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]
Born in Mozambique and raised in Mouraria, one of Lisbon’s most historic neighborhoods, Mariza grew up surrounded by the voices, guitars, and traditions of fado. From an early age, she embraced that legacy and transformed it into a universal language, becoming the most acclaimed Portuguese artist in the world.
The music lives on.
Written by and Starring Kathryn Grody
Directed by Timothy Near
A Radical, Rollicking Rumination on the Optimism of Staying Alive
Written by and Starring Kathryn Grody
Directed by Timothy Near
A Radical, Rollicking Rumination on the Optimism of Staying Alive
Isabel Klee is a writer, content creator, and one of the most prominent voices in the pet advocacy space. Based in Brooklyn, Isabel has built a deeply engaged audience around her writing and her firsthand experience fostering dogs in New York City, bringing visibility to the urgent need for fosters and the animals who depend on them. Her debut memoir, Dogs, Boys, and Other Things I’ve Cried About debuted April 2026 as a New York Times #1 Best Seller.
Aziz Ansari is an award-winning actor, director, writer, and comedian. He co-created, writes, directs, and stars in the Netflix original series Master of None for which he has won two Emmys® for Outstanding Comedy Writing, as well as an Emmy® and DGA Award nomination for directing. He recently released the film Good Fortune, which he wrote, directed, and co-starred in with Keanu Reeves and Seth Rogen.
Aziz Ansari is an award-winning actor, director, writer, and comedian. He co-created, writes, directs, and stars in the Netflix original series Master of None for which he has won two Emmys® for Outstanding Comedy Writing, as well as an Emmy® and DGA Award nomination for directing. He recently released the film Good Fortune, which he wrote, directed, and co-starred in with Keanu Reeves and Seth Rogen.
Join us as New Jersey’s 55th governor, and two-time Republican presidential candidate, Chris Christie, sits down with NJPAC’s John Schreiber for a wide-ranging conversation on the state of New Jersey and the state of the nation. In addition to his two terms leading the Garden State, Christie has served as U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, as the Chairman of the Republican Governors Association, and as a Fellow at both Yale and Princeton. His work has had an enormous impact on everything from the regulation of sports betting to the struggle to end the nation’s opioid crisis, and he has always excelled at translating complex concerns into plainspoken language, delivered with his trademark Jersey candor.
Join us in October for a terrifyingly great Stephen King 35mm double feature: “Carrie” and “Pet Sematary.” Come early to shop our vendors, grab cocktails and snacks, and enjoy a spooky organ concert played on our “Biggest Little Wurlitzer.”
From the bombastic and epic, to the folky and mystical, Get The Led Out (GTLO) have captured the essence of the recorded music of Led Zeppelin and brought it to the concert stage. The Philadelphia-based group consists of six veteran musicians intent on delivering.
(UNION, NJ) -- New York Times bestselling author Isabel Klee will discuss her journey as a writer and animal welfare advocate at Kean University on Thursday, October 29, 2026, as part of the President's Distinguished Lecture Series. The event, which is open to the public, will offer insights into the connections between compassion, community engagement and storytelling. The event begins at 4:30pm.
(ATLANTIC CITY, NJ) -- For the first time, Atlantic City Ballet's Dracula comes to Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City on Thursday, October 29, 2026 at Sound Waves. The performance welcomes audiences ages five and older for a wickedly unforgettable start to Halloween weekend. Guests are invited to dress up and enter the costume contest, with prizes awarded at the show. Showtime is 7:00pm.
(PHILADELPHIA, PA) -- Philadelphia-based Arden Theatre Company continues its 2026/27 Mainstage Season with Suzan-Lori Parks' Pulitzer Prize- winning play Topdog/Underdog, a gripping two-person drama exploring brotherhood, rivalry, survival, and the ties that bind families together. Directed by three-time Barrymore Award-winning artist Amina Robinson and co-produced with People's Light, Topdog/Underdog starts its run on the Arden's Arcadia stage on October 29, with opening night on November 4, and performances running through December 13, 2026.
(SOUTH ORANGE, NJ) -- Seton Hall Theatre presents William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night from October 29 to November 1, 2026 at South Orange Performing Arts Center (SOPAC). The production is directed by Stephanie ila Silver-Silberstein.
(PITMAN, NJ) -- The Broadway Theatre of Pitman presents Psycho with Jamie Wolf on Thursday, October 29, 2026 at 7:30pm. The lineup also includes special guests Tyler Wolf and Chris Aileo.
