Here is the morning update from New Jersey's arts newswire. We regularly publish between 8-15 new articles and news reports each day. Nobody covers the Arts throughout the Garden State like New Jersey Stage!
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theatre
Centenary Stage Company's Women Playwrights Series to Have Reading of "Blood of the Lamb" by Arlene Hutton (HACKETTSTOWN, NJ) -- Centenary Stage Company's Women Playwrights Series will end close out with a reading of Blood of the Lamb by Arlene Hutton. The reading will take place on Wednesday, April 26 at 7:30pm in the Kutz Theatre of the Lackland Performing Arts Center at 715 Grand Avenue, Hackettstown, NJ on the campus of Centenary University. The reading will feature actors Dana Brooke and Angelle Whavers with direction by Tia Dionne Hodge.
Lewis Center for the Arts' Programs in Theater and Music Theater present "Mostly Sort of Happily Ever After" (PRINCETON, NJ) -- The Lewis Center for the Arts' Programs in Theater and Music Theater at Princeton University present Mostly Sort of Happily Ever After, a cabaret performance featuring and directed by Princeton senior Cassandra James along with other student performers exploring the highs and lows of growing into adulthood through songs from Broadway's hit musicals. Performances, which are free and open to the public, take place on Sunday, April 30 at 2:00pm & 8:00pm in the Wallace Theater at the Lewis Arts complex on the Princeton campus. No tickets are required.
Luna Stage Explores NJ's Black History Through the Lens of Howe House The historic James Howe House was home to a formerly enslaved man, abolitionist and Montclair's first African American homeowner. Thanks to a large-scale collaboration between historians, preservationists, artists, and the teams at Luna Stage and Crossroads Theatre Company, the story of Howe House over the last nearly 200 years will be told through the upcoming play "The Ground on Which We Stand."
Steve Guttenberg Throws Out First Pitch at Somerset Patriots Game Steve Guttenberg, starring in the upcoming new comedy Tales from the Guttenberg Bible at George Street Playhouse (running April 25 to May 21st), joined the GSP team to throw the first pitch at a recent Somerset Patriots (Yankees) game. Steve signed autographs, met fans and hung out with the Patriots mascot Sparkee.
Lewis Center for the Arts presents "Tularosa: An American Dreamtime" by Kamara Thomas (PRINCETON, NJ) -- Songwriter, storyteller, and 2022-24 Princeton Arts Fellow Kamara Thomas and her ensemble present a musical performance of Thomas's multidisciplinary storytelling work Tularosa: An American Dreamtime on Tuesday, April 25 at 7:30pm in Richardson Auditorium in Alexander Hall, located on the Princeton campus. The event is free and open to the public, however advance tickets are required through University Ticketing.
Ritz Theatre Company presents the World Premiere of "Heathens on the Beach" (HADDON TOWNSHIP, NJ) -- Heathens on the Beach, a new comedy by Moorestown playwright Alex Wilkie will make its world premiere at the Ritz Theatre Company, a historic New Jersey venue, from April 28-30. In Wilkie's hilarious new play, directed by Lori Aleixo-Howard, it's the pious versus the pagan, where the only certainty is chaos, complication, and laughter.
music
Rock On! This Week's Sound Bites...4/20/23 “We Kind of just do long weekends and come back,” says Karla Bonoff as she prepares to return to the Sellersville Theater tonight April 20 for an 8 p.m. show. “Sometimes we'll be a month off and then we go out and work a lot so, it's never really like one long tour; it's just kind of a constant; you know?
New Jersey Symphony presents Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back in Concert (NEWARK, NJ) -- The New Jersey Symphony will present the Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back in Concert featuring screenings of the complete film with Oscar®—winning composer John Williams' musical score performed live to the film. The concert will be led by acclaimed conductor Constantine Kitsopoulos. Performances will take place in Morristown, Red Bank, Newark, and New Brunswick from May 18-21.
Middletown Arts Center presents April's "Mac Music Café" on Sunday (MIDDLETOWN, NJ) -- The Middletown Arts Center presents the monthly MAC Music Café, an afternoon of live music performed by top-notch musicians, on Sunday, April 23rd from 4:00pm-6:00pm. April's singer-songwriter showcase features local talent Andy Judkis, Neil Kessler, Paul During and Daniel Ravaglia. The concert will take place in the MAC theater. The event is free with a suggested donation of $5.
New Jersey Folk Festival Bridges Tradition and Innovation As we stroll through our neighborhoods at dinner time and the aromas of garlic, cumin, fenugreek, chilies, cabbages and tomatoes waft through the air, we are reminded that one in five people in the state is from somewhere else. Each community that settles in New Jersey brings with it a wealth of folkways. The New Jersey Folklife Festival has been celebrating this for nearly half a century.
French Canadian Trio É.T.É. Brings High-Energy Music to the Folk Project in Morristown on April 28th (MORRISTOWN, NJ) -- A whirlwind of French-Canadian music comes to the Troubadour Acoustic Concert Series on Friday, April 28 with the award-winning, young Québécois trio, É.T.É. The band combines the region's energetic traditional music with the virtuosity of classical and jazz. The show begins at 7:30pm at the Morristown Unitarian Fellowship. Multi-instrumentalist Russ Rentler will open.
The Newton Theatre presents Joan Osborne on August 5th (NEWTON, NJ) -- The Newton Theatre presents Joan Osborne on Saturday, August 5, 2023. Since she broke through 25 years ago with the multi-platinum Relish and its touchstone mega-smash "One of Us," the seven-time Grammy nominee has never played it safe. Osborne has followed her restless musical heart, exploring a diverse range of genres: pop rock, soul, R&B, blues, roots rock, gospel, funk, and country. Tickets range from $39-$59. Doors are at 7:00pm; showtime is 8:00pm.
New Monthly Salsa series comes to Hoboken's Sinatra Park (HOBOKEN, NJ) -- Dust off your dancing shoes and get ready to move as the brand new Salsa series Música Hoboken comes to Sinatra Park. The Hoboken Business Alliance has teamed up with Riverview Jazz, the local non-profit that produces the Jersey City Jazz Festival and PierFest to bring an exciting new series to the Hoboken waterfront. The monthly events will take place April 28, May 19, June 23 and will feature a world-class salsa band, DJ, and dance instruction. The events are free to the public.
New Jersey Youth Symphony Pushes Cultural Boundaries with Music and Dance on April 30 (NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ) --The New Jersey Youth Symphony (NJYS) presents Bringing It All Together: Music, Dance & Story Beyond Cultural Boundaries on Sunday, April 30, 2023 at 7:00pm at The Nicholas Music Center at Rutgers University in New Brunswick. The NJYS Youth Symphony, led by Artistic Director and Principal Conductor Helen H. Cha-Pyo, will perform George Walker's Icarus in Orbit for Orchestra, commissioned by the New Jersey Youth Orchestra in 2004; Margaret Bonds' The Montgomery Variations (1964) based on the African American spiritual "I Want Jesus to Walk with Me" and dedicated to Martin Luther King Jr.; and Jennifer Higdon's blue cathedral. The 2023 Concerto Competition Winner, Nina Park, will perform Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 2 in A Major for Piano and Orchestra, S.125, and the symphony will be joined by dancers Marianna Allen, Anne Tantuico, and Elena Yasin with choreography by Paul Ocampo.
Fuerza Regida to Perform at Prudential Center (NEWARK, NJ) -- Fuerza Regida, one of the most popular critically-acclaimed Mexican artists, announced his "Otra Peda Tour" which will bring the urban Mexican star to new cities and iconic venues. Fuerza Regida and Live Nation are continuing their tour production partnership, bringing a new 18-city "Otra Peda Tour" that kicks off in Los Angeles, CA, on July 15, and includes a stop at Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, on Friday, September 22, 2023.
Steve Forbert's "Streets of This Town" to Be Reissued on Vinyl and CD, Newly Remixed and Remastered Troubadour Steve Forbert's acclaimed 1988 album, Streets of This Town, will be back in print on CD and 140-gram vinyl for the first time in 28 years. The re-issue, Streets of Town: Revisited has been remixed and remastered and will be released through Blue Rose on June 2; the CD format contains a bonus track, "They're Out To Break Us." The album is notable as Forbert's first opportunity to record and release an album after several years of legal struggles with his then-label, CBS Records.
comedy
Vivid Stage Announces Summer Improv Classes for Adults and Teens (SUMMIT, NJ) -- Vivid Stage, in residence at Oakes Center at 120 Morris Avenue in Summit, is offering summer improv classes for adults and teens aged 18 and up. The next session, which includes both beginner and intermediate/advanced classes, begins on June 13.
dance
15th Annual Ailey Day celebration to Take Place at NJPAC on April 29th (NEWARK, NJ) -- Dancers of all ages and levels of expertise are invited to join NJPAC and Ailey Arts In Education & Community Programs (AIE) for free classes, workshops and conversations at the 15th Annual Ailey Day celebration at the Arts Center on Saturday, April 29. The events begin at 9:00am.
art
New exhibition at Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library showcases objects depicting watershed events during the 1960s U.S. civil rights movement (PRINCETON, NJ) -- "Nobody Turn Us Around: The Freedom Rides and Selma to Montgomery Marches: Selections from the John Doar Papers" showcases over 30 photographs and documents from two watershed events during the 1960s U.S. civil rights movement: the Freedom Rides of 1961 and the Selma-to-Montgomery marches of 1965. The exhibition runs Monday, April 24 through March 31, 2024 at Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library in Princeton.
Princeton Makes Talks Series Features Visual Artist Spriha Gupta on Friday (PRINCETON, NJ) -- On Friday, April 21 at 7:00pm, artist Spriha Gupta will be the featured speaker for the “Inside the Artist’s Studio” talk series at Princeton Makes in the Princeton Shopping Center. Gupta, a member of the Princeton Makes artist cooperative, is a mixed-media artist strongly influenced by her Indian cultural roots. She is known for creating narratives with organic forms and textures.
books
Bill Bellamy to Have Book Signing at Newark Symphony Hall on Tuesday (NEWARK, NJ) -- From MTV trailblazer, stand-up comedian, and actor Bill Bellamy comes his hilariously candid memoir Top Billin': Stories of Laughter, Lessons, and Triumph (Amistad). Bellamy holds nothing back in this book that provides an intimate, entertaining, and heartfelt tour through the exclusive, elusive, and eternally iconic world of '90s pop culture. The Newark native will be at Newark Symphony Hall on Tuesday, April 25th for the official book signing of his hilarious candid memoir.
Monmouth University Professor Kenneth Womack Pens Essay on John Lennon's "Imagine" for Library of Congress Monmouth University Professor of English and Popular Music Kenneth Womack, a Beatles author and historian, was personally invited by the United States Library of Congress to provide the essay for one of 2023's new items in the National Recording Registry, John Lennon’s recording of "Imagine." Though the Beatles' landmark 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was inducted in 2003, "Imagine" is the first recording by a former Beatle to be honored.
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