HALLOWEEN SHOWS SLATED @ RVCC PLANETARIUM

The Raritan Valley Community College Planetarium in Branchburg has planned some special programs in October in celebration of Halloween. To add to the magic, a special star show, “The Skies over Hogwarts,” also will be presented for Harry Potter fans.

WHERE: Raritan Valley Community College, 118 Lamington Rd., Branchburg

The following shows will be offered:

Fright Light (Family version)
WHEN: Saturdays, October 22 & 29, 4 p.m.
Enjoy a Halloween laser light show featuring such tunes as “Alive” by Meatloaf and “Thriller” by Michael Jackson. (Recommended for ages 6 to adult)

Fright Light (PG-13 version)
WHEN: Saturdays, October 22 & 29, 8 p.m.

This laser light show is not geared for young viewers or those who are easily scared. The show features such songs as “The Night Santa Went Crazy” by Weird Al, “Witch Queen of New Orleans” by Redbone, and “Time Warp” from the Rocky Horror Picture Show. (Recommended for ages 13 to adult)

The Skies over Hogwarts
WHEN: Friday, October 28, 7 & 8 p.m.; Sunday, October 30, 6 & 7 p.m.

Join our eclectic group of witches and wizards as they guide you through a Harry Potter-themed tour of the night sky. Learn how author J.K. Rowling used astronomy as the inspiration for some of her characters' names. (Recommended for ages 8 and older)

TICKETS: $8 for one show or $14 for two shows on the same day. Reservations are strongly suggested for all Planetarium shows. For additional information or to make reservations, call 908-231-8805 or visit www.raritanval.edu/planetarium.

Raritan Valley Community College’s main campus is located at 118 Lamington Road in Branchburg, NJ. For further information, visit www.raritanval.edu.

NJ THEATER COMPANY ANNOUNCES “FRIGHT NIGHTS” HALLOWEEN MUSICAL REVUE PERFORMANCE AND PARTY

FRIGHT NIGHTS

WHEN: October 28* and October 30**
range from $25 - $45 and include performance, party, hors d'oeuvres, a live DJ, costume contest and much more.
WHERE: Chez Dubois in South Orange, NJ
TICKETS: range from $25 - $45 and include performance, party, hors d'oeuvres, a live DJ, costume contest and much more.
*The Friday night show is for those 21 and over.
**The Sunday afternoon performance is family friendly and appropriate for all ages.
To purchase tickets or to learn more about the event, please visit www.vanguardtheater.org

Vanguard Theater Company announced its newest production to be presented over Halloween weekend. Fright Nights promises to be an exciting musical revue with selections from Broadway’s most spine chilling musicals including Sweeney Todd , Carrie,  Adams Family, Rocky Horror Picture Show,  Dracula, Phantom of the Opera and more.

“Fright Nights is a weekend of performances and parties featuring musical acts from some of Broadway’s most spine tingling shows by some of our area's most talented and diverse performers,” says Vanguard Theater Company co-founder Janeece Freeman-Clark.  “Fright Night will be an exciting theatrical experience where, in addition to seeing amazing live theater in an unconventional space, patrons can come in costume to sing, dance and celebrate with a who's who of professional artists, arts enthusiasts and arts lovers. This event will be one of the most diverse, most exciting and most colorful Halloween offerings in Northern New Jersey,” says co-founder Daryl L. Stewart.

About Vanguard Theater Company: Vanguard Theater Company is committed to producing transformational theater and is dedicated to diversity, community engagement, education and professional artistic mentorship. Through dynamic storytelling, Vanguard produces works that reflect the various complexions of the 21st century artist and audience. Vanguard Theater Company is a registered 501 (c) 3 not for profit arts organization created by co-founders, Janeece Freeman-Clark and Daryl L. Stewart. 

REVIEW: GEORGE STREET PLAYHOUSE’S “MAMA’S BOY” OFFERS A HUMANIZING PEEK BEHIND THE FAMILIAL CURTAIN OF JFK’S ASSASSIN

By Ruth Ross

When Jack Ruby shot Lee Harvey Oswald in the basement hallway of the Dallas Police and Courts Building, 53 years ago next month, he deprived Americans—and the world—of an answer as to what motivated the scrawny young Texan to pull the trigger of his rifle in the Texas Book Depository and assassinate President John F. Kennedy that sunny November morning, thus giving rise to wild speculation, an entire raft of conspiracy theories and a good deal of armchair psychologizing. (Above, Michael Goldsmith as Lee Harvey Oswald)

Inaugurating Artistic Director David Saint’s 20th anniversary with George Street Playhouse, this polished production of Rob Urbinati’s Mama’s Boy may not answer the question definitively, but the playwright imaginatively fills in the gaps of Oswald’s familial history, specifically his relationships with his mother Marguerite and, later, his wife Marina, in an attempt to delineate and understand what led this young man to commit such a chilling, heinous crime. Eschewing political theory, Urbinati instead focuses on Oswald’s strained relations with his overbearing mother, making her the central character in the drama, further reducing this nonentity to even greater insignificance in a dysfunctional family of nonentities.

Framed by an appearance Marguerite Oswald at New York City’s Town Hall in February 1964, Mama’s Boy is her ostensible attempt to her son’s innocence of the president’s murder and vindicate herself as a doting, loving mother. During the course of the play—told in a flashback—Marguerite proves to be a monstrous, controlling, overbearing parent who, in the guise of making her youngest son feel good about himself, manages to emasculate him. With similar aid from Marina, Oswald devolves from a repatriated defector recently returned from Russia with high hopes of a “clean job” and rosy future, to become disgruntled at his low prospects for attaining the American Dream and flirting with the idea of moving to Cuba to better align his Communist beliefs with the life he hopes to lead. We hear very little about why Oswald lashed out at JFK (although Marguerite says he hated the president because he wanted to kill Castro), but Urbinati provides more than enough evidence that this powerless nobody committed the act to prove his personal worth.

On a revolving set designed by Michael Anania to represent the various apartments where the Oswalds lived, Director Saint moves the action along with whatever tension he can muster since we already know the outcome of the plot. Full of bravado, Michael Goldsmith’s Lee (left, with Aidem) diminishes before our eyes as his wife berates him for not providing for his growing family and his grasping mother tries to keep him her little boy forever. Torn between the two women, he speaks a credible Russian to his wife Marina, attempts to maintain domestic peace and carve out his own life, and descends to a physically abusing Marina when she stands up to him. Most of what appears to drive Lee is pretty surface stuff; minus any political motive, he’s not a very interesting character (as he probably was in real life). While we can sympathize with him regarding his mother’s meddling, the character ultimately remains a cipher, despite Urbinati’s and Goldsmith’s attempts to illuminate his inner life.

As his brother Robert, Miles G. Jackson (right) is a fine representative of a son who managed to escape and achieve success. Estranged from Marguerite by his own choice, he tries valiantly to save his weaker younger brother, but to no avail. In a small role, Jackson shows us what Lee might have become had the gumption to cut the apron strings.

But the two women characters are the heart of the play. Laurel Casillo(right, with Goldsmith) is superb as Lee’s Russian bride Marina, who finds that America is not such wonderful a place to live. Casillo conveys the young woman’s fierce rejection of her stupid mother-in-law’s interference and doesn’t hesitate to let Lee (who calls her, ironically, “Mama”) know that she will be the person he won’t. She’s not above pummeling him when he hits her and pushing his mother in a fit of pique. Best of all, her Russian sounds authentic and convincing. Of all the characters, she is the most worthy of our sympathy.

However, in the role of Marguerite, an extraordinary Betsy Aidem holds our attention every minute she’s onstage—which is most of the time. Talking incessantly in a grating voice with a thick Texan drawl (a scene where she tries to get Marina to repeat “soup” is especially droll), the woman’s domineering manner is made palpable. Aidem’s reaction to the news that Lee’s been shot is especially poignant, for whatever her faults, Marguerite loves her son, albeit in a twisted way. She sees conspiracy everywhere: Lee has been sent to kill JFK because the president is dying anyway; Robert and Marina are plotting against her; Lee is an agent working for the CIA or the FBI. Single-minded and narcissistic, she goes on a crusade to exonerate her boy, a battle that becomes almost laughable in the penultimate scene back at Town Hall where an unseen interviewer (Boyd Gaines) tears her credibility to shreds. Aidem’s Marguerite may not win our sympathy, but she gets points for persistence and grit.

Costumes designed by Michael McDonald are true to the period and help delineate the characters. It is especially telling that the clothing Marguerite “generously” purchases for Marina (from Woolworth’s!) are inappropriate for a young woman; the gesture is still another embodiment of the older woman’s desperate need for control. Michael Clark’s projections enhance Anania’s sets, as does Ken Billington’s lighting.

This New York area premiere of Mama’s Boy comes at an auspicious time. If they were alive today, the Oswalds would be among those living on the economy’s edge, feeling ignored by the government and looked down upon by successful people—prime material to support Donald Trump. Had Lee attended a Trump rally or two, the exhortations to “lock Hillary up,” exercise his2nd Amendment rights to “take her out,” and punch the opposition in the face might have resonated and incited this nobody to take matters into his own hands. As it is, in Mama’s Boy, the denigration of his manhood by his mother, wife, employer, society in general leads him to commit the crime that for many of us was, before 9-11, the defining event of our lives. Dramatically successful, Urbinati’s Mama’s Boy may not offer proof of Lee Harvey Oswald’s motivation, but it does illuminate the psychological forces that may have led him to do it.

Mama’s Boy will be performed at the George Street Playhouse, 9 Livingston Ave., New Brunswick, through November 6. For performance times and tickets, call the box office at 732.246.7717 or visit www.GSPonline.org.

Photos by T. Charles Erickson.

PASSAGE THEATRE OPENS ITS 31ST SEASON WITH UNORTHODOX ROMANTIC COMEDY

OUT OF THE CITY
by Leslie Ayvasian
directed by Murphy Davis

WHEN: OCTOBER 27-NOVEMBER 13, 2016; Thursday through Saturday at 7:30pm and Sunday at 3pm during the first weekend of a run, and Friday at 7:30pm, Saturday at 3pm and 7:30pm, and Sunday at 3pm during the second and third weekends.
WHERE: The Mill Hill Playhouse is located at 205 E. Front Street, at the corner of Montgomery Street in Trenton, NJ.
TICKETS: 20 - $33 ($38 Saturday night). Student, group and senior discounts available.
To purchase tickets call (609) 392-0766, or visit www.passagetheatre.org.  Free guarded on-street parking.

Passage Theatre Company, Trenton’s Barrymore Award-winning theatre company, will open its 2016-2017 season with Leslie Ayvazian’s smart and thoughtful comedy Out of the City.

Can one kiss change the whole picture? When two married couples in their 60s take a trip to celebrate a milestone birthday, they start pondering elusive romance and what comes next. This unorthodox romantic comedy, proves that rejuvenation can be found at any age.

Passage has previously presented four of Leslie Ayvazian’s plays: High Dive, Rosemary and I, Lovely Day and most recently Mention My Beauty as part of last season’s Solo Flights Festival. This production reunites the cast of a one-night-only performance in 2015: Ms. Ayvazian, Passage’s Artistic Director June Ballinger, Ken Land, and Grant Shaud.

“We’re excited to have our Artistic Director June Ballinger perform on Passage’s stage once again in this somewhat unorthodox comic production alongside playwright and actress Leslie Ayvazian,” says Damion Parran, Passage’s Managing Director. “This pairing, coupled with performances from Ken Land and Grant Shaud, will surely inspire belly laughs as well as recognition in all who see Out of the City.”

Leslie Ayvazian is the author of 8 full-length plays and seven one-act plays, published variously by Samuel French and Dramatists Play Service. Some have been included in annual anthologies of best plays. Nine Armenians won the John Gassner/Outer Critics Circle Award for best new American play, The Roger L. Stevens Award, and second place for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. Rosemary and I received an honorable mention from the Susan Smith Blackburn jury.

June Ballinger has worked on Broadway, off-Broadway, regional theatre and television, and has performed in many new works at theatres nationwide such as New York’s Ensemble Studio Theatre, The Actors Theatre of Louisville, Primary Stages, The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, The Kennedy Center, New Harmony Theatre and Passage Theatre. She was a founding ensemble member of the Magic Carpet Play Company in San Francisco and was in the original Broadway cast of Pack of Lies starring Rosemary Harris. She is a member of the Ensemble Studio Theatre in NYC since 1993, a member of NYC’s The Actors Center, and Artistic Director of Trenton’s Passage Theatre Company since 1997. She also teaches acting to young adults and senior members of the Greater Trenton community.

Ken Land has appeared on Broadway in Promises, Promises, The Scarlet Pimpernel (all three versions), Victor/Victoria with Julie Andrews and Liza Minnelli and How The Grinch Stole Christmas at Madison Square Garden. Off-Broadway:  The Gig (Manhattan Theatre Club), Orin Scrivello, D.D.S. in Little Shop of Horrors (Orpheum Theatre), and The Death of Von Richthofen as Witnessed from Earth (Public Theatre).

Grant Shaud’s credits include Broadway: Relatively Speaking (three plays by Woody Allen, Elaine May, and Ethan Coen), Torch Song Trilogy (Harvey Fierstein). Off-Broadway: Writers Block (Woody Allen), Atlantic Theater Co., The Starry Messenger (Kenneth Lonergan) The New Group, Four Dogs and a Bone (John Patrick Shanley) Manhattan Theatre Club, After Ashley (Gia Gianfriddo) Vineyard Theatre, The Favor (Leslie Ayvazian) The Ensemble Studio Theatre, and others. Regional: Out of the City (Leslie Ayvazian) Merrimack Repertory Theatre, Lowell, MA, Laughing Wild (Christopher Durang) Tiffany Theatre, Los Angeles, Out, Philadelphia Theater Co. Grant is a member of The Ensemble Studio Theatre (NYC).

Passage Theatre’s mainstage season is made possible in part by the N.J. State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the NEA; the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation; Princeton Area Community Foundation; The City of Trenton; WIMG 1300; The Curtis McGraw Foundation; The James Kerney Foundation; PNC Bank; Trenton Thunder;  Janssen Pharmaceuticals; Mary O. Borden Foundation; Otsuka Pharmaceutical; George A. Ohl Trust and Wells Fargo; Investors Bank Foundation; The Garfield Foundation; NJ Council for the Humanities; The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey; The Shubert Foundation; and Mary G. Roebling Foundation.

TRANSFORMATION FOR TWO RIVER ON ONE SPOOKY NIGHT

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“ASSEMBLED PARTIES” AUDITIONS @ STUDIO PLAYHOUSE

AUDITION NOTICE:

The Assembled Parties
by Richard Greenberg
directed by Mark Liebert

WHEN: Sunday, October 23, at 6:30pm and Monday, October 24, at 7:30pm. 
WHERE: Studio Players, 14 Alvin Place, Upper Montclair, NJ

“Welcome to the world of the Bascovs, a Jewish family living in a sprawling Central Park West apartment. In 1980, former movie star Julie Bascov and her sister-in-law Faye bring their families together for their traditional holiday dinner. But tonight, things are not usual. A houseguest has joined the festivities for the first time and he unwittingly – or perhaps by design – insinuates himself into the family drama. Twenty years later, the Bascovs’ seemingly picture-perfect life may be about to crumble.”

Performance dates are January 13, 14, 15, 19, 20, 21, 22, 26, 27, and 28.  Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays are at 8:00pm, Sundays at 3:00pm. 

No monologues required. 

Sides from the script will be provided and are available prior to auditions online at www.StudioPlayhouse.org

For more information visit the Studio Playhouse website or call 973-744-9752

No Pay, No Fee

THINK FAST: THEATER PROJECTS SOLICITS SHORT PLAYS FOR FEBRUARY COMPETITION

2017 THINK FAST Short Play Competition
WHEN: November 18, 2016 Submission Deadline
WHO: Adult Playwrights, New York/New Jersey metropolitan area
www.thetheaterproject.org, 908 809-8865

The Theater Project, an award-winning, professional theater in Maplewood, NJ, is now soliciting short plays for THINK FAST, its fourth annual short play competition February 10-12, 2017. The contest is open to adult playwrights in the New Jersey-New York area.

The Theater Project, which also offers a competition for high school playwrights and presentations of original plays by New Jersey authors, sees this as a logical extension of its mission.

THINK FAST! Is the brainchild of the members of The Theater Project’s Playwrights’ Workshop, who act as judges for the competition.  “We were looking for ways to support other writers and Theater Project,” says alumnus Mike McGoldrick, who is now pursuing a master’s degree in playwriting at Arizona State University. “We designed the event to raise awareness about our workshop and the company, while giving writers what all us are looking for – the opportunity for our work to be seen.” 

“Our audience loves hearing new voices and seeing a range of characters, topics and plots. Nothing is more exciting than seeing new work take shape, and we’re happy to be able to bring this festival to our community.” says Mark Spina, artistic director of The Theater Project.

Plays can be either dramas or comedies but must be no more than 15 minutes running time. Plays selected are presented to audiences who for vote their favorite actors, directors and plays. One play is selected by a panel of judges to win the $500 Critics Choice grand prize. These performances will be open to the public and take place at The Burgdorff Center for the Performing Arts in Maplewood, NJ

The competition accepts electronic submissions only. Complete submission details are available on the company’s web site: www.TheTheaterProject.org.

The Theater Project, a professional theater company based in Maplewood, NJ, began in 1994 with the goal of bringing the best contemporary plays to our community. The company is known for presenting outrageous comedy as well as drama with social commentary.

BERGEN COUNTY PLAYERS PRESENT BITING COMEDY: “THE LAST NIGHT OF BALLYHOO”

THE LAST NIGHT OF BALLYHOO
Written by playwright Alfred Uhry
directed by Carol Fisher

WHEN: Saturday, October 22, ending on Saturday, November 12. Curtain goes up for Friday and Saturday performances at 8 pm, with Sunday matinees at 2 pm.
WHERE: Little Firehouse Theatre, 298 Kinderkamack Road in Oradell.
TICKETS: $21 for Friday and Saturday performances and $17 for Sunday matinees and can be purchased online at www.bcplayers.org, by calling 201-261-4200 or by visiting the box office at 298 Kinderkamack Road in Oradell during regular box office hours. Visa, Master Card and American Express are accepted.

Religious tolerance gets an intra-ethnic twist in the Bergen County Players production of The Last Night of Ballyhoo.

The Los Angeles Times called the play “achingly beautiful…luminous and powerful. Uhry draws his characters with so fine a pen, on such a solid foundation, that the story takes on the sharp poignancy of life.”

The play is set in Atlanta, Georgia in December 1939, on the eve of World War II. Its main characters are drawn from a largely upper middle class German-Jewish community.

“I’ve wanted to direct this play for a long time,” says Fisher, who has helmed a number of other BCP productions, most recently "A Shayna Maidel". “As a Jewish person raised in Oklahoma, I understand firsthand what it’s like to be the minority and have to try so hard to fit in. I understand why the characters in the play struggle to blend in to the greater society, and their need to make compromises.”

Adolph Freitag, (Mic McCormack of Tenafly) is the owner of the Dixie Bedding Company. He and his sister Boo (Sharon Podsada of Emerson) and sister-in-law Reba (Janica Carpenter of Old Tappan) along with nieces Lala (Emily Bosco of Closter) and Sunny (Emma Ruck of Tappan, NY) are highly assimilated. In fact, the action begins with one of the nieces singing “The First Noel,” as she decorates a Christmas tree in the home’s front parlor. Everyone in the family, along with Peachy (Darren Carfano of Suffern), known for his outspokenness, is looking forward to Ballyhoo, a lavish cotillion ball sponsored by their restrictive country club. Enter Joe Farkas (Allen Pines of Fair Lawn), an attractive Jewish bachelor who Adolph has just hired. Joe is from New York, and although he has experienced some prejudice, he is unable to fathom its existence within his own religious community and can’t understand why some members of the Freitag clan treat him differently because of his Eastern European roots. The play is lighthearted and funny, but it has its serious moments. As it unfolds, the attitudes of some characters shift underscoring “The Last Night of Ballyhoo” themes of acceptance and change.

The production team, besides Director Carol Fisher of Teaneck, includes Rhea Smith of Oradell (Producer/Program Notes), Michael Smith of Oradell (Set Design/Construction/Photography), Ellyn Essig of Rivervale (Décor), Michele Roth of New Milford (Stage Manager), Allan Seward of Bardonia, NY (Lighting Design), Rob DeScherer of Woodcliff Lake (Sound Design), Katie Lupfer of Tenafly (Costumer), Barbara Murtha of Allendale (Props), Kathleen Ruland of Lodi (Lighting Operation), Cliff Dreispan of North Bergen (Sound Operation) and Bill Wetzel of Maywood (Program Advertising/Photography). Crew members include Richard Ciero of Oradell, Judy Rosenberg of Dumont, Kahyo Eguchi of Edgewater and David Luke of Mahwah.

 

• BCP’s popular Questions & Artists talkback session will be held following the performance on Friday, October 28. The session is included in the ticket price.
• Those interested in Group Sales of 20 or more tickets can email groups@bcplayers.org or call the main number and press #6.
• A new program is now available for qualified non-profit organizations to use one performance of each production as a fundraising event. The group will book the house at a deeply discounted price and then resell the tickets at a price of their choosing, with the difference in price kept by the group. The available date is the Thursday of each show’s final weekend.
  Interested groups can email fundraising@bcplayers.org for more information.
• Parking is free at the Park Avenue municipal lot, across the street, one-half block north of the theatre.

The Bergen County Players has grown tremendously from its roots as a small community theatre when it was founded in 1932; today, more than 300 volunteer members, working on and off stage, make possible the nine productions presented each season.

Further information can be found at www.bcplayers.org.

Photo: (standing, l-r) Darren Carfano, Sharon Podsada, Mic McCormack, Janica Carpenter, Allen Pines and (seated, l-r) Emily Bosco and Emma Ruck. Photo by Michael Smith

@ THE JCC METROWEST WEST ORANGE & GAELEN GALLERIES

ReelAbilities Film Festival WHEN: Opening Night Double Feature October 30, 5:00pm WHERE: JCC MetroWest, 760 Northfield Ave., West Orange Shooting Beauty Tells the story of fashion photographer Courtney Bent whose career takes an unexpected turn when she discovers a hidden world of beauty at a center for people living with significant disabilities. On Beauty Photographer Rick Guidotti left the fashion world, along with its restrictive parameters of the industry's standard of beauty, and re-focused his lens on those too often relegated to the shadows. Rick is joining us for our post screening discussion! Complimentary photo shoot with Jan Press Photo for ticket holders. Limited availability--CALL TO RESERVE! ReelAbilities Film Festival: 2E: Twice Exceptional WHEN: November 3, 7:00pm This documentary follows the personal journeys of a group of high school students who have been identified as "twice exceptional."  ReelAbilities Film Festival Closing Night--In Partnership with the New Jersey Jewish Film Festival WHEN: November 5, 7:30pm A Blind Hero: The Love of Otto Weidt This docu-drama tells the story of a blind factory owner, Otto Weidt (Yad Vashem Calls him the unsung Schindler). Award-winning journalist and author, Inge Deutschkron, provides her incredible personal account of Weidt's shrewd efforts to save her, her Mother and the rest of his employees from the Nazis.  The 17th Annual New Jersey Jewish Film Festival Mark your calendars! The 17th Annual New Jersey Jewish Film Festival will run March 19-April 2, 2017. Become a Sponsor now (www.jccmetrowest.org/njjff) and enjoy Sponsor perks throughout the year! For more information, contact Carol Berman: cberman@jccmetrowest.org / 973-530-3421 The Gaelen Galleries Gaelen Gallery East September 11-October 23 Lorraine DeProspo, painting and Ellen Hark, mixed media Gaelen Juried Show award winners Arts/Theater Lobby  September 11-October 23 Cindy Klein, paintings Steiner Court and Arts Lobby Showcases  September 11-December 18 Book Arts Roundtable For more information, contact Lisa Suss: lsuss@jccmetrowest.org / 973-530-3413 JCC MetroWest School of the Arts Register NOW--only a few spots left Adult Painting Workshop - Tuesdays, 9:30-11:00am Ceramics Hand Sculpting - FREE TRIAL CLASS AVAILABLE Mondays, 7:00-9:00pm; Wednesdays, 10:00am-12:00pm Grade School Hip Hop/Acro - Mondays, 4:15pm Creative Clay - Wednesdays, 4:15pm Bollywood Blast! - Wednesdays, 4:15pm Early Childhood  Fun with Clay - Wednesdays, 12:45pm Creative Clay - Mondays, 2:10pm Environmental Art Explorers - Tuesdays, 2:10pm Ballet/Tap - Tuesdays, 2:10pm

THE OUTLET DANCE PROJECT TO HOLD 12TH ANNUAL FESTIVAL @ GROUNDS FOR SCULPTURE OCT. 28 AND 30

THE OUTLET DANCE PROJECT

Dance on Film Festival
WHEN: Friday, October 28, 2016 at 7:00pm, Rain or Shine
WHERE: Grounds For Sculpture (GFS), located in Hamilton, New Jersey (midway between Philadelphia and New York
TICKETS: $15. Park admission day of film fest included. Advance purchase includes admission for Day of Dance on 10/30.

Dance on Film is an evening of stunning dance films from around the globe produced and created by women filmmakers and choreographers. The Dance on Film Festival will feature short films by Alissa & Joshua Baird, Jessi Jamz Colon & Bat-Sheva Guez, Monica Campbell, Nikita Dmitrievsky, Justina Grayman, Cara Hagen, Nikita Maheshwary, Katherine Maxwell & Jordan Taylor Fuller, Kailee McMurran & Dylan Wilber, Mayumu Minakawa & Tom Weksler, Mitchell Rose & Bebe Miller, Duston Spear, Tanin Torabi, and Jana Younes. These films come from locations as close as New Jersey to as far away as Russia, India, and Lebanon.

Day of Dance
WHEN: October 30, 2016, at 2pm, Rain or Shine
WHERE: Grounds For Sculpture (GFS), located in Hamilton, New Jersey (midway between Philadelphia and New York
TICKETS: Free with park admission: Adults $15, Senior (65+) $12, Students $10, Members and Children (5 and under) Free

This afternoon of gorgeous live performance is a dynamic, family-friendly journey through Grounds For Sculpture. Come to experience dance and sculpture in a whole new way! Rain or Shine. This year’s live performances are choreographed by Ishita Bhattacharya, Janis Brenner, Harika Chatlapalli, Delhi Dance Theater, Amanda Edwards, Jaclyn Gary, Ariel Grossman, Maré Hieronimus, Laura Katz, Fatima Logan-Alston, Boroka Nagy, Svea Schneider, Blythe Erica Smith, Meggi Sweeney Smith, Maxine Steinman, Kimberly Tate, Harlee Trautman, Blakeley White-McGuire, and Hee Ra Yoo.

Now in its 12th year, The Outlet Dance Project, is an annual festival of women-identifying artists sharing their vision through site-specific dance, film, and work created for the stage. Through partnership with Grounds For Sculpture, community outreach, interdisciplinary collaboration, and performance, The Outlet Dance Project strives to enrich the region with dance.

The following sculptures will be featured in site-specific choreography: Ex-haltations by Linda Fleming, The Awakening by Seward Johnson, da Vinci's knot by Robert Lobe, Split Ritual II by Beverly Pepper, Untitled (Steel Roots) by Steven Tobin, Arcs in Disorder by Bernar Venet, Eolith & Ode to a Possum by Isaac Witkin, and Wind, Water, Stone by Elyn Zimmerman.

ABOUT GROUNDS FOR SCULPTURE
Grounds For Sculpture (GFS), located in Hamilton, New Jersey (midway between Philadelphia and New York), is a forty-two acre not-for-profit sculpture park and arboretum founded by Seward Johnson. Its collection features more than 270 contemporary sculptures by renowned and emerging artists. Exhibitions change seasonally in six indoor galleries. With rich educational offerings, a robust schedule of performing arts, and fun family events, the park is open year-round. Shopping and dining options complement every visit.

For hours, admission prices, and a calendar of events, visit www.groundsforsculpture.org.

VAMPIRE SEASON IS UPON US: “DRACULA” @ MILE SQUARE THEATRE IN HOBOKEN

Dracula: The Journal of Jonathan Harker
Adapted by Jim Helsinger from Dracula by Bram Stoker
With John Keller
Directed by Melissa Firlit

WHEN: October 13 through October 30, Thursday, Friday and Saturday @ 8pm; Sunday @ 3pm
WHERE: Mile Square Theatre, 1400 Clinton St., Hoboken
TICKETS:  $30 • $18/students and seniors
MILESQUARETHEATRE.ORG

Jonathan Harker sets off on a mission to find and destroy Count Dracula, an undead creature of the night, in this tour-de-force thrill ride. John Keller stars in this captivating gothic horror tale.

"John Keller is a tour-de-force...this production is not to be missed."—BroadwayWorld.com

"The kind of good scare that theatergoers love to experience." —Cape May Star

Mile Square Theatre is supported by Academy Bus, CSBK, The Rockefeller Group, Jet.com, Monroe Center for the Arts, Ironstate, Bijou Properties, The Brummette Family, The Kocis Family, Hufnagel Landscaping, Party with Purpose, the Hoboken Family Alliance, and by The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation.

THIS PROGRAM IS MADE POSSIBLE IN PART BY FUNDS FROM THE NEW JERSEY COUNCIL ON THE ARTS/DEPARTMENT OF STATE, A PARTNER AGENCY OF THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS AND BY FUNDS FROM THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS, ADMINISTERED BY THE HUDSON COUNTY OFFICE OF CULTURAL & HERITAGE AFFAIRS, THOMAS A. DEGISE, COUNTY EXECUTIVE, AND THE BOARD OF CHOSEN FREEHOLDERS.

JURIED HIGH SCHOOL FILM FESTIVAL TUESDAY @ MORRIS MUSEUM

Watch Out: A Juried High School Film Festival

WATCH OUT FILM FESTIVAL WHEN: October 25th, 2016 at 5 PM WHERE: Morris Museum, 6 Normandy Hgts. Rd., Morristown TICKETS: $5 per person Box Office: 973.971.3706 From showcasing artists in exhibitions, to theatrical or musical performances, the Garden State is ripe with talent and we wanted to share another fun event for high schoolers in the area. The first annual WATCH OUT film festival at the Morris Museum, organized in collaboration with the Film Production Program at Fairleigh Dickinson University, is especially for young filmmakers who are high school students. This film festival celebrates the creative efforts of high school educators and students in the medium of film. This is a wonderful opportunity for young filmmakers to share their work in a public forum on the big screen in a 300-seat theater. Please contact the freshperspectives@morrismuseum.org with questions.

DEADLINE EXTENDED FOR SUBMISSIONS TO NJ YOUTH POET LAUREATE CONTEST!

NJ Youth Poet Laureate Contest

We've decided to extend the deadline on our NJ Youth Poet Laureate poetry contest, so high school poets now have until December 1, 2016 (a few extra weeks) to enter! There are three winners, one from each region of the state—North, Central, and South—and awesome prizes like the chance to perform your work at various poetry events throughout the state, a Governor's Award, and having your poems published in an anthology. All you have to do is submit up to five poems to the contest—it's completely free! But despite the extension, the deadline is coming up soon, so enter now! Entries will only be accepted up until December 1st, 2016 at 11:59 PM, so tell the high school poets in your life to submit now! Head over to https://www.wtnj.org/nj-youth-poet-laureate/ for all of the details and to submit online!

IN COLLABORATION WITH THE REELABILITIES FILM FESTIVAL, NEW JERSEY JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL TO SHOW FILMS ABOUT DIFFERENTLY ABLED PERSONS

By Ruth Ross

WHEN: October 30 – November 5
WHERE: Maurice Levin Theatre, JCC Metrowest, 760 Northfield Ave., West Orange
TICKETS: $5 per screening for $12 for a package that includes a ticket to each film screened there. Tickets may be purchased at www.boxofficetickets.com/jccmetrowest.
For more information about films and discussions at this venue, contact Carol Berman, Director of the New Jersey Jewish Film Festival, at cberman@jccmetrowest.org or call 973.530.3421; you can also visit www.jccmetrowest.org online.

Since the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act over a quarter century ago, public awareness of the disabled has increased, as has their greater acceptance in the workplace—even in the movies and on television.

Capitalizing on this interest, Montclair is the site of the ReelAbilities Film Festival, with screenings at Montclair State University and the JCC MetroWest in West Orange from October 30 through November 5, 2016. This event is part of the largest disability film festival in the country and is dedicated to promoting awareness and appreciation of the lives, stories and artistic expressions of people with different abilities. The festival will feature cutting edge and sometimes controversial films that challenge assumptions and promote discussion about ability and disability.

The festival kicks off with a collaboration with the New Jersey Jewish Film Festival, offering screenings at the Maurice Levin Theater in the JCC Metrowest Building, 760 Northfield Avenue, West Orange. The Sunday, October 30, screening at 5 p.m. will feature two films, followed by a discussion led by Rick Guidotti. “Shooting Beauty” tells the story of fashion designer who discovers a hidden world of beauty at a center for people living with significant disabilities. It is followed by “On Beauty,” a film by Guidotti, who left the fashion world and its restrictive industrial standard of beauty to focus his lens on people too often relegated to the shadows.

On Thursday, November 3, at 7 p.m., the festival will show “2E: Twice Exceptional,” a documentary that follows the personal journeys of a group of high school students who have been identified as “twice exceptional.” The post-screening discussion will be facilitated by Rebecca Wanatick (moderator), Sonya Selig (community building, awareness, organizing & lead for parent support groups), Alison Brown (Advocacy For Kids), and Beth Manes, Esq.

 

The final offering at this venue will be “A Blind Hero: Otto Weidt,” a docu-drama that tells the story of a blind factory owner who saved his employees from the Nazis. Among them was Award-winning journalist/author Inge Deutschkron, who provides an incredible personal account of Weidt’s shrewd efforts to save her and her mother. This film will be shown on Saturday, November 5, at 7:30 p.m. Elsa Zavoda (Program Director, Vision Loss Alliance of NJ) and another member of the VLA team) will lead the post-screening discussion. 

NEW JERSEY JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL PARTNERS WITH REELABILITIES FILM FESTIVAL WITH 4 FILMS ABOUT THE DIFFERENTLY ABLED

POST-SCREENING DISCUSSION FACILITATORS:

• October 30 – Rick Guidotti, photographer for On Beauty
• November 3 - Rebecca Wanatick (moderator), Sonya Selig (community building, awareness, organizing & lead for parent support groups), Alison Brown (Advocacy For Kids), and Beth Manes, Esq. 
• November 5 – Elsa Zavoda (Program Director, Vision Loss Alliance of NJ and another member of the VLA team). 

Livingston photographer Jan Press will extend his wonderful photography work to our ReelAbilities community with FREE (for ticket holders) photography sessions as well as a FREE portrait package.  There are still a few spots available.

NOT YOUR GRANDMOTHER'S FAIRY TALE OPENS IN SOUTH ORANGE THIS WEEKEND

interACT Theatre Productions proudly presents

Music by Mary Rodgers
Book by Jay Thompson, Dean Fuller and Marshall Barer
Lyrics by Marshall Barer
Directed by Nicholas J. Clarey
Music Direction by Holland J. Jancaitis
Assitant Music Director Marisa W. Green

WHEN: OCT 21-23, 28-29, NOV 4-5, 2016; Fridays & Saturdays at 7;30 PM; Sundays at 4 PM, Saturdays at 2:30 PM
WHERE: The Baird Theatre on Three, 5 Mead Street, South Orange
TICKETS: ONLINE : ADULT - $20 - STUDENT/SENIOR - $18; AT BOX OFFICE: ADULT - $25 - STUDENT/SENIOR - $20; CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE TICKETS ONLINE

"This ain't your grandmother's fairy tale!" If you thought you knew the story of 'The Princess and The Pea,' you may be in for a walloping surprise! Did you know, for instance, that Princess Winnifred actually swam the moat to reach Prince Dauntless the Drab? Or that Lady Larken's love for Sir Harry provided a rather compelling reason that she reach the bridal altar post haste? Or that, in fact, it wasn't the pea at all that caused the princess a sleepless night? Carried on a wave of wonderful songs, by turns hilarious and raucous, romantic and melodic, this rollicking spin on the familiar classic of royal courtship and comeuppance provides for some side-splitting shenanigans. Chances are you'll never look at fairy tales quite the same way again.

Presented in part through the generosity of Leigh and Scott Shultz

WICKED TWIST ON “HANSEL & GRETEL” HELPS TO FIGHT HUNGER IN PRINCETON

Lost In The Woods

WHEN: Saturday, October 22nd, at 7:00 pm
WHERE: Barclay Square at Princeton Forrestal (1900 Barclay Blvd.)
TICKETS: $25 or $40 for two, and kids under 12 are admitted free. There will be a kids’ craft activity (if they can tear themselves away from our onstage antics!) at the Princeton concert (10/22).  More information about tickets and the artists is available at www.amomentformusic.com.

If you came to American Heart, you know that we love to combine a delicious wine with good causes and great music.  This time we’ve taken a wicked twist on Grimm’s Hansel and Gretel, fused it with classical, jazz, and pop songs, and combined it with staged narration.

All ages are welcome to attend Lost In The Woods, where a portion of your ticket purchase will benefit Fisherman’s Mark in Lambertville, an organization that distributed over 175,000 pounds of food last year in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. We will also hold a canned food drive as part of the event.

So bring a beverage and join us for this Halloween-inspired event!

If you miss that, you’ll have a second chance to attend in Lambertville at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church (50 York St) on Sunday October 23rd at 4:00 pm, where we will not have a BYOB or kids’ activity, but will instead be raising a glass after the concert at the Inn of the Hawke (74 S. Union St.), and would love to meet you there!  Suggested donation for October 23rd is also $25 per ticket or $40 for two.

HARMONIUM SPONSORS VOCAL HEALTH WORKSHOP IN MADISON

The Vocal Gymnasium: For Healthy and Efficient Voice Use

WHEN: Sunday, October 23, from 2 p.m. until 5p.m.
WHERE: Grace Episcopal Church, Madison Ave., Madison
Registration is $35.00 in advance. Professional development hours are available for New Jersey Teachers.
You can register online at www.harmonium.org/workshops.shtml, or make checks payable to Harmonium Choral Society and mail with registration form to: Harmonium Workshops, P. O. Box 1317, Morristown, NJ 07962-1317

Harmonium Choral Society and Grace Community present a choral musicianship workshop for Vocal Health  The Vocal Gymnasium: For Healthy and Efficient Voice Use, with clinician Joan Melton, is appropriate for singers, actors, teachers and all who want to use their voices better at any age. Topics include breath management, pitch, range, resonance and clarity of articulation, the physicality of language and more.

Dr. Joan Melton is a leading researcher in cross-disciplinary performance techniques and co-founder of One Voice Centre for Integrative Studies. The author of three groundbreaking textbooks, Dancing with Voice: A Collaborative Journey across Disciplines (Voice Theatre Solutions 2015), One Voice: Integrating Singing and Theatre Voice Techniques, with Kenneth Tom, PhD (2^nd ed. Waveland 2012), and Singing in Musical Theatre: The Training of Singers and Actors (Allworth 2007), she has worked as a performer, composer, voice coach and/or music director on productions in virtually all media. Joan has taught at leading centers of drama and music in the US, UK, Ireland, Australia and NZ, and currently heads research projects in the US and Australia. She is Emeritus Professor of Theatre, CA State University Fullerton, Associate Artist with New York Classical Theatre, and teaches on the new Musical Theatre program at the Manhattan School of Music. www.joanmelton.com

Harmonium Choral Society, based in Morris County, is one of New Jersey's leading choral arts organizations. The 100-voice choral society has been widely recognized for its musical excellence and innovative programming, and has commissioned and premiered works by Amanda Harberg, Matthew Harris, Elliot Z. Levine, Harmonium's composers-in-residence Mark Miller and Martin Sedek, and others. Directed by Dr. Anne J. Matlack of Madison, Harmonium also sponsors musicianship workshops and an Outreach Chorus which performs in schools, nursing homes and other venues. They sponsor a High School Composition Contest which celebrates its 20^th anniversary this year. They have performed at Carnegie Hall, and the Eastern Division Convention of the American Choral Directors Association and have toured internationally, most recently to Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia this past June. To subscribe to their upcoming season, visit www.harmonium.org

THIS WEEKEND @ WILLIAM PATERSON UNIVERSITY’S SHEA CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS

The Imagination Movers

Top-Rated and Best-Reviewed Touring Act for Families on Ticketmaster

WHEN: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 7:00 PM
WHERE: Shea Center for Performing Arts, William Paterson University, 300 Pompton Road, Wayne
TICKETS: $25 All Seats; $55 VIP Package (includes seat and meet-and-greet)

The rock band for families, these Emmy-winning stars of the hit TV series on Disney Junior return to the Shea Center to "move the imaginations" of kids and adults in a fun and zany show that creates smiles on the faces of millions.

Appropriate for ages 3 and up.

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Blue Raven Entertainment presents

Eaglemania: A Tribute to Glenn Frey

The World's Greatest Eagles Tribute Band!

WHEN: SATURDAY, OCTOBER 22, 8:00 PM
WHERE: Shea Center for Performing Arts, William Paterson University, 300 Pompton Road, Wayne
TICKETS: $20 - $29

AGATHA CHRISTIE MYSTERY TO OPEN IN FORT LEE THIS WEEKEND

Park Players Productions, Inc. presents

And Then There Were None
By Agatha Christie

WHEN: 10/21, 10/22, 10/28 10/29 at 8 pm and 10/23, 10/30 at 6 pm
WHERE: At Church Of The Good Shepherd, 1576 Palisade Avenue, Fort Lee,
TICKETS: Adults $16, Seniors/Students $14
For tickets call 551-206-9772

Ten strangers, apparently with little in common, are lured to an island mansion off the coast of Devon by the mysterious U.N. Owen. Over dinner, a record begins to play, and the voice of an unseen host accuses each person of hiding a guilty secret. That evening, former reckless driver Tony Marston is found murdered by a deadly dose of cyanide. The tension escalates as the survivors realize the killer is not only among them but is preparing to strike again… and again.

Agatha Christie And Then There Were None is presented by special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc.

LIVINGSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA OPENS SEASON ON SATURDAY @ LHS AUDITORIUM

Anthony LaGruth returns for his second season as Musical Director and Conductor of the celebrated Livingston Symphony Orchestra in their “Opening Concert. ” In keeping with his affinity for Russian works, strong ensemble playing and interesting musical stories, La Gruth has chosen Kabalevky’s exciting curtain raiser “Overture to Colas Breugnon”; Mozart’s stately “Haffner Symphony”; Mussogorsky’s diabolical “Night on Bald Mountain”; and Franck’s dramatic “Symphony in D Minor” for the 2016-2017 Livingston Symphony Orchestra season opener.

As always, quality professional level performance, local suburban ambience, free adjacent parking, and wheelchair and audio accessibility make for a most enjoyable of evenings. For tickets and more information, visit the orchestra’s web site or FACEBOOK or call(973)980-1809.

About the Livingston Symphony Orchestra:
With so many orchestras in the metropolitan area, why venture to Livingston NJ on a Saturday night? For over fifty years, the Livingston Symphony Orchestra has represented the best that regional orchestras have to offer. The talented, committed musicians of this orchestra gather weekly for the joy of making music. From all walks of life, different ages and professions, from neighboring towns and communities, they are inspired by their conductor as well as each other, to create something greater than themselves and to share this with their community. With the addition of a fifth concert this season, the conductor is building upon the cohesion of this professional level group and providing further opportunity for audience enjoyment and education. The passion is palpable, the location suburban, parking adjacent and free. Wheel chair accessibility and for the first time on October 22, audio enhancement, is also available.

SONGS FROM THE 70s: 1 WEEKEND ONLY @ DREAMCATCHER

WHEN: 3 performances only: Friday, Oct 28, at 8 PM, Sat/Sun, Oct 29 & 30, at 2 PM What were you doing in the 70s? Were you a child, a teenager, an adult, or not yet born? No matter what you were up to, it was a time of transition in the world, and certainly in music. Folk, pop, disco, rock and roll and R&B coexisted on the airwaves, and we'll cover them all. Come spend some time enjoying live music with our wonderful singers as we revisit classic songs from the 70s. One weekend only! We will be singing songs like: Cat's in the Cradle, I Will Survive, New York State of Mind, Take a Chance on Me, and theme songs from the TV shows: Love Boat, Three's Company, Welcome Back, Kotter. Accompanied by the Dan Rufolo Trio www.danielrufolo.com ADMISSION: General Admission $25 Use the code SONGS to get a 10% discount on the full price ticket. Advance sales only. http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2552576 You can also call the Brown Paper Tickets at 800-838-3006 WHERE: Dreamcatcher Repertory Theatre, Oakes Center  *  120 Morris Avenue  *  Summit, NJ 07901 Tickets: 800-838-3006 | Info: 908-514-9654 www.dreamcatcherrep.org Use the Close.By/Summit app or website to find the products, promotions and even parking that you need, quickly and easily, all in one place! Join Our Mailing List!

TRILOGY REP HOSTS TEEN CABARET OF BROADWAY MUSIC

 

BROADWAY NIGHTS

An Evening of Song by Young Artists

WHEN: Oct 28 and 29, 2016, 7:30 PM
WHERE:  Liberty Corner Firehouse, 95 Church Street, Liberty Corner
TICKETS: Adults  $12, Students and seniors  $10; A ticket includes dessert and one beverage along with the evening’s performance in a cabaret setting. 
Tickets are available at the door or can be reserved by contacting Jaye Barre at 908-217-2714

Performing in the cast are Owen McKenna, Loren Donnelly, Molly Weber, Max Rodriguez, Kaitlyn Franck, Allie Blanchard, Anastasia Condolon, Naomi Taylor, Lauren Kelly and Alyssa Frank of Basking Ridge. Also performing is Nicholas Guth of Millington. The evening will also include some surprise performers.

The production is directed by Lisa Gunn Becker and Jaye Barre both of Basking Ridge. Music will be provided by Joseph Lesky.  Master of Ceremonies for the evening will be Basking Resident, Hank Barre.

IMAGE: Teen Cabaret, "Broadway Lights,"  Nicholas Guth of Millington, Molly Weber, Max Rodriguez and Kaitlyn Franck of Basking Ridge  working with Director Lisa Gunn Becker of Basking Ridge on microphone technique for the upcoming show.

Funded in part by a grant from THE WOODCOCK FOUNDATION FOR THE APPRECIATION OF THE ARTS, Inc