By David Cucchiara
Communications & Program Associate
When Mark Hoebee joined Paper Mill Playhouse in 2000 as a choreographer and director, the historic Millburn theater was already a regional institution. Twenty-five years later, as Producing Artistic Director, he has transformed it into something more: a creative incubator where 27 new musicals have premiered since 2010, with shows like Newsies and The Great Gatsby going on to mainstream success. Alongside Executive Director Mike Stotts, who arrived in 2019, the duo is navigating an organization through one of the most challenging periods in American theater history, while simultaneously planning for the next 87 years.
Mr. Hoebee’s path to leadership began under the spotlight. He learned early that the best productions emerge from collaboration, not hierarchy. “I don’t have all the answers no matter what position I’m in,” Mr. Hoebee said. “I like to say that the best idea wins. I like to bring all the people in the room into the process because there are many people that have many more talents in areas that I don’t have.” 
That philosophy of ensemble leadership became crucial in 2007 when a financial crisis forced Paper Mill to fundamentally re-evaluate its identity. The theater shifted its programming toward more intergenerational, family-friendly fare, moving away from “your grandmother’s theater,” as they put it, to create a space where grandmother, her adult children, and her grandchildren could all experience the magic of live performance together.
“We were trying to build a longer, a wider basis of people who saw Paper Mill as their home theater,” Mr. Hoebee explained. “Building a future audience builds future donors, builds future subscribers.”
The second major evolution came through partnerships with commercial producers to premiere new work. These collaborations have positioned Paper Mill as a serious player in the development of American musical theater. Some shows, like the upcoming Broadway production WANTED, The Legend of the Sisters Clarke (previously titled Gun and Powder at Paper Mill), tackle stories that traditional programming might overlook.
“That show is going to open on Broadway later this season,” Mr. Stotts noted. “It is about a particular black experience inspired by a true story that a lot of people probably don’t know about. That’s a harder sell for us, but it hit so many different marks in terms of achieving our mission and telling a unique story.”
Mr. Stotts brought more than three decades of arts management experience to Paper Mill with 13 years most recently at Hartford Stage, where his appetite for musical theater was piqued. His decision to join Paper Mill was easy: very few theaters offered the opportunity to work exclusively in the musical theater space, while remaining in the New York metropolitan area.
Together, Mr. Hoebee and Mr. Stotts navigate challenges that would have seemed unimaginable before 2020. Production costs have increased 56% since the pandemic. Subscription models that once provided financial predictability have given way to impulse buying and late ticket purchases. The data from 2019 and earlier has become, in Mr. Hoebee’s words, “old news” that no longer informs planning.
Yet, both leaders remain optimistic about theater’s irreplaceable role in community life. “Nothing will replace the electricity of a live performance,” Mr. Hoebee said. “When you’re in a room with other like-minded people and there’s that electricity of a live performance, which will only happen in that one moment — it will never be the same any other night or any other time.”
The theater’s education and outreach programs reach 35,000 to 40,000 students across New Jersey annually, introducing young people to the arts through partnerships with schools, including those serving students with physical, emotional, and cognitive challenges. This investment in youth reflects both pragmatism and principle.
Beyond building audiences, both leaders believe the arts create better human beings. “Musical theater is the most collaborative art form that there is,” Mr. Hoebee said. “Collaboration and interpersonal communication and expression of your feelings, your desires, your needs are so key in the arts, but that is what makes successful business in all fields.”
Under Mr. Stotts’ leadership, Paper Mill is currently undertaking a major capital campaign to upgrade its facilities for the next generation. The theater has also deepened its civic engagement with the town of Millburn, working to ensure that “Millburn is Paper Mill, Paper Mill is Millburn.”
As they look toward the future, both Mr. Hoebee and Mr. Stotts feel the weight of Paper Mill’s 87-year history. “We feel responsible to make sure that Paper Mill is healthy enough to survive another 87 years and beyond,” Mr. Hoebee said. “We want to make sure that we remain flexible and relevant and that our future is not guaranteed but secured.”
In an era of streaming services and endless digital distractions, Paper Mill’s leaders are betting on something simpler and more profound: the enduring human need to gather in a room and share stories together. For Mr. Hoebee and Mr. Stotts, it’s not just about filling seats — it’s about preserving an art form that has sustained humanity since the beginning. “The ability to tell these stories and to share in the joy and also sometimes the heartache of them is a privilege,” Mr. Hoebee said. “And it doesn’t happen without the support of the entire community.”
