors and subscribers, and they have
approached another bank about a loan.
And they are reaching deep into a talent pool of actors who have
passed through Paper Mill, asking them to participate in a
fund-raising performance being planned at the theater on Monday
night. State officials and such Broadway stars as John Lloyd Young of
the hit "Jersey Boys" are among those being invited.
The theater's financial emergency was reported yesterday in The
Star-Ledger of Newark.
Paper Mill officials offer many reasons for the financial
emergency. One of them, they say, is the theater's lopsided income
model, which Mr. Gennaro sought to change after arriving at Paper Mill
in April 2003.
Revenue at nonprofit theaters is usually balanced between
contributions and earned income from subscriptions and single ticket
sales. But contributions make up only a fifth of the Paper Mill's
income in most years, and a consultant hired by the theater in 2004
reported that the board was not adequately leading the theater's
fund-raising efforts.
"We have to change this dynamic or the theater will not survive," said
Diane Claussen, the theater's managing director.
In the early 1990s, when the Paper Mill had a reputation as a reliable
place for classic musicals with high production values, it had about
42,000 subscribers, a number that has since dropped to 19,500.
The main culprit was competition. Fifteen years ago, Broadway was in
the doldrums and the Paper Mill was often the nearest alternative for
big musical revivals. That began to change in the late 1990s with the
renovation of Times Square. Since 1994, Broadway grosses have more
than doubled.
The theater's real challenger arrived in 1997, when the New Jersey
Performing Arts Center opened in Newark. The center became a stop for
touring productions of war horse shows like "The Sound of Music" and
"Fiddler on the Roof," drawing theatergoers and millions of dollars in
corporate support from the Paper Mill.
"They've sort of sucked all the corporate money out," said Ruthi
Byrne, a member of the Paper Mill board. "The Paper Mill has been left
high and dry."
In 2003, the board turned to Mr. Gennaro, the managing director at the
acclaimed Steppenwolf Theater Company of Chicago, as well as a lawyer
and actor with a show business lineage.
Mr. Gennaro, who replaced Angelo del Rossi, a 40-year veteran of the
Paper Mill, tried to draw a more diverse audience, mixing newer
musicals and more obscure works. The few mainstream shows, like
"Godspell," sold out, but the more obscure works, like a new musical
adaptation of "Harold and Maude," did not do well.
The schedule for next season ? which includes "Meet Me in St. Louis,"
"Kiss Me, Kate" and "Little Shop of Horrors" ? has some of the
familiar names that the subscribers seem to want. But, said Scott
Fergang, who became a member of the board last year: "If we don't have
the money, then what do we do? Go out on the street?"
Steve Newport
vic...@algebraic.org (Victor S. Miller)
Financial Emergency for Celebrated Nonprofit Theater in New Jersey By
CAMPBELL ROBERTSON
If things do not change soon, there will be a last-minute substitution
at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, N.J.
The role of "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers," the musical that was to
be the next entry in the Paper Mill's 69th season, will instead be
played by an empty theater, 110 out-of-work employees and a bankruptcy
lawyer.
Officials at the Paper Mill, one of the premier nonprofit theaters in
the region, said yesterday that because of a $1.5 million shortfall,
they were not sure if "Seven Brides," which is scheduled to begin
performances next Wednesday, would be able to open at all. In the early
1990s, when the Paper Mill had a reputation as a reliable place for
classic musicals with high production values, it had about 42,000
subscribers, a number that has since dropped to 19,500.
The theater's real challenger arrived in 1997, when the New Jersey
Performing Arts Center opened in Newark. The center became a stop for
touring productions of war horse shows like "The Sound of Music" and
"Fiddler on the Roof," drawing theatergoers and millions of dollars in
corporate support from the Paper Mill.
"They've sort of sucked all the corporate money out," said Ruthi Byrne,
a member of the Paper Mill board. "The Paper Mill has been left high and
dry." The schedule for next season ? which includes "Meet Me in St.
Louis," "Kiss Me, Kate" has some of the familiar names that the
subscribers seem to want.
---------------------------------------------
Did they ever do STATE FAIR?
Bill Bickel
i heard this evening that PMP is expected to get enough short-term
funding to keep from canceling Brides.
--
Bill Bickel
http://www.comicsidontunderstand.com
http://www.crimepundit.com
Steve Newport
An April 6 e-mail from Paper Mill press representative Shayne Miller
provides this update: "The donations are pouring in, but we are still
not near our plea for 1.5 million. You may have read an article in The
Star Ledger this morning indicating that Paper Mill will receive a loan
to save the theatre. This is extremely premature! We are only in initial
discussions with lending institutions and these things take time.
Unfortunately, because of the piece today, donations are being replaced
with expressions of congratulations. We only have enough cash to cover
one week of payroll for the theatre, meaning we have yet to determine if
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers will be able to have its press opening
on Sunday, April 15. This theatre still may close if contributed income
comes to a halt."
A "Save the Theater" rally will be held April 9 at 7 PM in the plaza of
the Paper Mill Playhouse. Among those scheduled to attend are actors
Michelle Ragusa, John Lloyd Young, Judy McLane, Glory Crampton, Matthew
Scott, James Brennan, Nick Corley, Danette Holden and Kate Baldwin as
well as Senate President and Governor Richard Cody and Senator Tom Kean
Jr.
Those interested in helping the financially strained theatre may do so
by making a tax-deductible contribution. Call (973) 379-3636 or donate
online at www.papermill.org.
The Paper Mill Playhouse is located on Brookside Drive in Millburn, NJ.
Stacey Malden
had stepped up and provided substantial support. I had the impression that
at least the first production, Seven Brides..., would be produced. Can't
promise that this is true (I was reading a book at the time), but I thought
that this is what I heard.
Stacey
"Victor S. Miller" <vic...@algebraic.org> wrote in message
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