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Passaic County Arts Center to Host America's Tapestry

(HAWTHORNE, NJ) -- Passaic County Board of County Commissioners will host America's Tapestry, a nationally touring exhibition commemorating the 250th anniversary of American independence, at the Passaic County Arts Center at the John W. Rea House from October 26, 2026 through January 31, 2027. One of its thirteen panels tells a story that belongs to Passaic County.



The LoLo Show explores the intersection of family and media

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Lambertville Halloween Film Festival Celebrates Five Frightful Years

(LAMBERTVILLE, NJ) -- The Lambertville Halloween Film Festival (LHFF) returns for its 5th anniversary edition, October 16–18, 2026. Three days of horror, thrills and Halloween spirit kick off Friday night with the Monster Bash, the festival's opening party.



Centenary Stage Company's Annual Fringe Festival Returns in November

(HACKETTSTOWN, NJ) -- Centenary Stage Company's annual Fringe Festival returns this November with three intimate, unconventional, and thought-provoking theatrical experiences. Featuring Too Fat for China, Ghost Dance: Picture of a Madman, and Unseen, this year's festival explores adoption, art and mental illness, and the often-unseen people who make the magic of theater possible.



State Theatre New Jersey presents The Temptations & The Four Tops

(NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ) -- State Theatre New Jersey presents The Temptations & The Four Tops on Sunday, October 18, 2026 at 6:30pm. Two legendary Motown groups share the stage for one unforgettable night of timeless hits, smooth harmonies, and classic soul.










FEATURED EVENTS


Street Survivors - Lynyrd Skynyrd Experience

Friday, October 09, 2026 @ 7:30pm
Lizzie Rose Music Room
Tuckerton, NJ

Nationally touring act, Street Survivors, a Lynyrd Skynyrd Experience pays homage to the legendary southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. Recreating the look and sound of the band and playing classic hits such as "What's Your Name", "Gimme Three Steps", "Sweet Home Alabama" and the rock classic anthem "Freebird", Street Survivors is an audience favorite. Come join us as we go back in time to the early seventies and listen to the foot stompin music that brought Lynyrd Skynyrd to fame.



 

A Beat of Our Own

Friday, October 09, 2026 @ 7:30pm
McCarter Theatre Center (Matthews Theatre)
Princeton, NJ

From the Tony Award-winning producers of Hadestown comes A Beat of Our Own — a brand-new musical comedy that pulls you straight into the pulsating rhythms, kaleidoscopic colors and raw energy of competitive bhangra dance. 



 

Akaash Singh: Generational Triumph Tour

Friday, October 09, 2026 @ 7:00pm
State Theatre New Jersey
New Brunswick, NJ

See comedian Akaash Singh live at State Theatre New Jersey! Akaash Singh is a nationally touring stand-up comedian, podcaster, and actor. His career took off with many television shows, including MTV’s Wild’n Out, Netflix’s Brown Nation, and HBO’s The Leftovers. After finding success in TV, he shifted his focus to the now hugely successful podcast Flagrant, co-created with fellow comedian and good friend Andrew Schulz. Then he moved his attention to his stand-up comedy career. His comedy specials and clips have amassed almost 2 BILLION total views on YouTube alone. His newest Special, Gaslit, released in 2024 has over six million views. Aside from stand-up, look for Akaash in #1 Happy Family USA, a Hulu series created by Ramy Youssef.



 

The Bob Band - A Bob Dylan Tribute

Friday, October 09, 2026 @ 8:00pm
The Strand Center for the Arts
Lakewood, NJ

Experience the music of Bob Dylan like never before as The Bob Band brings his legendary songs to The Strand, in a moving and deeply authentic concert. This Washington D.C. Quintet offers a richly musical journey through Dylan’s extraordinary catalog, performing with authenticity, reverence and a clear love for the music. Rather than imitating Dylan, the band brings decades of experience to arrangements that highlight the character and depth of his recordings across folk, rock, country, blues, and gospel. With thoughtful storytelling and a rotating setlist that includes “like a Rolling Stone, Tangled Up in Blue, Mr. Tambourine Man, and Make You Feel My Love”. The Bob Band captures the sound and soul of one of the most influential artists of all time. It’s not imitation-it’s a celebration of the music that became it’s own genre.

 

Morristown Festival of Books Keynote Event – An Evening with Malcolm Gladwell

Friday, October 09, 2026 @ 7:30pm
Mayo Performing Arts Center (MPAC)
Morristown, NJ

General Admission Ticket: $68, includes a copy of The American Way of Killing

 

Jaane Pehchaane Anjaane... A Musical Hindi Play starring Anupam Kher & Swaroop Sampat

Friday, October 09, 2026 @ 8:00pm
Union County Performing Arts Center (UCPAC) - Main Stage
Rahway, NJ

Experience an unforgettable evening of live theatre with “Jaane Pehchaane Anjaane,” a captivating Hindi musical play starring the legendary Anupam Kher alongside acclaimed actress Swaroop Sampat.

 

Growing Stage presents Roald Dahl’s MATILDA the Musical

Friday, October 09, 2026 @ 7:30pm
The Historic Palace Theatre
Netcong, NJ

Inspired by the twisted genius of Roald Dahl, the Tony Award-winning Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical is the captivating masterpiece from the Royal Shakespeare anarchy of childhood, the power of imagination and the inspiring story of a girl who dreams of a better life.

 

Vivid Stage presents B.I.N.G.O. (or Brittney Isle’s Nice Geriatric Orgy)

Friday, October 09, 2026 @ 8:00pm
Oakes Center
Summit, NJ

Barb desperately needs friends. That’s why she moved to this 55+ community in the first place. So what better way to meet new people than to join a good old fashioned Bingo Night? When Bingo Night turns into a full-blown orgy, Barb must decide: does she stay in her safe, predictable world? Or does she play a new game of chance and truly live before it’s too late?

 

Kean Department of Theatre presents "References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot"

Friday, October 09, 2026 @ 7:30pm
Kean Stage - Bauer Boucher Theatre Center
Union, NJ

References to Salvador Dalí Make Me Hot is an Obie Award-winning surrealist play by José Rivera that follows Gabriela, a lonely housewife in Barstow, California, awaiting her soldier-husband Benito’s return from the Gulf War in 1991. In the poetic fantasy world she creates as she drifts through her days in the Mojave desert, her housecat and a local coyote strike up a romance, while the celestial man-in-the-moon and her very real teenage neighbor Martín vie for her affection.

 

ReelAbilities: Heavy Healing

Friday, October 09, 2026 @ 6:30pm
Kean Stage - NAAB Auditorium
Union, NJ

ReelAbilities authentically showcases disability experiences and talent both on screen and behind the camera through award-winning short and feature-length films. Each screening at Kean University includes disability-led discussions that foster community dialogue, challenge stereotypes and promote access — fulfilling ReelAbilities’s mission of reframing disability through powerful storytelling.

 





EVENT PREVIEWS

ART | COMEDY | DANCE | FILM | MUSIC | THEATRE | COMMUNITY | KIDS

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(MONTCLAIR, NJ) -- At thirteen, Freddy and Barney were a matched set; everybody called them Fred and Barney. Then Barney's family left town suddenly, and the two best friends spent thirty years not talking about why. In Kill Goofy, the new play by Livingston native Eric Alter, they are finally back in the same room, a childhood bedroom that has not changed since 1994, circling the one thing they both experienced and never once discussed.

(HADDON TOWNSHIP, NJ) -- The Ritz Theatre Company presents Trolls and Men by Alex Wilkie weekends from October 9-25, 2026. Set in 1940s Norway, and based on a true story, Trolls and Men tells the inspiring story of Julius Thoreson, the artistic director of the Trondheim Transformational Theater. The production is directed by Lori Aleixo-Howard.

(CINNAMINSON, NJ) -- 2nd Stage at Burlington County Footlighters presents Tiny Beautiful Things across two weekends from October 9-17, 2026. Based on the bestselling book by Cheryl Strayed and adapted for the stage by Nia Vardalos, Tiny Beautiful Things personifies the questions and answers that "Sugar" was publishing online from 2010-2012. 

(MAPLEWOOD, NJ) -- interACT Theatre Productions presents the East Coast Premiere of The Graveyard Girls by Tommy Jamerson across three weekends from October 9-24, 2026 at The Burgdorff Center for The Performing Arts. Every Halloween, besties Lauree, Sydney and Nancie have made a tradition of sneaking into an abandoned graveyard and attempting to outscare each other with a series of campfire tales packed with premium spookage...

(UPPER MONTCLAIR, NJ) -- Studio Players presents POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive across three weekends from October 9-24, 2026. An uproarious Broadway debut by playwright Selina Fillinger, this is a riotous comedy about the women in charge of the man in charge of the free world.







LATEST FEATURES

ART | COMEDY | DANCE | FILM | MUSIC | THEATRE | COMMUNITY | KIDS



(MANASQUAN, NJ) -- Algonquin Arts Theatre presents Oliver! across two weekends from October 16-25, 2026. A beloved musical based on Charles Dickens' timeless novel, Oliver! tells the story of a young boy searching for home and belonging.



(MIDDLETOWN, NJ) -- Dunbar Repertory Company presents Ntozake Shange's FOR COLORED GIRLS Who have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf at the Middletown Arts Center across two weekends from November 7-15, 2026. This is the groundbreaking "choreopoem" – a spellbinding collection of vivid prose and free verse narratives about and performed by Black women. The production is directed by Darrell Lawrence Willis, SR.



If you're looking for something fun to do this Halloween season, The Wag has the show for you. Bring your family and friends to The Wag's Halloween Spectacular! They're bringing the show to Middletown, Lakewood, and Tuckerton in the next few weeks.



(RAHWAY, NJ) -- Union County Performing Arts Center (UCPAC) presents Broadway's Rock of Ages Band in Concert on Saturday, October 10, 2026 at 8:00pm. They will be supported by The 1970s Midnight Rock Show.







LATEST COLUMNS


Makin Waves Song of the Week: "The Only Man to Make It Through the Dance" by Jake Thistle

The Makin Waves Song of the Week is "The Only Man to Make It Through the Dance" from "A Stranger By Design," the latest album by Jake Thistle.


Rock On! This Week's Sound Bites... 10/01/2026

What do you call a rocker by night who pays tribute to multiple classic rock bands and someone who has done children's music during the day? You call him Paulie Z that's what.


Makin Waves Song of the Week: "In Another Life" by Deardarkhead

The Makin Waves Song of the Week is "In Another Life" from "The Pendulum Swings," the first album in 26 years from the Atlantic City rockers Deardarkhead.

* Events This Week in New Jersey

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* This Week in Theatre

* Top 15 Most Read Stories from the Past Week




Daily Edition 10-08-26

Here is a look at the articles published on Thursday. The Daily Edition will be back on Monday with a recap of the articles published over the weekend.