Here's a look at the top 15 most read articles published on New Jersey Stage from November 2-8, 2025. Each week we publish at least 70 articles, including original columns and features, promoting events and covering arts news taking place throughout the state and nearby areas like Philadelphia and New York City. This week's top 15 includes articles from 7 counties in New Jersey (Atlantic, Bergen, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, Union) and included three of our weekly columns.
1) Westfield Garden State Plaza presents 8th Annual Big Santa Celebration and annual lighting ceremony on Saturday - (PARAMUS, NJ) -- Westfield Garden State Plaza will kick off the 2025 holiday season with the 8th Annual Big Santa Celebration and annual lighting ceremony on Saturday, November 8. The event will be hosted by Z-100's Danielle Monaro, co-host of Elvis Duran and the Morning Show, and will feature an evening of live music, family entertainment, a breathtaking drone and light show, and holiday magic headlined by country music singer and songwriter Dylan Schneider.
2) 44th Bi-Annual New Jersey Film Festival to Take Place January 23 to February 22, 2026 - (NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ) -- The 44th Bi-Annual New Jersey Film Festival will take place on select Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays between January 23-February 22, 2026. The Festival will be a hybrid one as it will be presented online as well as doing in-person screenings at Rutgers University.
3) Events This Week in New Jersey from November 4-10, 2025 - Here is a look at upcoming events taking place from November 4-10, 2025 along with our featured listings. New Jersey Stage offers previews of events throughout the Garden State as well as select shows in New York City and Philadelphia areas.
4) Gateway Playhouse presents "Scrooge, The Musical" - (SOMERS POINT, NJ) -- Gateway Playhouse will ring in the holiday season with two weekends of the Christmas classic Scrooge the Musical, from December 5-14, 2025. Based on Charles Dickens' beloved A Christmas Carol, this musical brings the timeless holiday tale to life with warmth, humor and unforgettable music by Leslie Bricusse.
5) Liberty Arts Theatre presents "Michelle's Bark Mitzvah Bash" - (LEONIA, NJ) -- Liberty Arts Theatre presents Michelle's Bark Mitzvah Bash from November 6-9, 2025 at The American Legion - Post #1 in Leonia. What happens when a family of Re-PUP-licans and Demo-CATs get together?
6) EVENT: Coexistence, My Ass! - Shot over five tumultuous years, COEXISTENCE, MY ASS! follows Israeli activist-comedian Noam Shuster Eliassi as she creates a comedy show of the same name. Noam’s personal, professional, and political journey is traced alongside the region’s steady deterioration. Raised in a bilingual Israeli-Palestinian village — the only intentionally integrated community in the country — Noam grows disillusioned with traditional peace activism and pivots to stand-up comedy, quickly gaining attention across the Middle East. But as her star rises, everything around her begins to fall apart. With biting satire, Noam challenges her audience to confront difficult truths that may not always be funny but remind us that another reality is possible.
7) Monmouth University Strikes A New Chord With Endowed Scholarship Honoring Thom Bell and David Steinberg - (WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ) -- The creation of the David J. Steinberg and Thomas R. Bell Endowed Scholarship, will hit all the right notes at Monmouth University. It will be an eternal tribute to two men whose friendship and collaboration in Philadelphia composed one of the most enduring harmonies in American R&B/Soul music history. The purpose of this scholarship is to keep their melody alive through the voices of students.
8) Monmouth County Commissioners host food drive in light of temporary suspension of full SNAP benefits - (MANALAPAN, NJ) -- The Monmouth County Board of County Commissioners is hosting a Countywide Food Drive with County employees to support local food banks and residents in light of the recent temporary suspension of full SNAP benefits.
9) View Event Pages at New Jersey Stage - a look at upcoming events in the NJ Stage event calendar.
10) Premiere Stages at Kean University to Develop Works By Three Playwrights - (UNION, NJ) -- Premiere Stages at Kean University announced that three playwrights will have new plays developed as part of the 2025 and 2026 seasons: Mala Aria by Gloria Majule, Lia Del Mar by Dacyl Acevedo, and Effa Loves Baseball by Pia Wilson.
11) Clint Holmes and Chris Ruggiero LIVE! at the Grunin Center - Spotlight Central has photos and a recap of Clint Holmes and Chris Ruggiero at Grunin Center for the Arts on October 26, 2025.
12) Adriana Groza Announces the Soft Opening of Her New Art Gallery & Studio in the Heart of Princeton - (PRINCETON, NJ) -- Award-winning visual artist Adriana Groza has announced the soft opening of her new Art Gallery & Studio at 38 Spring Street, Princeton, NJ, on Sunday, November 9, 2025, from 10:00am to 5:00pm.
13) Lewis Center for the Arts presents the 2025 Princeton Dance Festival at McCarter Theatre - (PRINCETON, NJ) -- Lewis Center for the Arts presents the 2025 Princeton Dance Festival from November 21-23, 2025 in McCarter Theatre Center's Berlind Theatre. The festival features new and repertory works by nationally and internationally recognized choreographers, performed by more than 50 Princeton students in an energetic program of dances from a surprising range of dance forms.
14) This Week in Music: Previews for Concerts from November 4-10, 2025 - Here is a look at shows taking place from November 4-10, 2025 along with our featured listings and a look at some upcoming shows. New Jersey Stage offers previews of concerts throughout the Garden State as well as select shows in New York City and Philadelphia areas.
15) This Week in Theatre: Previews for Plays Taking Place November 4-10, 2025 - Here are previews of plays taking place from November 4-10, 2025 including a look at productions currently being presented and those coming soon. New Jersey Stage covers Equity, community, college, and high school theatre. Check back every week for the weekly theatre preview.
Following decades of experience in public relations and writing for the arts, New Jersey Stage was created to serve as the state’s arts newswire. The site is built around its Event Calendar and event preview articles. The vast majority of these articles come from a monthly schedule that lets us cover every arts genre and region of the state on a regular basis with original coverage. These event preview articles get noticed when we first publish them and then get noticed again the week the event takes place. Our articles and event calendar pages are picked up by search engines and resources like Google News. The site’s audience grows each year and currently gets over one million unique visitors per year, but has kept ad rates at a fraction of the competition.
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