Crisis at Paper Mill?

A front-page article in the Star Ledger this morning reported a financial crisis at Paper Mill Playhouse that threatens to close New Jersey's largest resident professional theater.

The report says the theater will cancel its production of "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers," due to open next week, if it does not raise $1.5 million by Friday. Stated causes include a drastically reduced subscriber base, poor single-ticket sales and unsuccessful fund-raising efforts.

The abrupt departure of artistic director Michael Gennaro, after less than four years on the job, accelerated the problems, but Paper Mill's financial problems are well-documented, particularly in the past decade, when the opening of NJPAC in Newark, combined with the Disney-fueled renaissance of the Broadway theater district, made tough work of selling Broadway revivals, even if Paper Mill is pretty good at doing just that.

The report also announces Paper Mill's plans for six shows next season, a typical mix of Broadway hits ("Kiss Me Kate"), misses ("Frankenstein") and popular dramas ("The Miracle Worker"), but if this season is shuttered, there may not be a next season.

HERE'S THE QUESTION, a frequent topic of discussion among journalists and New Jersey theater movers and shakers: has Paper Mill's time come and gone? What does it need to do to survive in the 21st century?

Coming Up
My review of "Radio Golf" at McCarter Theatre in Princeton is scheduled to run tomorrow in the Your Life section of the Courier News and Friday in the TGIF section of the Daily Record. Since the Courier signs my paychecks, I encourage you to read it first in the Courier, then make sure to read it again Friday in the DR.
I guess that's too much to ask, but I'm looking forward to getting some reviews of my review, along with your own "reviews" of this milestone production.