New Jersey Stage Features Published During The Week Of 01-20-20

originally published: 01/20/2020

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

Review: "Twelfth Night" at Two River Theater

By Taryn Venner Ashe

(RED BANK, NJ) -- Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare is on stage at Two River Theater in Red Bank, NJ until February 2, 2020. The production is directed by Sara Holdren.

Cast Members Talk About "Midwives" by Chris Bohjalian

By Charles Paolino

“Midwives” is a story with a sharp knife, lots of blood, a death, and a criminal trial—but no villain. Chris Bohjalian’s play, in its world premiere at the George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick through February 16, is not about evildoers but rather about a woman going about her business when something goes off the rails.

PODCAST: Sara Holdren's "Twelfth Night" at Two River Theater

By Susan Wallner, JerseyArts.com

It’s been called the perfect romantic comedy. Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night" begins with sister-brother twins losing each other in a shipwreck, leading to a high-spirited tale of gender-bending and mixed-up love affairs.

Photos from "Pygmalion" at Black Box PAC

(ENGLEWOOD, NJ) -- After a stunning opening weekend, there are just two weekends left to catch this new production of George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion at Black Box Performing Arts Center. Pygmalion is the play that inspired the hit Broadway musical My Fair Lady, but in this version Eliza Doolittle is nobody’s lady. This immersive production gives audiences a vibrant look at Henry Higgins’ wild experiment.

music

ROCK ON! This Week's Sound Bites...1/16/20

By Danny Coleman

"I'm lucky, I've got a great and fun hobby playing music," says the happy go lucky artist Matt Portella as he talked music, his band mates and more ahead of his upcoming January 25 show at The Vault in Berlin, NJ.

Makin Waves Scene Report with Olivia Rohlfs, Telegraph Hill Records, Asbury Angels & more

By Bob Makin

Montclair-based singer-songwriter Olivia Rohlfs is premiering the new video for her debut single, “June 8th,” with Makin Waves at NewJerseyStage.com. Also featured are The Grip Weeds, Pino's, The Clydes, Windows of Understanding, Leah Jenea, Bulletproof Belv, The Beagles, Oh Elis, Mikell’s Plot, Connor Bracken & the Mother Leeds Band, Tyler Veit, Cook Thugless, Jackson Pines, Houston & the Dirty Rats, Ezra Caspi, Jon Caspi & the First Gun, Ella Ross, Howl Peak Productions, Dinosaur Eyelids, and Mike Frank & Friends

Makin Waves Record of the Week: "Django Experiment V" & "Django L'Impressionniste" by Stephane Wrembel

By Bob Makin

Gypsy jazz pioneer Django Reinhardt is a masterful musician’s musician who has influenced head Deadhead Jerry Garcia and his bluegrass buddy David Grisman, abandoned Allman Brother Dickey Betts, the classical axe of Julian Bream, session everyman Chet Atkins, and fellow jazz greats Wes Montgomery and Charlie Byrd. In May in little ol’ Maplewood, NJ, that influence once again will be celebrated with Django disciple Stephane Wrembel’s annual Django a Go Go, a guitar gathering that brings together players from all over the world. This year, the six-string summit will culminate in an all-star concert on May 9 at New York City’s Town Hall.

Makin Waves with Robert Randolph: Grammy Guy

By Bob Makin

Irvington-raised sacred steel guitarist Robert Randolph is nominated for his sixth Grammy Awards, which will take place Jan. 26 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Nominated in the Best Contemporary Blues Album for his “Brighter Days” LP, he is vying for his first win.

film

Mark Street’s engaging and timely documentary Work Songs opens the New Jersey Film Festival on Saturday, January 25, 2020!

By Al Nigrin

Mark Street’s engaging and timely documentary Work Songs opens the New Jersey Film Festival on Saturday, January 25, 2020!

New Jersey Film Festival begins next weekend!

By Dana Lauria

The New Jersey Film Festival begins at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 25 and will continue on select Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings until Friday Feb. 28. The festival will be located at Rutgers University’s Voorhees Hall, Room 105, on 71 Hamilton St., New Brunswick.

art

Nadia Haji Omar's "Ascension" and "Natural Selection" at the Visual Arts Center of NJ

By Brent Johnson, JerseyArts.com

Nadia Haji Omar really wants you to see her latest collection of paintings. Not just in the photos available on the internet. But in person. There’s a reason for that.

Princeton University Library Presents "In Pursuit of the Picturesque"

By Emily Judd

(PRINCETON, NJ) -- In Pursuit of the Picturesque, an exhibition featuring British color plate books published between 1776 and 1868, will open at the Ellen and Leonard Milberg Gallery, located in the Firestone Library lobby, on January 22 and will be on display through March 1, 2020.