In this joyful and immersive gathering, Michael Mwenso, co-creator of The Sound of (Black) Music, along with co-director Shariffa Ali from Princeton’s Lewis Center for the Arts, will create a sense of community and connection by playing recordings of musical forebears who propelled the advancement of the human condition and prompting participants to voluntarily share what they feel and hear in the messages. For this special event, produced by Electric Root, we invite all to come together and recenter through the collective healing, love, and nutritional uplift that’s embedded in Black roots music.
This event will take place in the Arts Council of Princeton’s Solley Theater (on the top floor, accessible by elevator) at 102 Witherspoon Street, Princeton, NJ.
This in-person workshop, happening in advance of McCarter’s main stage presentation of The Sound of (Black) Music*, is FREE and open to the public, although registration is required.
This is an Arts Council of Princeton and McCarter community partnership event in association with Arts & Ideas – connecting Princeton University and Community partners to the work at McCarter on stage and behind the scenes.
*For info & tickets to McCarter’s presentation of The Sound of (Black) Music on Nov 17 visit www.mccarter.org.
Michael Mwenso’s unique lifelong geographical and spiritual journey has led him to possess a perspective unlike any other in this time. His childhood was rooted in West Africa where he was raised by strong, intelligent African women. As a teenager in London he faced a period of personal uncertainty, as his mother was deported, where he found solace in Black music and where the greatest artists of all time, like James Brown, became his mentors and guiding stars.
In his late twenties, Mwenso was brought to New York City by Wynton Marsalis to helm a famed jazz club and his influence profoundly impacted the music and arts scene of NYC. He then built a community across the United States through his vehicle of love expression, Mwenso and the Shakes. Now through the umbrella of Electric Root co-founded with Jono Gasparro - he spends his energy on spreading the message of Black music to uplift, heal and empower individuals and communities across our divided nation.
An Afrofuturist take on the Rodgers & Hammerstein classic, The Sound of (Black) Music fuses jazz, blues, funk, gospel, R&B, hip-hop, and more to pay tribute to the rich, communal history of Black roots music. Brianna Thomas, Chareene Wade, and musical director Vuyo Sotashe lead a dynamic group of more than 20 musicians and vocalists in an electric performance that captures the music’s uplifting spirit. Jazz vocalist Michael Mwenso and producer Jono Gasparro conceived the show—co-directed by Shariffa Ali (Princeton University) and Kamilah Long—in association with Electric Root as a production within a platform, a creative healing space for a troupe of predominantly BIPOC artists. More than just a riff on a beloved musical, the production aims to reclaim the legacy of Black music and highlight its central role in shaping American culture.
New Jersey's jazz legacy takes center stage in A Tribute to Count Basie: The Kid from Red Bank. Performed by James Langton's New York All-Star Big Band, this high-energy concert celebrates the unmistakable sound and driving swing of Count Basie - music that still thrills and moves audiences today.
Rick Steves host
New Jersey Symphony
Blue-eyed soul pioneers The Righteous Brothers are back! With a string of #1 clas-sics, including the most played song in radio history, You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Fee/in’, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame duo of Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield topped the charts in four decades. After Bobby’s death in 2003, Bill Medley con-tinued to perform to sold-out crowds around the world, but fans and friends pleaded with him to keep The Righteous Brothers alive.
Between 1925 and 1928, Louis Armstrong made a series of influential recordings with a studio group, the Hot Five, that changed the shape of jazz to come. To pay tribute to these legendary sessions, Jazz on a Sunday Afternoon will welcome the dynamic trumpeter and recent Juilliard graduate Andrew Stephens, along with a small group made up of some of New York’s finest traditional jazz musicians.
Rick Steves host
Nicholas Hersh conductor
New Jersey Symphony
"Ale Pak" is a popular, clean, and family-friendly Marathi stand-up comedy special by well-known comedian Mandar Bhide. The show features relatable everyday observations, nostalgia, and lighthearted humor rooted in Maharashtrian culture.
Dunbar Repertory Company presents Ntozake Shange’s FOR COLORED GIRLS Who have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf, the groundbreaking “choreopoem” – a spellbinding collection of vivid prose and free verse narratives about and performed by Black women. Directed by Darrell Lawrence Willis, SR.
Amidst the chaos of the Iraq War, the Khachaturian family is trapped in a firefight between U.S. Marines and insurgents, and one Marine’s split-second decision devastates the family. Years later, haunted by his time in Iraq and aided by a New Yorker journalist, the Marine seeks to reconcile with the Khachaturian matriarch. Anchored by unforgettable performances from Boyd Holbrook (A Complete Unknown, Narcos, The Morning Show), Hiam Abbass (Succession), and Kenneth Branagh, Atonement is a powerfully human true story about the immeasurable costs of war, exploring universal questions about guilt, redemption, and the nature of forgiveness.
A group of dads building a movement to support their trans and gender expansive kids are forced to make an impossible choice amid a shifting political landscape: stay and fight or flee the country.
A haunting yet life-affirming film about reframing pain and the radical power of choice. It follows grieving mother Iris Haim as she mourns the loss of her son in the aftermath of October 7th and forms an unexpected bond with Dr. Edith Eger—a renowned psychologist, author, and Auschwitz survivor—whose hard-won wisdom guides her toward transformation.
(NEWTON, NJ) -- The Newton Theatre presents Puss N Boots featuring Norah Jones, Sasha Dobson, and Catherine Popper on Sunday, November 8, 2026 at 7:00pm.
(TEANECK, NJ) -- The Teaneck International Film Festival (TIFF) has named filmmaker Luchina Fisher the first recipient of the Sandi Klein Creative Woman in Film Award, a new annual honor celebrating an exceptional woman whose work reflects the creativity, curiosity, integrity and commitment to social impact that defined Klein's life and her nearly two decades with the festival. The award includes a $1,000 grant. Fisher will receive the inaugural award at the TIFF screening of her film, The Dads, on Sunday, November 8, 2026 at 2:30 pm at Teaneck Cinemas (503 Cedar Lane).
(EDISON, NJ) -- With a new dance studio year now underway for many dancers and families, registration is officially open for the LIT Tap Dance Experience, coming to Edison VFW Post 3117 on Sunday, November 8, 2026. Presented by Taplife Hero Foundation, LIT is a focused one-day tap dance experience built around technique, musicality, artistry, mentorship and community.
(FREEHOLD, NJ) -- Center Players presents It's A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play with four performances across two Sundays (November 8 and November 15, 2026). Performances are split between the American Hotel and Mattison Crossing.
(ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS, NJ) -- After its world premiere at Dances With Films LA (DWFLA), one of the nation's leading indie film festivals, Directors' Commentary will have its New Jersey Premiere at SModcastle Film Festival, hosted by filmmaker Kevin Smith. The film will screen on Sunday, November 8, 2026 at 12:00pm.
