Charles Thomas, photo by Elliot Mandel

(SUMMIT, NJ) -- Vivid Stage, in residence at Oakes Center in Summit, will present Old Friends, a cabaret featuring vocalist Charles Thomas and pianist Rick Knutsen on Thursday, April 23, 2026 at 7:00pm. 

This is an eclectic mix of jazz standards, pop and folk classics, and musical reflections on life, love, and the ties that bind. The one-hour performance is a part of a mini-tour that will take Thomas to several venues along the East Coast this spring.

With repertoire ranging from Bernstein to Stevie Wonder, and from Gershwin to gospel, vocalist Charles Thomas spices up servings of jazz standards with eclectic pop, classic folk, and contemporary world music flavors. His performances in venues from Chicago’s Jazz Showcase and New York’s Laurie Beechman Theatre to the Franc Pinot in Paris, France, have featured collaborations with artists as diverse as jazz pianists Geri Allen and Amina Claudine Myers, internationally renowned dance company Urban Bush Women, and vocal ensembles Opera Ebony and New York Harlem Theater.

He holds degrees from the New England Conservatory of Music, Northwestern University, and Yale University, where he was a member of the Whiffenpoofs of Yale.

Tickets are $25 and available for purchase online. The Oakes Center is located at 120 Morris Avenue in Summit, New Jersey. The venue is wheelchair accessible. The parking lot is accessible from Ashwood Avenue, behind the theatre.

Vivid Stage was founded in 1994 as Dreamcatcher Rep, and is a non-profit professional ensemble of actors who build community with the audience by sharing contemporary, life-affirming stories that challenge, energize and entertain. Their work has at its heart a belief in the essential goodness of people and the power of live performance to connect people through our shared humanity. They expose theatregoers to ideas and lives like and unlike their own with the intention of awakening their imaginations and creating empathy for others. They deepen the experience of all their patrons with personal contact through receptions, talkbacks, and interactive programs.

The company’s activities include mainstage productions, improvisational comedy and cabarets, new play readings, works in a variety of media, and a menu of educational and senior outreach programs.

Vivid Stage’s programs are funded by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, the Union County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs, the Shubert and Summit Foundations and many other corporations, foundations and individuals. Vivid Stage is an Equity Producing member of the New Jersey Theatre Alliance.

Vivid Stage, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) corporation, incorporated under the laws of the State of New Jersey.