Paper Mill Playhouse, recipient of the 2016 Regional Theatre Tony Award, is pleased to announce the cast and creative team for After Midnight, co-directed by Dominique Kelley (PMP: The Great Gatsby; Denver Center: Oklahoma!) and Paper Mill Playhouse’s Associate Artistic Director Jen Bender (PMP: Honeymoon in Vegas; Broadway: The Lion King) and choreographed by Kelley. The production will play January 31 – February 25, 2024 at Paper Mill Playhouse (22 Brookside Drive). Opening night is Sunday, February 4.
Conceived by Jack Viertel (former Artistic Director of City Center Encores!), this Jazz Age rhythm and dance extravaganza is an electrifying musical revue that transports you to the Cotton Club of the Harlem Renaissance, an unparalleled time in New York City when jazz and swing were king. After Midnight intertwines the poetry of Langston Hughes with songs from big-band legends Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, Harold Arlen, Dorothy Fields, and more. The exhilarating score features such hits as “I Can’t Give You Anything but Love,” “Stormy Weather,” “On the Sunny Side of the Street,” and “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing).”
After Midnight will star Angela Birchett (PMP & Broadway: The Color Purple), Sasha Hutchings (Broadway: Hamilton, My Fair Lady), Joshua Lamar (Lyric Opera: West Side Story; HBO Max: “Legendary”), James T. Lane (Broadway: Chicago, The Scottsboro Boys), Stanley Martin (Broadway: Disney’s Aladdin; International Tour: West Side Story), Aramie Payton (Broadway: MJ: The Musical; National Tour: Dreamgirls), Destinee Rea (PMP: Disney’s Hercules; Broadway: Tina: The Tina Turner Musical), Awa Sal Secka (Signature Theatre: Ragtime, Gun & Powder), Liv Symone (Broadway: Disney’s Aladdin; Starz: “Power Book III: Raising Kanan”), Harris Matthew Turner (Broadway: MJ: The Musical, Disney’s Frozen), Jasmine Pearl Villaroel (Centre Theater: Tuck Everlasting; Fulton Theatre: Grease), and Anthony Wayne (Broadway: Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, Once on This Island).
The production features music direction by Sean Mayes (Broadway: MJ: The Musical, Hadestown), scenic and lighting design by Adam Honoré (Broadway: Purlie Victorious, Ain’t No Mo’), costume design by Azalea Fairley (Broadway: Hamilton, A Strange Loop), sound design by Sadah Espii Proctor (Broadway: Trouble in Mind; Off-Broadway: Daphne), and hair and wig design by Alfreda Howard (Netflix: “Mystery Science Theatre 3000;” Off-Broadway: Mrs. Murray’s Menagerie). Casting is by Tara Rubin Casting. RL Campbell is the Production Stage Manager.
Paper Mill Playhouse’s 2024 lineup also features Fiddler on the Roof (now – January 7, 2024), Gun & Powder (April 4– May 5, 2024), and Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (June 5 – 30, 2024).
Paper Mill Playhouse offers its audiences the opportunity to enhance their theater experience with behind-the-scenes views of mainstage productions, including Q&As held live in the theater with cast members. Paper Mill Prologues and The Director’s Viewpoint will be available to everyone on-demand in the Paper Mill Playhouse mobile app.
Award-winning access programs and services are available at all Paper Mill Playhouse productions, including audio-described performances, American Sign Language interpreted and open-captioned performances, Braille and large-print programs, and assistive listening devices.
Paper Mill Playhouse offers three-show subscription packages, starting at just $111. Each subscription package includes a different level of special benefits – see www.PaperMill.org for details. Accessibly priced youth subscriptions are available for children under 18 with the purchase of an adult subscription. Tickets and subscriptions may be purchased by calling 973.376.4343, online at www.PaperMill.org, or at the box office.