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Friday, July 20, 2012

NJ YOUTH THEATRE PRESENTS 4 PERFORMANCES OF MUSICAL REVUE

Smokey Joe's CaféSmokey Joe’s Café
By Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller

WHEN: July 26-29, Thursday at 7:30 PM, Friday and Saturday at 8 PM and Sunday at 2:30 PM
WHERE:
Sitnik Theatre, 715 Grand Ave., Hackettstown (on campus of Centenary College)
TICKETS: $22.50-$27.50 with discounts for seniors, students, and children under 12.
To order tickets or a Flex Pass to the Jammin’ in July Summer Concert Series:

  • Call the CSC Box Office at 908.979.0900
  • Buy using Secure Online Ticketing System
  • Visit the Box Office located in the David and Carol Lackland Center on the Campus of Centenary College at 715 Grand Ave., open 1-5 PM Monday through Friday, and 2 hours prior to each performance.
Jammin in July is a fundraiser for Centenary Stage Company.

New Jersey Youth Theatre (NJYT) will present four performances of the Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller revue featuring the songwriters' top hits from the pop, rock and roll, and rhythm and blues genres. The Star Ledger's Peter Filichia has praised NJYT by proclaiming "if there were Tony Awards for New Jersey's theaters, here's who would shine."

ComposersTony Award-nominated Broadway hit by Hall of Fame songwriting duo Leiber and Stoller, one of the finest teams ever to have hits with Elvis Presley, Ben E. King, the Drifters, the Coasters, and everyone else who mattered in the early days of rock. Fusing jazz and blues with good old fashioned rock and roll, Smokey Joe's Café is filled with wall-to-wall music that will have the audience up on their feet. From "Hound Dog" and "Jailhouse Rock" to "Spanish Harlem" and "Kansas City," the greatest tunes of the '50s and '60s come alive in a high-energy performance. A co-presentation with the New Jersey Youth Theatre (NJYT).

About New Jersey Youth Theatre (NJYT)
New Jersey Youth Theatre (NJYT)New Jersey Youth Theatre's Mission Statement The mission of New Jersey Youth Theatre is to provide the highest quality theatre arts education and on-stage experience at little or no cost to aspiring young performers and technicians interested in entering the professional arena.The mission is also to present to the general public the highest caliber performances and productions that NJYT's talents and resources can provide.

Smokey - PRESS - DSC_0528NJYT's 2006 production of Ragtime, The Musical was lauded by Peter Filichia, theatre critic for the NJ Star Ledger and Broadway Mania, as the "Best Musical in New Jersey." The same year Filichia named NJYT's Cynthia Meryl "Best Director of a Musical Revival." In 2008, NJYT's 1776 was hailed by Filichia as "absolutely stunning" and the cast "equal to the historic challenge." Filichia again showed his appreciation for NJYT's acclaimed productions by stating that the "Jersey teens are bloody magnificent..., this production surpasses the last two Broadway revivals," in regards to the 2009 NJYT production of Sweeney Todd. (Above: Ben Chavez, Branden Mangan, Alex Thompson, Dion Grier, Adam Biner Matt Stoke)

New Jersey Youth Theatre has received two Citations of Excellence, in 2004 and 2010, from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts for excellence in artistic quality, programming and public service in the arts. NJYT has also been awarded the Musical Theatre International Award for Excellence for the 2003 production of West Side Story.

Also see the NJYT Website: New Jersey Youth Theatre

Smokey Joe’s Café featuring Leiber & Stoller's music opened on Broadway in 1995 and played the Virginia Theatre for over five years, becoming the longest-running musical revue in Broadway history. The show was nominated for 7 Tony Awards including Best Musical and won the 1996 Grammy for Best Musical Show Album. Leiber and Stoller continued to work on musical theater pieces until Jerry Leiber's passing in 2011.

Enjoy a preview of Smokey Joe’s Café here