Hannah Elless, Bryce Pinkham, Claybourne Elder Set for Benny & Joon Musical at Paper Mill

Casting is here for the East Coast premiere of the new Benny & Joon musical, set to run at Millburn, NJ's Paper Mill Playhouse this spring. The previously announced production, directed by Jack Cummings III, choreographed by Scott Rink and music-directed by J. Oconor Navarro, will begin performances on April 4 and open on April 14 for a limited run through May 5.

Leading the cast will be Claybourne Elder (Torch Song) as Benny, Hannah Elless (The Other Josh Cohen) as Joon, Tony nominee Bryce Pinkham (Superhero) as Sam, Tatiana Wechsler (The Golden Bride) as Ruthie, Colin Hanlon (Falsettos) as Mike, Paolo Montalban (Breakfast at Tiffany's) as Larry, Natalie Toro (A Tale of Two Cities) as Dr. Cortez/Mrs. Smail and Jacob Keith Watson (Carousel) as Waldo/Video Store Owner, with standby Belinda Allyn (Allegiance).

Conor Ryan (Desperate Measures) will play the role of Sam at certain performances.

With a book by Kirsten Guenther, music by Nolan Gasser and lyrics by Mindi Dickstein, the new stage adaptation of the 1993 motion picture centers on Joon (Elless), a young woman dealing with mental illness, and Benny (Elder), the big brother who's determined to take care of her. When a charmingly eccentric stranger (Pinkham) comes into their lives, he throws their carefully calibrated world off-kilter.

The musical will feature scenic and costume design by Dane Laffrey, lighting design by R. Lee Kennedy, sound design by Kai Harada, movement coordination by Lorenzo Pisoni and orchestrations by Michael Starobin.

San Diego's Old Globe presented the 2017 world premiere of Benny & Joon, which featured Elless, Pinkham, Hanlon, Montalban and Toro.