A new musical, Half Time directed by Broadway legend Jerry Herman, opened at the Paper Mill Playhouse.
June 13, 2018: Half Time, new musical inspired by Dori Berinstein’s 2008 documentary “Gotta Dance,” about a basketball halftime dance team made up of performers over 60, opened at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Milburn, New Jersey.
The musical features a book by Bob Martin and Chad Beguelin, with songs by Matthew Sklar and Nell Benjamin, and additional music by Marvin Hamlisch and Ester Dean. Half Time, directed and choreographed by Tony Award winner Jerry Mitchell, features five-time Emmy nominee Georgia Engel best known for “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” and Tony and Emmy Award winner Lillias White (The Life, “Sesame Street”) along with André De Shields (The Wiz, The Full Monty, Ain’t Misbehavin’) and Tony award winner and Broadway legend Donna McKechnie (A Chorus Line) who with this all-star cast tell the uplifting true story of ten New Jersey seniors with extraordinary dreams.
The principal cast features André De Shields as Ron, Georgia Engel as Dorothy/Dottie, Donna McKechnie as Joanne, Lillias White as Bea, who are joined by Haven Burton as Tara, Lori Tan Chinn as Mae, Nkeki Obi-Melekwe as Kendra, Nancy Ticotin as Camilla, Madeleine Doherty as Estelle, Tracy Jai Edwards as Alison Prager, Mary Claire King as Jenny, Lenora Nemetz as Fran, and Kay Walbye as Muriel.
Rounding out the cast are Alexander Aguilar, Ken Ard, Sydni Beaudoin, Tami Dahbura, Paula DeLuise, Gabriela Garcia, Talya Groves, Kathryn Kendall, Valton Jackson, Summerisa Bell Stevens, Garrett Turner and Gayle Turner.
Half Time began performances May 31, 2018 for a limited engagement through Sunday, July 1, 2018, at Paper Mill Playhouse (22 Brookside Drive) in Millburn, NJ.
Photography: Maryann Lopinto
