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!
If your arts organization sends out press releases, make sure you have [email protected] on your media list for coverage.
theatre
Aspire PAC presents "Alice By Heart" 
(MONTVILLE, NJ) -- This June, Aspire Performing Arts Company will present the musical Alice By Heart at The Barn Theatre in Montville from June 6-8, 2025. The musical, written by Spring Awakening creative team Steven Sater (book and lyrics) and Duncan Sheik (music), takes place in the rubble of the London Blitz.
Growing Stage 2025-26 Season Preview 
(NETCONG, NJ) -- The Growing Stage, the Children's Theatre of New Jersey, has announced their 2025-26 Season. Their 44th season will include productions of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Cinderella: A Salsa Fairy Tale, Mesmerized: A Ben Franklin Science and History Mystery, and Nate the Great Musical.
Luna Stage presents "The Ground On Which We Stand (Abridged)" 
(WEST ORANGE, NJ) -- Luna Stage is thrilled to announce The Ground On Which We Stand (Abridged) — a solo performance inspired by the history and legacy of The James Howe House written by Turron Kofi Alleyne, Jenny Lyn Bader, Sakinah Hofler, Stephen Kaplan, Kyle Mazer, Kathleen McGhee-Anderson, Diane Polledri, Martine Sainvil, TyLie Shider, Mo Schlick, Melissa Toomey, and Richard Wesley, abriged by TyLie Shider — will run June 5-22, 2025 on the MainStage.
Middlesex County Plays-in-the-Park Unveils Lineup for 2025 Summer Season 
(EDISON, NJ) -- Middlesex County's Plays-in-the-Park returns this summer to the Stephen J. Capestro Theatre located at Roosevelt Park, presenting three popular Broadway musicals: Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Rent, and Grease.
Sussex County Resident's Original Play Selected to Be Performed at New York Theater Festival's "SummerFest 2025" 
(NEW YORK, NY) -- Sparta resident Allison Ognibene, and lead faculty of Theater at Sussex County Community College (SCCC) has written an original play called "Mile 59" that will be featured in the renowned New York Theater Festival, "NY Summerfest" in June 2025 at the Hudson Guild Theater.
music
An Interview with Ray Andersen on Bowie & Beyond 
On May 17th, my wife and I went to see Bowie & Beyond at Bell Theater at Bell Works in Holmdel. It's a show I've been meaning to see for years and one I think any fan of Bowie's music should check out.
Baroque Music and Violin Recital with a Touch of Bluegrass Coming to the Princeton Festival 
(PRINCETON, NJ) -- Violinist Tessa Lark, The Sebastians, and violin/cello duo Daniel Rowland and Maja Bogdanović, in performance with the Princeton Symphony Orchestra, offer refreshing renditions of works showcasing the violin and music of the Baroque era at 2025 Princeton Festival mid-June concerts.
Springsteen Archives to Host "Born to Run" 50th Anniversary Celebration 
(WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ) -- This fall, the Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music (BSACAM) will present a multi-day 50th anniversary celebration of the release of Bruce Springsteen's landmark album, Born to Run. Beginning on Thursday, September 4 and running through Sunday, September 7, 2025 these events will acknowledge the album's place in American music history and shed new light on the making of the album and the role it played in Springsteen's early career. Events will be held across the campus of Monmouth University, BSACAM's home.
NJPAC presents The Witcher in Concert 
(NEWARK, NJ) -- GEA Live, CD PROJEKT RED, and RoadCo Entertainment has announced The Witcher in Concert (www.thewitcher.com/concert) will tour the U.S. for the first time ever, visiting more than 45 cities around the country including a stop in Newark at New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) on Friday, September 19, 2025 at 9:00pm. The Witcher in Concert is a live music experience featuring a timeless soundtrack from "The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt" by CD PROJEKT RED.
film
Thousands Attend the First NJ Film & TV Expo 
(EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ) -- On Thursday, May 1, 2025, over three thousand people flocked to New Jersey for the first-ever NJ Film Expo. The event, hosted by the Screen Alliance of New Jersey (SANJ) and sponsored by the New Jersey Motion Picture and Television Commission (NJMPTVC) and the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA), showcased the state's ever-expanding infrastructure. Thanks to the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority (NJSEA), the expo was able to be held in Meadowlands Arena in East Rutherford.
Powerful documentary Freeing Juanita screens at the 2025 New Jersey International Film Festival on Sunday, June 1! 
Freeing Juanita, directed by Sebastián Lasaosa Rogers, is not the kind of documentary you watch and walk away from unchanged. It stays with you long after the credits roll. At its heart, this is a film about one woman, wrongfully imprisoned. But as you watch it unfold, you realize it’s also about so much more: a broken immigration system, the erasure of Indigenous voices, and the extraordinary strength of family and community.
art
Nork! Photo Fest 2025 Honors Newark's Film Legacy with Month-Long Public Art Celebration 
(NEWARK, NJ) -- This summer, Newark's revolutionary history in film and photography takes center stage with Nork! Photo Fest, a month-long public art installation and cultural celebration hosted by The Nork! Project. Kicking off Sunday, June 1, 2025 at Military Park, the festival commemorates the city's lasting impact on visual storytelling—dating back to 1898 when Reverend Hannibal Goodwin invented celluloid film at the historic Plume House in downtown Newark, forever changing photography and making motion pictures possible.
Monmouth County Park System presents "Natural Expressions" Art Exhibit 
(LINCROFT, NJ) -- The Monmouth County Park System is hosting Natural Expressions, a group exhibit showcasing the works of artists Tracey C. Witter, Troy Bynum and Pete MacConnell at the "Gallery" at the Thompson Park Creative Arts Center, Lincroft. The exhibit runs June 13 to August 22, 2025.
The Art House Gallery presents: "Through My Eyes", a group exhibition featuring artists living with disabilities 
(JERSEY CITY, NJ) -- Art House Productions proudly presents "Through My Eyes," a group exhibition showcasing the work of artists living with disabilities. The exhibition will be on display at the Art House Gallery from Friday, June 6th to Sunday, June 29th, 2025.
Rene Saheb: "Stories, Transformed" 
Rene Saheb keeps her garden well-watered. Her canvases and sculptures aren't wet to the touch, but they look like they could be. Drippings run down the surface of her acrylic paintings in bunches. Her sculptures, too, are plump and glistening, full of stacked sacks with pregnant curves and apertures that appear ready to pour something forth. Her colors, too, have the softness, transparency, and blurred quality of flower petals left to soak in a bowl overnight. She gives us undulations, folds, and rich thickness. A Rene Saheb scene always feels a bit like a glade right after a rainstorm: everything ripe and effulgent, with shadows in the mist, and growth happening so fast you could swear it's happening right before your eyes.
community
North to Shore Festival Takes Part in Scavenger Hunt Day on May 31st; Follow the Festival on Socials to Uncover Hidden Tickets 
(NEWARK, NJ) -- The Prudential North to Shore Festival is celebrating National Scavenger Hunt Day on May 31 with an exciting hunt for the festival's most sought-after music tickets!
Newark Mayor Announces 2025 Funding Opportunity for Artists and Arts Organizations 
(NEWARK, NJ) -- On May 28, 2025, Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka announced the allocation of $750,000 in funding to support a fourth round of grants through the Creative Catalyst Fund, providing artists and cultural groups with flexible grant support for arts and cultural activities in the City's Fiscal Year 2025 (July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026). The City's Division of Arts and Cultural Affairs will administer the fund in partnership with Invest Newark. The deadline to apply for grants is 11:59pm on Monday, June 23.
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