MILLBURN, NJ — Students selected to be a part of the Paper Mill Playhouse Summer Musical Theater Conservatory for 2023 will be performing an original concert titled “We Will Rock You,” a celebration of the sounds that revolutionized the Broadway musical.
The concert will feature 122 young performers, including Rising Star Award winners and nominees. The 2023 New Voices Concert showcases the rock musicals that changed the landscape of the Broadway industry and became instant classics in the process, drawing on songs from “Hair,” “Godspell,” “Rock of Ages,” “Dear Evan Hansen,” “Rent” and “Hamilton” and many more famous jukebox musical hits, according to a press release from Paper Mill.
Members of the competitive conservatory, who earned coveted spots in the senior group, ages 15-18, junior plus, ages 13-14, and junior, ages 10-12, are directed and choreographed by Paper Mill Playhouse’s professional artistic staff in the fully produced, original concert.
Performances of “We Will Rock You” will be on Friday, July 28, at 7:30 p.m., and Saturday, July 29, at 1:30 and 7:30 p.m., at Paper Mill Playhouse, 22 Brookside Drive, Millburn. Tickets range in price from $25 to $50. Tickets may be purchased by calling 973-376-4343, online at www.papermill.org or by visiting the Paper Mill Playhouse Box Office.
“We believe that this program allows young performers an opportunity to thrive and ultimately live their dream of being professional performers. From the first day of class all the way through opening night of New Voices, we require our students to rise to the demands of this rigorous program,” said Lisa Cooney, Paper Mill Playhouse director of education, outreach and access. “We ask them to work harder than they ever have before as young performers. Our faculty pushes the students to believe in themselves as professional artists, and as a result, when they move on to college or the professional world, they are ready for the challenges they’ll face. We take great pride when they make a name for themselves on Broadway or in Hollywood and from knowing every member of the conservatory has learned the skills and the work ethic to serve them in any field.”
The Paper Mill Playhouse Summer Musical Theater Conservatory is a demanding program allowing students to enhance their individual performance potential while developing a broad base of theater experience and knowledge, the release said.
Students participate in an intensive roster of classes including musical theater performance, acting, dance, private voice lessons and improvisation, while also attending guest workshops led by professional actors, directors and casting agents. The final weeks are devoted to rehearsals for the annual New Voices Concert.
“Our faculty encourages the students to believe in themselves as professional artists and treats them as such,” said Michele Mossay, Paper Mill Playhouse director of artist development and long-time conservatory director/choreographer.
Among the local performers in the show are Luzita Avila, Gavin Colucci, Rosie Gaeta, Noah Ibrahim, Anna Przybylko, Jacey Sink, Benjamin Strauss, Sarah Walsh, Lauren White, and Lyra Winton of Summit; and Elyana Barroqueiro of Union.