The Paper Mill just announced its most ambitious line-up in history

Paper Mill has a bunch of new shows including:

The Honeymooners

Annie (Not new but a classic)

The Outsider

The Sting

and Half Time

http://www.nj.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2017/02/paper_mill_2017-18_season_the_honeymooners_half_ti.html#incart_river_home

Updated On: 2/27/17 at 11:29 AM

I think the fact that three out of four shows in their season are new is what the OP was alluding to with their word choice.

Half Time was formerly named, Gotta Dance. Since it's run in Chicago, it has had many updates to the show.

Oh, wow. If all of these shows come on Broadway, Paper Mill is about to be rewarded handsomely (I am assuming).

The Honeymooners musical is finally gaining some traction. Word. But they'd better get Michael McGrath back for Ralph...there is really no one else who can do it justice.

Between this, The Sting, and Half Time, Papermill seems determined to move every new musical it produces onto Broadway. They are definitely riding the Bronx Tale/Bandstand high at the moment.

I hadn't heard about this musical version of The Sting before now. I know there is a straight play, but I'm excited to see how the musical develops. I LOVED that movie.

I agree with bvgrimaldi. It IS Paper Mill's most ambitious season (acknowledging that ''Annie'' is the one Broadway classic that's perfect for their family audiences). They're doing TWO world premieres, and two East Coast premieres, and one of them is even a play (!). Compare that to Paper Mill's past, which was largely remounting many Rodgers & Hammerstein shows, plus warhorses, like ''Gypsy,'' ''Mame,'' ''Hello, Dolly!'' and other proven tried-and-true crowdpleasers. Now they're got a track record of new musicals going to Broadway: ''Newsies,'' ''Honeymoon in Vegas,'' ''A Bronx Tale,'' ''Bandstand.'' Maybe this attention helped Paper Mill finally get a Tony for Regional Theater after all these decades. More than putting it on the map, I'll assume that Paper Mill stands to benefit financially long-term by these associations.

Jerry Mitchell told me that the show was going directly to Bway, so I'm guessing that they realized that the show needed a lot of work in Chicago. Chris Jones is usually pretty good at identifying weaknesses.

I remember reading about The Sting a long time ago. Any word on its creative team?

But will the musical of ''The Sting'' use any of Scott Joplin's rags? The Oscar-winning movie is so identified with ''The Entertainer.''

Updated On: 2/28/17 at 06:12 PM

Re: The Sting, I read elsewhere (related to this season announcement) that Bob Martin is writing the book. Composer/lyricists I love (working with their director from Urinetown), a book writer (Drowsy Chaperone) I love, adapting a film I... vaguely remember loving. This one has me genuinely excited.

And several people I know who were involved with workshops of Honeymooners said the material was great. And I know no casts have been announced, but I would pay money to watch Michael McGrath and Hank Azaria just riff for two hours as those two characters.