Paper Mill Playhouse All Stars Perform for Seniors, Disabled Children

A select group of young performers are embarking on the Paper Mill Playhouse Theatre School, Junior All Stars Holiday Tour this season. The Paper Mill Playhouse Junior All Stars are a selective group of 9 to 12 year old performers who, as a part of their training, go out into the community and share their talents with schools, senior residences and centers for children with disabilities.

“It is sheer joy to see our entire cast reach out after the show and share conversations and stories with the audiences,” Theatre School Director, Mickey McNany said. “It is a wonderful opportunity for the children to give as well as receive. We believe this experience truly helps the students feel like they are making a difference in the lives of others, as well as their own. That is what true star quality is all about.”

This holiday season, the Paper Mill Playhouse Junior All Stars are touring around New Jersey where they will be performing a musical revue for special-needs students. The first stop of this year’s tour will at the Cerebral Palsy Center in Belleville, New Jersey on Dec. 10.

Following that performance, the students will perform at the Horizon School in Livingston, New Jersey on Dec. 11 at 1 p.m. The final two performances of the year will be at the Stepping Stones School in Roseland, New Jersey on Dec. 15 at 10 a.m. and at Temple B’Nai Jershurun Preschool in Short Hills, New Jersey on Dec. 17 at 10 a.m.

“I made a lot of friends in the program, but the best part is the opportunity to perform and make people happy during the holidays,” says Lauren Updyke, one of this year’s Paper Mill Playhouse Junior All Stars.

Paper Mill Playhouse Theatre School offers a wide array of classes for children and adults ages 4 to 94. Theatre School student touring companies, the Junior All-Stars, and the teen’s Children’s Theatre on Tour perform at schools, hospitals, senior & community centers, and special-needs facilities.

Paper Mill Playhouse has given rise to many notable performers over the years including: Oscar and Golden Globe nominated actress Anne Hathaway (Les Miserables; Rachel Getting Married; The Devil Wears Prada), Neil McCaffrey (Mary Poppins, Billy Elliot and Bye Bye Birdie on Broadway), Emily Bauer (Mona Lisa Smile; National Tour of Hair), and Paula Gray (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button).

About Paper Mill Playhouse

Paper Mill Playhouse a not-for-profit arts organization, is one of the country’s leading regional theaters. Paper Mill Playhouse programs are made possible, in part, by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, A Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.

Paper Mill Playhouse is a member of Theatre Communications Group, the National Alliance for Musical Theatre, the Council of Stock Theatres, and the New Jersey Theatre Alliance.