Opening Night at Benny & Joon

Video by Magda Katz

Paper Mill Playhouse presents the East Coast premiere of Benny & Joon with book by Kirsten Guenther, music by Nolan Gasser, lyrics by Mindi Dickstein, based on the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer motion picture written by Barry Berman and Leslie McNeil. Benny & Joon began performances Thursday, April 4, 2019, and will continue through Sunday, May 5, 2019, at Paper Mill Playhouse (22 Brookside Drive, Millburn, NJ). Benny & Joon is presented by special arrangement with Larry Hirschhorn.

The show officially opened last night, April 14, and T2C was there! Directed by Jack Cummings III with choreography by Scott Rink and music direction by J. Oconer Navarro, the principal cast features 

Claybourne Elder (Sunday in the Park with George) as Benny

Hannah Elless (Paper Mill’s The Other Josh Cohen) as Joon

Bryce Pinkham (A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder) as Sam

Conor Ryan as Sam at certain performances, (Paper Mill’s My Very Own British Invasion) and

Tatiana Wechsler (Oklahoma) as Ruthie

with Colin Hanlon (Falsettos) as Mike

Paolo Montalban (Paper Mill’s The King and I) as Larry

Natalie Toro (A Tale of Two Cities) as Dr. Cortez/Mrs. Smail

Jacob Keith Watson (Carousel) as Waldo/Video Store Owner

Belinda Allyn (Paper Mill’s West Side Story).

The production team includes scenic and costume design by Dane Laffrey, lighting design by R. Lee Kennedy, sound design by Kai Harada, Flying by Foy, movement coordinator Lorenzo Pisoni, and orchestrations by Michael Starobin. The production stage manager is Victoria Navarro. Casting by Nora Brennan, CSA.