New Jersey Stage Features Published During The Week Of 03-16-20

In addition to running about 60 news stories and event previews each week, New Jersey Stage runs several original features and interviews as well. Every Monday we shine a spotlight on the features run for the past week.

theatre

"Magical and Brilliant!" Matilda the Musical at Deal Park, NJ's Axelrod PAC

By Spotlight Central

Broadway comes to the Jersey Shore with a new production of Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical at Deal Park, NJ’s Axelrod Performing Arts Center. The show runs from now until March 22, 2020 with an appealing line-up of weekday and weekend performances.

REVIEW: "Conscience" by Joe DiPietro at George Street Playhouse

By Adam F. Cohen

Political polemics abound, especially in an election year where viruses get politicized. This concept is theatricalized in the George Street Playhouse’s production of Joe DiPietro’s play Conscience.

Readings of Four Plays by Playwrights with Disabilities to be Presented March 28th

By Sanford Josephson

This event has been cancelled (PEAPACK, NJ) -- An action-packed and satirical retelling of the Second World War . . . a romantic comedy about a young couple moving in together . . . a zany comedy about one woman's quest to win the love of someone ensnared by a jealous fiancee . . . a musical drama about a man who desperately wants to spend more time with his cousin.

music

Corona Concert Classics Will Keep The Music Playing

By Gary Wien

While clubs and concert halls across the country are shut down due to the COVID-19 virus, one music fan has come up with a unique way to keep live music performances going. Ellen Berman’s Viral Video Productions will host a series of Corona Concert Classics featuring artists performing older albums in their entirety. The series is initially scheduled to host a live concert on Facebook every Wednesday from March 18 to April 15 starting with a performance by Arlan Feiles and his wonderful album, Razing A Nation.

Rock On! This Week's Sound Bites...3/12/20

By Danny Coleman

"Well I plan to continue recording gospel music. I think this is like the beginning of a new era for me and I think it's getting off to a good start so my purpose is to do another gospel album this year and see where it takes me," so says legendary songstress Gloria Gaynor as she discussed her revitalized career.

Makin Waves Record of the Week: "Off the Ship" by Originaire

By Bob Makin

If you like pretty, pining folk music, then talented Jersey Shore threesome Originaire will be your cup of tea. They make hauntingly ambient music that is gorgeous but suffers from a lack of self-editing and/or an experienced producer. At times overindulgent, their four-song debut EP, “Off the Ship,” is based on the addictions and recoveries of singer-songwriters CiBon and Ken Shiles, who also handsomely strums and picks guitar.

"The Best Music in the World!" The Grass Roots, The Buckinghams, and The Box Tops LIVE! at BergenPAC

By Spotlight Central

As kids growing up in New Jersey during the 1960s, we faithfully listened to the latest and greatest American Pop hits coming out of our transistor radios. For us, songs like The Box Tops’ “The Letter,” The Buckinghams’ “Kind of a Drag,” and The Grass Roots’ “I’d Wait a Million Years” were transformative vehicles which inspired us to want to become musicians ourselves.

art

"One Year After" Work by Hamlet Manzueta at Art House Gallery

By Brent Johnson, JerseyArts.com

Hamlet Manzueta was many things in his nearly six decades on earth. A fashion designer. A drag queen. A TV host. A longtime Jersey City resident. He was also a painter and artist, whose work often featured dark colors and cartoonish but gritty figures with large heads, big eyes, and exaggerated mouths.

originally published: 03/16/2020

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