Here's a look at the top 10 most read articles published at New Jersey Stage during the week November 28 to December 4, 2021.  Each week, we publish about 70 articles, including several original columns and features, along with news releases for events happening throughout the state and nearby areas like Philadelphia and New York City. This week's Top 10 includes articles involving 5 counties in New Jersey (Atlantic, Bergen, Essex, Middlesex, Monmouth) and New York City.

1) Newark Social Launches ‘Newark Winter Village’ Event, Offering Shopping and Ice Skating Downtown - (NEWARK, NJ) -- Newark Social has turned downtown Newark’s Mulberry Commons, and the nearby Ironside Building, into winter wonderlands for their Newark Winter Village event. The event kicked off on December 1 and runs through January 31, featuring an ice skating rink, a shopping marketplace, and a variety of games and activities. This will be the first time Newark residents will be able to enjoy public outdoor ice skating in their city.

2) Anthony Diaz announces Campaign for Mayor of Newark - (NEWARK, NJ) -- Newark born grassroots activist and community leader Anthony Diaz announced his campaign for mayor on November 19th, 2021, off the heels of his trip to COP 26.

3) "A Case Of Blue" - A Very NJ/NY Film Is Available Now - A Case of Blue, a feature film starring Stephen Schnetzer (Another World, Homeland, ATWT, Days, OLTL ) and Annapurna Sriram (Billions, Feral) was released for renting and purchasing on most streaming platforms on October 19, 2021.  The film which asks "is it possible to relive a long-lost romance?" has a heavy New Jersey / New York presence and was filmed mostly in Ridgewood using many local actors.

4) Light of Day WinterFest 2022 To Return To Live In-Person Shows - (ASBURY PARK, NJ) -- The Light of Day Foundation has announced WinterFest 2022, the annual music festival taking place January 7-17 in Asbury Park, Red Bank, Montclair, New York City and Rockland County. “Bob’s Birthday Bash” will take place on Friday, January 14 at the Count Basie Center’s Hackensack Meridian Health Theatre.

5) Carteret’s Annual Holiday Festival and Christmas Tree Lighting Takes Place Friday - (CARTERET, NJ) -- Mayor Daniel J. Reiman has announced Carteret’s Annual Holiday Festival and Christmas Tree Lighting will be held this Friday, December 3rd at Carteret Park from 6:00pm – 9:00pm. The Festival, which is free for all families to attend, will feature live holiday music, pictures with Santa, hot cocoa, hot cider, cookies, pretzels, and horse & buggy rides, all compliments of the Carteret Charity Trust Fund. The Christmas tree lighting will be at 7:00pm sharp.

6) Halle Berry's Directorial Debut "Bruised" was shot in New Jersey - (NEWARK, NJ) -- Atlantic City is prominently featured in the highly-anticipated sports drama Bruised, set to air on Netflix on November 24. The movie stars Oscar-winner Halle Berry and marks her directorial debut. It is a story about a former mixed-martial arts fighter struggling to regain custody of her son and rekindle her athletic career. Bruised was written by Michelle Rosenfarb, and produced by Basil Iwanyk, Brad Feinstein, Guymon Casady, Linda Gottlieb, Erica Lee, Gillian G. Hormel, Paris Kassidokosta-Latsis and Terry Douglas. 

7) Summer: The Donna Summer Musical Is Looking to Reignite the Legacy of the Queen of Disco - Before the women pop stars of today’s generation (Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish, and Dua Lipa) or even of the older generation (Janet Jackson and Madonna), there was multiple Grammy-award winning singer and songwriter, Donna Summer.  Nicknamed the Queen of Disco, Summer was one of the first African-American recording artists to cultivate a large international audience in dance music. 

8) NJ Sisters From Nickelodeon's "A Loud House Christmas" Movie Helped Raise $2,500 For Family and Children's Service Operation Sleighbells - Real life sisters and Rumson, New Jersey natives, Catherine Ashmore Bradley and Aubin Bradley hosted and sponsored a private charity event with The Professional Performance Prep in support of Family and Children’s Service Operation Sleighbells! They raised over $2,500 in online and gift card donations for FCS Operation Sleighbells. Donations are still being accepted online.

9) Christmas Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettes Returns After Being Cancelled in 2020 Due to the Pandemic - (NEW YORK, NY) -- The 2021 Christmas Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettes, presented by Chase, is back this holiday season with performances at Radio City Music Hall now through January 2, 2022. The Christmas Spectacular – seen by more than 69 million people since it debuted in 1933 – is a one-of-a-kind tradition where the magic of Christmas in New York comes alive. The beloved show returns following a 2020 absence due to the pandemic, which marked the first time in 87 years the production was canceled.  

10) State Theatre presents "Anastasia" - The New Broadway Musical - (NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ) -- State Theatre New Jersey presents Anastasia - The New Broadway Musical with four performances from December 3-5.  From the Tony® Award-winning creators of the Broadway classic Ragtime and inspired by the beloved films, Anastasia is the new Broadway musical that’s “one of the most gorgeous shows in years!” (New York Observer).

As you can see by this list, event previews are always one of the most popular areas of the website. Event previews get noticed when we first publish them and then get noticed again when they are brought back to the main area of the site the week the event takes place - sometimes even several months later.  Make sure your events get previewed by sending press releases to us at info@newjerseystage.com - for even more promotion, check out our ad rates which run $50-$100 for an entire month of advertising. It's the best deal around!