Pages

Friday, January 29, 2016

ONE-WOMAN SHOW TAKES HUMOROUS LOOK AT LIFE

Arrive early for live music courtesy of pianist Art Mezzo and (non-alcoholic) refreshments sold by Union Rotary.
Music starts 7:30 Saturday, 1:30 Sunday
Come to the Cabaret!

ORDER TICKETS NOW!

CASHORE MARIONETTES TO PRESENT SHOW FOR ADULTS/YOUNG ADULTS @ RVCC

The Cashore Marionettes (Photo by Matt Cashore)

LIFE IN MOTION

WHEN: Saturday, February 6, at 2 and 7 p.m.
WHERE:
The Theatre at Raritan Valley Community College, 118 Lamington Road in Branchburg, NJ
TICKETS: $10 for the 2 p.m. performance and $20 for the 7 p.m. show.
To purchase tickets or for more information, call the Box Office, 908-725-3420, or order online at www.rvccArts.org.
Subscribers’ packages are available for all Theatre series.
Senior citizen, student and group discounts are also available for most performances.

The presentation, which is suggested for audience members ages 14 and older, is part of the Theatre’s Major Artists Series.

In Life in Motion, Joseph Cashore presents his amazing collection of marionettes portraying characters that convey depth, integrity, and humanity. The performance—truly unlike anything else in theater today—offers a series of scenes taken from everyday life and is set to beautiful music by such composers as Beethoven, Vivaldi, Strauss, and Copland. Through a combination of virtuoso manipulation, humor, pathos, classical music, and poetic insight, the marionettes take the audience on a journey that celebrates the richness of life.

Life in Motion is a powerful, entertaining, surprising, theatrically satisfying, one-of-a-kind experience for adults and young adults. The Toronto Sun wrote of the Cashore Marionettes: “A wonderful world of breath-taking magic is created by one man and his exquisite marionettes.”

Serving Somerset and Hunterdon County residents for close to 50 years, RVCC is an educational and cultural center that is nationally recognized for its innovative programming, service to the community and environmental leadership. The College offers more than 90 associate degrees and certificates, as well as career training, professional development and personal enrichment courses. The College also has a performing arts center and planetarium.

RVCC is committed to offering a quality and affordable education through effective teaching, liaisons with the community’s businesses and state-of-the-art technology. For further information, visit www.raritanval.edu.

PROGRAMS & EXHIBIT @ NEWARK PUBLIC LIBRARY TO CELEBRATE BLACK HISTORY MONTH

We Found Our Way: Newark Portraits from the Great Migration 

The Newark Public Library Celebrates Black History with Programs and Exhibit 

WHEN: February 4- April 9, 2016
WHERE: Newark Public Library - Main Library, 2nd Floor Gallery
5 Washington Street, Newark, NJ
HOURS: Monday, Friday, Saturday: 9AM-5:30PM
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday: 9AM-8:30PM
CLOSING RECEPTION: Tuesday, April 5, 6PM-8PM, Auditorium

The 2016 Black History Celebration exhibit, We Found Our Way: Newark Portraits from the Great Migration, centers on the remarkable narratives of the Krueger‐Scott African‐American Oral History Collection. This collection, assembled in the late 1990s under the direction of Catherine J. Lenix‐Hooker, captured the stories of Newark’s African‐American citizens who migrated to the city between 1910‐1970.

The result is over 100 interviews with brave men and women who left the segregated, Jim Crow South to make better lives for themselves and their families. Ms. Lenix‐Hooker emphasizes the importance of these interviews as not only “eyewitnesses to the city in the 21st century,” but also as a “solid body of evidence” documenting “the major contributions African‐Americans have made to the city [in] over eight decades of Newark’s rich history.”

WORLD PREMIERE OF PLAY-READING FESTIVAL WINNER TO PLAY 12 PERFORMANCES @ THE GROWING STAGE

image

BOOKofD1RGBTHE BOOK OF D
written by Cody Daigle-Orians
directed by Stephen L. Fredericks, The Growing Stage’s Executive Director

WHEN: February 12th through 21st with performances Friday evenings at 7:30 PM, Saturday and Sunday matinees at 4:00 PM
WHERE:
Historic Palace Theatre on Route 183 in Netcong
TICKETS: FUN-tastic Fridays with all tickets $15! Saturday and Sunday tickets are $25 for adults, $20 for seniors and $15 for children.
To purchase tickets, please visit our website at www.growingstage.com or contact the Box Office at (973) 347-4946.
Group rates and Birthday Party packages are available.

The Growing Stage, The Children’s Theatre of New Jersey is proud to present the world premiere production of the winner of their 2015 New Play-Reading Festival.

THE BOOK OF D introduces us to D, a young outcast, who escapes into a world of stories. He keeps a book, The Book of D, to grapple with the tough things in his life — his parents’ divorce, his lack of friends, and the reasons for everything. When he makes a new friend, Blu, who introduces him to Greek mythology, friendship becomes a new story for D to write.

THE BOOK OF D features the talents of four professional equity performers. Phylicia Freeman of Burlington, makes her Growing Stage debut in the role of Mom and Eurydice; Izzy Figueroa of Old Bridge, recently seen as Snail in A Year With Frog and Toad, plays Dad, Orpheus, Theseus and The Minotaur; Ginny Bartolone of Montclair, who first performed with The Growing Stage as a child, returns to our stage playing the Teacher and Pirithous and Barbara Haag of Chester, makes her Growing Stage debut as the Bus Driver and Hades.

Rounding out the cast are the following young performers: Sean Cahill of Netcong as D; Julia Mayhood of Stanhope as Blu; Terrell Cannon of Dover as Andy and Lysander; Amanda Beck of Hackettstown as Mia and Hero; Dalton Allison of Byram as Cal; Hana Hassan of Budd Lake as Len and Isabella DiBernardino of Flanders as Rae.

Enhance your theatergoing experience with pre and post show-activities.

  • Join us Opening Weekend February 12th through the 14th for post-show talkback sessions with the playwright and creative team.
  • Also, a special pre-show writing workshop with playwright, Cody Daigle-Orians on Saturday, February 20th.

THE STROLLERS TO PRESENT ORIGINAL FAMILY SHOW

The Strollers Community Theater Company in Maplewood presents the original family show

image

CRE-A-TION: ONE WORLD, MANY BEGINNINGS
a treasure trove of creation stories from around the world told through tales, songs and dances
Adapted and directed by Carol Cornicelli with musical direction by Ebony Wiggins

Cre-A-tion Cast

WHEN: Fri, Jan 29th & Feb 5th at 7:00 pm, Sat & Sun, Jan 30th & 31st at 12:00 pm and 2:00 pm, Sat & Sun, Feb 6th & 7th at 12:00 pm and 2:00 pm
WHERE: Burgdorff Center for the Performance Arts, 10 Durand Road, Maplewood
TICKETS: $10.
To buy tickets or for more information, go to www.TheStrollers.org or call 973-761-8453.

“THE PIANO LESSON” POST-SHOW COMMUNITY CONVERSATION IN PRINCETON

RACE AND ITS RESONANCE IN AUGUST WILSON’S THE PIANO LESSON

A McCarter Theatre/Not In Our Town Princeton Community Partnership Event

WHERE: McCarter Theatre Center, Berlind Rehearsal Room, 91 University Place, Princeton
WHEN: Saturday, February 6, 2016, immediately following the 3pm matinee of The Piano Lesson

Refreshments will be served.  Seating is limited and must be reserved; please RSVP here.

This post-performance event is intended to provide an opportunity for interested audience members to engage with one another in a conversation that focuses specifically on the story of The Piano Lesson as an articulation of black American experience through which issues and themes pertaining to race, racism, and racial oppression and injustice can be shared and explored for meaning and understanding. 

The conversation will be highly interactive and facilitated in small groups by members of Not In Our Town Princeton. 90 minutes.

Not In Our Town Princeton is an interracial, interfaith social action group united to advance the cause of racial justice.  For more information, please visit www.niotprinceton.org.

LAST WEEKEND’S PERFORMANCES OF “TREASURE ISLAND” HAVE BEEN RESCHEDULED

interACT Youth Productions Announces RESCHEDULED PERFORMANCES OF

Treasure Island performances canceled this past weekend have been rescheduled as follows:

  • Buccaneers - Thursday, January 28th at 7pm and Friday, January 29th at 5:30PM
  • Swashbucklers - Friday January 29th at 7:30PM

WHERE: the Baird Theatre on Three, 5 Mead Street, South Orange.
TICKETS: on sale at http://interactproductions.tix.com

All patrons with tickets for the canceled performances will receive a full refund and should purchase tickets for the rescheduled dates if they wish to attend.

Tickets purchased for the canceled performances will not be honored as admission for these performances. We hope to see you at the theatre this week to support out wonderful pirates!

ONE-ACT PLAY FESTIVAL SNOWED OUT LAST WEEKEND TO BE HELD THIS WEEKEND IN ASBURY PARK

clip_image002

GIFTS

WHEN: "Conjured" (presented Fri. Jan 29 at 8pm, Sat. Jan 30 at 8pm, Fri. Feb 5th at 8pm & Sun. Feb 7th at 1pm) or Program "Rejuvenation" (presented Sat. Jan 30 at 4pm and Sun Jan 31st  at 3pm & 6pm)... or both!
WHERE:
The Jersey Shore Arts Center's Herbst Theater (3rd floor) –  66 S. Main St. Ocean Grove
TICKETS: $15 for each program/$10 for Students and Senior Citizens with valid ID. 
Go to www.LaStradaEnsemble.org for more information and online ticket purchases.
Email  lastradaensembletheater@gmail.comfor any additional questions

This past weekend Hurricane Jonas caused misery for the eastern seaboard and many New Jerseyans specifically. The 'not since Sandy' unprecedented flooding, mixed with heavy snowfall, made travel nearly impossible and business-as-usual more than unlikely for many. Of the many stories arising 'post-storm', one minor but poignant casualty was the opening weekend cancellation of an Asbury Park theater company's highly anticipated one act festival, GIFTS.

GIFTS—presented by La Strada Ensemble Theater—is a festival comprised of two completely unique programs of seven original plays each... and was set to open Friday January 22nd.  But, thanks to Jonas' influence, the festival has been postponed until this coming weekend... and La Strada will be adding three additional show dates.  The myriad of smart, funny, and thought-provoking plays come from the minds of 11 playwright—hailing from L.A., Chicago, Pittsburgh, New York, London, Monmouth, Somerset & Ocean Counties.

La Strada's GIFTS lineup includes the acting, writing, and directing talents of Prosper Bellizia, Evan Black, Doug Bollinger, Brian Brecht, A.J. Ciccotelli, Jennifer DiOrio, Carina Duffy, Curtis Scott Dunn, Nadine Dunn, Brianna Ellison, Dennis Gribben, Natalie Klein, Donna Knowlton, Erica Beverly Kostyz, Liz Meinders, Christine Nagy, Ann Pekata, Sam Pelissero, Brendan Paparella, Franklin Ricart, Gerry Ringwald, Robert Scott, Lisa Siano, Mike Sockol, Stephen Wagner, Jakob Walsh, and Thomas Ryan Ward.

SPECIAL CELEBRATION: RUTGERS 250 @ ZIMMERLI ART MUSEUM

 

 

WHERE: Zimmerli Art Museum, Corner George & Hamilton Sts., New Brunswick

 

HereNow: RUTGERS 250By Karishma Motwani

Join us for a special Art After Hours: First Tuesdays to celebrate HereNow: Rutgers 250. The Zimmerli’s first interactive initiative, HereNow is part of the year-long commemoration leading up to the university’s 250th anniversary in November. This program is co-organized by Rutgers University Program Association (RUPA.)

The museum invites the global Rutgers community to capture their experiences at university locations and events, across New Jersey and around the world. View photos that already have been submitted, meet people behind the project, and learn how you can become involved as it grows through the spring. Following the close of the exhibition, the 250 most compelling images will be published in a book available in the fall of 2016.

Upload your photos now to see them displayed on the museum's gallery walls in time for this special event on February 2 from 5 to 9pm! Live music presented by the New Brunswick Jazz Project. FREE admission and complimentary refreshments.

Image by Karishma Motwani

Winter Salon Concert
Saturday, January 30 / 6 to
8pm

Join members of the New Brunswick Chamber Orchestra for an evening of music, wine, cheese, and conversation. The program of “new classical” music features short works and excerpts from longer pieces, including The Wind in High Places by John Adams, Credo by Kevin Puts, Punctum by Caroline Shaw, and String Quartet No. 15 by Beethoven. Artistic director Mark Hyczko provides lively and informative introductions to the mostly new works. Throughout the program, the short performances are interspersed with conversation between the musicians and audience, as well as wine and cheese tastings. Visit the webpage for details.

People's Choice Awards VOTE TODAY!

We're proud to be among the New Brunswick arts district nominees for the People's Choice Awards! Please take a moment to cast your vote for us in the museum category. Don't forget to support all of the state's arts organizations by visiting them. We all win when the New Jersey arts are thriving! Vote today!

ZIMMERLI ART MUSEUM AT RUTGERS UNIVERSITY www.zimmerlimuseum.rutgers.edu
The Zimmerli's operations, exhibitions, and programs are funded in part by Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, and income from the Avenir Foundation Endowment, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Endowment Fund, and the Voorhees Family Endowment, among others. Additional support comes from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts; the Estate of Victoria J. Mastrobuono; and donors, members, and friends of the Zimmerli Art Museum.

DRAMA TO OPEN @ THE BICKFORD THEATRE THIS WEEKEND

The-Runner-Stumbles[1]

THE RUNNER STUMBLES
by Milan Stitt
directed by Eric Hafen, Producing Artistic Director of the Bickford Theatre
co-produced by Drew University.

WHEN: January 28 to February 14, 2016. Thursday, Feb. 11 at 2PM; Friday, Jan. 29, Feb. 5 & 12 at 8PM; Saturday, Jan. 30, Feb. 6 & 13 at 8PM; Sunday, Jan. 31, Feb. 7 & 14 at 2PM; Audio described performance available on Thursday, Feb. 11 at 2PM
WHERE: Bickford Theatre, Morris Museum, 6 Normandy Hgts. Rd., Morristown
TICKETS: $45 General Public; $40 Seniors, Museum & Theatre Guild Members; $33 Groups (10+); $20 Students (under 18 or w/valid college ID).
Tickets may be purchased online at morrismuseum.org, by phone at (973) 971-3706, or in person at the Bickford Theatre Box Office.

Set in 1911 and based on a true events, The Runner Stumbles centers on a young nun who has died under mysterious circumstances and the pastor who has been charged with her murder. With alternating action between interrogations, testimony and scenes from the past, the secrets and taboos of their relationship come to a head, as a feverish struggle ensues against the tides of passion, faith and justice. 

The Bickford Theatre is an integral part of the Morris Museum, located at 6 Normandy Heights Road inMorristown, NJ, and offers free parking and full accessibility. Box Office hours for phone sales are Monday through Friday, 10:00am to 5:00pm. Walk-up hours are Tuesday through Friday, 11:00am to 5:00pm.

Cast

  • Rik Walter (Fr. Rivard) of NYC- Off-Broadway:  Soho Rep, Atlantic Theatre Studio, West End Theatre, Mint Theatre; NJ Regional:  Two River Theatre; Regional:  Walnut Street Theatre, Orlando Shakespeare Festival, Ivoryton Playhouse; Film/Television:  Unforgettable (A&E), 30 Rock, Law & Order:  SVU (NBC), As the World Turns (CBS)
  • JC Hoyt (Toby Felker) of Morristown, NJ- Bickford:  The Last Romance, Dr. Cook’s Garden, Mass Appeal; Off-Broadway:  The Fantastiks; NJ Regional:  NJ Shakespeare Festival, Centenary Stage Company, Women’s Theatre Company;Regional:  Actors Louisville of Louisville, Old Castle Theatre Company, Bristol Riverside Theatre, Northern New England Rep, Dorsett Theatre Festival, Pioneer Theatre Company; International: A Christmas Carol (Germany)
  • Liz Zazzi (Mrs. Shandig) of Upper Montclair, NJ- Bickford:  The Little Dog Laughed, Dead Certain, Almost Maine; Off-Broadway:  St. Luke’s Theatre, Riverside Shakespeare; NJ Regional:  Centenary Stage, Luna Stage, Theatre Project, NJ Rep; Regional:  Penguin Rep, Shadowland Theatre, NY Renaissance Festival
  • Lizzie Engelberth (Sr. Rita) of Denville, NJ- NJ Local:  Dover Little Theatre, Encore, Houghton Shakespeare; MA in Teaching from Drew University
  • Duncan M. Rogers (Monsignor Nicholson) of Maplewood, NJ- Bickford:  Wait Until Dark, Moonlight and Magnolias, Fiction, The Last Days of Mickey and Jean; Off-Broadway:  Theatreworks USA, Century Center for the Performing Arts; NJ Regional:  NJ Rep, Women’s Theatre Company; Regional:  Old Castle Theatre Company, Huntington Theatre, Penobscot Theatre Company, Hillberry Rep, North Shore Music Theatre; Film/Television:  30 Rock, Dellaventura
  • Kelley McAndrews (Erna Prindle) of Washington, NJ- NJ Regional:  Premiere Stages, Theatre Project; Local: Kean University, Pines Dinner Theatre, Plays in the Park

Drew University Students

  • Ryan Genualdi (Amos) of Murray Hill, NJ  -Bickford:  Not Now Darling; Drew:  The Three Sisters, The Venus Hottentot; Senior History Major at Drew University
  • Christopher Reyes (Prosecutor) of Maryland- Originally from the Philippians; Drew:  You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown, King Hedley II;  Senior Theatre Major with Minors in French and Film Studies at Drew University
  • Ava Serene Portman (Louise) of Los Angeles, CA –Drew:  Gillian’s Ocean (lead role); Local:  Holmdel Theater; Film/Television:  AP Life (Web Series), Banana Dartboard, The Hero Diaries (FDU Fillm Series);   Junior at Drew University Sociology and Business.

Thursday, January 28, 2016

FAMILY-FRIENDLY MUSICAL BASED ON HIT BOOK SERIES TO PLAY @ SUMMIT PLAYHOUSE

Summit Playhouse

It's Junie B.'s first day of first grade and a lot of things have changed for her: Junie's friend Lucille doesn't want to be her best pal anymore, and on the bus, Junie B. makes friends with Herb, the new kid at school. Also, Junie has trouble reading the blackboard and her teacher Mr. Scary thinks she may need glasses. Throw in a friendly cafeteria lady, a kickball tournament and a "Top-Secret Personal Beeswax Journal", and first grade has never been more exciting. 

WHEN: Friday, February 5 (7:30pm); Saturday, February 6 (7:30pm); Sunday, February 7 (2:00pm); Friday, February 12 (7:30pm); Saturday, February 13 (7:30pm); Sunday, February 14 (2:00pm)
WHERE: Summit Playhouse, 10 New England Ave., Summit
CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS
For group sales (10+) or school day performances, contact Lindsay at kaleidoscopesummit@gmail.com
www.thesummitplayhouse.org

Starring Aviva Winick (Short Hills) as Junie B. Jones

Featuring: Julia Bavoso (Berkeley Heights), Bobby Becht (Morris Township), Olivia Champeau (Montclair), Acadia Colan (South Orange), Donovan Colan (South Orange),  Madelyn Fedor (Basking Ridge), Johanna Keyser (Montclair), Dexter Kennedy (Springfield), Olivia Kider (Warren), Megan Kim (Summit), Abby Jeffries (New Providence), Amelia LeRoy (Chatham), Jack Nissen (New Providence), Samantha Rascio (Far Hills), Jack Rodriquez-Vars (Montclair), Tyler Sautner (Linden), Claire Waskow (Madison), and Charlotte Wesson (Summit)

LIVINGSTON TEMPLE TO CLOSE SERIES OF SOLO RECITALS WITH VLADIMIR FELTSMAN

Temple B’nai Abraham presents 
feltsman_2The Jewish Legacy of the Piano—
A Year of Celebration: Vladimir Feltsman

A series of solo piano recitals by the world’s foremost artists. Last in series features renowned pianist and conductor Vladimir Feltsman, who holds the Distinguished Chair of Professor of Piano at the State University of New York, New Paltz. This series is underwritten by the Ann & Milton Colman/Samuel A. Cohen Fund.

WHEN: Sunday, March 20, 2016, 3:00-4:30 PM
WHERE: Temple B'nai Abraham 300 E Northfield Rd, Livingston, NJ
ADMISSION: Open to the Community. Per recital:  $25 per person; $18 for students (21 years old and under)
973-994-2290
www.tbanj.org

TICKETS NOW ON SALE FOR “MOTHERHOOD OUT LOUD”

MOTHERHOOD OUT LOUD
conceived by Susan R. Rose and Joan Stein
directed by Cynthia Ross

WHEN: FEB 5-7 and 12-14, 2016;
FRI, SAT 7:30PM and SUN 4:00PM

WHERE:
The Baird on 3, 5 Mead St, South Orange
TICKETS:  $10
ORDER ONLINE HERE

STARRING

  • Lisa Barnett
  • Angela Basso
  • Debbie Bernstein
  • Ashley Del Pizzo
  • Meara Franowicz
  • Margaret Mikkelsen
  • Jeffrey A. Taylor
  • Tasha R. Williams

ABOUT THE SHOW

Off-Broadway's most delightful take on motherhood's joys, challenges and laughs will take to the local stage. The 2011 play, co-written by a dozen different playwrights, runs the gamut from childbirth to taking on the mothering role for an aging parent.

Called "funny and tender" by the Denver Post, and "touching" by the Associated Press, Motherhood Out Loud blends laughs and sentiment in ways that any parent (or anyone who's been parented) will recognize and appreciate.

The cast includes eight local actors, many of them familiar from interACT productions such as The Full Monty, Into the Woods and Leader of the Pack. They include: Tasha R. Williams of Bellville, Meara Francowicz of West Orange, Maplewood resident Debbie Bernstein and Lisa Barnett of South Orange. They are joined by Montclair's Jeff Taylor and Margaret Mikkelsen, Angela Basso of Garwood, and Ashley Del Pizzo of Branchburg.

Wednesday, January 27, 2016

FRIENDSHIP BETWEEN 2 ARTISTS IS SUBJECT OF “NUREYEV’S EYES,” OPENING @ GEORGE STREET PLAYHOUSE NEXT WEEK!

WHERE: George Street Playhouse, 9 Livingston Ave., New Brunswick

BUY ONLINE NOW OR CALL 732-246-7717

(Left) William Connell (Jamie Wyeth) Broadway: A View From the Bridge, The Coast of Utopia

(Right) Bill Dawes (Rudolph Nureyev) Broadway: Bronx Bombers, Lombardi, Sex and Longing

Fighting personal demons and demanding perfection, American painter Jamie Wyeth and Russian ballet and film star Rudolf Nureyev develop a friendship that transcends their differences and lasts until the end of Nureyev’s storied career and too-short life.  Struggling to capture the icon on paper and canvas, Wyeth is not satisfied until an unexpected breakthrough provides new inspiration—opening his eyes to what was right in front of him.   

Produced in associated with Delaware Theatre Company

PUPPET PRESENTATION @ RVCC THIS SUNDAY!

Lula del Ray

Lula del Ray
Manual Cinema
WHEN: Sunday, Jan. 31 at 2PM
WHERE:
The Theatre at RVCC, 118 Lamington Rd., Branchburg
TICKETS: $10
RVCCArts | 908.725.3420 | E-mail | Tickets

Set in the mid-century American Southwest and inspired by the music of Hank Williams, Roy Orbison, and Patsy Cline, Lula del Ray is a mythic reinvention of the classic coming-of-age story. Performed with overhead projectors, shadow puppets, actors in silhouette, and live music; told almost entirely without dialogue, Lula del Ray is the story of a lonely adolescent girl who lives with her mother on the outskirts of a vast satellite array in the middle of the desert. After a chance encounter over the radio, Lula becomes obsessed with a soulful country music duo, the Baden Brothers. Inspired by their music, she runs away from home and into a world of danger, deception, and disappointment.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH A TRAILER

COMING EVENTS @ THE PRINCETON UNIVERSITY ART MUSEUM

“BORADWAY WITH THE CALLAWAYS” THIS SATURDAY @ NJPAC

West Side Story to Wicked: Broadway with the Callaways

WHEN: Saturday, January 30, Two Performances: 6:00pm and 8:30pm
WHERE:
New Jersey Performing Arts Center, 1 Center Street, Newark NJ
TICKETS: Start at $50 for Each Performance (6:00pm and 8:30pm)

Broadway's dynamic duo from Chicago—the Tony-nominated Callaway Sisters—raise the roof with their newest show, proving they're one singular sensation, singing show-stoppers from Chicago and Funny Girl to Cats, Carousel and more!

Ann Hampton Callaway's husky, jazz-flavored sound is the perfect complement for Liz Callaway's clear bell tones in West Side Story to Wicked: Broadway with the Callaways, an evening of wit, humor and the soaring sounds of the greatest songs of Broadway. This evening promises a chance to see two of Broadway's elite performers - and best friends - having fun together on stage. As Liz says about her sister, "As much as I enjoy performing on my own, there is nothing better than singing with Ann." 

One of the leading champions of the Great American Songbook, Ann Hampton Callaway has made her mark as a singer, pianist, composer, lyricist, arranger and actress. She received a Tony nomination for her role in Broadway's Swing! and was featured on the soundtrack of Queen Latifah's Last Holiday. She has written more than 250 songs, including two Platinum Award-winning hits for Barbra Streisand and the theme for the hit TV series The Nanny.

Liz Callaway is a Tony nominee and Emmy Award-winning actress, singer and recording artist. She made her Broadway debut in Stephen Sondheim's Merrily We Roll Along and was Tony-nominated for her performance in Baby. For five years, she won acclaim as Grizabella in Cats and has starred in the original casts of Miss Saigon, The Three Musketeers and The Look of Love. Off-Broadway, she received a Drama Desk nomination for her performance in The Spitfire Grill at Playwrights Horizons.

The Callaway Sisters - Sibling Revelry

CLICK HERE TO HEAR THE CALLAWAYS

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

STNJ & NJ SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA PARTNER FOR 3 PERFORMANCES @ 3 DIFFERENT VENUES

Photo © Fred Stucker

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE TICKETS

FILM TO HONOR CHARLIE HEBDO VICTIMS OFFERED AS PREVIEW BY NEW JERSEY JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL

image

NEW AUDITION DATE FOR “LEGALLY BLONDE: THE MUSICAL” @ THE BARN THEATRE IN MONTVILLE

The Barn Theatre in Montville, New Jersey, continues its 88th Season by holding open auditions for its upcoming production

Legally Blonde: The Musical
book by Heather Hach
Music and Lyrics by Lawrence O’Keefe & Neil Benjamin
Directed by Jeffrey Fiorello
Musical Direction by Jack Bender
Choreographed by Megan Ferentinos

WHEN: **DUE TO THE SNOW STORM**, Audition Date is now:
Thursday, January 28 from 7p.m to 10p.m.
WHERE: Barn Theatre 32 Skyline Drive, Montville

Performance Dates: May 20, 2016 – June 11, 2016 (Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays and possible Thursdays)

Show Description:
A fabulously fun international award-winning musical based on the adored movie, Legally Blonde The Musical, follows the transformation of Elle Woods as she tackles stereotypes, snobbery, and scandal in pursuit of her dreams. This action-packed musical explodes on the stage with memorable songs and dynamic dances. Equal parts hilarious and heart-warming warming, this musical is so much fun it should be illegal.

Legally Blonde The Musical will take you from the sorority house to the halls of justice with Broadway's brightest new heroine (and of course, her Chihuahua, Bruiser).

Based on the adored movie, Legally Blonde The Musical stays true to form with a peppy score and playful book. This musical is ridiculously enjoyable from start to finish.

Preparations:

  • Please prepare a song (in the style of the show
  • bring sheet music in the appropriate key
  • An accompanist will be provided.
  • Come prepared to dance.
  • Headshots and resumes are not required but gladly received.

Cast Requirements: 15 Women, 12 Men

Characters:

  • Elle Woods: The quintessential Valley Girl who follows her ex-boyfriend to Harvard Law School and realizes that she has more to offer than just a pretty face and a bubbly personality.
    Gender: female. Age: 18 to 28
    Vocal range: G5 to Gb2
  • Emmett Forrest: A smart and sensitive law student who takes Elle under his wing. He is charming, quirky, loveable, and friendly.
    Gender: male. Age: 20 to 28
    Vocal range: A4 to B2
  • Paulette: A brash, caring, optimistic hair stylist who is friends with Elle and longs to find a man for herself.
    Gender: female. Age: 35 to 45
    Vocal range: A5 to A3
  • Professor Callahan: A pompous, sleezy and manipulative law professor at Harvard who is highly successful, but completely immoral.
    Gender: male. Age: 45 to 55
    Vocal range: F#4 to A2.
  • Warner Huntington III: A good-looking but shallow and pompous guy who breaks Elle's heart and heads off to Harvard Law.
    Gender: male. Age: 20 to 28
    Vocal range: Ab4 to Eb3.
  • Vivienne Kensington: A smart, savvy, and uptight law student and Warner's fiancee who initially dismisses Elle, but grows to be her friend.
    Gender: female. Age: 20 to 28
    Vocal range: A3 to F5.
  • Brooke Wyndam: An exercise video mogul who is also a former sorority girl. She is energetic and charismatic, yet currently on trial for murder.
    Gender: female. Age: 25 to 38
    Vocal range: A3 to G5
  • Enid Hoops: Feminist / Lesbian Harvard Law Student.
    Gender: female. Age 18 – 28
    Vocal Range: Bb3 to F5
  • Serena: A Delta Nu sorority sister / friend to Elle. Elle’s “bestie”. Sassiest of the sisters.
    Gender: female. Age 18 – 28
    Vocal Range: G#4 – F5
  • Margot: A Delta Nu sorority sister/ friend to Elle. Very sweet, but also quite ditzy.
    Gender: female. Age 18 – 28
    Vocal Range: G#4 – F5
  • Pilar: A Delta Nu sorority sister / friend to Elle. The 2nd “sassiest”. Supportive of Elle.
    Gender: female. Age 18 – 28
    Vocal Range: G#4 – F5
  • Aaron Schultz: Harvard Student. Wealthy and offensively pompous.
    Gender: male. Age 18 – 28
    Vocal Range: Tenor.
  • Sundeep Padamadan / Nikos: Track: Harvard Student. Was royalty in his home country. Nikos (closeted pool boy to Brooke)
    Gender: male. Age 18 – 28
    Vocal Range: Tenor.
  • Kyle / Dewy / Chad: Track. Kyle – UPS worker. Very masculine with a masculine speaking voice. Dewy – Paulett’s loser x-husband. Chad – Rapper.
    Gender: male. Age 20 – 28
    Vocal Range: Baritone
  • Kate / Chutney: Track. Kate – spunky sorority sister. Chutney – step daughter to Brooke.
    Gender: female. Age 20 – 28
    Vocal Range: G#4 – F5
  • Dad / Winthrop: Track. Dad – Elle’s father. Winithrop – dean of admissions – Harvard.
    Gender: male. Age 40 - 55
    Vocal Range: Baritone.
  • Mom / Whitney: Track. Mom – Elle’s mother. Whitney – Harvard Student – friend to Vivienne.
    Gender: female. Age 30 – 45
    Vocal Range: Mezzo.
  • Carlos: Flamboyant Boyfriend to Nikos.
    Gender: male. Age 18 – 28
    Vocal Range: Tenor
  • Lowell: On the Harvard Admissions Committee.
    Gender: male. Age 25 – 35. Vocal Range: Tenor
  • Pforzheimer: On the Harvard Admissions Committee
    Gender: male. Age 25 – 35
    Vocal Range: Baritone
  • Judge / Kiki / Manager: Track. Judge – presiding over Brook’s trial. Kiki – colorist in Paulette’s salon. Manager – of store where Elle Shops.
    Gender: female. Age 25 – 35.
    Vocal Range: Mezzo Belt.
  • Various others to play Sorority Sisters / Harvard Law Students / Court Personnel / Participants in Work out Video / Patrons and Workers in a Salon / Etc.

Actors are asked to arrive to sign in within the first hour of the auditions start time. All roles are available. Casting is open and newcomers are especially welcomed. Crew and other volunteers are also needed for the production. If interested, please contact info@barntheatre.org.
The Barn Theatre is located at 32 Skyline Drive in Montville, NJ just minutes off Route 287 (Exit 47). For more information or directions, call 973-334-9320 ext. 5, or visit www.barntheatre.org

3 MUSICAL EVENTS COMING UP @ McCARTER THEATRE CENTER

McCarter Theatre Center continues its 2016 Signature Series with three special music events. 

Tickets are on sale now at the Box Office, by phone at 609-258-2787 or online at mccarter.org

McCarter’s Signature Series is curated by Special Programming Director William W. Lockwood, who remains the driving force behind McCarter Theatre Center’s reputation as one of the premiere arts presenters in the country.

THE BUDDY HOLLY STORY
WHEN: FRIDAY, JANUARY 29 – 8:00 p.m.
WHERE:
Matthews Stage, 91 University Place, Princeton
TICKETS: $50.00 - $62.00
Limited seating available

America’s own Buddy Holly is often cited as the single most influential creative force in early rock n’ roll who paved the way for the next generation of legends (including Elvis, The Stones, Dylan, and The Beatles). This Broadway musical (which ran in London for 22 years) follows his meteoric rise to fame from his humble country music roots to the top of the charts and his untimely death in 1959, at the age of only 22 (“The Day the Music Died,” according to Don McLean’s song). But the best way to describe this show is simply to list the 50s favorites that we can’t get out of our heads, golden oldies which will have you on your feet and rockin’ in the aisles: Peggy Sue, That’ll Be the Day, Raining in the Aisles, Not Fade Away, Maybe Baby, Ritchie Valens’ La Bamba and the Big Bopper’s Chantilly Lace.


Richard Thompson Beautiful Days Festival 19 August 2012RICHARD THOMPSON – ACOUSTIC SOLO CONCERT

WHEN: TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9 – 7:30 p.m.
WHERE: Matthews Stage, 91 University Place, Princeton
TICKETS: $25.00 - $48.00

Richard Thompson’s return to McCarter is a little overdue this time around, but the wait is over. Throughout a career that now spans 40 years, this singer / songwriter / guitarist has created a body of work (40 albums and over 400 songs) unsurpassed in its sheer musical invention, emotional precision, and diversity, earning Grammy nominations and tribute albums galore. So it’s not so surprising that he’s been called the finest rock songwriter since Bob Dylan (Los Angeles Times) and is a perennial contender for the title of greatest living rock guitarist (Rolling Stone).

Monterey Jazz Festival on Tour 2016_Raul Midon, Nicholas Payton, Ravi Coltrane_(c)R.R. Jones

MONTEREY JAZZ FESTIVAL – ON TOUR
WHEN: FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12 – 8:00 p.m.
WHERE:
Matthews Stage, 91 University Place, Princeton
TICKETS: $25.00 - $58.00

The Monterey Jazz Festival, the longest continuously-running jazz festival in the world, returns to the road in 2016, featuring critically-acclaimed, GRAMMY®-winning jazz artists. The latest edition of the all-star tour band features Raul Midón on guitar and vocals; Ravi Coltrane on tenor and soprano saxophones; Nicholas Payton on trumpet; musical directorGerald Clayton on piano; Joe Sanders on bass; and Gregory Hutchinson on drums.

World-renowned for its artistic excellence, sophisticated informality, and longstanding mission to create and support year-round jazz education and performance programs in local, regional, national, and international venues, Monterey Jazz Festival has stayed true to expanding live performances of jazz around the country since 2008 by presenting national tours that have reached over 100,000 fans in 135 shows across the United States and Canada.

Raul Midón has appeared at Monterey three times, in 2009, 2011 and 2015. Ravi Coltrane first appeared at Monterey in 2001, nearly 41 years to the day after his own father, John Coltrane, made his debut at Monterey in 1960. Ravi also appeared at the Festival in 2013 and 2015. Nicholas Payton was the Festival’s Artist-In-Residence in 2000, and appeared again in 2015. Gerald Clayton, Joe Sanders, Gregory Hutchinson and Kendrick Scott, some of the rising stars in the jazz world, have been recent performers on Monterey stages, both at the Monterey Jazz Festival itself, and as high school students at the Festival’s 45-year old student competition, the Next Generation Jazz Festival.

Featuring:
Raul Midon, vocal
Nicholas Payton, trumpet
Ravi Coltrane, tenor & soprano saxophone
Gerald Clayton, music director
Joe Sanders, bass
Gregory Hutchinson, drums

UCPAC PRESENTS “GIRLS NIGHT: THE MUSICAL” THIS SATURDAY

Girls NightGirls Night: The Musical  

The Union County Performing Arts Center invites women to share the fun and laughter at a hilarious, feel-good comedy.

WHEN: Jan. 30 at 8 p.m.
WHERE:
UCPAC Mainstage, 1601 Irving St., Rahway
Discounts are available for groups of 10 or more.  To purchase tickets or for more information, call the box office at 732-499-8226 or visit the website at www.ucpac.org

Girls Night: The Musical has been thrilling audiences and earning raves from critics throughout North America since it began touring after its sensational Off-Broadway debut. This touching and hilarious "tell-it-like-it-is" musical takes audiences on a journey into the lives of a group of five female friends who re-live their past, celebrate their present and look to the future on a wild and hilarious karaoke night out - and you'll recognize a bit of yourselves in every one of them. Audience members can't help but laugh, cry and even find themselves singing and dancing in the aisles as some of the most popular hit songs of the '80s and '90s make this musical a fan favorite.

Girls Night is bursting with energy and is packed with the hits "Lady Marmalade," "It's Raining Men," "Man I Feel Like a Woman," "I Will Survive," "We are Family" and many more. "Mix a bit of Desperate Housewives with Sex and the City and Mamma Mia and you've got the hit, Girls Night: The Musical!'" says Las Vegas Round the Clock. This show is made possible in part by generous sponsorship from L'Oreal USA.

So get your girlfriends together and come sing along, dance along and sip on cocktails as you take in this party of a show.

CENTENARY STAGE COMPANY’S JANUARY THAW MUSIC FEST CLOSES WITH AUSTRALIAN PIANIST AND OSCAR PETERSON PROTÉGÉ

Matt_Studio_small

MATT BAKER IN AN OSCAR MOMENT

WHEN: Saturday, January 30 at 8pm
WHERE:
Sitnik Theater of the Lackland Center, 715 Grand Ave., Hackettstown
TICKETS: $22.50 for adults and $15.00 for children under 12 in advance.  As with all concerts, jazz and special events all ticket orders increase $5.00 on the day of the performance.  CSC is also offering $5.00 tickets to middle/high school band and music students.  All ticket sales are final.

Australian Pianist Matt Baker has performed at jazz festivals, clubs and concert halls in Australia, Europe, USA and the Pacific. Aside from performing as a solo artist, he is fast becoming one of the most sought after accompanists, sidemen and Musical Directors on the New York scene.  Now he joins Centenary Stage Company to close out the January Thaw Musical Festival with An Oscar Moment

The concert will showcase Baker’s interpretations of Oscar Peterson’s greatest work, celebrating his life, greatest hits, and some of his beautiful original compositions, honoring his legacy as a pianist and timeless, world-class composer. The two met in 2002 at the Blue Note in NYC, which was the start of a friendship and mentorship that lasted until Peterson’s death in 2007.  The show includes Peterson's original work, including some previously unrecorded compositions given to Baker by the Peterson estate.  The quartet goes on a musical journey revisiting some classic moments in Peterson's career such as accompanying Jazz legends Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong.  The show features the hits "Satin Doll", "Tenderly", "Chicago" and many other classics from the Great American songbook.

Matt regularly plays all over New York, including engagements at Birdland, Smalls Jazz Club, The Zinc Bar, The Iridium, The Kitano, Le Cirque, Bemelmans Bar in The Carlyle Hotel, Tomi Jazz, The Garage, Somethin’ Jazz and Cleopatra’s Needle. He performs professionally with some of New York’s top musicians including Gregory Hutchinson, Hassan JJ Shakur, Marco Panascia, Jim Cammack, Jerome Jennings, Dayna Stephens, Tony Middleton, Christine Ebersole and The Artie Shaw Orchestra, and once performed an impromptu duo set with trumpet legend Roy Hargrove at Smalls Jazz Club. Matt has also toured as Pianist and Musical Director for multi-platinum recording artist Patrizio Buanne.

In March 2011, Baker recorded a new album in New York entitled ‘Underground’ featuring Gregory Hutchinson, Joe Sanders, Jeremy Pelt and Dayna Stephens. The album, which received wonderful reviews in Downbeat, Jazz Times and Jazz Wise UK, features a selection of brand new original work alongside some classic jazz standards, inspired from living the New York underground jazz scene: endless nights of clubs & jam sessions.  Baker tied fifth place in the 2003 Montreux International Solo Jazz Piano competition and was a semi-finalist in 2004 and 2005. The Montreux Jazz Festival also engaged The Matt Baker Trio as their exclusive in-house band 2 years straight, where they performed 17 nights in the Montreux Festival Jazz Club, accompanying and supporting many of the festivals headlining artists.

For more information or to purchase tickets visit centenarystageco.org or call the box office at (908) 979 – 0900.  The Centenary Stage Company box office is open Monday through Friday from 1 – 5pm and two hours prior to every performance.  The box office is located in the David and Carol Lackland Center at 715 Grand Ave. Hackettstown, NJ 07840.

The 2015-16 season of performing arts events at the Centenary Stage Company is made possible through the generous support of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, the NJ State Council on the Arts, the Shubert Foundation, the Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, the Sandra Kupperman Foundation, and CSC corporate sponsors, including Premier Season Sponsor Heath Village Retirement Community, Silver Sponsors Hackettstown Regional Medical Center, Home Instead Senior Care (Washington), The Holiday Inn in Budd Lake, and Fulton Bank of New Jersey, and Centenary Stage Company members and supporters.

McCARTER THEATRE CENTER TO PRESENT SPECIAL LAB SPOTLIGHT PRESENTATION

Hoodwinked-bg[1]EMILY MANN’S HOODWINKED
By Emily Mann
Directed by Emily Mann

Emily Mann’s documentary-style drama recalls the 2009 Fort Hood shootings as a springboard for explorations of Islamist extremism in various political contexts today.

WHEN: Thursday, January 28 – 7:00 p.m.; Friday, January 29 – 7:00 p.m.; Saturday, January 30 – 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.; Sunday, January 31 – 3:00 p.m.
WHERE: McCarter Theatre Center, 91 University Pl., Princeton
TICKETS: $15.00 and are available online at www.mccarter.org, by phone at 609-258-2787, or in person at the McCarter Box Office.

Hoodwinked is a riveting exploration of Islamist extremism sparked by the 2009 mass shooting on the Army base in Fort Hood, Texas. Created by multi-award-winning playwright Emily Mann (McCarter Theatre Center Artistic Director), the play asks: how do we make sense of the questions, confusion, and misinformation surrounding one of the most pressing issues of our time, namely global Jihadism?

The play draws from interviews, transcripts, and other primary sources.  Inspired by questions and confusion circulating in the media, Hoodwinked explores Islamism and the dangers this extremist ideology can pose not only to western nations but also to moderate/traditional Muslims around the world.  The play uses an experimental dramatic structure to weave together scenes inspired by real conversations, speeches, video, and performance of primary text and is designed to be a catalyst for discussion and political action.

The workshop reading will be directed by Mann. The cast includes Ramsey Faragallah, Zainab Jah, Mahira Kakkar, Melissa Miller, and Ryan Shams.  (All names are subject to change, full cast list tbd).

Immediately following each intimately-staged presentation, McCarter will host
moderated discussions with Emily Mann and expert panelists, who will engage with the play’s themes; debate cultural shifts in the Middle East, Europe, and America; address current public policy; and answer audience questions about the crisis gripping our world. More information on each performance’s panelists may be found below.

About Emily Mann (Playwright, McCarter Artistic Director/Resident Playwright)
Multi-award-winning Director and Playwright Emily Mann is in her 26th season as Artistic Director and Resident Playwright of the Tony Award winning McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton, New Jersey.  Her plays include: Having Our Say, adapted from the book by Sarah L. Delany and A. Elizabeth Delany with Amy Hill Hearth (Hull-Warriner Award, Peabody Award, Christopher Award; Tony awards, Outer Critics, Drama Desk award nominations); Execution of Justice (Bay Area Theatre Critics Award, Playwriting Award from the Women’s Committee of the Dramatists Guild, Burns Mantle Yearbook Best Play Citation, Drama Desk nomination); Still Life (six Obie Awards); Annulla, An Autobiography; Greensboro (A Requiem); an adaptation of I.B. Singer’s novel Meshugah; and Mrs. Packard (Kennedy Center’s Fund for New American Plays).  Adaptations: Scenes from a Marriage (Drama League Award nomination), Uncle Vanya, The Cherry Orchard, A Seagull in the Hamptons, The House of Bernarda Alba, Baby Doll, and Antigone. Currently Ms. Mann is working on a play about Gloria Steinem, commissioned by Lincoln Center Theatre.  She was awarded a Princeton University Honorary Doctorate of Arts; a 2015 Helen Merrill Distinguished Playwrights' Award; and a 2015 Margo Jones Award given to a "citizen-of-the-theatre who has demonstrated a lifetime commitment to the encouragement of the living theatre everywhere.”

MODERATED DISCUSSIONS: PANELISTS (subject to change)

THURSDAY, JANUARY 28 – 7:00 p.m.

  • Dr. Amaney A. Jamal
    Amaney A. Jamal is the Edwards S. Sanford Professor of Politics at Princeton University and director of the Mamdouha S. Bobst Center for Peace and Justice. Jamal also directs the Workshop on Arab Political Development. She currently is President of the Association of Middle East Women’s Studies (AMEWS). The focus of her current research is democratization and the politics of civic engagement in the Arab world. Her interests also include the study of Muslim and Arab Americans and the pathways that structure their patterns of civic engagement in the U.S.
  • Dr. Hussein Rashid
    Hussein Rashid, PhD, is founder of islamicate, L3C, a consultancy focusing on religious literacy and cultural competency. He is a contingent faculty member most often associated with Hofstra University. His research focuses on Muslims and American popular culture. He writes and speaks about music, comics, movies, and the blogistan. He also has a background in South and Central Asian studies, with a deep interest in Shi’I justice theology. He is on numerous editorial boards and appears regularly on mainstream media, including CNN, Channel 4 (UK), Al-Jazeera America, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal.
  • Dr. John Haines
    Dr. John R. Haines is a trustee of the Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI), where he is a member of its executive, finance, and nominating committees, a Senior Fellow, and Executive Director of FPRI’s Princeton Committee. An active investor and entrepreneur whose current efforts focus on nuclear smuggling and terrorism, in 2010 John co-founded, as Chief Executive Officer, Ionetix Corporation, to develop proprietary particle accelerator and fissile material detection technologies. Haines is author of the FPRI E-Book A Perfect Storm Ahead?  An Exploration of the Risk of Nuclear Terrorism (FPRI, 2014) and of several FPRI essays. FPRI’s Princeton Committee, which he directs, is a monthly forum in Princeton featuring presentations by a mix of FPRI and guest scholars.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 29 – 7:00 p.m.

  • Dr. Celene Ibrahim
    Celene Ibrahim is a scholar, educator, and chaplain. Ms. Ibrahim is widely published and holds a joint faculty appointment as Islamic Studies Scholar-in-Residence at Hebrew College and Andover Newton Theological School, where she co-directs the Center for Inter-Religious and Communal Leadership Education [CIRCLE]. She is honored to also serve as the Muslim Chaplain for Tufts University. Ms. Ibrahim has been recognized as a Harvard Presidential Scholar and her contributions to increasing religious literacy have been featured on diverse forums including BBC, Public Radio International, the Religion Initiative of the Council on Foreign Relations, and many other venues. Her academic interests range from Muslim feminist theology and theologies of religious pluralism, to critical social theory and the history of Islamic intellectual thought.     
  • Mr. Graeme Wood
    Graeme Wood is the Edward R. Murrow Press Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. He has reported for The New Yorker, Foreign Policy, Slate, Jane’s Intelligence Review, and many other publications. His story “What ISIS Really Wants” in the March 2015 issue of The Atlantic was the most-read article on any subject in any magazine in 2015, and his book on the ISIS will come out in 2016 with Random House.  A graduate of Deep Springs College, Harvard, and the American University in Cairo, he is a correspondent for The Atlantic and a lecturer in political science at Yale University.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 30 – 2:00 p.m. (additional panelists to be announced)

  • Mr. Cole Bunzel
    Cole Bunzel is a PhD candidate in Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University, where his research covers the history of Wahhabism in Saudi Arabia and the Jihadi-Salafi movement of modern Islam. Working in primary Arabic sources available online, he has written extensively on ISIS and al-Qaeda, particularly their ideological dimension, and is frequently cited in print media such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and The Financial Times. Bunzel has lived and researched in Syria and Saudi Arabia, and previously held government and think tank positions in Washington, DC related to Syria and Iraq.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 30 – 7:00 p.m. (additional panelists to be announced)

  • Ms. Daisy Khan
    Executive Director, Women’s Islamic Initiative for Spirituality and Equality (WISE)
  • Prof. Barak Mendelson
    Barak Mendelsohn is an Associate Professor of Political Science at Haverford College and a senior fellow at the Philadelphia-based Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI). He holds a doctoral degree in Government from Cornell University, MA in Security Studies from Tel Aviv University, and BA in Middle East Studies from the Hebrew University, Jerusalem. He specializes in radical Islamist organizations, with an emphasis on al-Qaeda and the Islamic State. His research interests also cover Middle East security, terrorism and counter-terrorism, U.S. foreign policy, and questions of international order.

SUNDAY, JANUARY 31 – 3:00 p.m. (additional panelists to be announced)

  • Dr. Hooshang Amirahmadi
    Rutgers University Professor and former Director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies
  • Prof. Stuart Gottlieb
    Stuart Gottlieb is an international affairs professor at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), where he teaches courses on American foreign policy, counterterrorism, and international security. He also serves as the faculty director for SIPA’s summer degree program in International Relations, and is a member of the Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies. Prior to joining SIPA in 2003, Gottlieb worked for five years in the United States Senate, first as senior foreign policy adviser to Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York, and subsequently as policy adviser and chief speechwriter for Senator Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut.

ALTERNATIVE ROCK ICON @ SOPAC ON SATURDAY

Robyn Hitchcock approvedRobyn Hitchcock

WHEN: January 30 at 8:00 p.m. Starting at 7 p.m. a cash bar and complimentary snacks are available at the Lounge in the Loft on the third floor of SOPAC.
Where: South Orange Performing Arts Center (SOPAC), 1 SOPAC Way, South Orange, NJ, 07079.
Tickets: $32-$38
To purchase tickets, contact SOPAC at (973) 313-2787or visit www.SOPACnow.org.

Robyn Hitchcock (Robyn Hitchcock and The Egyptians) broke into the Neo-psychedelia Rock scene when his band, The Soft Boys, released their first album, A Can of Bees, in 1979. Since then, Robyn has released more than twenty albums.  He is one of England’s most enduring contemporary singer-songwriters and live performers. A surrealist poet, talented guitarist, cult artist and musician’s musician, Robyn Hitchcock is among alternative rock’s father figures and is the closest thing the genre has to a Bob Dylan, who is, coincidentally, his biggest musical inspiration.

After the members of The Soft Boys parted ways, Robyn went on to solo work, which resulted in his well-received album, I often dream of Trains released in 1984. He then shifted his focus, and formed the band Robyn Hitchcock and The Egyptians where he rocketed to success. The albums The Elements of Light (1986), Globe of Frogs (1988), and Queen of Elvis (1989) were all released to critical success.

Robyn Hitchcock describes his songs as “paintings you can listen to.” His most recent album The Man Upstairs (2014) is a bittersweet love letter to a vanishing world. Produced by legendary folk-rock Svengali Joe Boyd (Pink Floyd, Nick Drake) the album was critically acclaimed by Mojo, Uncut, and The Quietus.

Newcomer Emma Swift opens for Robyn. Emma has recently released a debut album, Emma Swift, which features Bryan Owings (Buddy Miller, Emmylou Harris, Iris Dement, Patty Griffin) on drums, Russ Pahl (John Hiatt, The Secret Sisters, Elton John) on pedal steel, James Haggerty (The Autumn Defense, Ruby Boots) on bass.

SOPAC programs are made possible in part by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.

The South Orange Performing Arts Center (SOPAC) is a 501(c)(3)charitable organization.

About SOPAC
Since 2006, SOPAC has been serving as a premier performing arts center in the region. SOPAC offers innovative artistic and cultural experiences for diverse audiences in an intimate, inviting environment. The premier arts center hosts a variety of live performances, community events and education programs for all ages.  To further expand its offerings, SOPAC has a partnership with the Juilliard School of Music to present Juilliard @ SOPAC—a series featuring upcoming musicians from the acclaimed conservatory.  SOPAC is home for Seton Hall University Arts Council’s performances, including Classical Concert Series, Jazz N’ the Hall performances and Seton Hall Theatre productions.  SOPAC also presents performances by its theater company in residence, Midtown Direct Rep, and its dance company in residence, Lydia Johnson Dance.  For more information, visit www.SOPACnow.org.

MUSIC, DANCE, FAMILY EVENTS @ NJPAC COMING UP

Orchestre National de France
Daniele Gatti, Conductor
Julian Rachlin, violin

WHEN: Friday, January 29; Doors 7:30pm / Curtain 8pm
WHERE:
Prudential Hall, NJPAC, One Center St., Newark

Bank of America Classical Series

Tickets Start at $25

Conductor Daniele Gatti leads Orchestre National de France, the pride of Radio France and the country's greatest symphony orchestra, and joined by violin virtuoso Julian Rachlin.

Orchestre National de France as been enjoying a renaissance since Italian conductor Daniele Gatti became its music director in 2008. Gatti's genius in renewing a great French ensemble will transform a program that begins with the sheer magic of Debussy's Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune, followed by the visceral intensity of Dmitri Shostakovich's Violin Concerto No. 1, with violinist Julian Rachlin as soloist, and Tchaikovsky's aching beautiful Symphony No. 5.

Born in Lithuania but raised in Vienna, his adopted home, Rachlin was described by The Los Angeles Times as "the real thing, a virtuoso with heart and a champion's bearing." When the violinist opened the Cleveland Orchestra's 2012-13 season with the Brahms concerto (and as a last-minute replacement), he was hailed in The Cleveland Plain Dealer for his "supremely burnished tone ... a superb technician in a note-perfect performance."

Gatti has emerged as one of the most admired conductors of his time, both for his interpretations and his masterful command of orchestral sound. In 2014, Amsterdam's Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra chose him as its new principal conductor. Gatti's mastery of the orchestral repertoire is one of the high points of classical music today. When the conductor recorded Tchaikovsky's Fourth and Fifth Symphonies, one American critic wrote, "Daniele Gatti's Tchaikovsky has everything: passion, precision, and a real interpretive point of view."

Join NJPAC for the Bank of America Classical Overtures, held an hour prior to each classical concert. These interactive presentations are hosted by Maestro George Marriner Maull of New Jersey's Discovery Orchestra and are free to ticket holders.

Program

  • Debussy: Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune
  • Shostakovich: Violin Concerto No. 1
  • Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 55

For performance details, click here.


The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe

WHEN: Saturday, January 30, 2pm and 5pm; Sunday, January 31, 2pm
WHERE: Victoria Theater, NJPAC, One Center St., Newark

Jersey Moves! Festival of Dance

Tickets Start at $29

C.S. Lewis' beloved and magical novel comes to life through dance! This world premiere, choreographed by Randy James, features members of 10 Hairy Legs dance company and special guests.

The classic story The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, set in the fictitious Narnia, features all of your favorite characters: the heroine Lucy and her siblings, the White Witch, Tumnus, Maugrim, Mr. and Mrs. Beaver, nymphs, giants and, of course, Aslan the lion. Follow them through the land of forever winter to see if they can break the evil spell cast by the White Witch.

Presented in one act, this performance is suitable for children ages 5 and older.

For performance details, click here.


Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company: Year of the Monkey

WHEN: Saturday, February 6, 2pm; Sunday, February 7, 2pm
WHERE: Victoria Theater
TICKETS: Start at $13

Chase away the winter blues and begin the year with energy, cheer, fun and wit by celebrating the Year of the Monkey with the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company!

Dancers and acrobats in dazzling costumes move to exotic music, bringing a smile to your face and warmth to your heart. Get close to the creative, magical powers of the Monkey King, who can transform himself into any object he wishes and crosses the Earth in a single somersault. At this performance from Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company, the Monkey King is joined by the spirit of dragons and lions as they welcome the return of Spring.

Feast of the Monkey King: After the performance, bring your friends and family to join the dancers and performers for a 10-Course banquet.

WHEN: Sat. Feb 6, 2016 4PM
WHERE: Robert Treat Hotel Crystal Ballroom (across from NJPAC)

Arrive in the lobby a half-hour before the show to witness the magic of a paper-cutting demonstration and browse through the Silk Road Market for that special gift.

For performance details, click here.


Simply Streisand

WHEN: Saturday, February 6; Two Performances: 6pm and 8:30pm
WHERE:
The Chase Room

Produced by Feinstein's / 54 Below

TICKETS: Start at $45

In this celebration of all things Babs, some of the finest voices from Broadway and Manhattan cabarets celebrate the music of a legend, from Funny Girl and The Way We Were to little gems from A Star Is Born and Yentl.

Simply Streisand features a stellar cast including Alexis Cole, Natalie Douglas, Molly Pope, Kelli Rabke and Lucia Spina. With more than 45 best-selling albums, Barbra Streisand has stood the test of time like no other artist. At Simply Streisand, you'll hear an array of music from her catalog, accompanied by a three-piece band and narrated by producer Phil Geoffrey Bond. From Streisand's humble beginnings in the cabarets of Greenwich Village straight through to her mega-stardom, Simply Streisand covers it all!

For performance details, click here.


Disney FANTASIA: Live In Concert

WHEN: Friday, February 19; Doors 7:30pm / Curtain 8pm
WHERE:
Prudential Hall
Tickets Start at $39.50

A live event that combines classical music with two beloved Disney movies! The Czech National Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Ted Sperling, accompanies scenes from the animated feature films Fantasia and Fantasia 2000.

The Czech National Symphony Orchestra and conductor Ted Sperling share Disney's crown jewels of animation, Fantasia and Fantasia 2000, highlighting a selection of its magnificent repertoire, including Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker suite. Other iconic moments from Disney's stunning footage is shown in high-definition on the big screen, such as Mickey Mouse as he dabbles in magic in Dukas' The Sorcerer's Apprentice and the mythical unicorns and winged horses that accompany Beethoven's Symphony No. 6 ("Pastoral").

For performance details, click here.