The Jersey Arts Podcast: Recent Episodes

Discover Jersey Arts

The Jersey Arts Podcast presents in-depth, one-on-one conversations with the liveliest and most intriguing personalities in New Jersey’s arts scene. From the casts of hit shows to critically acclaimed film producers; from world renowned poets to classically trained musicians; from groundbreaking dance visionaries to cutting edge fine artists, our podcast connects you to what’s happening in your local arts community.

Today's episode is all about Ben Schwartz, improv, and his first ever performance in New Jersey.

You may know him as Jean Ralphio in “Parks and Rec,” Yasper in “The After Party,” Josh Bath in “The Earliest Show,” (which is coming back soon!) Clyde in “House of Lies” or maybe as the voice of Sonic the Hedgehog. That barely grazes the surface. His portfolio is long and varied. With roots in improv, he is an alumnus of the Upright Citizens Brigade, and known for his quick wit and high energy.

For the first time ever, he is bringing his improvisational show “Ben Schwartz & Friends” to the NJPAC this November.

Stay tuned to hear our host Gina's "super chill" chat with Ben Schwartz.

Thanks for listening!

Subscribe to The Jersey Arts Podcast in your favorite podcast player.

The Jersey Arts Podcast is one medium of Feature Stories on Discover Jersey Arts (jerseyarts.com), where articles and videos also cover New Jersey’s vibrant arts and entertainment scene.

Discover Jersey Arts is presented by ArtPride New Jersey. The program was co-founded by, and is currently supported by funds from, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Additional support for JerseyArts.com content is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Subscribe to the Discover Jersey Arts' weekly e-newsletter to have stories delivered to your inbox.
Follow and contact us @jerseyarts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

If you’re a fan of Hamilton, he needs no introduction. Okieriete Onaodowan – also known as Oak to friends and fans – originated the roles of Hercules Mulligan and James Madison in the mega-hit musical. He also played Dean Miller on the TV show Station 19 and leads the new series Demascus–now streaming on Tubi–which the LA Times called a “must-watch”.

Born and raised in New Jersey, Oak is back in the Garden State at Two River Theater in Red Bank working on a play called The Monsters–a world premiere and co-production with Manhattan Theatre Club.

Thanks for listening!

Subscribe to The Jersey Arts Podcast in your favorite podcast player.

The Jersey Arts Podcast is one medium of Feature Stories on Discover Jersey Arts (jerseyarts.com), where articles and videos also cover New Jersey’s vibrant arts and entertainment scene.

Discover Jersey Arts is presented by ArtPride New Jersey. The program was co-founded by, and is currently supported by funds from, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Additional support for JerseyArts.com content is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Subscribe to the Discover Jersey Arts' weekly e-newsletter to have stories delivered to your inbox.
Follow and contact us @jerseyarts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Frankenweenie, Poor Things… the story of Frankenstein has been adapted many times over and continues to find new relevance with each interpretation. Playwright David Catlin’s version, called Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, does double duty by presenting a story within a story. The show depicts both the tale of Frankenstein as well as the famous spooky storytelling competition that inspired it–giving audiences a look into the making of Victor Frankenstein's creature and the making of the novel itself.

Thanks for listening!

Subscribe to The Jersey Arts Podcast in your favorite podcast player.

The Jersey Arts Podcast is one medium of Feature Stories on Discover Jersey Arts (jerseyarts.com), where articles and videos also cover New Jersey’s vibrant arts and entertainment scene.

Discover Jersey Arts is presented by ArtPride New Jersey. The program was co-founded by, and is currently supported by funds from, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Additional support for JerseyArts.com content is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Subscribe to the Discover Jersey Arts' weekly e-newsletter to have stories delivered to your inbox.
Follow and contact us @jerseyarts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

John Pizzarelli is a guitarist and singer who has been hailed by the Boston Globe for “reinvigorating the Great American Songbook and re-popularizing jazz.” He’s been established as one of the prime contemporary interpreters of the Great American Songbook and has even expanded that repertoire by including the music of Paul McCartney, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Tom Waits, Antônio Carlos Jobim and the Beatles.

In addition to being a bandleader and solo performer, Pizzarelli has been a special guest on recordings for major pop names such as Natalie Cole, Kristin Chenoweth, Tom Wopat, Rickie Lee Jones and Dave Van Ronk, as well as leading jazz artists such as Rosemary Clooney, Ruby Braff, Johnny Frigo, Buddy DeFranco, Harry Allen and, of course, his father Bucky Pizzarelli. He won a Grammy Award in the Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album category as co-producer of James Taylor’s American Standard in 2021.

He has performed on America’s most popular national television shows such as The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Conan, and Great Performances, as well as the talk shows of Jay Leno, David Letterman, Regis Philbin and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. And my favorite fun fact, the wonder of it all, is that he was the singer in the popular Foxwoods Casino commercials for just under a decade.

This October, he will be one of the featured headliners at the Jazz at the Point Festival hosted by the South Jersey Jazz Society.

Stay tuned to drop in on one of our most relaxed conversations with the delightful John Pizzarelli.

Thanks for listening!

Subscribe to The Jersey Arts Podcast in your favorite podcast player.

The Jersey Arts Podcast is one medium of Feature Stories on Discover Jersey Arts (jerseyarts.com), where articles and videos also cover New Jersey’s vibrant arts and entertainment scene.

Discover Jersey Arts is presented by ArtPride New Jersey. The program was co-founded by, and is currently supported by funds from, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Additional support for JerseyArts.com content is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Subscribe to the Discover Jersey Arts' weekly e-newsletter to have stories delivered to your inbox.
Follow and contact us @jerseyarts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Let’s talk movies.

Here's another episode where Gina geeks out about movies with people who do just that, for a living! This time with the folks behind Montclair Film.

Joining me today are Tom Hall, Artistic Director of Montclair Film, and their new Executive Director, Tricia Haggerty Wenz.

We’re talking about the Montclair Film Festival, running October 17-26th, and all things Montclair Film.

Whether you’re a filmmaker, a movie lover, or just curious about film festivals - Montclair Film is the place to be.

Stay tuned to learn more about this year’s festival lineup, what goes into programming a festival, and if you’re into this sort of thing, the parties where you can hobnob with actors, filmmakers, and like-minded cinephiles.

Thanks for listening!

Subscribe to The Jersey Arts Podcast in your favorite podcast player.

The Jersey Arts Podcast is one medium of Feature Stories on Discover Jersey Arts (jerseyarts.com), where articles and videos also cover New Jersey’s vibrant arts and entertainment scene.

Discover Jersey Arts is presented by ArtPride New Jersey. The program was co-founded by, and is currently supported by funds from, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Additional support for JerseyArts.com content is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Subscribe to the Discover Jersey Arts' weekly e-newsletter to have stories delivered to your inbox.
Follow and contact us @jerseyarts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Today we're speaking with trumpeter, Arturo Sandoval. He is a 10-time Grammy Award winner, an Emmy Award recipient, and a six-time Billboard Award winner. He also holds a Hispanic Heritage Award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Obama, a Doctorate in Fine Arts from the prestigious Notre-Dame University, and was recently honored with a Grammy® Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023 and most recently, in 2024 he was one of the honorees of the Kennedy Center.

His career is a testament to his versatility and virtuosity. Born in Artemisa, Cuba, he was a protégé of the legendary Dizzy Gillespie and has evolved into one of the most dynamic live performers of our time.

With a background so interesting that HBO turned it into the award-winning film starring Andy Garcia, "For Love or Country - The Arturo Sandoval Story," he is a treat to listen to whether he’s blowing the horn or telling you his life story.

Stay tuned to learn more about one of the world’s most respected and admired musicians.

Sandoval will be bringing his talent and charm to Rutgers University in Camden on September 27th at 7pm.

Thanks for listening!

Subscribe to The Jersey Arts Podcast in your favorite podcast player.

The Jersey Arts Podcast is one medium of Feature Stories on Discover Jersey Arts (jerseyarts.com), where articles and videos also cover New Jersey’s vibrant arts and entertainment scene.

Discover Jersey Arts is presented by ArtPride New Jersey. The program was co-founded by, and is currently supported by funds from, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Additional support for JerseyArts.com content is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Subscribe to the Discover Jersey Arts' weekly e-newsletter to have stories delivered to your inbox.
Follow and contact us @jerseyarts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Evan Sherman oozes the soothing essence of jazz, that quiet confidence that lulls you into a sense of calm.

Today, we're talking to the Grammy-winning drummer about his career trajectory. Hailing from the great Garden State, Sherman has been a professional musician since his teenage years, having played alongside greats like Ron Carter, Cyrus Chestnut, Roy Hargrove, Jimmy Heath, John Lee, and Branford and Wynton Marsalis.

In 2021, he released his debut quintet album, "Sidewalkin',' and he can be heard on Samara Joy's Grammy-winning 2023 recording of "Tight," and the 2024 release of "Portrait," as drummer and arranger.

Hang tight to hear from Evan Sherman and experience that soothing essence for yourself.

Thanks for listening!

Subscribe to The Jersey Arts Podcast in your favorite podcast player.

The Jersey Arts Podcast is one medium of Feature Stories on Discover Jersey Arts (jerseyarts.com), where articles and videos also cover New Jersey’s vibrant arts and entertainment scene.

Discover Jersey Arts is presented by ArtPride New Jersey. The program was co-founded by, and is currently supported by funds from, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Additional support for JerseyArts.com content is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Subscribe to the Discover Jersey Arts' weekly e-newsletter to have stories delivered to your inbox.
Follow and contact us @jerseyarts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Join host Gina Marie Rodriguez as she speaks with Mr. Jon Crowley, the recently appointed Executive Director of the New Jersey Motion Picture & Television Commission, under the purview of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority.

Prior to joining the NJEDA, Crowley worked within the television industry for over two decades, producing and directing several well-known television series, including "Impractical Jokers," "House Hunters International," "Big Brother," "Trading Spouses," and many more. He also happens to be a two-time Emmy Award winner and CableACE Writing Nominee.

He now serves as the senior leader of all of New Jersey’s film initiatives, leading both the NJEDA’s film sector development work, as well as the management of the NJMPTVC.

If you’re a filmmaker or considering joining the industry, this is one episode you won’t want to miss. And if you simply love movies and the behind-the-scenes that make them possible, this one’s for you, too.

Stay tuned to meet Jon Crowley and learn just how impressive Jersey is when it comes to making movie magic.

Thanks for listening!

Subscribe to The Jersey Arts Podcast in your favorite podcast player.

The Jersey Arts Podcast is one medium of Feature Stories on Discover Jersey Arts (jerseyarts.com), where articles and videos also cover New Jersey’s vibrant arts and entertainment scene.

Discover Jersey Arts is presented by ArtPride New Jersey. The program was co-founded by, and is currently supported by funds from, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Additional support for JerseyArts.com content is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Subscribe to the Discover Jersey Arts' weekly e-newsletter to have stories delivered to your inbox.
Follow and contact us @jerseyarts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Today’s episode takes us to London, England. Well, sort of. East Lynne Theater Company’s production of “Every Brilliant Thing” is currently rehearsing across the pond and I was able to steal a few moments with actor Rohan Tickell and director Deirdre McLaughlin. Joining us from East Lynne’s headquarters in Cape May is Executive Director Mark David Boberick.

But what is “Every Brilliant Thing” about? Its synopsis reads - “A son creates a list of things worth living for – all in an attempt to raise the spirits of his chronically depressed mother. He leaves the list on her pillow. He knows she’s read it because she’s corrected his spelling. “Every Brilliant Thing” is a hope-infused exploration of all the joys that can be found in life and a reminder that eventually, every storm runs out of rain.

The Telegraph called it “funny, clever, and surprisingly uplifting.” Slant Magazine said it’s “one of those incredible, transformative phenomena of collective imagination.”

Host, Gina Marie, calls it a comedy with heart. But we’ll let you listen to these talented folks explain what it is they love about the show and let you decide. Check out today’s episode to learn more about “Every Brilliant Thing.”

Thanks for listening!

Subscribe to The Jersey Arts Podcast in your favorite podcast player.

The Jersey Arts Podcast is one medium of Feature Stories on Discover Jersey Arts (jerseyarts.com), where articles and videos also cover New Jersey’s vibrant arts and entertainment scene.

Discover Jersey Arts is presented by ArtPride New Jersey. The program was co-founded by, and is currently supported by funds from, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Additional support for JerseyArts.com content is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Subscribe to the Discover Jersey Arts' weekly e-newsletter to have stories delivered to your inbox.
Follow and contact us @jerseyarts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Today we are highlighting Premiere Stages' twentieth season as they introduce their most recent production, “The Mallard,” written by Vincent Delaney and directed by John Wooten.

--Freya and Gillian are teachers who have offended their school board and lost their jobs. Davis and Reagan are yard sale fanatics in search of a priceless antique duck decoy, the Horace Crandall Mallard. What follows is a fierce, funny and escalating battle over a symbol that has wildly different meanings – intersecting the couples in a journey that far surpasses the quest for treasure.--

With a synopsis like that, humor and intrigue are sure to follow.

Jersey Arts speaks with both author Vincent Delaney, and cast members Susan Ferrara and Woodrow Proctor about what this show means to them and what audiences can look forward to.

Thanks for listening!

Subscribe to The Jersey Arts Podcast in your favorite podcast player.

The Jersey Arts Podcast is one medium of Feature Stories on Discover Jersey Arts (jerseyarts.com), where articles and videos also cover New Jersey’s vibrant arts and entertainment scene.

Discover Jersey Arts is presented by ArtPride New Jersey. The program was co-founded by, and is currently supported by funds from, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Additional support for JerseyArts.com content is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Subscribe to the Discover Jersey Arts' weekly e-newsletter to have stories delivered to your inbox.
Follow and contact us @jerseyarts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Today, we’re talking all things "Rent." Pioneer Productions Company of Morristown will be bringing the larger-than-life rock opera to a more intimate setting.

With music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson, the Tony Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical is quickly approaching its 30-year anniversary. The show first premiered on Broadway 29 years ago in 1996.

Set in New York City’s East Village amid the AIDS crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s, RENT tells the unforgettable story of a group of struggling artists navigating love, loss, identity, and the cost of living. With a raw, electrifying score and timeless message, RENT celebrates the power of community, chosen family, and living without regret.
Today, Gina is chatting with Director Shanna Levine-Phelps and actors Jade Delos Santos and Connor McDowell about the behind-the-scenes efforts it takes to bring such an iconic show to life.

Thanks for listening!

Subscribe to The Jersey Arts Podcast in your favorite podcast player.

The Jersey Arts Podcast is one medium of Feature Stories on Discover Jersey Arts (jerseyarts.com), where articles and videos also cover New Jersey’s vibrant arts and entertainment scene.

Discover Jersey Arts is presented by ArtPride New Jersey. The program was co-founded by, and is currently supported by funds from, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Additional support for JerseyArts.com content is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Subscribe to the Discover Jersey Arts' weekly e-newsletter to have stories delivered to your inbox.
Follow and contact us @jerseyarts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Rolling Stone has called him "the leading singer-songwriter of the New Folk Movement." New Jersey’s own John Gorka is a world-renowned singer-songwriter who is most comfortable with a guitar in hand.

You may hear him strum the guitar occasionally throughout the piece and not just during his live performances! That's right, this episode includes three live serenades, including "I'm From New Jersey" and "Oh Abraham."

This is an episode you won't want to miss.

Thanks for listening!

Subscribe to The Jersey Arts Podcast in your favorite podcast player.

The Jersey Arts Podcast is one medium of Feature Stories on Discover Jersey Arts (jerseyarts.com), where articles and videos also cover New Jersey’s vibrant arts and entertainment scene.

Discover Jersey Arts is presented by ArtPride New Jersey. The program was co-founded by, and is currently supported by funds from, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Additional support for JerseyArts.com content is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Subscribe to the Discover Jersey Arts' weekly e-newsletter to have stories delivered to your inbox.
Follow and contact us @jerseyarts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

"Jaws." It was an iconic moment in cinema history. The three-time Academy Award-winning film is credited as the first true “summer blockbuster,” having toppled box office records to become the top-grossing film of 1975. And as we approach its 50th anniversary, George Street Playhouse is bringing the behind-the-scenes story of the film’s making to the stage.

FADE IN: The open ocean, 1974. Filming is delayed…again. The lead actors—theatre veteran Robert Shaw and young Hollywood hotshots Richard Dreyfuss and Roy Scheider—are crammed into a too-small boat, entirely at the mercy of foul weather and a faulty mechanical co-star. Alcohol flows, egos collide, and tempers flare on a chaotic voyage that just might lead to cinematic magic…if it doesn’t sink them all.

That’s the official description of the play, “The Shark is Broken,” written by Ian Shaw and Joseph Nixon. Shaw is the son of the late actor Robert Shaw who played the memorable Captain Quint. He brings to life the moments of Jaws that had, prior to this show, lived only in the tall tales of Hollywood memory.

Check out today's episode to meet the talented cast of "The Shark is Broken," directed by Peter Flynn.

Thanks for listening!

Subscribe to The Jersey Arts Podcast in your favorite podcast player.

The Jersey Arts Podcast is one medium of Feature Stories on Discover Jersey Arts (jerseyarts.com), where articles and videos also cover New Jersey’s vibrant arts and entertainment scene.

Discover Jersey Arts is presented by ArtPride New Jersey. The program was co-founded by, and is currently supported by funds from, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Additional support for JerseyArts.com content is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Subscribe to the Discover Jersey Arts' weekly e-newsletter to have stories delivered to your inbox.
Follow and contact us @jerseyarts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Grammy Award-winning Melissa Etheridge has been a household name for the last thirty years, but most recently she has released a new album entitled “I’m Not Broken” and executive produced a docuseries of the same name. The album and the series were recorded live at the Topeka Correctional Facility in Kansas as an ode to the strength and perseverance of women.

Etheridge isn’t the first singer-songwriter to perform at a prison but this album is in good company with the likes of B.B. King’s “Live in Cook County Jail” and "Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison.” As a matter of fact, it was another Johnny Cash performance in her hometown, at the Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary, when Etheridge was just nine-years-old that would one day become the seed of inspiration.

In advance of Etheridge’s 2025 tour and upcoming performance at NJPAC, Gina was able to steal a few moments of the icon’s time to talk to her about her new favorite song off her latest album, “A Burning Woman,” the progress of the LGBTQ community, the resilience of women, and the message behind her music.

Thanks for listening!

Subscribe to The Jersey Arts Podcast in your favorite podcast player.

The Jersey Arts Podcast is one medium of Feature Stories on Discover Jersey Arts (jerseyarts.com), where articles and videos also cover New Jersey’s vibrant arts and entertainment scene.

Discover Jersey Arts is presented by ArtPride New Jersey. The program was co-founded by, and is currently supported by funds from, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Additional support for JerseyArts.com content is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Subscribe to the Discover Jersey Arts' weekly e-newsletter to have stories delivered to your inbox.
Follow and contact us @jerseyarts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Jazz fans, rejoice! Grammy winning trumpeter, Chris Botti, will be gracing the stage of the Mayo Performing Arts Center this April.

For nearly three decades now, Botti has been one of the most popular instrumentalists in the world, boasting collaborations with stars like Sting, Paul Simon, Barbara Streisand, Lady Gaga, Frank Sinatra, Andrea Bocelli and many more.

His most recent album, produced by David Foster and entitled "Vol. 1," marks his debut album with Blue Note Records and features such classics as "My Funny Valentine," "Danny Boy, and "Bewitched, Bothered, Bewildered." Some of which you might expect to hear at his upcoming performance. While his concerts tend to surprise audiences, you can certainly expect to be entertained.

Today’s episode finds Chris and Gina discussing his journey to becoming a musician, tales from the stage, advice for future performers and everything in between. Take a listen.

Thanks for listening!

Subscribe to The Jersey Arts Podcast in your favorite podcast player.

The Jersey Arts Podcast is one medium of Feature Stories on Discover Jersey Arts (jerseyarts.com), where articles and videos also cover New Jersey’s vibrant arts and entertainment scene.

Discover Jersey Arts is presented by ArtPride New Jersey. The program was co-founded by, and is currently supported by funds from, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Additional support for JerseyArts.com content is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Subscribe to the Discover Jersey Arts' weekly e-newsletter to have stories delivered to your inbox.
Follow and contact us @jerseyarts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

The six-time Tony Award winning show “Dear Evan Hansen” is bringing its North American Tour to the State Theatre in New Brunswick, NJ. The show boasts music and lyrics by EGOT winners - that’s an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and a Tony - Benjamin Pasek and Justin Paul. “Dear Evan Hansen” offers a score that will have you whistling the tunes on your way out of the theater.

The show tackles some sensitive topics in a way that audiences have been connecting with deeply since its Broadway premiere in 2016. The musical focuses on lonely high school student, Evan Hansen, who always feels like he’s on the outside looking in. Evan finally gets what so many of us are searching for—the chance to fit in. What follows is a poignant, funny, and powerful musical about how even though it can be hard, we can find each other—and ourselves—along the way.

Gina Rodriguez and cast members Bre Cade and Caitlin Sams engage in an introspective discussion about what has been a groundbreaking and deeply touching musical.

Please note a Trigger Warning for today’s chat. Both this episode and the show itself will touch on child loss and death by suicide. Please listen with care.

Thanks for listening!

Subscribe to The Jersey Arts Podcast in your favorite podcast player.

The Jersey Arts Podcast is one medium of Feature Stories on Discover Jersey Arts (jerseyarts.com), where articles and videos also cover New Jersey’s vibrant arts and entertainment scene.

Discover Jersey Arts is presented by ArtPride New Jersey. The program was co-founded by, and is currently supported by funds from, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Additional support for JerseyArts.com content is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Subscribe to the Discover Jersey Arts' weekly e-newsletter to have stories delivered to your inbox.
Follow and contact us @jerseyarts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Jonatha Brooke has a voice to soothe your soul, and the lyrics to nurture it. First introduced to audiences as a part of the duo, “The Story,” Brooke eventually turned to an illustrious solo career and has been gifting us with her own unique storytelling ever since.

Jonatha has quite the discography to boast with 14 albums over the past three decades, most of which were produced under her own independent label - Bad Dog Records. She has co-written songs with Katy Perry and The Courtyard Hounds. She's written and performed for Disney films, numerous television shows, and she composed and performed the theme song for Joss Whedon's "Dollhouse." She also wrote the one-woman musical show, “My Mother Has Four Noses” in honor of her own mom, and now finds herself writing for the stage once again with three new productions underway.

Check out today’s episode to learn more about the very talented Jonatha Brooke who will grace the stage of The Lizzie Rose Music Room this March 30th.

Thanks for listening!

Subscribe to The Jersey Arts Podcast in your favorite podcast player.

The Jersey Arts Podcast is one medium of Feature Stories on Discover Jersey Arts (jerseyarts.com), where articles and videos also cover New Jersey’s vibrant arts and entertainment scene.

Discover Jersey Arts is presented by ArtPride New Jersey. The program was co-founded by, and is currently supported by funds from, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Additional support for JerseyArts.com content is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Subscribe to the Discover Jersey Arts' weekly e-newsletter to have stories delivered to your inbox.
Follow and contact us @jerseyarts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Pinky Patel is the crown adorned TikTok comedian you’ve come to know and love for her no holds barred, quick and quippy style. She speaks directly to audiences from her glam cave though sometimes she calls it - something else.

She claimed TikTok stardom while still working her corporate 9 to 5 job and playing PTA mom on the daily. It was the Covid pandemic and a close friend who gave her the push she needed to change her life. And now she’s telling it like it is, making folks laugh, and living life on her terms.

Her #ISaidWhatISaid tour visits Newark just in time for Women’s History Month. Check out today’s episode where Gina and Pinky chat feminist comedy, lifestyle tips, and women empowerment.

Thanks for listening!

Subscribe to The Jersey Arts Podcast in your favorite podcast player.

The Jersey Arts Podcast is one medium of Feature Stories on Discover Jersey Arts (jerseyarts.com), where articles and videos also cover New Jersey’s vibrant arts and entertainment scene.

Discover Jersey Arts is presented by ArtPride New Jersey. The program was co-founded by, and is currently supported by funds from, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Additional support for JerseyArts.com content is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Subscribe to the Discover Jersey Arts' weekly e-newsletter to have stories delivered to your inbox.
Follow and contact us @jerseyarts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Catching the Moon: The Story of a Young Girl’s Baseball Dream is a musical based on the children’s book of the same title written by Crystal Hubbard. It tells the story of Marcenia Lyle, a young, Black girl growing up in the 1930s who went on to become Toni Stone, the first female to play as a regular for an all-male professional baseball team.

The Growing Stage in Netcong is only the second theater company to perform this inspirational show, so Jersey Arts spoke with actor Nyah Anderson, who plays Marcenia Lyle, and Steve Fredericks, Growing Stage Founder/Executive Director and the show’s director, to hear more about their production.

Thanks for listening!

Subscribe to The Jersey Arts Podcast in your favorite podcast player.

The Jersey Arts Podcast is one medium of Feature Stories on Discover Jersey Arts (jerseyarts.com), where articles and videos also cover New Jersey’s vibrant arts and entertainment scene.

Discover Jersey Arts is presented by ArtPride New Jersey. The program was co-founded by, and is currently supported by funds from, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Additional support for JerseyArts.com content is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Subscribe to the Discover Jersey Arts' weekly e-newsletter to have stories delivered to your inbox.
Follow and contact us @jerseyarts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

35 years ago–well before orchestras performing film scores became popular–George Daugherty and his husband and producing partner David Wong developed Bugs Bunny at the Symphony. The concept was new at the time: a world-class orchestra would play full cartoon scores live alongside the films. It was an instant hit.

Of course, what makes Looney Tunes music different from many of the film scores played live is that it's based on some of the most famous classical repertoire in history. In fact, pieces by composers like Wagner and Rossini were not only the basis for Looney Tunes scores, but also provided plotlines for Bugs, Elmer, Daffy and the gang.

New Jersey Symphony Orchestra will perform Bugs Bunny at the Symphony February 14th, 15th, and 16th, so Jersey Arts spoke with creator George Daughtery (who tours with the program, conducting symphonies all over the world), and NJSO’s Vice President of Artistic Planning, Erin Norton, about their upcoming concerts.

Musical clips from "Warner Bros. Discovery Presents Bugs Bunny at the Symphony" used in this episode were performed by Sydney Symphony Orchestra at the Sydney Opera House, conducted by George Daugherty. LOONEY TUNES and all related characters and elements are © & ™ Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

Thanks for listening!

Subscribe to The Jersey Arts Podcast in your favorite podcast player.

The Jersey Arts Podcast is one medium of Feature Stories on Discover Jersey Arts (jerseyarts.com), where articles and videos also cover New Jersey’s vibrant arts and entertainment scene.

Discover Jersey Arts is presented by ArtPride New Jersey. The program was co-founded by, and is currently supported by funds from, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Additional support for JerseyArts.com content is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Subscribe to the Discover Jersey Arts' weekly e-newsletter to have stories delivered to your inbox.
Follow and contact us @jerseyarts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

“Noli Timere” is Latin for “be not afraid,” and the name of the world premiere presentation from Director and Choreographer, Rebecca Lazier and Sculptor, Janet Echelman. The collaboration features eight multidisciplinary performers dancing up to 25 feet in the air within a voluminous, custom-designed Echelman net sculpture.

Choreographed to an original score by JORANE, this fusion of contemporary dance, avant-garde circus, and sculpture explores the delicate interconnectedness and fragility of our world, offering a profound commentary on navigating our unstable ecosystem through art and advanced engineering.

One peak at Echelman’s net sculptures and you can immediately understand the breadth of talent on display. Known to sculpt at the scale of buildings and city blocks, this will be the first time that Echelman has designed a figure to allow for humans in her net.

Those humans are led by Princeton University Professor and choreographer, Rebecca Lazier who has choreographed more than 80 works presented in six countries. She is recognized as an audacious experimenter creating dances of explosive physical vitality inspired by the thinking and problem-solving that is possible through collaboration.

Take a listen to learn more about this impressive new spectacle, premiering worldwide at Mccarter Theater this February.

Thanks for listening!

Subscribe to The Jersey Arts Podcast in your favorite podcast player.

The Jersey Arts Podcast is one medium of Feature Stories on Discover Jersey Arts (jerseyarts.com), where articles and videos also cover New Jersey’s vibrant arts and entertainment scene.

Discover Jersey Arts is presented by ArtPride New Jersey. The program was co-founded by, and is currently supported by funds from, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Additional support for JerseyArts.com content is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Subscribe to the Discover Jersey Arts' weekly e-newsletter to have stories delivered to your inbox.
Follow and contact us @jerseyarts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Founded by Luke Ferrell in 2022, Ferrell Studios offers exceptional and affordable performing arts education and theatrical productions. They offer a variety of classes and programs, including acting, musical theatre, playwriting, film and television acting, public speaking, and theory and criticism as well as private lessons for those who want to focus on a specific area of study.

At Ferrell Studios, they believe that the arts have the power to inspire, uplift, and transform. They strive to create a positive, supportive environment where students can feel confident and comfortable expressing themselves.

With a mission statement like that, there is a lot to expect from Ferrell Studios so it’s no surprise that their first full length play is something as thought-provoking as “The Shape of Things.”

Starring Catherine Hunt, Max Miiller, Breanna Schad, and Steven Franklin, the four-character play explores how far someone is willing to go and how much they change for who (or what) they love.

Here you can listen to our interview with director Uchenna Agbu and stars, Catherine Hunt and Max Miller. There’s a lot to break down.

Thanks for listening!

Subscribe to The Jersey Arts Podcast in your favorite podcast player.

The Jersey Arts Podcast is one medium of Feature Stories on Discover Jersey Arts (jerseyarts.com), where articles and videos also cover New Jersey’s vibrant arts and entertainment scene.

Discover Jersey Arts is presented by ArtPride New Jersey. The program was co-founded by, and is currently supported by funds from, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Additional support for JerseyArts.com content is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Subscribe to the Discover Jersey Arts' weekly e-newsletter to have stories delivered to your inbox.
Follow and contact us @jerseyarts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Known for their electrifying renditions of classic holiday music, Twelve Twenty-Four combines the festive spirit with high-energy rock performances that will leave audiences of all ages wanting more.

They are the longest running Trans Siberian Orchestra Tribute band having begun in 2002, over twenty years ago! They will soon be thrilling audiences in Millville, NJ at the beautiful Levoy Theater on December 15th.

Jersey Arts chats with drummer and vocalist Van White, and vocalist Ekat Pereyra of Twelve Twenty-Four. Listen to hear them gush about Christmas, rock music, and more.

Thanks for listening!

Subscribe to The Jersey Arts Podcast in your favorite podcast player.

The Jersey Arts Podcast is one medium of Feature Stories on Discover Jersey Arts (jerseyarts.com), where articles and videos also cover New Jersey’s vibrant arts and entertainment scene.

Discover Jersey Arts is presented by ArtPride New Jersey. The program was co-founded by, and is currently supported by funds from, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Additional support for JerseyArts.com content is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Subscribe to the Discover Jersey Arts' weekly e-newsletter to have stories delivered to your inbox.
Follow and contact us @jerseyarts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

"How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?" A quote from the one and only Sherlock Holmes, by way of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, in "The Sign of the Four."

Now, as improbable as it may seem, the truth is - the ever popular Sherlock Holmes died. And then, ten years later he came back to life. Imagine just how frustrated his devoted fans were at the time! In honor of this shocking story, East Lynn Theater in Cape May, will be reviving the two stories that tell the tale of Holmes’ demise and subsequent revival.

Written and directed by Mark Lang, this new adaptation, of Doyle’s “The Final Problem” and “The Adventure of the Empty House, the books in which we learn of the aforementioned death and resurrection of a beloved detective, will be presented radio-style on East Lynne’s stage, at the historic Cape May Presbyterian Church.

Jersey Arts speaks with Watson and Holmes themselves, Mark Lang and Joseph Travers respectively. Listen to learn more about the new show, “The Death of Sherlock Holmes”, Cape May, and some fun Sherlock Holmes trivia.

Thanks for listening!

Subscribe to The Jersey Arts Podcast in your favorite podcast player.

The Jersey Arts Podcast is one medium of Feature Stories on Discover Jersey Arts (jerseyarts.com), where articles and videos also cover New Jersey’s vibrant arts and entertainment scene.

Discover Jersey Arts is presented by ArtPride New Jersey. The program was co-founded by, and is currently supported by funds from, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Additional support for JerseyArts.com content is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Subscribe to the Discover Jersey Arts' weekly e-newsletter to have stories delivered to your inbox.
Follow and contact us @jerseyarts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Award-winning playwright José Rivera brings both his writing and directing talents to New Jersey Repertory Company’s production, Your Name Means Dream. Rivera’s play explores the imagined highs and lows of artificial intelligence through the lens of healthcare–telling the story of Aislin, an aging woman who is being taken care of by Stacy, an A.I. entity.

Rivera may be most widely-known for his work in film. He earned an Oscar nomination for his screenplay of 2004’s The Motorcycle Diaries, and he was recently tapped to write the upcoming remake of the 1987 film, La Bamba. He sat down with the Jersey Arts Podcast to discuss his play, writing for stage and screen, and roller coaster that is show business.

Thanks for listening!

Subscribe to The Jersey Arts Podcast in your favorite podcast player.

The Jersey Arts Podcast is one medium of Feature Stories on Discover Jersey Arts (jerseyarts.com), where articles and videos also cover New Jersey’s vibrant arts and entertainment scene.

Discover Jersey Arts is presented by ArtPride New Jersey. The program was co-founded by, and is currently supported by funds from, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Additional support for JerseyArts.com content is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Subscribe to the Discover Jersey Arts' weekly e-newsletter to have stories delivered to your inbox.
Follow and contact us @jerseyarts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

"My Italy Story," written by Joseph Gallo, directed by Charlotte Cohn, and starring Michael Notardonato, is a nostalgic exploration of family, heritage and the ties that bind us. Spurred by pleas to help reunite his fractured family, a young man quits his job as a New York account executive and travels to Vallata — the tiny Italian town of his ancestors. Not until he returns home, however, does he discover a secret that unlocks his past.

Loosely inspired by his own experiences, Gallo wrote and originated the one-man show as an homage to family. He is now passing the reigns to Michael Notardonato who most recently appeared in the off-Broadway musical hit, Romeo and Bernadette. And you may remember distinguished director, Charlotte Cohn, from one of our previous podcasts covering the play, "Canned Goods."

Jersey Arts speaks to the trio about family, the immigrant experience, and the importance of storytelling. Don’t worry, you don’t need to be Italian to appreciate this play or this podcast.

Thanks for listening!

Subscribe to The Jersey Arts Podcast in your favorite podcast player.

The Jersey Arts Podcast is one medium of Feature Stories on Discover Jersey Arts (jerseyarts.com), where articles and videos also cover New Jersey’s vibrant arts and entertainment scene.

Discover Jersey Arts is presented by ArtPride New Jersey. The program was co-founded by, and is currently supported by funds from, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Additional support for JerseyArts.com content is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Subscribe to the Discover Jersey Arts' weekly e-newsletter to have stories delivered to your inbox.
Follow and contact us @jerseyarts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Art House Productions is collaborating with Kenia Rosete Dance to bring a new modern dance series to Jersey City.

The show, titled “FOCUS,” will feature two to four artists per night, who will present their own original choreography. Each artists' piece is a bite-size performance that showcases the dancers’ creative, unique, and innovative voices.

Audiences can expect an easy, fun and inspiring evening. Easy in the sense that you can step into the space without having any prior knowledge of dance. Fun because of the variety of choreographic work you’ll get to experience. And inspiring as you can watch each artist create a world of their own before your very eyes

Jersey Arts speaks with Art House Productions’ Executive Director, Meredith Burns, and choreographer and producer, Kenia Rosete of Kenia Rosete Dance.

Thanks for listening!

Subscribe to The Jersey Arts Podcast in your favorite podcast player.

The Jersey Arts Podcast is one medium of Feature Stories on Discover Jersey Arts (jerseyarts.com), where articles and videos also cover New Jersey’s vibrant arts and entertainment scene.

Discover Jersey Arts is presented by ArtPride New Jersey. The program was co-founded by, and is currently supported by funds from, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Additional support for JerseyArts.com content is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Subscribe to the Discover Jersey Arts' weekly e-newsletter to have stories delivered to your inbox.
Follow and contact us @jerseyarts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Theater icon Norm Lewis is known for a lot of things: breaking barriers as Broadway's first African-American Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera; lending his stunning baritone to the roles of Sweeney Todd, Porgy, and Jarvert; playing Senator Edison Davis on the hit TV show Scandal—the list goes on and on. But what you may not know that the Emmy, Grammy, Tony, and SAG Award nominee works just as hard behind the scenes as an activist and founding member of Black Theatre United.

On September 20th, Norm Lewis will sing at Mayo Performing Arts Center to kick off Mayo PAC’s 30th season, so he joined the Jersey Arts Podcast to chat about his upcoming concert, career highlights, Black Theater United, and one of his first-ever professional gigs at Jersey’s own Harrah’s Atlantic City.

Thanks for listening!

Subscribe to The Jersey Arts Podcast in your favorite podcast player.

The Jersey Arts Podcast is one medium of Feature Stories on Discover Jersey Arts (jerseyarts.com), where articles and videos also cover New Jersey’s vibrant arts and entertainment scene.

Discover Jersey Arts is presented by ArtPride New Jersey. The program was co-founded by, and is currently supported by funds from, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Additional support for JerseyArts.com content is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Subscribe to the Discover Jersey Arts' weekly e-newsletter to have stories delivered to your inbox.
Follow and contact us @jerseyarts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Even those who don’t know the name Hoagy Carmichael certainly know his songs. The composer behind “Heart and Soul,” “Georgia on my Mind,” “The Nearness of you,” and “Stardust” is celebrated through the musical "Hoagy Carmichael’s Stardust Road." With only one previous professional production, the musical will find new audiences this September as part of Surflight Theatre’s 75th Anniversary Season. Producing Artistic Director Steve Steiner and the show’s musical director, Nick Kaminski, talk about Surflight, Long Beach Island, and their upcoming production of "Hoagy Carmichael’s Stardust Road."

Thanks for listening!

Subscribe to The Jersey Arts Podcast in your favorite podcast player.

The Jersey Arts Podcast is one medium of Feature Stories on Discover Jersey Arts (jerseyarts.com), where articles and videos also cover New Jersey’s vibrant arts and entertainment scene.

Discover Jersey Arts is presented by ArtPride New Jersey. The program was co-founded by, and is currently supported by funds from, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Additional support for JerseyArts.com content is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Subscribe to the Discover Jersey Arts' weekly e-newsletter to have stories delivered to your inbox.
Follow and contact us @jerseyarts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Jersey Arts talks to music icon - singer, songwriter, and guitarist Richie Furay, who boasts a 60 year musical career, having played with acclaimed groups such as Buffalo Springfield, Poco, the Souther-Hillman-Furay Band and of course, his own solo ventures.

He is an inductee of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as well as the Colorado Music Hall of Fame. But perhaps most importantly, he’s a family man. The balance between home and career has defined much of his life and artistic pursuits. This is a topic touched upon in the upcoming documentary detailing his journey from musician to rock & roll pastor.

And if that’s piqued your interest, you can see a sneak peak of the film as he celebrates his 80th birthday bash with a Farewell Concert at SOPAC in South Orange this August.

Thanks for listening!

Subscribe to The Jersey Arts Podcast in your favorite podcast player.

The Jersey Arts Podcast is one medium of Feature Stories on Discover Jersey Arts (jerseyarts.com), where articles and videos also cover New Jersey’s vibrant arts and entertainment scene.

Discover Jersey Arts is presented by ArtPride New Jersey. The program was co-founded by, and is currently supported by funds from, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Additional support for JerseyArts.com content is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Subscribe to the Discover Jersey Arts' weekly e-newsletter to have stories delivered to your inbox.
Follow and contact us @jerseyarts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins. Put them all together and what do you get?You get the Million Dollar Quartet, an impromptu jam session recorded on December 4th of 1956, now regarded as a seminal moment in rock and roll history.

This August, the drama of the Corleone family and the New York mafia comes to New Jersey in a brand-new way. New Jersey Symphony will present “The Godfather Live” at two venues next month as part of their “at the movies” series – first at New Jersey Performing Arts Center (1 Center St., Newark) on Friday, Aug. 16 at 7:30 p.m. and then at The Count Basie Center for the Arts (99 Monmouth St., Red Bank) on Sunday, Aug. 18 at 3 p.m. The event is sure to bring fun for fans of the film franchise both young and old.

Inspired by William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet,” Robbins conceived “West Side Story” which is considered to be one the most renowned musicals ever written, with a book by Arthur Laurents, music by Leonard Bernstein, and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim.

“I’m Just a Singer (In a Rock and Roll Band).” “Ride My See-Saw.” “Isn’t Life Strange?” These are just a few of the mega hit titles by The Moody Blues, and John Lodge is their bass guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. He has been performing and recording with The Moody Blues for more than 50 years while also pursuing a successful solo career. He’s even been voted one of the “10 most influential bass players on the planet.”

A native of Birmingham, England, Lodge has been playing the guitar since he was just 13 years old. He now considers the guitar to be his best friend. And why wouldn’t he? They’ve done quite well together.

Lodge is now on tour with his album “Days of Future Passed - My Sojourn.” The tour was set to begin last year but unfortunately he experienced what was described to the public as “a serious medical issue” and was forced to postpone. Thankfully, he is doing well and back to what he does best - performing. And lucky for us, his tour will stop at the State Theatre New Jersey this July 13th.

Jersey Arts speaks to Mr. Lodge about his return to the tour, his creative process, and how he might advise future musicians to pursue their passion.

Thanks for listening!

Subscribe to The Jersey Arts Podcast in your favorite podcast player.

The Jersey Arts Podcast is one medium of Feature Stories on Discover Jersey Arts (jerseyarts.com), where articles and videos also cover New Jersey’s vibrant arts and entertainment scene.

Discover Jersey Arts is presented by ArtPride New Jersey. The program was co-founded by, and is currently supported by funds from, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Additional support for JerseyArts.com content is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Subscribe to the Discover Jersey Arts' weekly e-newsletter to have stories delivered to your inbox.
Follow and contact us @jerseyarts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

New Jersey history is at the helm of the newly commissioned play by Premiere Stages. Thanks to the Liberty Live commissions series, a unique partnership with Kean University’s Liberty Hall Museum, Premiere Stages seeks to produce new plays that celebrate New Jersey’s rich and diverse history.

Art All Night Trenton (AANT) has always been a vibrant and immersive celebration of art, culture, and the community that is Trenton, New Jersey. While the pandemic turned it into a virtual event, this highly-anticipated return to an in-person format brings together artists, performers, and art enthusiasts from all walks of life in the capital region, transforming part of the city into a colorful and lively hub of creativity.

In collaboration with the Down Jersey Folk Life Center at WheatonArts, the Perkins Center is presenting Threaded: Contemporary Expressions of Traditional Fiber Arts, on view at its Collingswood Main Gallery through June 28.

This episode honors Pride Month, most specifically a particular celebration in Red Bank, NJ called “Pride on the Plaza” hosted by Two River Theater.

Pride Month has a storied history, much of it more distressing than celebratory, but that is exactly why Pride Month is so important. Centuries of degradation and segregation led to protests that grew to a cultural revolution designed to protect, and eventually celebrate, those in the LGBTQIA community. The first Pride March took place on June 28th, 1970 to honor the one-year anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising, which many consider the birth of the gay liberation movement.

Exactly 54 years later, to-the-day, “Pride on the Plaza” will celebrate the joy and love alive in the vibrant LGBTQIA community. Organizers Hannah Walker, the Associate Director of Marketing at Two River Theater, and Lady Celestina, Two River’s Resident Drag Queen, speak about Pride Month and the event they’ve created, “Pride on the Plaza” now celebrating its 5th year.

Thanks for listening!

Subscribe to The Jersey Arts Podcast in your favorite podcast player.

The Jersey Arts Podcast is one medium of Feature Stories on Discover Jersey Arts (jerseyarts.com), where articles and videos also cover New Jersey’s vibrant arts and entertainment scene.

Discover Jersey Arts is presented by ArtPride New Jersey. The program was co-founded by, and is currently supported by funds from, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Additional support for JerseyArts.com content is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Subscribe to the Discover Jersey Arts' weekly e-newsletter to have stories delivered to your inbox.
Follow and contact us @jerseyarts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey is New Jersey's largest professional theatre company dedicated solely to Shakespeare's canon and other classic masterworks. Previously under the leadership of artistic director Bonnie J. Monte since 1990, the theater has since welcomed Brian Crowe as the new Artistic Director as of January of 2024.

Brian has been with the organization for 29 years, formerly serving as the Director of Education and a Resident Director. He holds BFAs in Directing and Acting from Wright State University and was a Fellow at the 2000 International Salzburg Shakespeare Seminar. Also having served on the Executive Committee of the Shakespeare Theatre Association. Crowe may have big shoes to fill but he’s ready for the task.

During his tenure with STNJ, he has directed 27 plays in Shakespeare’s canon in over 60 productions, as well as numerous other plays. The Star-Ledger has even called Mr. Crowe “one of the state’s most ingenious directors.”

Jersey Arts speaks with Brian about his vision for the theater as he takes on this new role and the exciting lineup they have scheduled for this season.

Thanks for listening!

Subscribe to The Jersey Arts Podcast in your favorite podcast player.

The Jersey Arts Podcast is one medium of Feature Stories on Discover Jersey Arts (jerseyarts.com), where articles and videos also cover New Jersey’s vibrant arts and entertainment scene.

Discover Jersey Arts is presented by ArtPride New Jersey. The program was co-founded by, and is currently supported by funds from, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Additional support for JerseyArts.com content is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Subscribe to the Discover Jersey Arts' weekly e-newsletter to have stories delivered to your inbox.
Follow and contact us @jerseyarts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

The month of June is a time to showcase pride and recognize the resilience of the LGBTQ+ community worldwide. Across the state of New Jersey, there will be a series of Pride events from festivals to outdoor concerts and other events, reflecting the diversity of LGBTQ+ people. Red Bank Parks and Recreation is hosting its annual Pride In The Park celebration on Saturday, June 8th from 12 PM to 3 PM, at Riverside Gardens Parks.

Dr. Ruth Westheimer, widely known as Dr. Ruth, is a pioneering sex therapist, media personality, and author. Born Karola Ruth Siegel on June 4, 1928, in Wiesenfeld, Germany, she was sent to a Swiss orphanage at the age of ten to escape the Holocaust, which claimed her parents' lives. After World War II, she moved to Palestine, where she joined the Haganah (a precursor to the Israeli Defense Force).

You may know Peter Filichia from his 19 years as The Star Ledger’s theater critic or as a columnist for Masterworks Broadway, author of several books, Broadway Radio personality, or playwright. Filichia has worked in and around the theater for decades, he’s seen shows in 47 states and 20 foreign countries (he keeps a list), and after nearly 30 years of hosting the Theatre World Awards, he will be honored with their 2024 TWA Special Award.

Carole King is by far one of the most prolific female musicians of the latter half of the 20th century. Since writing her first number-one hit song at the tender age of 17, King has become a highly celebrated singer-songwriter, with over 100 hit singles on the Billboard Hot 100 and over 400 compositions recorded by 1000-plus artists.

“How can we remake our relationship with monuments?” This is the question posed to both artists and visitors of the new exhibition at Grounds For Sculpture entitled “Slow Motion.”

If you’re a Stevie Wonder fan, you have to give jazz pianist and bandleader James Austin, Jr’s music a listen. His 2018 debut album, Songs in the Key of Wonder, reinterprets Stevie Wonder’s beloved catalog with a Jazz spin, creating beautiful new tracks.

Originally from Chicago and based in New Jersey, James began playing piano at age 3, went on to study under acclaimed jazz teacher Barry Harris, and was a semi-finalist in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano competition. In addition to performing and carrying on his mentor’s work in Jazz education, Austin is also the curator of NJPAC’s monthly Jazz Jam Sessions.

Austin will perform at the Grunin Center for the Arts on Sunday, May 19th, and he spoke with us about his love of Stevie Wonder, arts education, and his upcoming concert.

Thanks for listening!

Subscribe to The Jersey Arts Podcast in your favorite podcast player.

The Jersey Arts Podcast is one medium of Feature Stories on Discover Jersey Arts (jerseyarts.com), where articles and videos also cover New Jersey’s vibrant arts and entertainment scene.

Discover Jersey Arts is presented by ArtPride New Jersey. The program was co-founded by, and is currently supported by funds from, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Additional support for JerseyArts.com content is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Subscribe to the Discover Jersey Arts' weekly e-newsletter to have stories delivered to your inbox.
Follow and contact us @jerseyarts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

When Burlington-based Bridge Players Theatre Company originally planned to produce the classic 1959 musical “Once Upon a Mattress,” it was 2020 and the pandemic disrupted the planned performances. Now, four years later, the company finally gets the chance to put on this production with many of the same cast members that were originally supposed to be in the show.

First time playwright Erik Kahn has managed to showcase the beauty of overcoming one’s circumstances. Set on August 31st of 1939, his play “Canned Goods” details the little known false flag operation that preceded the start of the Second World War. Three men were code named “Canned Goods” by Himmler and were used by the SS to justify Hitler’s invasion of Poland.

Heartening in its own right, the play is a commentary on the resilience of man. Humor is often vital to survival. This play allows those moments to shine through. As in life, there is darkness; but there is humor, and there is strength. Despite its title, this play is about human beings and the duality and nuance that come with existence.

Director Charlotte Cohn and Erik Kahn join The Jersey Arts Podcast to discuss the complexities of this world premiere show, the process of bringing it to life, and the importance of theater as a mirror.

Thanks for listening!

Subscribe to The Jersey Arts Podcast in your favorite podcast player.

The Jersey Arts Podcast is one medium of Feature Stories on Discover Jersey Arts (jerseyarts.com), where articles and videos also cover New Jersey’s vibrant arts and entertainment scene.

Discover Jersey Arts is presented by ArtPride New Jersey. The program was co-founded by, and is currently supported by funds from, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Additional support for JerseyArts.com content is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Subscribe to the Discover Jersey Arts' weekly e-newsletter to have stories delivered to your inbox.
Follow and contact us @jerseyarts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Involvement in New Jersey Youth Symphony, a program of Wharton Arts in Union County, is not just about honing musical technique, it’s also about developing life skills. On Sunday, May 5th, the organization will celebrate its success with students and alumni at the NJ Youth Symphony 45th Anniversary Concert. As a special treat, founding Music Director/Conductor (and current Founder/Artistic Director of the Discovery Orchestra) George Marriner Maull will be back for the first time to guest conduct part of the concert.

We spoke with Maull and and Wharton Arts Artistic Director and Principal Conductor Helen Cha-Pyo about the New Jersey Youth Symphony’s history, arts education philosophy, and upcoming anniversary concert.

Thanks for listening!

Subscribe to The Jersey Arts Podcast in your favorite podcast player.

The Jersey Arts Podcast is one medium of Feature Stories on Discover Jersey Arts (jerseyarts.com), where articles and videos also cover New Jersey’s vibrant arts and entertainment scene.

Discover Jersey Arts is presented by ArtPride New Jersey. The program was co-founded by, and is currently supported by funds from, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Additional support for JerseyArts.com content is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Subscribe to the Discover Jersey Arts' weekly e-newsletter to have stories delivered to your inbox.
Follow and contact us @jerseyarts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Musical theater nerds can rejoice, George Street Playhouse is bringing back “Tick Tick… BOOM!,” the posthumously produced musical by Jonathan Larson, best known for having written the widely known rock opera, “Rent.”

George Street Playhouse Artistic Director, David Saint, was a close friend of Jonathan Larson. And to honor his friend, almost 30 years since his passing, Saint is directing a new production of “Tick Tick… BOOM!”

If you loved the film but have never seen the show on stage, now's your chance! And if you've been a fan for years, you can celebrate another opportunity to enjoy the life and music of Jonathan Larson in person.

Jersey Arts speaks with Director David Saint and star of the show, Daniel Marconi (Jonathan) to learn about the history, joy, and tragedy that led to the “Tick Tick… Boom!” we know today.

Rutgers students are eligible for a special ticket discount which can be retrieved by calling the George Street Playhouse box office at 732-246-7717.

Thanks for listening!

Subscribe to The Jersey Arts Podcast in your favorite podcast player.

The Jersey Arts Podcast is one medium of Feature Stories on Discover Jersey Arts (jerseyarts.com), where articles and videos also cover New Jersey’s vibrant arts and entertainment scene.

Discover Jersey Arts is presented by ArtPride New Jersey. The program was co-founded by, and is currently supported by funds from, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Additional support for JerseyArts.com content is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Subscribe to the Discover Jersey Arts' weekly e-newsletter to have stories delivered to your inbox.
Follow and contact us @jerseyarts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Composer David Newman is part of the most Oscar-nominated extended family of all time. He has scored more than 100 films including the 1997 animated classic "Anastasia," for which he received his Academy Award nomination (not to mention "The Brave Little Toaster," "The Sandlot," "Never Been Kissed," "Ice Age"...)

The 1996 film adaptation of Roald Dahl's "Matilda" is one of several collaborations between Newman and New Jersey's own Danny DeVito, and on March 22nd, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra will present "Matilda" live in concert conducted by Newman with live narration by DeVito.

David Newman talked with the Jersey Arts Podcast about scoring films like "Matilda," his legendary family, and preserving film music for future generations.

For more information on "Matilda" in concert, please visit STNJ.org.

This interview has been edited for time and clarity.

Thanks for listening!

Subscribe to The Jersey Arts Podcast in your favorite podcast player.

The Jersey Arts Podcast is one medium of Feature Stories on Discover Jersey Arts (jerseyarts.com), where articles and videos also cover New Jersey’s vibrant arts and entertainment scene.

Discover Jersey Arts is presented by ArtPride New Jersey. The program was co-founded by, and is currently supported by funds from, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Additional support for JerseyArts.com content is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Subscribe to the Discover Jersey Arts' weekly e-newsletter to have stories delivered to your inbox.
Follow and contact us @jerseyarts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

“I know that the most joy in my life has come to me from my violin” - Albert Einstein

As their website reads, “The Harlem Chamber Players is an ethnically diverse collective of professional classical musicians dedicated to bringing high-caliber, affordable, accessible live music to people in the Harlem community and beyond. The Harlem Chamber Players help build diverse audiences for live classical music through community and educational outreach and collaborations with other arts organizations, schools and cultural institutions. The Harlem Chamber Players also promote community wide access to the arts and arts inclusion.”

And in honor of Women’s History Month, their program “100 Years of Women Composers” will grace the stage of "Music at Bunker Hill" in Sewell on March 17th.

In advance of this performance, Jersey Arts spoke with violinist Claire Chan, a member of their String Quartet.

Thanks for listening!

Subscribe to The Jersey Arts Podcast in your favorite podcast player.

The Jersey Arts Podcast is one medium of Feature Stories on Discover Jersey Arts (jerseyarts.com), where articles and videos also cover New Jersey’s vibrant arts and entertainment scene.

Discover Jersey Arts is presented by ArtPride New Jersey. The program was co-founded by, and is currently supported by funds from, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Additional support for JerseyArts.com content is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Subscribe to the Discover Jersey Arts' weekly e-newsletter to have stories delivered to your inbox.
Follow and contact us @jerseyarts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Paul J. Stankard is an internationally acclaimed artist and pioneer in the studio glass movement. His lifelike, nature-based glassworks have changed the paperweight world over his forty-year artistic career. Having begun his career working in scientific glassblowing, it was through this industry that he found creativity and learned that he was indeed an artist.

He is now the subject of a new documentary by Director Dan Collins, “Paul J. Stankard: Flower & Flame” set to screen at the Perkins Center for the Arts in Collingswood on February 24, 2024.

Jersey Arts speaks to Paul J. Stankard and Dan Collins about their new film and the work it takes to create both glass and film.

Thanks for listening!

Subscribe to The Jersey Arts Podcast in your favorite podcast player.

The Jersey Arts Podcast is one medium of Feature Stories on Discover Jersey Arts (jerseyarts.com), where articles and videos also cover New Jersey’s vibrant arts and entertainment scene.

Discover Jersey Arts is presented by ArtPride New Jersey. The program was co-founded by, and is currently supported by funds from, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Additional support for JerseyArts.com content is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Subscribe to the Discover Jersey Arts' weekly e-newsletter to have stories delivered to your inbox.
Follow and contact us @jerseyarts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Over a decade ago, a Korean musical genre known as KPop rose in popularity amongst US audiences. We can probably thank Psy and his song "Gangnam Style" for that. But there is so much more to Korean music than KPop! And U.S. audiences are in for a treat when they discover CelloGayageum.

The group, founded by Austrian cellist, Sol Daniel Kim, and gayageum player, Dayoung Yoon will be introducing U.S. audiences to their unique sound with their first North American tour. In celebration of the lunar new year, Cellogayageum will pursue their mission to create a harmony of East and West. For music enthusiasts, this is where classical music meets Korean tradition.

Thanks for listening!

Subscribe to The Jersey Arts Podcast in your favorite podcast player.

The Jersey Arts Podcast is one medium of Feature Stories on Discover Jersey Arts (jerseyarts.com), where articles and videos also cover New Jersey’s vibrant arts and entertainment scene.

Discover Jersey Arts is presented by ArtPride New Jersey. The program was co-founded by, and is currently supported by funds from, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Additional support for JerseyArts.com content is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Subscribe to the Discover Jersey Arts' weekly e-newsletter to have stories delivered to your inbox.
Follow and contact us @jerseyarts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

A nonbinary hero himself, Jonathan van Ness rose to fame as the hairstylist to heroes, the name Netflix’s “Queer Eye” reboot gives to its episodic guests. But Jonathan’s been an artist long before “Queer Eye.” Beyond the artistry required in his work as a stylist, Jonathan has been on stage as a comedian for years. His web series “Gay of Thrones,” a weekly comedic recap of HBO’s “Game of Thrones,” where he starred as none other than an opinionated hairstylist, was a hit for Funny or Die. He is also the host of his very own podcast, “Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness.” And in addition to all of that, he is also a New York Times Best Selling author.

Jersey Arts and JVN talk hair, gender identity and more in advance of his upcoming standup comedy special, “Fun & Slutty” at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center.

Thanks for listening!

Subscribe to The Jersey Arts Podcast in your favorite podcast player.

The Jersey Arts Podcast is one medium of Feature Stories on Discover Jersey Arts (jerseyarts.com), where articles and videos also cover New Jersey’s vibrant arts and entertainment scene.

Discover Jersey Arts is presented by ArtPride New Jersey. The program was co-founded by, and is currently supported by funds from, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Additional support for JerseyArts.com content is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Subscribe to the Discover Jersey Arts' weekly e-newsletter to have stories delivered to your inbox.
Follow and contact us @jerseyarts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

As his bio reads, Brian Noonan “has starred on Broadway and National Touring Companies as The Phantom in Phantom of the Opera, Enjolras in Les Miserables, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in Jekyll & Hyde, Cable in South Pacific with the legendary Robert Goulet, Gus/Growltiger in

Cats, and Jesus Christ Superstar. As an international concert soloist, Mr. Noonan

has performed for a myriad of Presidents and world dignitaries.”

He is now the founder and managing director of the The Jersey Tenors, the newest Opera/Rock Mash-up sensation. The Tenors create an explosive blend of iconic Opera classics alongside Rock n’ Roll greats like Queen, Elton John, and Bon Jovi- to name a few. But they never forget their Jersey roots, highlighting Jersey legends like Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons of course, Frank Sinatra, Bruce Springsteen and even Ms. Whitney Houston herself.

Jersey Arts speaks with Brian Noonan about what it takes to be a Jersey Tenor ahead of their Bubbly Bash at the Surflight Theater on New Year’s Eve.

Thanks for listening!

Subscribe to The Jersey Arts Podcast in your favorite podcast player.

The Jersey Arts Podcast is one medium of Feature Stories on Discover Jersey Arts (jerseyarts.com), where articles and videos also cover New Jersey’s vibrant arts and entertainment scene.

Discover Jersey Arts is presented by ArtPride New Jersey. The program was co-founded by, and is currently supported by funds from, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Additional support for JerseyArts.com content is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Subscribe to the Discover Jersey Arts' weekly e-newsletter to have stories delivered to your inbox.
Follow and contact us @jerseyarts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Ana Gasteyer is headed to Kean Stage on December 17th with a concert tour in support of her 2019 holiday album, Sugar and Booze. The Saturday Night Live alum and classically-trained singer has numerous Broadway shows, films, and TV credits under her belt–most recently starring in NBC’s American Auto. Gasteyer chats about her upcoming concert, Broadway, SNL, her high school musical, and what’s still ahead on her "to-do" list.

Thanks for listening!

Subscribe to The Jersey Arts Podcast in your favorite podcast player.

The Jersey Arts Podcast is one medium of Feature Stories on Discover Jersey Arts (jerseyarts.com), where articles and videos also cover New Jersey’s vibrant arts and entertainment scene.

Discover Jersey Arts is presented by ArtPride New Jersey. The program was co-founded by, and is currently supported by funds from, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Additional support for JerseyArts.com content is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Subscribe to the Discover Jersey Arts' weekly e-newsletter to have stories delivered to your inbox.
Follow and contact us @jerseyarts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Duke Ellington was a jazz composer and bandleader in the early 1900s. He is quite possibly one of the greatest jazz composers of all time. Written alongside collaborator, Billy Strayhorn, "The Nutcracker Suite" is a jazz reimagining of Tchaikovsky’s" Nutcracker Suite."

The Water Gap Jazz Orchestra will be performing Ellington’s rendition alongside the new "Grinch Suite," written by WGJO director, Dr. Matt Vashlishan.

Featuring Ellington’s own grandson, Mr. Edward Ellington II, as narrator and Mrs. Nancy Reed as vocalist, the performance stands to be an excellent way to ring in the holiday season.

Jersey Arts speaks to Nancy Reed about her experience working with the orchestra as well as her own history with jazz.

Thanks for listening!

Subscribe to The Jersey Arts Podcast in your favorite podcast player.

The Jersey Arts Podcast is one medium of Feature Stories on Discover Jersey Arts (jerseyarts.com), where articles and videos also cover New Jersey’s vibrant arts and entertainment scene.

Discover Jersey Arts is presented by ArtPride New Jersey. The program was co-founded by, and is currently supported by funds from, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Additional support for JerseyArts.com content is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Subscribe to the Discover Jersey Arts' weekly e-newsletter to have stories delivered to your inbox.
Follow and contact us @jerseyarts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Eileen Ivers has been called “the Jimi Hendrix of the violin,” as reported by the New York Times. A master of the violin, which is also known to be a fiddle, dependent on the way in which it is played, Ivers is known to be the pre-eminent exponent of the Irish fiddle in the world today.

Grammy-awarded and Emmy-nominated, Ivers has guest starred with over 50 orchestras, toured with the likes of Sting, Hall and Oates, and The Chieftains, founded her own group called Cherish the Ladies, composed for movie soundtracks like “Gangs of New York,” and performed for Presidents and Royalty worldwide.

Today, Jersey Arts speaks with Eileen Ivers in advance of her upcoming Christmas show, "A Joyful Christmas" at the Raritan Valley Community College on December 15, 2023.

Thanks for listening!

Subscribe to The Jersey Arts Podcast in your favorite podcast player.

The Jersey Arts Podcast is one medium of Feature Stories on Discover Jersey Arts (jerseyarts.com), where articles and videos also cover New Jersey’s vibrant arts and entertainment scene.

Discover Jersey Arts is presented by ArtPride New Jersey. The program was co-founded by, and is currently supported by funds from, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Additional support for JerseyArts.com content is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Subscribe to the Discover Jersey Arts' weekly e-newsletter to have stories delivered to your inbox.
Follow and contact us @jerseyarts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Charlie Brown, created by Charles M. Schulz first appeared in 1950 in the St Paul Pioneer Press. Over 70 years later, Charlie Brown and his friends are still entertaining audiences.

"A Charlie Brown Christmas" was the first television program based on Schulz’ comic strip and it aired in 1965. Since then, the beloved Christmas classic has been adapted for the stage with much acclaim. "A Charlie Brown Christmas: Live on Stage" has been delighting Peanuts fans since 2013.

The touring production will soon be stopping at the Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown, NJ for a one day, two performance run.

Thanks for listening!

Subscribe to The Jersey Arts Podcast in your favorite podcast player.

The Jersey Arts Podcast is one medium of Feature Stories on Discover Jersey Arts (jerseyarts.com), where articles and videos also cover New Jersey’s vibrant arts and entertainment scene.

Discover Jersey Arts is presented by ArtPride New Jersey. The program was co-founded by, and is currently supported by funds from, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Additional support for JerseyArts.com content is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Subscribe to the Discover Jersey Arts' weekly e-newsletter to have stories delivered to your inbox.
Follow and contact us @jerseyarts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Pioneer Productions Company is dedicated to sharing the collective human story through live theatrical performance by producing shows that are relevant to our time and inspiring audiences to attend live theatre.

And it serves their mission well that their upcoming show is Neil Simon’s “Lost in Yonkers.” Though set in 1942, the play echoes the troubles of our modern world and speaks to audiences through the eyes of a dysfunctional albeit entertaining New York family.

The play boasts the 1991 Pulitzer Prize for Drama along with four Drama Desk Awards and another four Tonys including Best Play. Focusing on two young boys, after the death of their mother, who are abruptly left with their forbidding grandmother and their young aunt with an intellectual disability, the play shows audiences a glimpse of one family’s difficult life in NY during the WWII era. Bringing both humor and heart to a troublesome time.

Jersey Arts speaks with Pioneer Productions Company Founder and “Lost in Yonkers” Director, Dan Vissers and his cast, Heidi Molnar and Noah Shidlovsky about their upcoming production.

Thanks for listening!

Subscribe to The Jersey Arts Podcast in your favorite podcast player.

The Jersey Arts Podcast is one medium of Feature Stories on Discover Jersey Arts (jerseyarts.com), where articles and videos also cover New Jersey’s vibrant arts and entertainment scene.

Discover Jersey Arts is presented by ArtPride New Jersey. The program was co-founded by, and is currently supported by funds from, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Additional support for JerseyArts.com content is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Subscribe to the Discover Jersey Arts' weekly e-newsletter to have stories delivered to your inbox.
Follow and contact us @jerseyarts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

It’s officially Spooky Season and quite possibly, the best season for a night of debauchery with "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" 48th Anniversary Spectacular Tour. On October 25th at the Bergen Performing Arts Center in Englewood, NJ, Rocky Horror fans will be treated to a screening of the original unedited film alongside a live shadowcast. Audience participation is encouraged and expected.

Patricia Quinn, the film’s very own Magenta, will be in attendance as well with special VIP Meet & Greets available.

Jersey Arts speaks with Patricia about Rocky Horror and their journey from stage to screen as we celebrate 48 years of this cult classic film.

Thanks for listening!

Subscribe to The Jersey Arts Podcast in your favorite podcast player.

The Jersey Arts Podcast is one medium of Feature Stories on Discover Jersey Arts (jerseyarts.com), where articles and videos also cover New Jersey’s vibrant arts and entertainment scene.

Discover Jersey Arts is presented by ArtPride New Jersey. The program was co-founded by, and is currently supported by funds from, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Additional support for JerseyArts.com content is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Subscribe to the Discover Jersey Arts' weekly e-newsletter to have stories delivered to your inbox.
Follow and contact us @jerseyarts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Gloria Gaynor is best known as the queen of disco with her mega-hit dance anthem, “I Will Survive,” but this Jersey girl has never stopped taking risks and building on her success.

JerseyArts chats with the music legend about growing up in New Jersey, how she got her big break, the legacy of disco, her new “Gloria Gaynor: I Will Survive” documentary, and her Sept. 16 concert at bergenPAC.

Thanks for listening!

Subscribe to The Jersey Arts Podcast in your favorite podcast player.

The Jersey Arts Podcast is one medium of Feature Stories on Discover Jersey Arts (jerseyarts.com), where articles and videos also cover New Jersey’s vibrant arts and entertainment scene.

Discover Jersey Arts is presented by ArtPride New Jersey. The program was co-founded by, and is currently supported by funds from, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Additional support for JerseyArts.com content is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Subscribe to the Discover Jersey Arts' weekly e-newsletter to have stories delivered to your inbox.
Follow and contact us @jerseyarts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

"Satellites" will make its world premiere this July at the aptly named Premiere Stages at Kean University. Having previously won the 2022 Premiere Play Festival, the show penned by Erin Breznitsky will celebrate its first full stage production under the direction of Premiere Stages' Artistic Director, John J. Wooten.

"Satellites" orbits around married couple Katherine & Mike who are each on a mission to save the world. She's a scientist studying climate change; he's an astronaut exploring the unknown. When Mike's shuttle vanishes in outer space, Katherine forges ahead alone, raising their children and continuing her life's work until Mike suddenly reappears without explanation. As the couple struggles to adjust to his strange return, they're forced to reexamine their entire relationship—while also facing an uncertain future.

Jersey Arts speaks with playwright Erin Breznitsky and director John J. Wooten on their first day of rehearsal.

LINKS
Premiere Stages at Kean
Erin Breznitsky

Thanks for listening!

Subscribe to The Jersey Arts Podcast in your favorite podcast player.

The Jersey Arts Podcast is one medium of Feature Stories on Discover Jersey Arts (jerseyarts.com), where articles and videos also cover New Jersey’s vibrant arts and entertainment scene.

Discover Jersey Arts is presented by ArtPride New Jersey. The program was co-founded by, and is currently supported by funds from, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Additional support for JerseyArts.com content is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Subscribe to the Discover Jersey Arts' weekly e-newsletter to have stories delivered to your inbox.
Follow and contact us @jerseyarts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

On The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey's Outdoor Stage arrives an epic play with an equally epic title: "Shipwrecked! An Entertainment—The Amazing Adventures of Louis de Rougemont (as Told by Himself)."

Louis de Rougemont was the pen name for real-life raconteur Henri Louis Grin, who sold serialized stories of his imagined adventures to the British World Wide Magazine in the late 1800s. After he was exposed as a fraud, The World Wide Magazine went on to publish the quote: “Truth is stranger than fiction, but De Rougemont is stranger than both."In 2009, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Donald Marguiles took the tales and re-imagined the 19th Century language and cultural awareness for a modern audience. His version of Louis de Rougemont is therefore a fictionalization of a fictionalization – an excited adventurer who recounts his fantastical journeys of sword fights, flying wombats, and a giant octopus for audiences eager to go along for the ride.

Jersey Arts speaks with actor Bruce Cromer, who plays the title character, and Doug West, director/co-scenic designer.

LINKS
Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey

Thanks for listening!

Subscribe to The Jersey Arts Podcast in your favorite podcast player.

The Jersey Arts Podcast is one medium of Feature Stories on Discover Jersey Arts (jerseyarts.com), where articles and videos also cover New Jersey’s vibrant arts and entertainment scene.

Discover Jersey Arts is presented by ArtPride New Jersey. The program was co-founded by, and is currently supported by funds from, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Additional support for JerseyArts.com content is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Subscribe to the Discover Jersey Arts' weekly e-newsletter to have stories delivered to your inbox.
Follow and contact us @jerseyarts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

You may know Billy Bob Thornton from the movies, but did you know that he’s also an accomplished singer and songwriter? Along with his friend, J.D. Andrew, Billy founded the rock and roll group, the Boxmasters. They have recorded an impressive and diverse catalog of music that touches on their love of a wide array of influences, but most importantly, the rock and roll of the 1960’s. Their tour will soon bring them to New Jersey where audiences can enjoy the uptempo tunes reminiscent of The Beatles, Byrds, and Beach Boys.

Jersey Arts speaks with Billy Bob Thornton and J.D. Andrew, the founding members of The Boxmasters.

Thanks for listening!

Subscribe to The Jersey Arts Podcast in your favorite podcast player.

The Jersey Arts Podcast is one medium of Feature Stories on Discover Jersey Arts (jerseyarts.com), where articles and videos also cover New Jersey’s vibrant arts and entertainment scene.

Discover Jersey Arts is presented by ArtPride New Jersey. The program was co-founded by, and is currently supported by funds from, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Additional support for JerseyArts.com content is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Subscribe to the Discover Jersey Arts' weekly e-newsletter to have stories delivered to your inbox.
Follow and contact us @jerseyarts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

As the birthplace of baseball, Hoboken is the perfect New Jersey city to celebrate our national pastime; and Mile Square Theatre, the perfect venue.

Annually, the Hoboken theater commissions seven playwrights to each write a 10-minute play involving the American game. This 19th year of “7th Inning Stretch” runs June 16th and 17th. The sentiment of the plays rounds the bases from heartwarming to hysterical; realistic to absurd.

Jersey Arts speaks to Mile Square Theatre’s Artistic Director, Kevin R. Free, and two of this year’s “7th Inning Stretch” playwrights, Michelle Tyrene Johnson and Tim J. Lord.

Thanks for listening!

Subscribe to The Jersey Arts Podcast in your favorite podcast player.

The Jersey Arts Podcast is one medium of Feature Stories on Discover Jersey Arts (jerseyarts.com), where articles and videos also cover New Jersey’s vibrant arts and entertainment scene.

Discover Jersey Arts is presented by ArtPride New Jersey. The program was co-founded by, and is currently supported by funds from, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Additional support for JerseyArts.com content is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Subscribe to the Discover Jersey Arts' weekly e-newsletter to have stories delivered to your inbox.
Follow and contact us @jerseyarts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

There are two kinds of Pow Wows, the competitive and the traditional. "The competitive is, of course, one where the singers and dancers compete in different categories and ages for prizes," said Tyrone "Dancing Wolf" Ellis, "and the traditional is more about coming to dance to educate as well as to pray."The Lenni-Lenape Tribal Nation 42nd Annual Pow Wow will be held Saturday, June 10, and Sunday, June 11, at the Salem County Fairgrounds, 735 Harding Highway in Woodstown. The gates open at 10:00 a.m., with the Grand Entry happening at noon. “Our Pow Wow is competitive, with both dancers and singers vying for prizes,” Ellis said. Regardless of the type of Pow Wow, he said "It is an opportunity for our people to gather as a family, to see each other and spend time together, and a way for us to enlighten the public and raise cultural awareness."

The North2Shore (N2S) festival represents something new for the Garden State. Perhaps inspired by the wildly successful South by Southwest festival (SXSW) in Texas, it seeks to bring together a truly diverse range of people, including locals and visitors from different backgrounds. It presents an excellent opportunity to see huge stars, meet new people, and connect with each local community. (Many of the events are free to attend, but tickets or reservations may be necessary.) Hosted by three great cities, Atlantic City (June 4–11), Asbury Park (June 14–18) and Newark (June 21–25), the festival promises an unforgettable experience filled with cultural enrichment, live music, technology, film and a vibrant community atmosphere.

The 28th Annual New Jersey International Film Festival includes feature length films, documentaries, shorts, animated films and works that defy categorization. This year’s festival will be a hybrid, and will take place Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from June 2-11.Getting a film into the festival is competitive. For the 2023 lineup, 35 out of 711 works from around the world were selected by a panel of 30 judges made up of media professionals, journalists, previous winners of the festival, students and academics.Seven of the films are by New Jersey filmmakers or were shot in the Garden State.

Over 100 students and arts educators will receive the state’s most prestigious award in arts education at the 43rd Annual New Jersey Governor’s Awards in Arts Education celebration June 2 and will be livestreamed via YouTube, Facebook, and the Governor’s Awards website at www.njgaae.org. This event is free and open to the public.Over the past four decades, the Governor’s Awards has highlighted New Jersey’s most talented youth. Students of artistic disciplines as varied as dance, music, poetry, visual arts, speech, debate and theater have walked across the awards stage to receive their medal.This year, the annual Governor’s Awards ceremony will be held as the culminating event of the inaugural Arts Ed NJ Day which will also feature the first-ever Gathering Ground Arts Education Call to Collaboration (C2C), networking opportunities, award-winning performances on various stages, an interactive photo booth, alumni guest speakers, pop-up advocacy activities, Live Red Carpet Countdown to the Awards, and a statewide student visual arts exhibit.The C2C will bring together over 250 educators, nonprofits leaders, artists, teaching artists, school board members, parents, students, businesspeople and legislators.

Nestled in the hills of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, among the sounds of birds, bees, woodpeckers and the breeze in the pine trees, the Peters Valley School of Craft was founded in 1970 in the former town of Bevans, NJ.“Fresh Perspectives in Fine Craft” is an annual exhibition through Aug. 6 showcasing the work of the season’s visiting artist instructors and summer artistic staff.“Currently we have 43 pieces by our artistic staff and visiting instructors that are teaching classes this summer,” said Gallery Director Erika Hewston. “We ask them to bring work that represents the kind of workshop they are teaching. Many of the pieces are examples of what is being made in the class.There are 126 sessions are planned in ceramics, blacksmithing, fibers and textiles, jewelry and fine metals, photography, printmaking, glass and woodworking.

“I have always loved work that was abundant, filled with stuff,” says Cowan, whose glass assemblages are on view in “Alchemy of Adornment” at the Museum of American Glass at WheatonArts through Dec. 31.Cowan's glass sculptures use recycled, upcycled and second-life American pressed glass. She employs the processes of flameworking, hot-sculpting and glassblowing to create large-scale sculptures that are ornate and have a quality she calls “viral accrual.” “It refers to a kind of lushness that will keep growing and building,” Cowan says. Another term she uses is “horror vacui,” which is defined as a fear or dislike of leaving empty spaces in an artistic composition; the entire surface of the artwork is filled with detail and content.

Drag is an incredible pastiche of creative self-expression, fantastic outfits, LBTGQ+ identity, and the power of attitude. It celebrates self-acceptance, acceptance of others and carefree enjoyment of living. The shows are an eclectic mix of cabaret, burlesque and comedy.Brunch needs no introduction. Breakfast foods at mid-day? Maybe an adult beverage mixed in? What’s not to love? Combine brunch and a drag show, and you get an unforgettable event that can satisfy in many ways. A quick search will show that drag brunches are having more than “a moment” right now. Here are two that may deliver on those many levels.

The Moorestown Theater Company is partnering with the award-winning Penguin Project to present “Annie JR.” April 29 and 30, capping off Autism Awareness Month. Fourteen neuro-diverse actors and six neuro-typical mentors will act the roles and join the chorus to sing standards like "It's a Hard-knock Life" and "Tomorrow."

"And where are the new plays? The new directors?" - Elia Kazan, 1993 Are you looking for new, challenging theater that makes you think and feel something ... different? Sure, all theatre should probably do that, but a lot of long-run and revival offerings out there are as comfortable as an old shoe. Not necessarily a bad thing (I love old shoes), but nostalgia and familiarity are not the only flavors that can satisfy a palate. And some palates can only be satisfied by something really new. The 2023 INKubator New Play Festival is precisely what Hollywood giant Elia Kazan was looking for when he said that 30 years ago. Art House Productions is bringing you a festival of six brand-new plays by New Jersey-connected authors.

Step back in time to 1930s New York. McCarter Theatre’s production of “Blues for an Alabama Sky” tells the story of a youthful group of friends facing a crossroads at the end of the Harlem Renaissance and the beginning of the Great Depression. Jersey Arts TV goes to rehearsals in Princeton to find out more about this American drama.

As we stroll through our neighborhoods at dinner time and the aromas of garlic, cumin, fenugreek, chilies, cabbages and tomatoes waft through the air, we are reminded that one in five people in the state is from somewhere else. Each community that settles in New Jersey brings with it a wealth of folkways. The New Jersey Folklife Festival has been celebrating this for nearly half a century. The free, outdoor, nonprofit event, sponsored by the American studies department at Rutgers University, will take place on Rutgers’ Cook/Douglass campus Saturday, April 29. There are two 20x40’ audience tents for shade or rain, but festivalgoers are welcome to bring lawn chairs. There is a shuttle bus for those arriving by train or parking elsewhere. The main stage will include folk musicians medukha, Jackson Pines, Sean Tobin, Laki Bali and Yeimy Gamez Castillo. The heritage area, in partnership with The Arts Institute of Middlesex County, includes a Foodways tent featuring the cuisines of Peru, Afghanistan, Mexico and others. Local chefs will share recipes and food traditions and free ingredient kits will be distributed to families through the REPLENISH food pantry network. There will be food vendors to sate appetites for the above-named cuisines, and a Craft Path with a juried selection of craft vendors.

The historic James Howe House was home to a formerly enslaved man, abolitionist and Montclair's first African American homeowner. Thanks to a large-scale collaboration between historians, preservationists, artists, and the teams at Luna Stage and Crossroads Theatre Company, the story of Howe House over the last nearly 200 years will be told through the upcoming play "The Ground on Which We Stand."Luna Stage artistic director Ari Laura Kreith and award-winning playwright and screenwriter Richard Wesley join JerseyArts to discuss this period of Black history in New Jersey as told through the lens of the historic Howe House.

A large map of Princeton sits on the wall of the second floor of the Princeton Arts Council. On it, there are diagrams, thumbtacks and drawings penciling out an upcoming event that the Arts Council is holding. The event they are planning is called a Porch Fest, and ever since the first one occurred in Ithaca, New York in 2007, the number of these homegrown musical festivals have grown rapidly in communities around the country. Princeton is hosting this event for the second time and is one of about a dozen New Jersey communities to have a similar event scheduled in the next few months.

This engagement is co-presented by the Sound Planet Music Festival, which presents impactful performances and learning opportunities focused on the climate and biodiversity crises. Dan Brown is the man behind the No. 1 bestselling novel, “The Da Vinci Code” and “Wild Symphony” is his children’s picture book. The story features a mouse conductor who recruits a menagerie of animals to perform in an orchestra, while delivering proverbs about the virtues of fortitude, patience and cooperation. New York-based stage and screen actor Matt Dallal narrates the story while the Rowan University Wind Ensemble performs the score, bringing the majestic story to life.The Phantom Limb Company collages puppetry, movement, multimedia storytelling and design. The company’s unique integration of social impact and aesthetics is essential to their work. “The Puppet Cycle: Small World Stories,” showcases original short plays starring contemporary artist-made marionettes on a solar-powered mobile stage — a specially adapted cargo bike.

“My studio keeps getting smaller and smaller,” says Autin Wright, of the space where he makes and stores his sculpture, located on the Grounds For Sculpture campus in Hamilton. Now that he is officially retired as the atelier’s technical supervisor for paint and patina, and devoting himself full-time to his own art – he shows up at 6 a.m. most days – the already stacked studio is piling up with even more works in stone and wood. A cast of one of his more well-known works “The Sleep” – a four-panel relief that shows a set of lips and an eye, progressing from fully awake to sleepy, sleepier and asleep – is spilling outside into the hallway. “I don’t want to stop working,” he says of his retirement. “What could be more important than making art?”

Laura Ekstrand is the Producing Artistic Director of Vivid Stage in Summit, New Jersey, as well as its next leading lady. Starring in 101 Humiliating Stories by Lisa Kron, she will headline the first performance of Vivid Stage's Solo Series from April 13 to 16."In this one-woman show, the actor shares a series of humiliations past, present and future, including exquisitely detailed anecdotes like "Geeky Celebrity Encounters" and "How I Spent All the Petty Cash From My Office on Makeup." An invitation to perform at her high school reunion in Lansing, Michigan, triggers another series of anxiety-filled fantasies. How will she, a lesbian East Village performance artist, cope with her Midwestern classmates? 101 Humiliating Stories is evocative, moving and overall hilarious."Jersey Arts speaks with Ekstrand about the relatable humor of 101 Humiliating Stories and learns more about what programming and opportunities Vivid Stage has to offer.

Laura Ekstrand is the Producing Artistic Director of Vivid Stage in Summit, New Jersey, as well as its next leading lady. Starring in 101 Humiliating Stories by Lisa Kron, she will headline the first performance of Vivid Stage's Solo Series from April 13 to 16.

"In this one-woman show, the actor shares a series of humiliations past, present and future, including exquisitely detailed anecdotes like "Geeky Celebrity Encounters" and "How I Spent All the Petty Cash From My Office on Makeup." An invitation to perform at her high school reunion in Lansing, Michigan, triggers another series of anxiety-filled fantasies. How will she, a lesbian East Village performance artist, cope with her Midwestern classmates? 101 Humiliating Stories is evocative, moving and overall hilarious."

Jersey Arts speaks with Ekstrand about the relatable humor of 101 Humiliating Stories and learns more about what programming and opportunities Vivid Stage has to offer.

Thanks for listening!

Subscribe to The Jersey Arts Podcast in your favorite podcast player.

The Jersey Arts Podcast is one medium of Feature Stories on Discover Jersey Arts (jerseyarts.com), where articles and videos also cover New Jersey’s vibrant arts and entertainment scene.

Discover Jersey Arts is presented by ArtPride New Jersey. The program was co-founded by, and is currently supported by funds from, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Additional support for JerseyArts.com content is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Subscribe to the Discover Jersey Arts' weekly e-newsletter to have stories delivered to your inbox.
Follow and contact us @jerseyarts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

How much can art hold? Are we asking too much when we wish that it would make meaning out of our lives?Over the course of 60 dances created for the company that bears her name, Carolyn Dorfman has spent four decades using movement to unpack a series of deeply human stories that manage to resonate widely — the legacy of the Holocaust, the lure of money, sustaining relationships, and motherhood — deploying her own bold, unapologetically athletic vocabulary rooted in vivid storytelling. Carolyn Dorfman Dance is set to celebrate this legacy with Dance on Exhibit, a pair of multimedia performances/living exhibits featuring selections from Dorfman’s vast and varied oeuvre. The events, featuring company dancers as sculptures, set for 7 p.m. Thursday, April 13, and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 15, will unfold in the galleries and onstage at the Morris Museum in Morristown.

New Jersey often gets a bad rap, but those of us who live and work here know that among its many assets is the presence of some of the finest artists. A visit to the New Jersey Arts Annual at the Noyes Museum will dispel any doubt about that. In fact there’s such an explosion of impressive works that the museum has opened both its locations — the Arts Garage in Atlantic City and Kramer Hall Galleries in Hammonton — to showcase through June 24 the New Jersey State Council on the Arts annual presentation of the best of our state. The theme for the 2023 Annual is “Mother Nature vs. Human Nature: The Inequity of Climate Resilience.” Winnowing the more than 800 submissions to 105 included in the show was a daunting task for the jurors. They write in the catalog, “We are impressed by the skill and creativity of the works submitted and by the innovation in techniques and technology used by many of the artists that might not have been available a few decades ago.”

During her tenure as President of The Washington Post, Katherine Graham published the Pentagon Papers, ran the Watergate story and served as the first female CEO of a Fortune 500 company, but her journey to career success was a traumatic one.Robin Gerber’s play The Shot, coming to New Jersey Repertory Company April 6-23, reveals the harrowing events that led to Katherine taking the helm, including a history of domestic abuse and her husband’s suicide.Host Maddie Orton speaks with playwright Robin Gerber, director/dramaturg Michelle Joyner, and star Sharon Lawrence (Joe Pickett, On Becoming a God in Central Florida, NYPD Blue, Grey’s Anatomy) about creating The Shot.Please note, this conversation includes a discussion of partner abuse and suicide, so listen with care.

The exhibition, “Cycle of Creativity: Alison Saar and the Toni Morrison Papers,” on view at the Princeton University Art Museum’s Art@Bainbridge galleries through July 9,brings together the writings of Morrison, whose papers from her career as novelist, essayist, playwright, professor and editor, are held in the Princeton University Library, and the sculpture, prints and textiles of Saar, to create a conversation they might have had if they were in the same room. No, Morrison (1931-2019) and Saar never met, but the exhibition shows how both women share a dedication to giving voices to the African American experience, particularly the lives of Black women. And both spoke about the importance of using their work to foster the creativity of future generations of Black artists.

During her tenure as President of The Washington Post, Katherine Graham published the Pentagon Papers, ran the Watergate story and served as the first female CEO of a Fortune 500 company, but her journey to career success was a traumatic one.

Robin Gerber’s play The Shot, coming to New Jersey Repertory Company April 6-23, reveals the harrowing events that led to Katherine taking the helm, including a history of domestic abuse and her husband’s suicide.

Host Maddie Orton speaks with playwright Robin Gerber, director/dramaturg Michelle Joyner, and star Sharon Lawrence (Joe Pickett, On Becoming a God in Central Florida, NYPD Blue, Grey’s Anatomy) about creating The Shot.

Please note, this conversation includes a discussion of partner abuse and suicide, so listen with care.

Thanks for listening!

Subscribe to The Jersey Arts Podcast on your favorite podcast player.
Follow and contact us @jerseyarts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
The Jersey Arts Podcast is part of Discover Jersey Arts (jerseyarts.com). Search our articles, podcasts and videos that cover New Jersey’s vibrant arts and entertainment scene.
Subscribe to our e-newsletter for a weekly dose of interesting, entertaining and buzz-worthy stories.

Discover Jersey Arts is presented by ArtPride New Jersey. The program was co-founded by, and is currently supported by funds from, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Additional support for JerseyArts.com content is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

In the five years since a gunman shot and killed 11 Jews at the Tree of Life Synagogue in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, antisemitism has left many Jews living in fear. Mosaic artist Susan Ribnick, who hails from Austin, Texas, decided to do something. “Tacitly listening to this ‘news cycle’ and doing nothing felt somehow complicit,” she writes in the booklet for the exhibition she organized, From Darkness to Light: Mosaics Inspired by Tragedy.

The city of Newark, New Jersey unveiled its long-awaited Harriet Tubman monument March 9 with great excitement. Four days of community celebrations and events followed. With visual, audio and tactile components, “Shadow of a Face” is not a statue to view from a distance, but a place to see, hear, touch, spend time and reflect on stories. Designed by Jamaican-born, Montclair-based Nina Cooke John, this unique public art project will be visited, studied, and celebrated for years to come.

This year’s Garden State Film Festival kicks off Thursday, March 23, and will be serving up a four-day weekend of more independent films and one-of-a-kind events than even the most die-hard moviegoer could take in. Since the first festival in 2003, GSFF has provided opportunities for aspiring filmmakers and actors to network with industry pros and have their work showcased in one of the country’s most iconic cities – New Jersey’s Asbury Park.Five venues there, the Jersey Shore Arts Center in Ocean Grove and the Cranford Theater will host a weekend of films.Jersey Arts recently spoke with Garden State Film Festival’s Executive Director Lauren Concar, festival founder Diane Raver, Associate Director of the New Jersey Motion Picture and Television Commission David Schoner, Director of Communications for New Jersey Public Broadcasting Service Debra Falk, feature screenplay winner Kelly Byrne, and festival host Sophia Lucia about what to expect this year.

The New Jersey Performing Arts Center in collaboration with the Newark Public Library will present Philip Roth Unbound, a weekend-long festival that celebrates the life, legacy and work of novelist and Newark native. Over the course of three days, beginning Friday, March 17 and concluding Sunday, March 19, 2023, NJPAC will host a series of events, featuring more than 40 prominent writers, actors, artists, journalists and intellectuals in the nation. Designed to appeal to audiences of all backgrounds, the festival will feature star-studded stage readings, panel discussions and a comedy showcase. The program is designed to explore the significance and impact of Roth’s unique literary legacy, using his writings as a springboard to explore broader questions about life in America today.

“When teenager Percy Jackson discovers he’s a demigod, he and his friends embark on an epic journey to find Zeus’s missing lightning bolt and prevent a war among the gods.” That is the synopsis for “The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical,” produced by The Growing Stage, The Children’s Theatre of New Jersey, in Netcong March 10-26, 2023. The Growing Stage’s mission is to nurture the development of the performing arts through education, and to create, produce and perform works that engage the entire family.Based on the novel by Rick Riordan, with a book by Joe Tracz and music and lyrics by Rob Rokicki, this rock musical is theater for the whole family to enjoy. Jersey Arts speaks with “The Lightning Thief” vocal coach Melinda Bass O’Neill and actress Jeorgi Smith as they prepare to launch this production by The Growing Stage.

A rehabilitation camp for disaffected teens, a haunted wood plagued by lost souls, and a path to redemption for all — this is but a taste of the upcoming musical “Clean Slate.”A co-production from Passage Theatre and Rider University, the musical will mark its world premiere in the Garden State. A story of radical empathy, the piece explores the need to remember who we used to be in order to move forward. Jersey Arts visits Rider University to speak to the creative team behind “Clean Slate,” which will run its encore performance at the Mill Hill Playhouse in Trenton March 10-12.

Barbara Rearick could picture it: female student vocalists from the Princeton University Glee Club invoking the spirit of women’s suffrage, saturating Richardson Auditorium with the rousing lyrics to Dame Ethel Smyth’s 1911 anthem, “The March of the Women”.The concert on March 5, spotlighting women composers from the mid-19th century to the present, features female members of the Richardson Chamber Players, Princeton University performance faculty who perform Sunday afternoon concerts of mixed chamber works.For all of “March of the Women’s” tonal variety, “there’s something very uplifting and colorful about the whole program,” says Rearick, a mezzo-soprano on faculty and curator of the concert. “It’s in the strength of these female composers and the fieriness and passion in their music; that’s what I really responded to. There’s even a [piano trio] piece called ‘Pale Yellow/Fiery Red’ by Jennifer Higdon,” a Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and flutist. “So, there you have it—colorful, fiery.… I wanted to put out as many composers as I could because, once I started, I realized there’s just so much out there.”

Gazing out the window on NJTransit south to Trenton, and then on Amtrak further south to Philadelphia and Baltimore, one sees brick row houses, sometimes crumbling, sometimes boarded up, covered with words that express desolation. There are solitary figures here and there, or perhaps a face looking out from a window. Better times might have been in the past, for these places. This is the world of Leroy Johnson, whose exhibition is on view at the Gallery at Mercer County Community College through March 23. Largely self-taught, Johnson called himself an “activist artist” and “urban expressionist” whose work was shaped by African American history and life in the inner city.“I wanted to bring Leroy here because a lot of this work transcends generations, and its socio-political content is still very relevant,” says Gallery Director Lucas Kelly.Johnson’s city – the one he lived his life in – was Philadelphia. He grew up in an integrated neighborhood, and in his lifetime saw many neighborhoods become gentrified. But, says Kelly, it could be any city.

What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore— And then run?These words from the poetry of Langston Hughes served as the inspiration for the play “A Raisin in the Sun” and later its Tony Award-winning musical reimagining, “Raisin.” Focused on the dreams and desires of a struggling Black family in 1950s Chicago, “Raisin” celebrates the persistence and resolve of a family at a crossroads. Jersey Arts visits the Axelrod Performing Arts Center to speak with the creative team behind the show and learn more about its 50th Anniversary performance of “Raisin,” on stage Feb. 24 - March 12.

Bradley Gibson (“A Bronx Tale,” “The Lion King,” “The Partner Track”) has big sandals to fill as the titular role in “Disney’s Hercules,” but if anyone’s ready to play the lovable demigod, it’s him. As a child, Bradley was a huge fan of the 1997 animated Disney movie, and taking on the character has helped him find new meaning in, and love for, the story. Gibson leads a star-studded cast at Paper Mill Playhouse from Feb. 16 -March 19. He chats with Jersey Arts about his love for the 1997 film, developing a well-known animated character for the stage, and what it feels like to star in a Disney production.

In Atlantic City, a community of artists has transformed a former Payless Shoesource into a temporary art experience featuring large-scale, mixed-media installations. On view through Feb. 19, 2023, the Atlantic City Arts Foundation welcomes you to step in and surround yourself with ARTeriors Baltic Avenue.At a time when tech-heavy “immersive experiences” and slick paintings generated by artificial intelligence are all the rage, ARTeriors feels refreshingly human and fun. The artists have filled every inch of the space using hand-worked, unconventional materials. Textiles have been dyed, ripped, tied, and draped over shoe racks to create colorful twisting tunnels and caverns, and around each turn awaits a new surprise. Turn right, and you may discover colorful butterflies drifting dreamily across fluffy clouds made of textiles and surrounded by wire bird cages. Turn left and wander into a festive cave constructed of neon stalagmites and stalactites suspended over reflective mylar.

To Yahaya Kamate, the work of a performer and an educator is inseparable. Every class he teaches is a dynamic performance, and public performances usually offer opportunities for audience participation, if not a full-length dance lesson. Born and raised in the West African country of Côte d’Ivoire and a former member of the National Ballet of the Ivory Coast, Kamate came to the United States in 1994, and immediately found work as a lead dancer, choreographer and teacher of modern dance, ballet, African dance and music. Kamate has been living in New Jersey since 1999, working at respected local arts organizations including NJPAC, City Lore, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Bronx Art Ensemble, and the Institute of Music for Children. We recently had the opportunity to spend time with this engaging artist at The Center for Modern Dance Education, (CMDE) where he has been offering classes and public performances for over 20 years.

Ida B. Wells-Barnett was a prominent journalist and activist who fought tirelessly for women’s right to vote even though she is often left out of historical conversations about the women’s suffrage movement. Today her image graces a mural located in the heart of downtown Englewood, New Jersey, on the east-facing wall of the Women's Rights Information Center building at 108 W. Palisades Avenue.“The Black Women’s Mural: Celebrating Black Suffragists and Black Women in Englewood” is meant to celebrate the achievements of Black women who paved the way for civil and women’s rights as well as serve as a beacon of pride and hope for young girls, Black women and the community-at-large in Englewood. The mural, painted by Black-Iranian visual artist Tatyana Fazlalizadeh, also features Dr. Josie Carter, an original member of the Women's Rights Information Center's board of directors; a group of Black women activists protesting segregation at the city's Lincoln Elementary School; Hali Cooper, a Black Lives Matter protester; and Kia S. Thornton Miller along with her daughter Toni Michelle Miller, a ninth grade student at Bergen County Technical Schools.

The 53 artworks gathered in Bedminster through March 3 for The Center’s International Juried Exhibition beg a second glance. And in fact, with this exhibition, The Center is crawling with life—birds, canyons, creation myths, Lady Justice with a piñata at the U.S.-Mexico border, and a frightened Lady Liberty sweating it out, eyeing the hands of new arrivals straining to gain purchase on her pedestal. The visitor who dares to stop a while will end up keeping company with a few dozen artists working things out in a variety of media. The works on view grapple with issues we all seem to be up against from day to day, among them: gun violence, immigration policy, consumerism, technology, identity. Esteban del Valle, an interdisciplinary artist based in Brooklyn, served as the exhibit’s juror. Del Valle says he “wanted the exhibition to reflect different ways of looking and processing our lived experience,” so selecting works in a wide variety of media was key. The show features video, photography, sculpture, mixed media, and fiber art as well as works on paper, panel and canvas.

It’s a night of music, dancing, drugs, and deception—and that’s only act one! Andrew Lippa’s The Wild Party takes the stage at Hammonton’s Eagle Theatre from February 9-26, bringing Joseph Moncure March’s 1928 narrative poem of the same title to life. The musical tells the story of a romance between Vaudeville performers gone awry, and is set against a backdrop of eccentric characters, catchy tunes, and a soirée that won’t soon be forgotten.Jesey Arts talks with Producing Artistic Director and show Director Angela Longo about The Wild Party’s cult following, history, and upcoming Eagle Theatre production.

PEAK Performances, together with Ballet Collective Inc., will present the world premiere of The Night Falls, a dance-driven music theater production, in the Alexander Kasser Theater at Montclair State University Feb. 9-12. A hauntingly unique work of art, the production melds mediums into a symphonic commentary on grief, despair, and resistance. Seeking to encourage audiences to live life to the fullest, the piece thrives on its desire to see beauty through difficulty. Jersey Arts visits The Night Falls' dance company and creative team during a rehearsal at Alvin Ailey studios in NYC to learn more about this novel production.

A 2019 Public Library of Science survey of eighteen prominent American museums revealed that over 80% of represented artists are male. This is not new. Throughout history, work by women artists has been undervalued. Zakiyah Stewart answered the call to Support women artists and work towards achieving gender equality by curating the exhibit, “Women’s Work,” on view at Camden FireWorks through March 10. Stewart, with an art history background, brought together a group of artists — Ylvia Asal, Alison Bermudez, Daisy Diamond, Kalila Jones, Meg Meehan, and Dana Suleymanova — using practices long considered women-only spaces — knitting, crocheting, quilting, sewing, embroidery, and more — and uses these mediums to make new and bold statements.

What happens when life imitates art too literally? Lots of drama. Two River Theater is presenting the world debut of “Living & Breathing,” a world premiere play by Mando Alvarado. This new play examines the world of high art, racial identity, and a friend group that’s ready to buckle. Jersey Arts goes to rehearsal in Red Bank to learn more from the team behind this new show.

When Irena Gobernik gazes into a piece of wood, she sees more than the texture and the grain. Like other artists working in wood, she is connecting to the soul of the tree. Where some of us may see worm holes, Gobernik sees eyes. While others might observe a curved branch, Gobernik sees the undulations of a human body. Gobernik, who creates puppets she carves from wood, will be leading a four-hour puppet-making workshop Jan. 21 at the West Windsor Arts Center to benefit the Artists for Ukraine fund at Direct Relief. Participants will come away with a 12- to 15-inch wooden puppet. A one-time mathematician and gallery owner, Gobernik studied puppet making in Prague, known for its rich tradition of puppet theater. Not only does she see things in the wood as she is carving, but as an artist she is able to create personalities in her characters. This comes from both the carving and painting of the features, as well as the movement of the head and body. Modeled after people she knows, Gobernik’s puppets are portraits, she says. Reflecting on the importance of the benefit for Ukraine, Gobernick recounts “My mother was born in Ukraine and lived in Kyiv before World War II. When I was 6 and my father was studying, we went with my mother to live with my grandparents in Ukraine. I remember my grandparents and great aunt singing Ukrainian songs together. It was the culture I grew up in.” “But even if I didn’t have a connection to Ukraine,” she says, “I’d be committed to helping because I’m a human being.”

Coined by the late Juan M. Sanchez (1984-2013) to describe his approach to life, busual means, simply, “better than usual.” “Juan had the heart of an artist,” says his widow Katie Morgan. “He saw beauty in everything.” In his honor Morgan has organized Duality: A Study of Complexity and Becoming, to run at the Art Alliance of Monmouth County in Red Bank Jan. 7 through 31. The work chosen embodies the idea of duality, continues Morgan. “It, in some way, plays, however subtly, with a story of two...with the space between feelings, identities, objects... all through photography, ceramics, original digital art, traditional paintings and even wood carvings. All of these sacred works are a reminder of the ways in which we can honor and savor our ever-emerging and shifting humanity.” There are 11 artists in the exhibition.Each January, the Art Alliance of Monmouth County dedicates its gallery space to a charitable cause. “Some artists are offering a percentage of the sales, while others are donating the full amount of the sale, minus the 20% commission taken by the gallery to cover operating expenses,” says Morgan.Sales and donations will be directed to the Boomer Esiason Foundation to fight cystic fibrosis by raising awareness of and improving the quality of life for those affected by the disease.

Comedian Caroline Rhea is back on tour for the first time in years, and she's got plenty of material! Most recognized for her work as Hilda Spellman on the hit TV series Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Rhea is also known and loved for The Caroline Rhea Show, as a voice on Disney Channel's Phineas and Ferb, her recurring spots on Hollywood Squares and The Match Game, A Very Sordid Wedding, A Mrs. Miracle Christmas, and her many stand-up specials.Rhea talks with Jersey Arts about the art of stand-up comedy, tour life, Sabrina and parenthood. There are two performances of New Year's Eve with Caroline Rhea Dec. 31 at the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center.

Billed as the largest in New Jersey, First Night Morris County offers plenty of sparkle.This year, the festival comprises 200 artists, 70 cultural events, 50 on-demand films, 21 venues, a 4-hr Children’s Fun Festival, trio of art exhibits, 2 fireworks displays, and a livestream from Mayo PAC.Performances include theater, comedy, storytelling, tap, reggae, rock, jazz, classical and opera.Activities unfold in everyday spaces as varied as churches, Morristown High School, the Hyatt Regency and the County Administration Building.Now that’s something to celebrate.

Crossroads Theatre Company's upcoming production of Chicken & Biscuits Dec. 21-31 at New Brunswick Performing Arts Center as is about coming home. The play itself is a comedy about a family reuniting and will run over the holidays as many people head home to celebrate and hopefully catch some theater with family and friends. It is also a homecoming of sorts to returning Artistic Director Ricardo Khan, who co-founded Crossroads Theatre Company in 1978, returned in 2020, and is working with director Lynda Gravátt, one of his early collaborators. Jersey Arts Podcast chats with Ricardo Khan about his upcoming show, co-founding Crossroads, and what the spring season has in store.

Singer-songwriter and guitarist Danielia Cotton is returning to her hometown of Hopewell, New Jersey for the holiday season with a concert at the Hopewell Theater Saturday, Dec. 17, at 8 p.m. With her big and bold vocals, Cotton has been compared to such iconic artists as Lenny Kravitz, Janis Joplin and Tina Turner. She has carved out a niche in the music industry with her own unique soulful-rock sound and uncompromising artistry, having shared the stage with the likes of Robert Cray, Bon Jovi and Gregg Allman.Fittingly called “Home for the Holidays,” Cotton’s show will feature music from her latest studio album, “Good Day,” released in 2021, and seven previous albums. She also will perform newly written music, in preparation of sorts, before heading into a recording studio to belt out her next album. “It's always good as a musician to be able to try out a song on a live audience to get a feel for what works well,” she says.

When Newark’s New Jersey Performing Arts Center opens its doors on Dec. 17 for the annual Kwanzaa Festival and Marketplace, the gathering will mark a kind of homecoming.The free event, at the heart of NJPAC’s community programming for more than a decade, will take place in person for the first time since 2019. This is also the first time that NJPAC will partner with several of its neighbors to present the festival, including The Newark Museum of Art, Newark Arts, Newark Symphony Hall and the Newark Public Library, as well as the City of Newark.The festival, running from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., will feature performances by step teams and a marching band, a wide variety of art and craft activities for children and families, storytelling, face painting, Adinkra-stamping, drumming, and dance classes, as well as the traditional lighting of the Kinara, or the candelabra.

The Hip Hop Nutcracker is celebrating its 10th season at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center with two stunning performances taking place Saturday, Dec. 17 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. The show pays homage to the original George Balanchine ballet, retold through modern, expressive hip-hop culture.The holiday dance spectacle features hip-hop pioneer Kurtis Blow, who performs as the master of ceremonies, and a cast of a dozen all-star dancers who will display supercharged hip-hop choreography.Blow says audiences will see an incredible fusion of hip-hop dance styles dating back to the ‘90s, from the electric boogie and pop & lock to B-Boying and break dancing with power moves, head spins, windmills, back spins and air twists.This year’s show features more energized dance routines by the ensemble and blended styles of classical and hip-hop music by electric violinist Vivek Menon.

Classical crossover ensemble Sons of Serendip broke onto the scene in 2014 after competing on America’s Got Talent, and they’ve been going strong ever since. They’re currently touring the country spreading their signature style of holiday cheer and will perform at South Orange Performing Arts Center Dec. 7.

Jersey Arts Podcast speaks with lead vocalist Micah Christian and pianist Cordaro Rodriguez about how their call to make music brought Sons of Serendip together, and how their second album, Christmas: Beyond the Lights, has become a holiday tradition.

LINKS
Sons of Serendip
South Orange Performing Arts Center

For more than a decade, Jersey City has had its own special holiday tradition: Nimbus Dance’s Jersey City Nutcracker. The city-centric show runs from Dec. 9 through 23 at the new Nimbus Arts Center.

Host Maddie Orton talks with Nimbus Dance Founding Artistic Director Sam Pott, who choreographed and co-wrote the piece, School Director Harumi Elders, and student dancer Izzy Baculod about being a part of this celebrated annual show.

Evelyn "Evie" McGee Colbert is an arts advocate, a film producer, and one of the founding board members of Montclair Film, a nonprofit that produces a festival that “connects global filmmakers with audiences in a diverse, culturally vibrant community” and more, “presenting … year-round programs that engage, entertain and educate through the power of visual storytelling.”

The 2022 festival is in its 11th season and it opens Friday, Oct. 21 at the Wellmont Theater with a special screening of “The Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” starring Daniel Craig. Friday, Oct. 28 at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, Montclair Film will present its 2022 Tribute to the“James Bond” star who will then discuss his life and career with “The Late Show” host Stephen Colbert.

In this discussion with host Gina Marie Rodriguez, Evelyn shares what audiences can expect from Montclair Film, the 2022 festival and the “Evening with Daniel Craig + Stephen Colbert.”

Renée Elise Goldsberry is the Grammy and Tony-winning talent behind Angelica Schuyler in Hamilton and currently appears on Girls5eva and She-Hulk.

Goldsberry is headed to Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown on September 30th for her concert called Opening Night: An Evening with Renée Elise Goldsberry.

She chatted with host Maddie Orton about creating a show of songs she loves.

The Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University in New Brunswick is showcasing its newly-acquired American art collection from the former Jersey City Museum for the first time. "American Stories: Gifts from the Jersey City Museum Collection” shares Jersey City history through work from artists like Chakaia Booker, May Stevens, Shelia Pepe, Melvin Edwards, and Jaune Quick-to-See Smith.

Host Maddie Orton spoke with Zimmerli Chief Curator Donna Gustafson Chief Curator about what we can look forward to seeing.

Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022 from 4:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., the museum will host “SparkNight,” an opening celebration and dance party for the exhibit.

Israeli superstar David Broza together with Cuban dynamo Trio Havana will finally return to the South Orange Performing Art Center on Sept. 17.

David Broza has been enlivening audiences with his flamenco-infused stylings of a diverse body of work — from rock to jazz to Spanish classical and more — for nearly 45 years.

For promoting tolerance with his music, Broza was named a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and awarded a Spanish royal medal of honor.

Trio Havana is comprised of bassist and musical director Jorge Bringas; singer-songwriter and master percussionist Manuel Alejandro Carro; and singer-songwriter and master tres player Yuniel Jimenez.

Some members of the Trio had first accompanied Broza for what was to have been a one-time gig but turned out to be what Broza called ‘brilliant.’ “The strongest formula for presenting a song…to hear the details and feel the passion of the storyteller and the instruments accompanying it, trio is it,” he said. “It's become to me the ultimate presentation of my music.”

After having been postponed three times due to the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and the aftermath of Hurricane Ida and its damage to SOPAC in 2021, the musicians are eager to perform for their dedicated ticket holders and new faces alike.

Earlier this week, composer, performer, educator, activist, and New Jersey Symphony Resident Artistic Catalyst Daniel Bernard Roumain brought jazz and jazz-inspired classical music to the Newark Museum of Art’s Summer Series along with a co-host, Grammy Award-winning clarinetist and saxophonist Paquito D’Rivera, and the New Jersey Symphony Chamber Players.

Roumain has worked with Lady Gaga, Philip Glass, Savion Glover, Bill T. Jones, and many more. He won an Emmy for composing music for ESPN, and he scored the film Ailey, a documentary about legendary choreographer Alvin Ailey, which premiered at Sundance Film Festival last year.

In this episode, we speak with Roumain about his unique role at NJ Symphony, Black classical music and hip-hop’s global influence.

The Newark Museum of Art’s summer concert series continues Aug. 6 at 7 p.m. with Simply Simone: The Music of Nina Simone.

Aug. 11 — A Night of Jazz and Soul with Patience Higgins and the Sugar Hill Quartet

Aug. 17 — Bass & Flute Extravaganza

LINKS
Podcast Transcript

Next Friday, June 24, the team behind the hit podcast series Welcome to Night Vale brings its live show, “The Haunting of Night Vale,” to the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, New Jersey.

According to The New York Times, “the news out of Night Vale sounds like what might occur if Stephen King or David Lynch was a guest producer at your local Public Radio Station.” The arts and culture magazine Vulture called it “the foundational institution of the fiction-podcast genre.”

The show at NJPAC is the last performance of a monthslong US tour, and it’s happening just a week after Welcome to Night Vale’s tenth anniversary.

We recently spoke with co-creator and writer Jeffrey Cranor and cast member and live show emcee Kate Jones about hitting that ten year milestone, life on the road and in the recording studio, and what it’s like when your quirky, spooky, funny podcast suddenly gets millions of new listeners.

SUPPORTED BY

ArtPride New Jersey
New Jersey State Council on the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts

This Saturday, May 21, theatergoers are invited to join ArtYard in Frenchtown for a reading of Whittier, a new docudrama by TyLie Shider. Whittier is a neighborhood in Minneapolis close to where the murder of George Floyd took place. Shider’s new play follows residents of Whittier grappling with that tragedy, as well as the stresses of life during the lockdown of 2020. A playwright, poet, and journalist, TyLie Shider is also the inaugural playwright in ArtYard’s artist residency program, curated by Deonté Griffin-Quick. Discover Jersey Arts recently spoke with Shider, Quick, and director Andrew Binger about bringing Whittier to the stage.

LINKS

Podcast Transcript
Learn More
RSVP
ArtYard

SUPPORTED BY

ArtPride New Jersey
New Jersey State Council on the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts

You could say that Sarah Rasmussen, McCarter Theatre's new Artistic Director has been training for this role since the 7th grade. From auditioning kids in the backyard of her South Dakota home to presenting her artistry on major stages across the country, Sarah has maintained her sense of playfulness with the art form. Now her McCarter directorial debut, "Ride the Cyclone", combines that whimsy with music, stunning design, and a perfect story for this moment in time. The show begins preview performances on April 30th.
[Sequence of interview has been edited]LINKS

McCarter Rasmussen transcript
"Ride the Cyclone" at McCarter Theatre Center
Stay connected to your local arts and entertainment scene at JerseyArts.com

SUPPORTED BY

ArtPride New Jersey
New Jersey State Council on the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts

This Saturday at the Hunterdon Art Museum, visitors are invited to a unique experience that brings together the visual and performing arts. Roxey Ballet Company has teamed up with artist Malcolm Mobutu Smith – whose exhibition Evermore Nevermore closes this weekend – and have created an exclusive 45-minute showcase that will be presented outdoors on the Toshiko Takaezu Terrace, overlooking the museum’s iconic view of the Raritan River. (This event is free, but please register to attend.)

We recently spoke with the Hunterdon Art Museum’s Executive Director Marjorie Frankel Nathanson, Roxey Ballet’s Executive Director Mark Roxey, artist Malcolm Mobutu Smith, and Roxey Ballet’s Director of Education and Outreach Lees Hummel about this special collaboration.

LINKS

Register to attend
Event listing
Roxey Ballet
Malcolm Mobutu Smith

SUPPORTED BY

ArtPride New Jersey
New Jersey State Council on the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts

On Wednesday, April 13, Vox Sambou and his band will take the stage at the Jay and Linda Grunin Center for the Arts. He writes and performs in Haitian, French, English, Spanish, and Portuguese, and his music focuses on the traditional rhythms of Haiti mixed with elements of Afrobeat, Jazz, Reggae, and Hip hop. Vox Sambou is currently - and it seems usually - touring the world. We spoke with him shortly after he arrived in the US after a visit with family in Haiti.

LINKS

Jay and Linda Grunin Center for the Arts
Vox Sambou – THE ETERNAL VOICE OF AYITI
Limbe, Haiti
Vox Sambou: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert - Bing video
Stay connected to your local arts and entertainment scene at JerseyArts.com

SUPPORTED BY

ArtPride New Jersey
New Jersey State Council on the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts

On Thursday, February 10, powerhouse vocalist Ms. Lisa Fischer will perform An Evening of Love Songs at South Orange Performing Arts Center. The legendary singer has performed with the Rolling Stones, Luther Vandross, Tina Turner, YoYo Ma, Bruce Springsteen, and many others, and is a Grammy-winning solo artist. We recently spoke with Fischer about her special Valentine’s Day concert, what it’s like to be one the most in-demand singers in the world, and how she creates “music that heals, but still rocks the house.”

The musical RENT changed theatre — taking home four Tony Awards and creating generations of super-fans. Believe it or not, it’s been 25 years since the show hit Broadway, and New Jersey's own Javon King plays Angel in RENT’s 25th Anniversary Farewell Tour. A Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Award-winner and Rider University alum, King is happy to be back in the Garden State performing at Mayo Performing Arts Center January 21-23.

King chats with host Maddie Orton about:

1:41: Javon King's introduction to RENT
4:12: Javon's arts education in New Jersey
11:18: Tour life
16:21: The legacy of Angel and RENT

LINKS:

RENT at Mayo Performing Arts Center
Stay connected to your local arts and entertainment scene at JerseyArts.com

SUPPORTED BY:

ArtPride New Jersey
New Jersey State Council on the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts

This past September, Roxey Ballet Company’s studios, offices, and theatre in the river town of Lambertville were totally destroyed by Hurricane Ida. This coming Sunday, December 19, they’re throwing a big fundraiser - Rise Up and Rebuild the Ballet - at their temporary home, the New Hope Eagle Fire Hall, right across the river from their New Jersey facilities. There will be food, drink, and a lot of dancing. We recently got the opportunity to sit down with company founder Mark Roxey to talk about rebuilding after Ida, and about how the community has rallied together to save Roxey Ballet Company. For more information, including tickets to Rise Up and Rebuild the Ballet event or how to donate, visit www.roxeyballet.org.

This Saturday, October 30, 2021, the hit public radio and podcast series Selected Shorts returns to Enlow Recital Hall at Kean University for an evening of beguiling tales for the Halloween season. One of the three readers is actor, writer, and creator of the new PBS Kids show “Alma’s Way,” Sonia Manzano, who is famous for her iconic, long-time role as Maria on “Sesame Street.” We recently got the chance to speak with Sonia Manzano about her time with “Sesame Street,” creating her own children’s show, and the joy of telling stories on stage.

Maggie Gyllenal, Dionne Warwick, and Stephen Colbert are among the many artists and filmmakers participating in this year's Montclair Film Festival, which opened October 21 and runs through October 30. Festival founder and Board Chair Bob Feinberg, Board of Trustees President Evie McGee Colbert, and New Jersey-based filmmaker Scott Morris share what they are most looking forward to as the festival kicks off its 10th anniversary season.

Feinberg, Colbert, and Morris chat with host Maddie Orton about:

00:45: Montclair Film Festival 10 years ago and today
5:36: Highlights of the 10th Anniversary Season
7:23: NJ filmmaker Scott Morris' documentary, American River
15:28: Montclair Film Festival's role in the Garden State
19:50: Reopening historic Clairidge Cinemas

LINKS:

Montclair Film Festival
American River at MFF
The Lost Daughter at MFF
Stay connected to your local arts and entertainment scene at JerseyArts.com

SUPPORTED BY:

ArtPride New Jersey
New Jersey State Council on the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts

On Saturday, September 18, four young playwrights will present their new plays at The Growing Stage — The Children’s Theatre of New Jersey. Ranging in age from 12 to 18, they are the finalists in The Growing Stage’s inaugural Playwriting Festival for Young Writers. Listen in as we speak to the blossoming writers and the creative team behind the festival.

Adam Pascal was a rock ‘n’ roll musician who had no theatrical credits when he landed the role of Roger in RENT—a show that would garner him a Tony nomination and forever change the sound of Broadway. Now, Pascal shares his journey through the shows he’s performed along the way—Aida, Cabaret, Memphis, Chicago, and more. His solo acoustic concert, “So Far,” is coming to the Arthur Pryor Bandshell in Asbury Park on July 28th and BellWorks in Holmdel on July 29th as part of Axelrod Performing Arts Center’s Vogel Summer Concert Series.

Adam chats with host Maddie Orton about:

2:13: Creating “So Far”
6:38: How Adam Pascal landed the role of Roger in RENT
7:46: How Roger got bleached hair and a leather jacket
13:09: Taking over some of Broadway’s biggest roles
17:45: Adam’s dream roles (and our dream roles for him)
25:37: The legacy of rent 25 years later

LINKS:

“So Far” presented by Axelrod Performing Arts Center

Adam Pascal sings “Phantom of the Opera” with Seth Rudetsky

Stay connected to your local arts and entertainment scene at JerseyArts.com

SUPPORTED BY:

ArtPride New Jersey

New Jersey State Council on the Arts

National Endowment for the Arts

The 2021 NJ Governor's Awards in Arts Education kicks off on Saturday, May 22. In this episode, we speak to two past winners, two of this year's awardees, and more about the impact of these annual awards.

● 1:06: Picture: "The Playbill Gallery" exhibit.

● 2:01: What's an "audio play"?

● 6:25: How "The Playbill Gallery" began.

● 10:35: How Mile Square Theatre made it through the pandemic.

● 12:29: Will the pandemic change how theatre is offered moving forward?

● 14:36: We remember theatre experiences for all sorts of reasons...

LINKS:

● "The Playbill Gallery (a love story)" at Mile Square Theatre

● New Jersey Theatre Alliance's Stages Festival

● Stay connected to your local arts and entertainment scene at JerseyArts.com.

SUPPORTED BY:

● ArtPride New Jersey

● The New Jersey State Council on the Arts

● The National Endowment for the Arts

The 2021 GRAMMY Awards are this weekend, and, for the first time, a Westminster grad participated in each of the five recordings nominated in the Best Choral Performance category. We recently spoke with five of the artists in that category about the nominated recordings.

The Buskaid Soweto String Ensemble was planning an in-person visit to the Princeton Symphony Orchestra (PSO) when the pandemic hit. Their visit is temporarily on hold, but Buskaid - A Musical Miracle: Brilliant Baroque to Cool Kwela! is a series of five on-demand concerts providing a wonderful introduction to this inspiring musical group. Jersey Arts producer Susan Wallner talks to Marc Uys, the executive director of the PSO (and a South African native), and to Julian Grant, a composer and Princeton resident, about a transformative visit they made to the Buskaid School in South Africa in 2019. The upcoming concerts feature Buskaid-trained soloists performing classical, pop, and uniquely South African music. Beginning January 29-31, the Buskaid concerts will be released every month through May 2021.

Since 1958, "Christmas in Carol and Song" has been an annual tradition at Rutgers University’s historic Kirkpatrick Chapel in New Brunswick. Patrick Gardner, distinguished professor of music and director of choral activities at the Mason Gross School of the Arts, has led the Rutgers Kirkpatrick Choir and the Rutgers University Glee Club for more than 25 years. With the help of both choirs recording from home throughout the country, visual artists Camilla Tassi and Stephanie Tubiolo, and a Mason Gross student quarantine pod known as the Handy Street 8, Gardner has produced a dynamic virtual concert experience debuts Saturday, December 12 at 7:30 PM. We recently spoke to Patrick Gardner and three of his students about reimagining and reinventing this holiday tradition for 2020.

Ada Trillo is a bilingual documentary photographer who grew up–literally–crossing the border. Born in El Paso, her family moved to Juárez when she was young, but she attended school in Texas, which meant an hours-long commute over the border every day. Trillo went on to become a painter, but Donald Trump’s hateful comments about Mexicans caused her to make a radical shift. The Noyes Museum’s Kramer Gallery in Hammonton, NJ, is now showing a selection of Trillo’s portraits in the exhibition “If Walls Could Speak: Asylum Seekers,” open both in person and online.

We recently spoke with Fort Lee, New Jersey native David Meyers, who left the world of Washington, DC politics behind to pursue a career as an actor, playwright, and screenwriter. In between projects for the stage and screen, he co-created the comedic web series Bloomywood, in which he stars as Hollywood hopeful Michael Bloomstein.

Given Circumstance: New Plays in the Virtual World is an ambitious project from Mile Square Theatre: seven new plays written specifically for the Zoom format. The first, “Sitting and Talking” by Lia Romeo, stars Wendie Malick (“Just Shoot Me!”) and Dan Lauria (“The Wonder Years”).

“The show must go on!” is part of Bonnie Monte’s DNA. As the artistic director of the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey for 30 years this season, shutting down was hard for her to do. But Monte found a way out, working with a group of eight actors originally employed as part of the theatre’s “Shakespeare Live!” company. The actors formed a new troupe (the Shrewd Mechanicals, in a nod to “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”), and will present two evenings of classic comedies: “Verily, Madly Thine,” and a double bill featuring Molière’s farce “The Love Doctor” and Edna St. Vincent Millay’s “Aria Da Capo.” Performances will take place outside on the theatre’s great lawn in Florham Park, NJ, and tickets are selling fast. In this conversation with producer Susan Wallner, Monte describes how they’re pulling off live theatre in New Jersey during the pandemic. She also reflects on her new appreciation for Shakespeare, whose own life was repeatedly shadowed by outbursts of the plague.

Last month, the New Jersey Governor’s Awards in Arts Education celebrated its 40th year. Established in 1980, the program was created to promote awareness and appreciation for the arts by honoring individual students, and to honor education leaders who have demonstrated excellence in, and dedication to, arts education. Usually held in May at the historic Patriots Theater at the War Memorial in Trenton, this year’s awards ceremony, like so many other arts events, moved online – and took place in late June.

Art House Productions was founded after 9/11 to bring Jersey City’s community together through the arts. They’ve thrived over the years, with live theatre, dance, and comedy events, and more. The coronavirus has made them return to their roots of providing connection for the community, this time through live virtual events. Executive director Meredith Burns talks to producer Susan Wallner about Virtual Drag Bingo, Virtual Story Slam, Saturday Night Online Comedy, and more.

While we’re all staying at home to do our part to stop the coronavirus, everyone’s developing different media diets, and that includes the art we’re choosing to enrich our days in isolation. For this podcast, we’re focusing on some of the new music that’s being made available online. We got on the phone with the folks behind the online content programming for four New Jersey arts organizations – New Jersey Performing Arts Center’s Dave Rodriguez, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra’s Patrick Chamberlain, The Folk Project’s Mark Schaffer, and Rowan University’s Debbie Shapiro, who is currently running the Live to your Couch series, which features Rowan’s College of Performing Arts faculty.

Songwriters by the Sea started in Asbury Park at a coffee shop in 2008, with a tip jar passed around. Since then it’s grown to a ticketed event, but with an informal vibe. Top name performers play alongside local favorites. It was founded by singer/songwriters Joe D’Urso and Joe Rapolla. Rapolla is also a former music industry executive, and the chair of Monmouth University’s Music & Theatre Arts Department. Producer Susan Wallner spoke to Joe Rapolla about the history of this on-going series after the March 2020 Songwriters by the Sea concert was cancelled.

Did you know that New Brunswick, N.J. is the only place in the country where you can see live, world-class jazz every week for free? You can thank the New Brunswick Jazz Project. We recently sat down with the NBJP team at Tavern on George, where most of their events take place.

It’s been called the perfect romantic comedy. Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night" begins with sister-brother twins losing each other in a shipwreck, leading to a high-spirited tale of gender-bending and mixed-up love affairs. Director Sara Holdren recalls falling in love with Shakespeare at a very early age, and the creative fun of interpreting his plays. Hint: Sara’s making the most of the music in the production, collaborating with the band and theater collective, The Lobbyists. “Twelfth Night” is on stage at Two River Theater in Red Bank, NJ through February 2, 2020.

This Sunday, the New Jersey Youth Symphony will perform two "Nutcrackers" side by side – bouncing Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn’s 1960s arrangements off of Tchaikovsky’s original compositions. Listen in as we talk to the Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of NJYS and Director of the NJYS’s Jazz Orchestra about putting this ambitious project together to challenge their students and celebrate the season.

Hannah Arendt is a philosopher for our times, and the unlikely title character in a new play “Mrs. Stern Wanders the Prussian State Library.” Jenny Lyn Bader's gripping play is inspired by the true story of how Arendt, a 26 year-old married Jewish woman at the beginning of her career as a philosopher, was arrested with her mother in Nazi Germany in 1933. Arendt, who’s married name is Stern, is best known for her writings on fascism, totalitarianism, and the nature of power and evil.

"Mrs. Stern Wanders the Prussian State Library" is now at Luna Stage in West Orange, New Jersey, where the run has been extended through November 17. Bader, who is on the advisory board of the Hannah Arendt Center for Politics and the Humanities, talks to producer Susan Wallner about both her play and Arendt's legacy.

The Great Cheesy Movie Circus Tour is coming to town. It’s the latest live tour from "Mystery Science Theater 3000," the classic television show in which a spaceship janitor and his homemade robot friends are subjected to a cruel experiment by mad scientists - meaning they are forced to watch the worst movies ever made until they go insane. Creator and original host Joel Hodgson (and company) will be doing two shows at the State Theatre in New Brunswick October 26. He spoke with us earlier this week from the tour bus about the history of the Peabody Award-winning Mystery Science Theater 3000, and about how the unique comedic art form he created continues to connect with audiences more than 30 years after the show premiered on a local TV station in Minneapolis.

Emily Mann is a triple threat: an award-winning playwright known for her “theater of testimony,” a sought-after director, and the artistic director of one of America’s preeminent regional theaters, the McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton, New Jersey. She is stepping down as artistic director after the 2019-2020 season, her 30th at the McCarter. In this special edition of the Jersey Arts Podcast, producer Susan Wallner talks with Mann about her career, her future projects, and her final season, which begins with her play Gloria: A Life starring Mary McDonnell ("Dances with Wolves," "Battlestar Galactica").

We recently spoke with artist and designer Molly Hatch, whose signature style is currently on display in a large-scale ceramics installation at the Newark Museum called Repertoire.

During the era of Jim Crow, black singers were played on black radio stations, and white singers on white ones. Famously, Elvis Presley adopted the bluesy style and songs of black performers, shocking white audiences. Rose Marie McCoy wanted to be a singer, but became one of the best songwriters of the time, working on both sides of the color barrier with hits by Ike and Tina Turner, Elvis Presley, James Taylor, and Sarah Vaughn among others. At the Puffin Cultural Forum in Teaneck on July 26, "40s to 60s, A Musical Journey" will chart the journey from the blues to rock and roll, including songs by McCoy and others. Singer Audrey Martells will perform and McCoy’s biographer, Arlene Corsano, will share anecdotes and provide historical context. In this Jersey Arts Podcast, Corsano talks to producer Susan Wallner about Rose Marie McCoy, a black woman whose talent and spunk helped her make it in the music industry during the 1940s, '50s and '60s.

On stage through July 20, "Summerland" is a work of historical fiction based on a real case that involved William H. Mumler – a man who claimed to be able to photograph spirits, and whose clients included First Lady of the United States Mary Todd Lincoln.

In the age of Instagram, food is a visual obsession. “The Shared Meal,” an exhibition at Artworks in Trenton, dives deeper, exploring the meaning of food through the work of nine visual artists.

From April 25-28, NJSO presents Xian Conducts Mozart, with classical music super-star Simone Dinnerstein performing Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 23. Hear from Dinnerstein on her take on the timeless genius of Mozart’s music.

Video games, music, and pizza form the cultural undercurrent of "Band on the Run," a new play by Chris Saglimbene featured in this year’s Stages Festival. A playwright, actor, vlogger, gamer, artist, and all-around talented guy, Saglimbene has cerebral palsy but, as he says, “it doesn’t have him.” Actors from Premiere Stages at Kean University join Saglimbene in a staged reading on March 23 at the Schonhorn Arts Center at Matheny Medical and Education Center in Peapack. Producer Susan Wallner talks to Chris Saglimbene and Heather Williams, performing arts coordinator of the Arts Access Program at Matheny.

The Alan Parsons Live Project plays Bergen Performing Arts Center on Friday, February 22. Rock icon Alan Parsons took a moment during his non-stop touring schedule to chat with us about getting his start working with The Beatles and Pink Floyd at Abbey Road Studios, the analog approach he took in producing his new album “The Secret,” and finally winning a Grammy Award a few weeks ago after being nominated 13 times over four decades. The first one was for his engineering work on Pink Floyd’s classic album “Dark Side of the Moon.”

Composer John Morton has created interactive installations using sound in Central Park, Governors Island and now the Morris Museum, where two of his pieces can be “played” through February 24. “Fever Songs” uses audio gathered from different religious traditions, and “The Voyage Out” is a collaboration with figurative artist Jacqueline Shatz. Producer Susan Wallner talks to both of the artists about the latter work — a ship with three keys that initiate both movement and sound – which was inspired by Charles Darwin’s journey of exploration aboard the HMS Beagle. Morton and Shatz also discuss the tradition of music boxes and automata, both of which can be seen in the Morris Museum’s world-renowned Guinness Collection of Mechanical Musical Instruments and Automata.

At the age of 75, singer-songwriter Garland Jeffreys continues to rock. The Brooklyn native got his start in New York City’s club scene in the mid-60s, and had a breakout hit in the 70s with the single “Wild in the Streets.” He met his best friend Lou Reed while studying art history at Syracuse University, and he recorded with The Velvet Underground’s co-founder John Cale before striking out on his own. In 1977, the year his album “Ghost Writer” was released, Rolling Stone pronounced him Best New Artist. In the decades since, Jeffreys has recorded 12 more albums, including last year’s “14 Steps To Harlem.” We spoke recently over the phone to talk about protest music, his upcoming show at SOPAC and the song that started it all.

Drummer, leader, and composer Terri Lyne Carrington made history as the first woman to win a Grammy for Best Instrumental Jazz for her album “Money Jungle: Provocative in Blue.” Now, she brings her interpretation of Duke Ellington’s “Money Jungle” to the TD James Moody Jazz Festival at NJPAC on November 11, 2018, as part of a program called “Jazz Vinyl Revisited.” Producer Susan Wallner talks to Carrington about her connections to the jazz greats Clark Terry and Max Roach; her newest project, the Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice; and why she thinks drummers make natural leaders.

Tonight, Tuesday, October 30, at Douglass Library at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, a mother and her daughter – one an artist, the other a scientist – will have a public conversation about where, why and how their fields intersect.

The Dodge Poetry Festival is the largest poetry event in North America. Paterson-based poet Maria Mazziotti Gillan will be reading on Thursday and Friday of the four-day festival taking place October 18-21 in Newark. Maria is the force behind the Poetry Center at Passaic County Community College, and the author of more than 20 books of and about poetry. Her poems are about her life, including her strong memories of childhood in Paterson’s Italian immigrant community. She likes to talk about the “cave,” that place of memories and feelings inside us all that the best poetry takes us back to. Producer Susan Wallner spoke to Maria Mazziotti Gillan at her home in Hawthorne, a suburb of Paterson

Steve Martin and Edie Brickell’s Broadway musical "Bright Star" has come to Surflight Theatre in Beach Haven. The comedian and the songwriter created the show after collaborating on a Grammy-winning bluegrass album called "Love Has Come For You." "Bright Star" is set in the American South in the 1920s and '40s, and it’s on a similar musical wavelength. We recently spoke with Surflight’s Artistic Director Steve Steiner, actor Adrianne Hick and director Elizabeth Lucas about bringing "Bright Star" to Long Beach Island.

Wendy Wasserstein’s best known play, "The Heidi Chronicles," won both the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play in 1989. Many of the themes of this feminist classic were already evident in "Uncommon Women and Others," a play written by Wasserstein a decade earlier. "Uncommon Women" is on stage at the Princeton Summer Theater through July 22nd. For this podcast, producer Susan Wallner spoke to the Dean of the College at Princeton University and author of a book about Wendy Wasserstein, Jill Dolan. Dolan points out that the hopes and fears of young women about to make critical life choices after college continue to resonate today.

Looking for a way to celebrate the start of the summer season? Beginning Friday, June 22, all 48 blocks of Atlantic City will be buzzing with hands-on art projects, live performances, unique dining experiences and a lot more. We recently spoke with Joyce Hagen, Executive Director of the Atlantic City Arts Foundation, to learn more about A.C.’s arts scene, and to find out what the 48 Blocks Atlantic City arts celebration is all about. For a handy guide to all of the locations and events, check out 48blocksAC.com.

“Caged” is a play based on the experiences of incarcerated men in New Jersey. It’s written by the New Jersey Prison Cooperative, a group of men who met in a drama class in prison taught by Chris Hedges, an author and Princeton University professor. Hedges had heard a story about a man being jailed that had affected him, and he offered it to the class as a starting point. From that beginning, the men created “Caged,” a transformative play based on their own, similar experiences of incarceration. Producer Susan Wallner spoke to Boris Franklin, the only one of the playwrights out of prison yet. Franklin is now a full-time student majoring in psychology, and an actor in the premiere production of “Caged” at Passage Theatre, May 3-20, 2018.

The new musical "The Sting," now entering its last weekend at Paper Mill Playhouse, was pretty much totally sold out before it even opened. A musical adaptation of the classic, Oscar-winning film of the same name starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford, this new version stars Harry Connick, Jr., J. Harrison Ghee and Kate Shindle – to name a few. Theater-goers know Ghee from his inimitable performance as the drag queen hero Lola of the Tony Award-winning "Kinky Boots," and they know Shindle from Broadway productions of "Jekyll & Hyde," "Cabaret," "Wonderland" and the national tour of the Tony Award-winning musical "Fun Home." We spoke with both of them earlier this week as they were preparing for their final performances of this smash-hit run at Paper Mill.

Even if you don't know anything about opera, you've heard “Ride of the Valkyries" – it’s been bouncing around pop culture for generations, appearing in everything from Bugs Bunny cartoons to "Apocalypse Now." This Sunday, March 18, at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Trilogy: An Opera Company will present Richard Wagner’s "The Valkyrie" – the second of four works that form Richard Wagner's musical drama "Ring Cycle" – which features the famous “Ride of the Valkyries” segment at the beginning of Act Three. We recently spoke with Trilogy’s Artistic Director Kevin Maynor about this opera and the meaning behind it. Maynor will also be performing the role of Hunding on Sunday – something he’s done many times in opera houses around the world throughout his remarkable career as an opera singer.

The next show at the Axelrod Performing Arts Center, opening March 3, is the popular musical “Ragtime.” Set in the early 20th century, it features African Americans, Jewish immigrants, upper-class suburbanites, as well as historical luminaries such as Harry Houdini, Henry Ford and Emma Goldman. Luis Salgado is the director of this new production, returning to Axelrod PAC after his popular 2017 production of “In the Heights.” Luis was an original cast member and assistant choreographer for Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “In the Heights” on Broadway. Producer Susan Wallner spoke to Salgado about his journey from performer to director, his mission as an artist and about being back at the Axelrod PAC. “Ragtime” runs March 3-25 at Axelrod Performing Arts Center in Deal Park, NJ.

Caleb Hudson is the newest member of the Canadian Brass, the popular quintet that revolutionized the place of brass in classical music. A former principal trumpet of Collingswood’s Symphony in C, Hudson returns as a featured artist on their “Italian Festival” concert on January 27 at the Rutgers Camden Center for the Arts. He spoke to producer Susan Wallner about how he first came to play the trumpet, what it's like to be part of the Canadian Brass and the two solos he’ll be performing with the Symphony in C.

This year commemorates the 100th anniversary of the United States’ entry into World War I. Though often referred to as The Forgotten War, most of us know that it was one of the largest and most brutal wars in history. But there is one short chapter that is still unknown to many—during the Christmas of 1914, peace broke out. Allied and German soldiers on the front lines reached out to each other from their trenches, initially through Christmas caroling, and met in the No Man’s Land between them to exchange holiday greetings, trade food, play soccer, swap prisoners and hold burial ceremonies for their dead. Then, the truce ended, and the war continued. One of the most unlikely moments in modern history, and left out of most textbooks, the Christmas Truce of 1914 really did happen. This Sunday at Kean University, the story will come to life on stage in “All Is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914.” Christopher Benincasa recently spoke with writer and director Peter Rothstein and Kean Stage Manager Steve Cochran about “All Is Calm,” and the amazing history behind it.

The elegant old Hahne and Co. Department Store in Newark, shuttered for 30 years, is now home to a new experiment in the arts. Along with the first Whole Foods in the city, apartments and a new restaurant, it’s home to Express Newark - an “arts incubator” conceived by Rutgers University-Newark in collaboration with community arts leaders. Popular programs include the weekly open studio at the Newark Print Shop, the free facilities at Shine Portrait Studio and the changing exhibitions at the Paul Robeson Gallery. Producer Susan Wallner spoke to the co-directors of Express Newark, Anne Schaper Englot and Victor Davson. They call it a “third space” - where public scholarship and community engagement are opening up an exciting new chapter in Newark’s cultural history.

We recently spoke with Tony Award-winning director John Rando about the new musical comedy “The Honeymooners” – based on the classic television series – which recently had its world premiere at Paper Mill Playhouse. The common ancestor of many, if not most, television sit-coms, “The Honeymooners” told the stories of married, working-class Brooklynites Ralph and Alice Kramden, their best friends Ed and Trixie Norton and people from the neighborhood around their apartment building. The influence of “The Honeymooners” can’t really be overstated, and can be seen in shows like “The Flintstones,” “All In The Family,” “The Simpsons,” “Roseanne" and “The Big Bang Theory” – and, just last year, CBS announced that it was rebooting “The Honeymooners” series for a new generation. Seven years in the making, “The Honeymooners” musical is kicking off Paper Mill's new season and generating a lot of buzz.

ArtYard began in Frenchtown, NJ with a “hatch.” From a huge egg, people emerged in chicken costumes to the music of a jazz saxophonist, leading a parade from ArtYard’s future headquarters in an old egg hatchery to its current space at 62A Trenton Road. It’s the kind of unexpected, collaborative event that ArtYard has become known for, and that you can expect more of in the future. Producer Susan Wallner visited ArtYard Founder and Executive Director Jill Kearney at the new, expansive center for the contemporary arts, which opened in 2016. A major exhibition, "(in)animate" opens September 30 and will be up through December 31, 2017. Curated by ArtYard’s Artistic Director, Elsa Mora, "(in)animate" features both local and national artists.

This Friday, the fifth annual New Jersey Uke Fest – that’s Uke as in Ukulele – begins at the Ukrainian American Cultural Center in Whippany. This weekend of concerts and workshops ends on Sunday with a big outdoor “Uke Jam” on the Morristown Green in Morristown, New Jersey. Chris Benincasa recently spoke with one of the festival’s organizers, Fil Wisneski, about what happens when hundreds of ukulele players congregate, and the distinct musical styles of featured artists Kimo Hussey, Rachel Manke and Danielle Ate The Sandwich.

When the days are longest, the world can magically transform. In a new production of "A Midsummer Night’s Dream," the fairies Moth, Cobweb, Mustardseed, Peaseblossom, Puck, Oberon and Titania transform items most of us casually throw away. Old keys, straws, plastic membership and transit cards, wine corks and CDs, all combine in costumes and sets that evoke a magical world. Director and designer Bonnie Monte - a self-proclaimed collector and recycler - describes her vision of "Midsummer" to producer Susan Wallner. The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey performs "A Midsummer Night’s Dream" at their outdoor stage at the College of St. Elizabeth in Morris Township through July 30th.

It’s a musical about a woman on her own in the Old American West – disguised as a man named Jo. "The Ballad of Little Jo" opened Friday, June 9th at Two River Theater in Red Bank, and runs through June 25th.Based on the 1993 film of the same name, the show is directed by Maggie Greenwald, who based her story on the real life experiences of a woman named Josephine Monaghan. In the story, Josephine becomes Jo to survive in a time and place in which women are openly preyed upon, and lynch mobs are a cold fact of life. Shunned by her East Coast family when she refuses to deny that she has given birth to an illegitimate child, Josephine heads for the edge of civilization – the Wild West – in late 1800s Idaho to re-invent herself, make her way in the world, and be re-united with the son she had to leave behind.We recently spoke to the musical’s co-writer and lyricist Sarah Schlesinger about creating this production with composer Mike Reid in 2000 at Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago, and collaborating with Two River Theater's Artistic Director John Dias to bring it to a 2017 audience.

Joan Osborne is a multi-platinum selling recording artist and seven-time Grammy Award nominee. She shot to fame with her 1995 album "Relish," featuring the hits songs “One of Us” and “St. Teresa.” Since then, she’s appeared with the Grateful Dead and Mavis Staples, fronted her own bands and is now embarked on a Songbook Series featuring the work of writers she admires - starting with Bob Dylan. Her tour includes a performance at SOPAC on May 19. Producer Susan Wallner spoke to Joan Osborne about Bob Dylan, fame and the power of a great song.

We recently visited the rehearsal studios of American Repertory Ballet, where Artistic Director Douglas Martin was doing a complete run-through of his new ballet. Based on Jane Austen’s classic 1813 novel “Pride & Prejudice,” this full-length production will be performed at McCarter Theatre in Princeton and will feature live orchestral accompaniment by the Princeton Symphony Orchestra. A complex love story set in the world of the landed gentry of the British Regency, “Pride & Prejudice” has been widely popular for centuries. There have been many adaptions on stage and in film, but no one has ever told the story through dance—until now. With the opening night of this highly anticipated world premiere approaching, Martin broke away from rehearsal to talk about his interpretation of the book, and taking creative risks.

The New York Times has called Amy Beth Kirsten "wondrously eclectic." The New Haven-based composer and librettist has a new work, "Quixote," created with director Mark DeChiazza and the ensemble Howl. The performance theater piece is based on the classic novel by Cervantes. It was developed at Montclair State University through a new, long-term residency program as part of their Peak Performances series. Producer Susan Wallner stopped by for a rehearsal and spoke to collaborators Amy and Mark. The world premiere of "Quixote" is Thursday, March 23rd at Montclair State University’s Kasser Theater, continuing through March 26th. Tickets are only $20.