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Touching Documentary Clan of the Painted Lady screens at the New Jersey Film Festival on September 5!

Migration is often discussed in terms of the places people leave and the places they eventually call home, but Clan of the Painted Lady, directed by Jennifer Chiu, is more interested in everything that happens in between. The documentary follows Chiu as she reconnects with her Hakka identity and traces her family history stretching across China, India, and Canada. Born in India and raised in Canada, Chiu grew up mostly separated from her father, who spent much of his life in Kolkata, India. What begins as a personal search into her own family eventually becomes a larger exploration of migration, cultural loss, and what it takes to keep a culture alive across generations.



 

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The Newton Theatre presents Molly Tuttle on September 17th

(NEWTON, NJ) -- The Newton Theatre presents Molly Tuttle on Thursday, September 17, 2026 at 8:00pm. Molly is a Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, and virtuosic guitarist whose innovative blend of bluegrass, Americana, pop, and rock has made her one of the most dynamic artists in modern roots music.



Basie Center Celebrates William "Count" Basie's Birthday with New Jersey Black Heritage Trail Marker, Street Renaming and more

(RED BANK, NJ) -- The Count Basie Center for the Arts hosted a celebration on Friday, August 21, 2026, honoring Red Bank native and musical legend, William "Count" Basie on what would have been his 122nd birthday. The event included the unveiling of a marker designating the historic building as a spot on the New Jersey Black Heritage Trail, the ceremonial naming of the street to Basie Center Way, the presentation of the Count Basie Jazz Vanguard award to concert promoter Jerry Bakal, and a performance from the Legendary Count Basie Orchestra.



Westfield Author Publishes "Temperates: The New Culture of Drinking Less"

(WESTFIELD, NJ) -- Enchantra, Inc. has released Temperates: The New Culture of Drinking Less by founder and CEO Tara Oporto. The book is available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle.



Adelphi Orchestra to Open 73rd Season with "American Voices at 250" in Fair Lawn

(FAIR LAWN, NJ) -- The Adelphi Orchestra, Northern New Jersey's longest continuously performing chamber orchestra, will open its landmark 73rd consecutive concert season with "American Voices at 250." Led by Principal Conductor Kyunghun Kim, the program commemorates America's Semiquincentennial alongside the 200th anniversary legacy of Ludwig van Beethoven.



Top 15 Most Read Stories At New Jersey Stage from August 23-29, 2026

Here's a look at the top 15 most read articles published on New Jersey Stage from August 23-29, 2026. 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 10 counties in New Jersey (Bergen, Camden, Cape May, Essex, Gloucester, Hudson, Middlesex, Morris, Ocean, and Passaic).










FEATURED EVENTS

Jersey Beach Boys

Sunday, August 30, 2026 @ 3:00pm
Algonquin Arts Theatre
Manasquan, NJ

What happens when California surf rock meets Jersey swagger? Jersey Beach Boys blends the sounds of The Beach Boys with the style of The Four Seasons in one electrifying show. With lush harmonies, choreographed moves, and nonstop energy, this unique tribute delivers a fun, sun-soaked concert experience audiences won't forget.

 

All The Devils Are Here

Sunday, August 30, 2026 @ 2:00pm
McCarter Theatre Center (Berlind Theatre)
Princeton, NJ

Dubbed “The Villain of Broadway” by Playbill, Tony Award nominee and Grammy Award winner Patrick Page (Hadestown) steps into the darkness and invites us along. In a tour-de-force performance, “one of America’s finest classical actors”(The Wall Street Journal) turns to the twisted motivations and hidden humanity at the heart of Shakespeare’s greatest villains, embodying Macbeth’s ruthless ambition, Iago’s seductive manipulation, Richard III’s gleeful cunning, Shylock’s fury, and more. 



 

The Doo Wop Project presents: Echoes of the Street

Sunday, August 30, 2026 @ 7:00pm
Grunin Center - Main Stage
Toms River, NJ

A Brand New Show from America’s Premiere Doo Wop Group



 

George Street Playhouse presents Laura Benanti: Nobody Cares

Sunday, August 30, 2026 @ 2:00pm
New Brunswick Performing Arts Center (NBPAC)
New Brunswick, NJ

Direct from an acclaimed run at Edinburgh Fringe and two sold-out Off-Broadway engagements comes Laura Benanti: Nobody Cares, a one-woman comedy show from the mind of Tony Award® winner Laura Benanti. Known for her dazzling Broadway performances and razor-sharp wit, Benanti takes the stage to share her hilarious, heartfelt, and sometimes brutally honest takes on motherhood, people pleasing and the joys of aging. Blending side-splitting storytelling with original songs, New York Times Critic's Pick Nobody Cares is a love letter to recovering people pleasers, mothers, and anybody working on themselves.

 

NYC Musical Marathon & Jack Dallas presents H. B. W. B. - A Fundraiser for the Closter Ambulance Corps

Wednesday, September 02, 2026 @ 7:30pm
Divinity Hall @ Centennial AME Zion Church
Closter, NJ

H. B. W. B. -  Humor, Babes, Wisdom, Brevity

 

NYC Musical Marathon & Jack Dallas presents H. B. W. B.
Humor, Babes, Wisdom, Brevity

Wednesday, September 02, 2026 @ 7:00pm
Divinity Hall @ Centennial AME Zion Church
Closter, NJ

H. B. W. B. -  Humor, Babes, Wisdom, Brevity

 

Sun Ra Arkestra

Thursday, September 03, 2026 @ 7:30pm
McCarter Theatre Center (Berlind Theatre)
Princeton, NJ

The legendary Sun Ra Arkestra returns with exuberant cosmic jazz — a stirring blend of big‑band swing, free jazz, bebop, spiritual jazz and Afrofuturist spectacle. Formed in Chicago in the mid‑1950s as the vehicle for the visionary composer Sun Ra, the Arkestra has spanned seven decades, touring the globe and inspiring generations with its bold, otherworldly sound.



A pioneer of early synthesizer use and the free‑jazz movement of the 1960s, Sun Ra combined musical innovation with a spiritual mission—using positive vibrations and music to uplift the universe. The Arkestra’s theatrical live shows fuse space‑age improvisation, singing, dancing, chanting and Afro‑pageantry, and helped define Afrofuturism in music and performance.



 

Flawless

Thursday, September 03, 2026 @ 7:30pm
Premiere Stages - Bauer Boucher Theatre Center
Union, NJ

Artwork by Yadira Hernández

 

Mei Semones

Friday, September 04, 2026 @ 7:30pm
McCarter Theatre Center (Berlind Theatre)
Princeton, NJ

Mei Semones is a Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter and guitarist crafting jazz-inflected indie pop in both Japanese and English. Drawing on her background in jazz guitar and her Japanese heritage, she blends inventive harmonies, intricate rhythms, and bilingual lyricism into a sound that is both intimate and exploratory. 



 

Your Lips Never Left Mine – Online for 24 Hours and In-Person at 7PM

Friday, September 04, 2026 @ 7:00pm
NJ Film Festival
New Brunswick, NJ

A young woman is hired by a finance couple to tutor their son at their summer lake house, and finds herself increasingly enmeshed in the undisclosed darkness of their past.

 





EVENT PREVIEWS

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Surflight Theatre presents "Ghost, The Musical"

(BEACH HAVEN, NJ) -- Surflight Theatre presents Ghost, The Musical from September 1-20, 2026. Based on the iconic 1990 film, Ghost, this romantic fantasy is brought to the stage, blending heartfelt emotion, gripping suspense, and supernatural wonder.


The MAC Players at the Middletown Arts Center to Hold Auditions for "Gypsy"

(MIDDLETOWN, NJ) -- The MAC Players at the Middletown Arts Center will hold auditions for Gypsy on Tuesday, September 1, 2026 from 5:00pm to 10:00pm. Callbacks will be on Thursday, September 3rd from 5:00pm to 10:00pm. All roles are available.


Masquerade Theatre presents The Long Story Short Play Festival on September 3rd

(RIVERSIDE, NJ) -- Masquerade Theatre presents The Long Story Short Play Festival on Thursday, September 3, 2026 at 7:30pm.  Come celebrate the birthday of local playwright Amber Kusching and watch a collection of new plays written by the local theatre community.


Broadway Theatre of Pitman presents "The Bodyguard, The Musical"

(PITMAN, NJ) -- Broadway Theatre of Pitman presents The Bodyguard, The Musical from September 4-27, 2026. This is a thrilling, romantic musical that combines high-stakes suspense with unforgettable music based on the Warner Bros. film screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan.


Music Mountain Theatre presents "The Cher Show"

(LAMBERTVILLE, NJ) -- Music Mountain Theatre presents The Cher Show weekends from September 4-27, 2026. This powerhouse musical celebrates the legend that is Cher, from her humble childhood to her teen pop stardom, to her celebrated film career and her evolution as a rock goddess.







LATEST FEATURES

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

In 2025, Cherlyn Hsing-Hsin Liu, an artist, filmmaker, and writer whose work is experimental, conceptual, avant-garde, and philosophic, began working with an antique hand-cranked projector from 1909, and this experience led her to reflect on the evolution of film and experiment with the process, which included painting by hand directly on the film. She treated the film not as individual frames, but as hundreds of feet of scroll paintings that flowed before her eyes as the gears in the projector were turned by her own hand. She described the feeling as a boat sailing, or the wind singing. The title of the film is derived from an old Chinese anecdote.”Having heard the wind pass by countless times, one has finally come to realize the landscape of life, the Dao of life.”


(MONTCLAIR, NJ) -- Outpost in the Burbs presents Fred Tackett and Scott Sharrard (from Little Feat) on Friday, December 11, 2026 at the First Congregational Church (40 South Fullerton Avenue) in Montclair. Doors are at 7:00pm; showtime is 8:00pm.



Trauma always has a tendency to stick, or for some, stay under their skin. The past can be brought up in ways we may not expect it to. For some, love (good or bad) is one of those traumas that linger. Sotto la Pelle(Under The Skin) is a short film that shows how easily, and how simply, trauma can be brought back into someone’s life.



Today Gina is speaking with Broadway stars Joy Hermalyn and Brian O’Brien who will be starring together in the upcoming production of Come From Away at Axelrod Arts. The two have previously performed together in a production of Terrance McNally's The Visit years ago. Today's interview became a mini reunion of sorts.



(NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ) -- State Theatre New Jersey and The Stress Factory Comedy Club present Comedy Night Live on Saturday, September 19, 2026 at 8:00pm. The lineup includes Nico Carney, Yvette Sagan, Josh Mandl, and host Vinnie Brand. Tickets start at $30.







LATEST COLUMNS

Makin Waves Song of the Week: "Listen for a Moment" by The Beagles with Joy

The Makin Waves Song of the Week is "Listen for a Moment," the title track and second single of the latest LP from Princeton-based The Beagles with Joy.


Rock On! This Week's Sound Bites... 08/27/2026

"John and I started the band," said Scuffletown guitarist and founding member Marc Carraway, "We've been playing together for 28 years primarily as a duo but we also bring other folks in and Matty is our go to third man for many of our tours and big shows. So, we started 28 years ago as an acoustic duo with guitar, vocal, harmonica, accordion and flute and we've been going strong in the Charlottesville area ever since."


Makin Waves Song of the Week: "Tide and the Moon" by Cory Blair

The Makin Waves Song of the Week is "Tide and the Moon" from "Midheaven," the debut EP of Asbury Park singer-songwriter Cory Blair.

* Events This Week in New Jersey

* This Week in Music

* This Week in Theatre

* Top 15 Most Read Stories from the Past Week

Daily Edition 08-29-26


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