New Jersey Stage logo
New Jersey Stage Menu


?>

 

“Broadway’s Next H!T Musical”: LIVE!


By Spotlight Central, Photos by Love Imagery

originally published: 02/14/2016

Broadway’s Next H!T Musical took the stage at the Jay and Linda Grunin Center for the Arts on Friday, Feb. 12, 2016, on the campus of Ocean County College in Toms River, NJ.

Starring actors Stefan Schick, Rob Schiffmann, Annie Schiffmann, and Megan Reilly, emcee Marc Engberg, and pianist Gary Adler, the troupe satirized Broadway’s Tonys with their own zany awards show — The Phony Awards — featuring four original songs created on the spot based on song title suggestions provided by the audience.

After being entertained by all four songs, the audience selected one as the winner, which, in the second act, was featured in an improvised Broadway musical complete with a madcap cast of characters, spontaneous vocal harmonies, and ridiculous costumes.

On this particularly chilly night in February, it’s no wonder one of the nominated songs included “It’s Too For Cold Singing” — along with “Broken Heart” and “I’m A Little Rat Face” — in addition to the award-winning “Sligo Lady is Here,” suggested by a NJ grandmother in the audience with family ties to County Sligo in Ireland.

Her song inspired a “spy musical,” “A Stage, A Son, A Spy, and a Gun,” which featured such quirky characters as a whimsical captain, a pair of comic criminals, and Lady Sligo, the singing spy who saved the day.




Follow New Jersey Stage on social media
Facebook, Threads, Instagram, Twitter, Bluesky



Throughout the course of the evening, the Broadway’s Next H!T Musical cast improvised all of the dialogue, lyrics, melodies, and musical accompaniments performed — along with hilarious choreography — engaging the enthusiastic crowd at the Grunin Center.

Theatergoers in attendance at the Jay and Linda Grunin Center were most impressed by the imagination and energy of the performers and their “go-with-it” attitude — notably when things didn’t make any sense whatsoever — all adding to the fun and hilarity of the evening, leaving audiences to wonder about Broadway’s NEXT H!T Musical!

For more information on Broadway’s Next H!T Musical, check out broadwaysnexthitmusical.com, and for future events at The Jay and Linda Grunin Center — including Home Free on Feb. 20 and Aaron Neville on Mar. 18 — please to to grunincenter.org.

Photos by Love Imagery

Spotlight Central. Your source for Jersey entertainment news and reviews

Love Imagery Fine Art Photography. all you need. peace/love/flower/power




Follow New Jersey Stage on social media
Facebook, Threads, Instagram, Twitter, Bluesky



FEATURED EVENTS

ART | COMEDY | DANCE | FILM | MUSIC | THEATRE | COMMUNITY

To narrow results by date range, categories,
or region of New Jersey
click here for our advanced search.


Vivid

Vivid Summer Solos: Where is Everybody?

Wednesday, July 09, 2025 @ 6:30pm
Visual Arts Center of New Jersey
68 Elm Street, Summit, NJ 07901
category: theatre


 

A

A Broadway Tour of America

Thursday, July 10, 2025 @ 7:30pm
Grunin Center - Black Box Theater
1 College Drive, Toms River, NJ 08754
category: theatre


 

The

The MAC players at the Middletown Arts Center present "Hairspray"

Friday, July 11, 2025 @ 7:00pm
Middletown Arts Center
36 Church Street, Middletown, NJ 07748
category: theatre


 

A

A Broadway Tour of America

Friday, July 11, 2025 @ 7:30pm
Grunin Center - Black Box Theater
1 College Drive, Toms River, NJ 08754
category: theatre


 

The

The Wizard of Oz

Saturday, July 12, 2025 @ 2:00pm
Algonquin Arts Theatre
60 Abe Voorhees, Manasquan, NJ 08736
category: theatre


 


 

EVENT PREVIEWS

Montclair

Montclair Township Declares 'Montclair Theater Day' Ahead of Vanguard Theater's Inaugural Festival

(MONTCLAIR, NJ) -- Known for its vibrant and lively arts scene, the town of Montclair continues to find new and meaningful ways to celebrate creativity within its community. One of the town's newest initiatives includes the inaugural Montclair Theater Festival, presented by Vanguard Theater and The Essex County Board Of Commissioners. This eagerly anticipated event is set to take place on Saturday, July 12, 2025, at Glenfield Park in Montclair's historic Fourth Ward.



Chatham

Chatham Playhouse to Host 31st Annual Jersey Voices: One-Act Festival

(CHATHAM, NJ) -- The Chatham Community Players (CCP) will host its 31st annual Jersey Voices One-Act Festival with six performances between July 25 and August 3, 2025. This year's production will include eight original short plays written by New Jersey playwrights.



Centenary

Centenary Stage Company presents Jimmy Buffet's "Escape to Margaritaville"

(HACKETTSTOWN, NJ) -- Centenary Stage Company kicks off SUMMERFEST 2025 with Jimmy Buffett's Escape to Margaritaville, July 10-20 in the Sitnik Theatre of the Lackland Performing Arts Center. With a book by Emmy Award winner Greg Garcia and Emmy nominee Mike O'Malley, this production is jam-packed with the artist's most beloved classic tunes including "Cheeseburger in Paradise," "Margaritaville," "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere," "Fins," "Volcano," and many more.



LoMotion

LoMotion Live presents "The Diary of Anne Frank"

(BOONTON, NJ) -- LoMotion Live is proud to present The Diary of Anne Frank, a play by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, newly adapted by Wendy Kesselman, based on the book Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl. The production runs from July 18-26, 2025 at The Parsippany Arts Center in Boonton.



Art

Art House Productions to present "Hamlet" directed by C. Rashee Stevenson in October

(JERSEY CITY, NJ) -- Art House Productions will present a mainstage production of Hamlet, directed by C. Rashee Stevenson, from October 9–26, 2025, at the Art House Theater in Jersey City. This bold reimagining of Shakespeare's classic tragedy fuses the original text with interpolated language from Les Nègres and Les Paravents by Jean Genet and works by Federico García Lorca—transforming the play into a cosmic crime thriller that plunges deep into grief, identity, and the metaphysical.