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The Shining Stars- Broadway and Beyond!

Friday, May 09, 2025 @ 7:00pm



Union County Performing Arts Center (UCPAC) - Main Stage
1601 Irving Street, Rahway, NJ 07065

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The Shining Stars celebrate Broadway as this talented group of performers with special needs takes the UCPAC Main Stage for another exciting show! They have been lighting up the UCPAC stage since 2019 and no doubt, this show will be another memorable night of song and dance featuring legendary Broadway music you know and love, performed with the excitement and passion that these stars bring to every show. This show is presented by Shining Stars Network, a non profit 501(c)3 organization which shines the light on the special needs community by creating opportunities in the performing arts. Over 1,000 audience members attended our first “Broadway” show back in 2019 at UCPAC so you won’t want to miss this one!

Shining Stars Network is an expansion of the incredibly successful Shining Stars Talent Show – which was created by Sally Curci in 2012 to showcase the various talents of special needs students in Cranford, New Jersey.

Sally Curci and Shining Stars were awarded the prestigious Betty McGhee Award for her service to the special needs community by the Arc of Union County. Sally was also honored by the Cranford Board of Education for her service to the community.

Special needs and neurotypical performers come together in a dazzling display of choreography and teamwork – a culmination of four months of rehearsals and amazing dedication from the students, parents and volunteer buddies from local high schools.




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EVENT PREVIEWS

(PRINCETON, NJ) -- Princeton Summer Theater has unveiled its 2026 subscription season which will run from June 11th to August 1st, featuring an exciting lineup of three mainstage pieces and a family-friendly musical. Productions include Barefoot in the Park, The 39 Steps, True West, and You're a Good Man Charlie Brown.



(NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ) -- Crossroads Theatre Company presents Sizwe Bansi Is Dead from May 19 - June 14, 2026 at the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center. This is a powerful, funny, and deeply moving story about identity, survival, and the extraordinary ingenuity of ordinary people navigating an unjust system.



(LONG ISLAND, NY) -- In the Devil's Hands, Helen Banner's riveting new play will extend its run to 21 performances running between May 20 and June 14, 2026. Set in the Channel Islands in the 1940s, this intimate and immersive production will have its world premiere at the new micro theatre space Zoopraxic in Long Island City (first stop in Queens).



"Slanted

"Slanted Floors" returns to its Greenpoint Apartment

(NEW YORK, NY) -- Following critical acclaim and sold-out performances, Slanted Floors — hailed by the Daily Beast as "one of New York's most unique and exclusive pieces of theatre" — returns for a strictly limited five-week engagement in its original Greenpoint apartment setting. Performances will run May 26 through June 26, 2026, with 150 seats available.



Arden

Arden Theatre Company presents "Dear Evan Hansen"

(PHILADELPHIA, PA) -- Arden Theatre Company brings the Tony Award-winning musical, Dear Evan Hansen, to the F. Otto Haas Stage this spring. Featuring a book by Steven Levenson and music and lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, the production is directed by Terrence J. Nolen and co-conceived by Jorge Cousineau and Nolen. Performances begin May 21, the show opens May 27, and runs through July 5, 2026.












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