In October 2003, Gary Wien launched Upstage Magazine, a monthly print publication that covered the arts throughout Central New Jersey. The publication ultimately grew to 25,000 copies per month with distribution throughout much of the state. Upstage was well received critically and ultimately earned an Asbury Music Award for Top Music Publication in 2007, becoming the first publication other than The Aquarian to ever win the award. In addition, both the website and Wien picked up multiple Asbury Music Awards (for Top Website and Top Music Journalist) as well. Wien left the publication shortly afterwards, and Upstage ceased publishing a few months later.
In the months that followed, arts groups continued to submit press releases and materials. In 2008, Wien launched NewJerseyStage.com as a hobby to be an online news resource to continue coverage of the arts. Six years later, he decided to return to covering the arts full-time and redesigned the website to become a digital version of the old Upstage Magazine. On May 1, 2014, New Jersey Stage became a full-time resource covering the arts. On July 15, the first issue of New Jersey Stage digital magazine was released.
One year after New Jersey Stage Magazine was launched, Gary Wien was diagnosed with secondary progressive Multiple Sclerosis. He uses the website and magazine as a way of fighting the disease each day. Over 35,000 articles have been posted since New Jersey Stage became official and 75 issues of the magazine were published until the pandemic of 2020 forced it to go on hiatus. Over 550,000 unique visitors come to the website each year.
The website is primary run by Wien, but it benefits from the work of writers like Danny Coleman, Bob Makin, Eric Hillis, Karen Nowosad, Al Nigrin, and Spotlight Central. All of the writers on the site are volunteers - a group who love the arts. New Jersey Stage aims to bring artists, organizations, and art councils together. In addition to regularly publishing original feature articles, interviews, and columns, we encourage organizations to send us press releases. New Jersey Stage considers itself the Garden State's Arts Newswire and home of original arts journalism.
You can follow New Jersey Stage on social media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Threads, BlueSky and via our RSS feed
Mailing Address:
NewJerseyStage.com
P.O. Box 811
Belmar, NJ 07719
Email: [email protected]
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.
One of the most successful alternative rock bands, Toad the Wet Sprocket is known for such melodic hits as “Walk on the Ocean,” “All I Want” and “Fall Down.” This acoustic concert reimagines their classic songs and fan favorites, marking the enduring growth of their musical journey.
Written by and Starring Kathryn Grody
Directed by Timothy Near
A Radical, Rollicking Rumination on the Optimism of Staying Alive
Here Come the Mummies is an eight-piece funk-rock band of 5000-year-old Egyptian Mummies with a one-track mind. Their “Terrifying Funk from Beyond the Grave” is sure to get you into them (and possibly vice versa).
Get ready to go back to the '60s! The Sixties Show, a popular, award-winning Off-Broadway show, is a high-energy, multimedia, immersive experience that celebrates the inspirational, entertaining, and historically significant music and events of the 1960s.
Acclaimed singer songwriter, piano virtuoso and multi-instrumentalist A.J. Croce is once again taking his celebrated Croce Plays Croce Tour across the country, bringing audiences an unforgettable evening of music that bridges generations and celebrates the enduring power of song.
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.
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.
A Grateful Dead tribute band beyond description!
Effa Manley manages the Newark Eagles, a team she wants to take all the way to the Negro League World Series. Effa battles the press, coaching staff, segregation, and sometimes herself to win at the business of the game she loves most of all. She doesn’t worry about what it will cost her, even if it’s everything. Effa Loves Baseball is about the first woman inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
(LONG BRANCH, NJ) -- New Jersey Repertory Company (NJRep) presents An Evening of One-Acts: Part 2 on Monday, October 19, 2026 at the West End Arts Center. The evening includes readings of plays by Ken Weitzman, Jim Benner, and Julia Blauvelt. Showtime is 7:00pm.
(SOMERS POINT, NJ) -- Fool Moon Theatre Company presents John Pielmeier's mysterious play Agnes of God, which was turned into an award-winning movie, at studio;space in Somers Point from October 22-25, 2026.
(NEW YORK, NY) -- From October 23-25, 2026, Stephanie Trudeau's Becoming Chavela, the first ranchera musical celebrating the life, music, and legacy of legendary Mexican singer Chavela Vargas, an iconic voice whose artistry and unforgettable presence continue to inspire generations, will play at Teatro Latea choreographed by Ana Leon Bella, and directed by Leonard Peters.
(NUTLEY, NJ) -- Nutley Little Theatre presents X by Alistair McDowall weekends from October 23 to November 7, 2026. X is a psychological sci-fi play that follows a skeleton crew stranded at a research base on Pluto. Completely cut off from a ruined Earth, the crew slowly loses their grip on reality and time as a mysterious, terrifying presence stalks them outside.
