Paper Mill Playhouse — Attraction in Millburn

The theater at Paper Mill Playhouse was great. The seating was renovated and on an incline, which made viewing from pretty much all areas, great. However, knowing I would be going to a “kids show” aka Beauty and the Beast, I prepared myself knowing that there might be some disruptions taking place during the show, but oh my word was it terrible. There was a huge group of kids with their 30 year old mothers taking up about about 3 rows of seating and being completely obnoxious. Talking, screaming, crying, throwing booster seats, standing up..... The other theatergoers along with myself could only glance at the mothers hoping they would control their children or remove them from the theater, which never happened. I had to leave between a scene and asked an usher if I could just stand in the back of the theater to watch the show. This was better, however this entire crowd could be heard from the back of the theater and NOTHING was being done by the ushers . Their excuse “it’s a kids show”. Booster seats continued to fly into the floor and kids standing on their parents laps. Unfortunately, I was unable to join the show at all. It was really a shame . During intermission I was offered another seat by the box office , but when I arrived to the seat a couple had already moved into the empty seats. I was not going to disturb them, so I ended up watching the rest of the show at the back of the theater listening to mass wrappers being crumpled and water bottles being thrown into the floor. Food should not be allowed in the theater and it would have been nice if the ushers in the theater addressed the problem because this was unfair to a number of people who were there to enjoy the show and couldn’t . The workers at the theater should have been able to handle this issue professionally and discreetly, but instead they just sat in the back of the theater with their flashlights and watched the chaos continue . I wish I could have gotten tickets to another show, but I wanted to leave so badly after...

What an adorable theatre! To get here from Manhattan, you'll need to take the NJ Transit from NY Penn to Millburn Station. It's a short walk from the Millburn station to the theatre. Once you get off the train, turn left, walk down some stairs, cross a car street, keep walking straight, you'll cross over a bridge. Then you'll come to a sign that says 'Paper Mill this way' - turn right there, then follow the path all the way up to the theatre.

The theatre is very self sufficient in that it seems to house 2 parking lots (front and back), as well as a bar and theatre just outside the theatre itself. There is also various patio seating and benches both as part of the restaurant/bar and stand-alone for people waiting. It's lit up with lights and is just beautiful. I did not try the restaurant or bar but the food smells incredible - everyone was eating a creamy pasta dish that was mouth watering. I think it's recommended to reserve in advance.

Inside the theatre itself to the left is the box office and to the right is the concessions. Directly ahead and up some steps is the merch. I do not recommend going inside the theatre until maybe ~10 min before the show because it is a rather small space and there's nowhere for people to wait so they just crowd around awkwardly and it's not clear who's trying to get somewhere and who's just standing around waiting.

Inside the theatre, the orchestra seating is very, very angled which makes for excellent viewing! They are playing Gatsby right now starring Eva Noblezada and Jeremy Jordan who both have excellent voices. It's a sold out show but if you keep checking the website they will have (I think cancellation) seats pop up from time to time ranging from $125 to $200 each. There are also obstructed view...

Venue for Off-Broadway to Broadway quality productions.

In terms of accessibility: -companion (gender neutral or family) restroom available on upper lobby level, a short elevator ride up. -ASL interpreted shows and Audio-Described shows available (usually only a few shows for each production, so check the schedule. We just saw an ASL production. My family is not fluent in ASL but three family members are conversational, and thought the interpreters were very good. If you are short it may be hard to see the signing from some seats since the theater is not very steeply inclined. -autism friendly shows are offered I think (I know they used to, so check the website) -parking for wheelchair vans was confusing but ultimately they were very considerate and let us park very close. If this is relevant to you (if you wheel a wheelchair out of your car, rather than transferring in and out) talk to the cop in front of the theater and ask where to go.

Accessibility offerings really helped a lot. Most staff members didn't seem to know what to do with us (didn't know where our seats were, for ex, or where our bathroom was) but once they asked another staffer, they got the right info, and the theater had everything that we needed! They seemed to want to help. It was snowing when we were loading into our van, for ex, and the staffers salting the driveway actually salted especially hard around us to help us be safe on our ramp. Very kind!

Also, there are teacher discounts for select weekends and select seats.

Finally, there are many good offerings on the area for food and drinks, many of which are handicap accessible.

Enjoyable and convenient...