It's the third of the company's productions to travel to the Great White Way in recent years, following "Newsies" and "Honeymoon in Vegas."
MILLBURN -- The Paper Mill Playhouse is headed to Broadway again.
As was widely expected, the company's current production of the original musical "The Bandstand" will make the leap to Broadway, according to multiple reports -- though not until the 2016-17 season.
Stars Corey Cott and Laura Osnes will reprise their roles as a World War II veteran and a war widow who launch a band and compete in a national song contest.
Additional details about the rest of the cast and the theater where the show will be staged will be announced at a later date.
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Producers likely decided to wait until the 2016-17 season because the spring will be crowded with new musicals, including the Sara Bareilles-scored "Waitress" and "Shuffle Along," starring Tony-winners Audra McDonald, Brian Stokes Mitchell and Billy Porter.
And with "Hamilton" already tipped to sweep the Tonys next year, "The Bandstand" may find greater awards traction at the 2017 awards ceremony.
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The approximately $2.5 million-budgeted "The Bandstand" opened to widely favorable reviews, including from our own Patrick Maley, who called the show "a bold, uncompromising musical that jumps and swings with heart, energy, and a refreshing resistance to schmaltz." Rumors that it would wind up on Broadway have been circulating since workshops of the show began in 2014.
This marks the third Paper Mill-generated production to make its way to the Great White Way in recent years, following "Newsies" in 2012 and "Honeymoon in Vegas" earlier this year. There's already been considerable interest in yet another world premiere scheduled by the theater, a musical version of "A Bronx Tale," to be directed by Robert De Niro and set to premiere in February.
Christopher Kelly may be reached at ckelly@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @chriskelly74. Find NJ.com/Entertainment on Facebook.
