SOMA Living December 2021

THEATER SPOTLIGHT

Don’t ask Sandy Rustin to choose her favorite Disney song - the actor and playwright says it’s impossible to pick just one.

“I have like a thousand favorite Disney songs,” says Rustin, who lives in Maplewood with her husband and two sons. “I’ve seen every Disney movie, every Disney show on Broadway. I am a Disney fan.” Now, Rustin is working with Disney and Paper Mill Playhouse to bring some of the most beloved Disney songs to life in a new musical revue – A Jolly Holiday: Celebrating Disney’s Broadway Hits. That production, which opens in December, is the first of two shows penned by Rustin that will be produced at the recently reopened Millburn theater this season.

SANDY RUSTIN

“I’ve seen so many shows at Paper Mill, and I have been eagerly awaiting the just-right opportunity to work there,” Rustin

says. “To get to work there on two shows in a row this season, especially after a pandemic, is especially wonderful.”

After Jolly Holiday, Paper Mill will present Clue, which Rustin adapted for the stage from the cult-hit film. Both productions will be directed by Rustin’s friend and frequent collaborator (and fellow Maplewood resident), Casey Hushion, whose Broadway credits include The Prom, Mean Girls and Aladdin. “We have a friendship as a basis of our partnership, so there’s an automatic understanding and kindness between us, which in creative partnerships is wonderful,” Rustin says of Hushion. “Our brains kind of gel when we get into that creative mode together, and it’s really fun.” With Clue, Rustin gets to tap into one of her other loves: comedy. From her sketch comedy musical Rated P for Parenthood to her Noel Coward– inspired romantic comedy Cottage, much of Rustin’s work is infused with hilarity. “I love comedy, but sometimes it can get a bum rap; it can feel like the ugly stepsister to drama,” she says. “But I think during this pandemic we all saw that that’s not true – all we wanted was to have a comedy. For me, it has felt really validating and gratifying to be in a position where I’m writing and creating stuff for the stage that makes people laugh.” —Written By Michelle Vames

18 somalivingmagazine @ gmail.com

@somalivingmagazine