WARNING:  The story that Mark Hoebee tells on this podcast will make you sweat.

It’s about when Paper Mill Playhouse, which costs well over $10 million to run every year, had only $6k left in the bank.

Ugh.  My stomach did a backflip just typing that.

And it was just about then that Mark took over the wheel as the captain of the ship.  Imagine being promoted to take over the Titanic after you hit the iceberg!  Who wants that job?!?

Well, Mark looked at that iceberg in the rear-view mirror and trudged forward.  And thanks to him and the good people of the Paper Mill community, Paper Mill turned it around, won a Tony Award, and has put multiple shows on Broadway with a bunch more circling the runway.

Tune in to this week’s podcast to hear what it’s like to run one of the most powerful regional theaters within kick-ball-change distance of Broadway as well as . . .

• What Broadway had to do with the Paper Mill’s recession.
• How he looked at himself as an audience member, not an Artistic Director, in order to program his seasons.
• Working with commercial producers on out-of-town tryouts.
• Why Cameron Mackintosh started stumping for Paper Mill.
• The difference between the relationship with the consumer on Broadway versus the consumer at a Regional Theater, and how we can learn from each other.

Musicals are becoming more dependent on regional theaters to help launch our shows.  Listen in to hear why Paper Mill, under Mark’s leadership, has become such a wonderful launching pad for new shows . . . maybe even yours.

Listen to it on iTunes here. (And if you like the podcast, give it a great review, while you’re there!)

Download it here.