PHOTO: Pat Houston & Donna Houston present the Whitney! Exhibit at the Grammy Museum Experience Prudential Center.
Whitney Houston fans rejoice!
On Friday, October 19, 2018, the GRAMMY Museum Experience at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ opens its doors to Whitney!, the latest temporary exhibit in the Experience honoring the legacy of Newark’s own Whitney Houston.
It was quite a musical day at the media blitz event. Students from the Whitney E. Houston Academy of East Orange, NJ were bussed in to preview the collection of Whitney's artifacts on view, including stage costumes worn by Houston, scrapbooks from her early career and numerous awards and accolades Houston received throughout her career.
With microphones placed in a small room off the exhibit area, the students felt as if they were in a recording sound booth, and that's when magic filled the air. The students' started singing songs and their beautiful voices were a great compliment to the exhibit.
VIDEO: Students from the Whitney E. Houston Academy greet Pat Houston and Donna Houston at Whitney! -- the GRAMMY Museum Exhibit Prudential Center on October 17, 2018.
The exhibit is tastefully done, with items such as Whitney's high school diploma and her Bible, all placed behind glass. A short film with clips of Whitney's achievements, up to the Grammy Awards speech and prayer by LL Cool J the day after Whitney's death, is on a loop for easy viewing.
Whitney Houston's school diploma is on display.
One of the photos presented is of Clive Davis, the founder and president of Arista Records, to which Whitney Houston was signed. It was at Arista, under the guidance of Clive Davis, that Whitney flourished and became one of the biggest selling artists in music as we know it.
Pat Houston, the President of The Estate of Whitney E. Houston, discussed the exhibit with New Jersey Stage:
What is it like for you to exhibit Whitney Houston's life? It must be hard.
No, it's not difficult. You're seeing all of her timeline in one place, and it's amazing to see -- from childhood to the day that she passed. You're seeing artifacts from when she was a young girl to a woman. It's amazing to see it all in one place AND in Newark, NJ, where she was born and raised. To celebrate her here at this particular time for her legacy is a wonderful feeling.
PHOTO: Bob Santelli, Founding Executive Director of the Grammy Museum, with Mama Lisa of The Green Planet band.
Bob Santelli, Founding Executive Director of the Grammy Museum, stood by one of the cases carrying Whitney's tour dresses as he spoke to us. The Whitney E. Houston Academy children's singing distracted Bob in the best of ways. With all smiles, Bob gave New Jersey Stage great insight to the programs offered by the Grammy Museum:
You went to Monmouth University so coming back to Jersey must be a lot of fun.
Yes, actually, I was born just a few miles from here in Jersey City, NJ and raised in West New York. Coming back to NJ and helping share the great stories of some of our greatest artists is not only professionally rewarding for me but personally as well.
Monmouth University, as well as 13 other universities are affiliated with the Grammy Museum. What comes with the affiliation?
When a university becomes a Grammy Museum university affiliate, it means that they have a tie to us now that is deeper, and hopefully mutually beneficial. Interns from different universities come to work at our museums, professors are allowed to use some of our archives and oral history programs in their classes, we run songwriting camps and we do education programs. They are able to take some of the exhibits if they have the actual space to do it. So basically we become first cousins. The hope is that the relationship is good for the faculty, the students, as well as for us because it keeps us connected to young people, and young people are the soul and breath of American popular music.
Is there a difference between today's youth versus 30 years ago?
The interesting thing about today's youth as opposed to 30 years ago is that they listen differently; they have music in their ears almost 24/7. My hope is that they listen more intently, more deeply, if you will, so that they can have a lifelong emotional connection to the music that they loved in their youth.
So that delves into understanding how music operates. On a technical basis, what would the perfect song be for you.
Wow, that's interesting -- to try to figure out one song that you can deconstruct and basically point out everything. I don't have one song, but I can tell you that I want to dance with somebody because of the kids singing in the background. I would say any song really. The goal is to be able to take any song and deliver to a young person, or even a fan, how that creative process resulted in this beautiful work of art, whatever song it may be. That's really our goal.
The Whitney! exhibit runs through June 2019 at the Grammy Museum Experience Prudential Center, 165 Mulberry St, Newark, NJ 07102.
Join us for McCarter at the Museum - renowned performing artists in one-night only events at the Princeton University Art Museum.
Jason Robert Brown is a four-time Tony Award-winning composer and lyricist of The Last Five Years, Parade, Songs for a New World, 13, The Bridges of Madison County, Honeymoon In Vegas and The Connector, has performed as a soloist or with his band in venues around the world, including sold-out shows at the London Palladium and Carnegie Hall. His albums as a singer-songwriter include Wearing Someone Else’s Clothes and How We React and How We Recover on Ghostlight, and Coming From Inside the House and Live In Concert with Stephen Sondheim on Concord.
With Special Guest Tony nominee Betsy Wolfe. Tony Award-nominated actress Betsy Wolfe is currently starring as Audrey in the acclaimed Off-Broadway production of Little Shop of Horrors, following her recent Broadway run as Madeline Ashton in the hit musical Death Becomes Her. She previously originated the title role in Joy, the new musical inspired by inventor Joy Mangano, and earned a 2023 Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her celebrated performance as Anne Hathaway in & Juliet. Other Broadway credits include starring as Jenna in Waitress, Cordelia in the acclaimed revival of Falsettos, Bullets Over Broadway, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Everyday Rapture, and 110 in the Shade, as well as her critically acclaimed performance as Cathy in the Off-Broadway revival of The Last Five Years. Wolfe made her Metropolitan Opera debut in Die Fledermaus and has appeared as a guest artist with more than 65 symphony, pops, and philharmonic orchestras worldwide, including the New York Philharmonic and BBC Symphony Orchestra, with performances at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center. Her screen credits include First One In, Estella Scrooge, CBS’s Instinct, and the film adaptation of The Last Five Years. Wolfe is also the co-founder of BroadwayEvolved, the acclaimed musical theatre training program she launched in 2018 to train and mentor the next generation of theatre artists.
A limited number of early access tickets for McCarter Director’s Circle members and members of the Museum’s Partner Circle are available, on sale Wednesday, September 16, 2026 at 12:00 PM. General public on sale begins Friday, September 18, 2026 at 12:00 PM.
Please be aware there is no public drop-off or parking at the Museum. For visitors with mobility needs, please contact the Museum at least three business days in advance of your visit to request special access to the Museum via Elm Drive. Call 609-258-3788 and select option 1 to speak to a visitor services staff member, or email Louise Barrett at [email protected].
