Simon Morrison was hoping to pursue a career as an orchestral musician when he fell in love with 20th-century Russian music. From that fascination grew an interest in Russian ballet. Soon, these subjects, and their histories, eclipsed his plans to play percussion or tuba in a symphony orchestra. more
Art Garfunkel, one of the most celebrated voices in American music, will perform at Princeton University’s Richardson Auditorium on Tuesday, December 13 at 4:30 p.m.
Garfunkel, along with his former partner Paul Simon, has received numerous awards and critical acclaim for his music, including 5 Grammy awards, the prestigious Britannia Award, Rolling Stone’s Best Album of the Year notation, and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. more
BIRTHDAY SURPRISES: (L to R) Matt (Grant Shaud), Jill (June Ballinger), Carol (Leslie Ayvazian), and Dan (Ken Land) leave the city for a weekend at a bed-and-breakfast in the Poconos to celebrate Carol’s 60th birthday, and they find themselves in unexpected, unsettling emotional territory in Passage Theatre’s production of Leslie Ayvazian’s “Out of the City,” playing through November 20 at the Mill Hill Playhouse in Trenton. (Photo by Michael Goldstein)
At least since A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare’s “out-of-the-city” play set in ancient Athens and the surrounding forest, leaving the structured, rule-bound urban world for a sojourn in the unconstrained world of nature has been a risky proposition, bringing about all sorts of romantic upheavals, shifting relationships, and surprising transformations of identity. more
Growing up in Princeton, Brian Sanders was captivated by two things: ballet and gymnastics. The 1984 graduate of Princeton High School divided his time between Princeton Ballet School and Alt’s Gym.
Initially, ballet won out. Mr. Sanders spent several years studying at Princeton Ballet with the late Alexei Yudenich, who was a principal dancer with The Pennsylvania Ballet. So there is something gratifying about the fact that a piece by Mr. Sanders, now a choreographer with his own company, is being performed by the Pennsylvania Ballet next weekend. Chicken Bone Brain shares a program with works by George Balanchine and British choreographer David Dawson at Philadelphia’s Merriam Theatre November 10-13. more
“ONCE”: Seniors Sam Gravitte and Maddie Meyers in rehearsal for the Lewis Center for the Arts’s production of the musical “Once.” The show runs November 11, 12, 17, 18, and 19 at 8 p.m. in the Berlind Theatre at McCarter Theatre Center. Tickets are available at (609) 258-2787 and online at arts.princeton.edu/once. (Photo Credit: Graham Phillips)
The Lewis Center for the Arts at Princeton University presents the Tony Award-winning musical Once, directed by senior Graham Phillips and featuring seniors Sam Gravitte and Maddie Meyers, on November 11, 12, 17, 18 and 19 at 8 p.m. in the Berlind Theatre at McCarter Theatre Center. more
HOSPITALITY TO HOSTILITY: (L to R) Amir (Maboud Ebrahimzadeh), Emily (Caroline Kaplan), Isaac (Kevin Isola), and Jory (Austene Van) enjoy a cordial dinner before resentments surface and the mood turns dark in McCarter Theatre’s production of Ayad Akhtar’s 2013 Pulitzer Prize-winning drama “Disgraced,” at McCarter’s Matthews Theatre through October 30. (Photo by T. Charles Erickson)
If Ayad Akhtar’s characters had followed my grandmother’s warning, “We never discuss politics or religion at social occasions,” his 2013 Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Disgraced would never have been written.
Now playing in a riveting production at McCarter’s Matthews Theatre, the 90-minute uninterrupted, four-scene exploration of identity, Islam, and what it means to be Muslim in contemporary America, as seen through the interwoven lives of five New York City characters, was the most often produced play in the United States in the 2015-16 season. more
Acclaimed dancer/choreographer Aparna Ramaswamy brings her solo work They Rose at Dawn to the Berlind Theatre on October 23 at 3 p.m. In this solo work, women are depicted as carriers of ritual. Navigating inner and outer worlds, they invoke a sense of reverence, of unfolding mystery, of imagination. more
FORBIDDEN PASSION: Father Monroe (Raul Mendez) visits Marcela (Hannia Guillen) and her struggling Cuban-American family, but his pastoral kindness turns into much more, in McCarter Theatre’s production of Nilo Cruz’s world premiere of “Bathing in Moonlight” at McCarter’s Berlind Theatre through October 9. (Photo by T. Charles Erickson)
Father Monroe (Raul Mendez) welcomes the audience into his church in the opening moments of Bathing in Moonlight, Nilo Cruz’s new play, currently at McCarter’s Berlind Theatre. The smiling priest in his 40s, attractive, warm, addressing his “parishioners” individually as friends, makes his way down the aisle to the stage, where Edward Pierce’s striking set and lighting — with a red cross in the middle of a large stained glass window and latticed wooden screen backdrop — emphasizes the church setting. more
Acclaimed Irish actress Lisa Dwan will give a talk entitled “Performing Beckett” on Friday, September 16 at 4:30 p.m. at the Lewis Center for the Arts’ James M. Stewart ’32 Theater, 185 Nassau Street. Part of the 2016-17 Fund for Irish Studies series at Princeton University, the event is free and open to the public. more
McCarter Theatre Center will renew its annual tradition in December of 2016 with a reimagined version of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. As part of this new theatrical endeavor, McCarter is looking for a new group of young actors ages 5 to 13 to form this year’s Young Ensemble.
Sign-Ups for A Christmas Carol Young Ensemble Auditions will be held at McCarter Theatre Center on Wednesday, September 14 from 3 to 6 p.m. more
MUSIC AND MIRTH AT KELSEY THEATRE: Virginia Repertory Theatre presents “The Princess and the Pea” at Mercer County Community College’s Kelsey Theatre on Saturday, October 1 at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. Tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for seniors, students, and children. To purchase, call the Box Office at (609) 570-3333 or visit www.kelseytheatre.net.
Love will always find a way. It’s never been more true than in “The Princess and The Pea,” to be presented by Virginia Repertory Theatre at Mercer County Community College’s (MCCC’s) Kelsey Theatre on Saturday, October 1 at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. Kelsey Theatre is located on the college’s West Windsor Campus at 1200 Old Trenton Road. more
The Manny L. Friedman Foundation has partnered with The Blue Man Group for their first annual fundraising event, which will be held at the Astor Place Theater in New York City on Sunday, September 25 at 1:30 p.m. The mission of the Manny L. Freidman Foundation is to make every animal smile! Proceeds from the evening’s event will benefit no-kill shelters nationwide. A Lawrenceville, NJ resident, Manny lived his 28 years with an unwavering commitment to caring for animals of all kinds. To purchase tickets, visit www.mannyfriedman.org.
Suspend disbelief this September and be entertained by hundreds of performers at the 17th Annual Village Renaissance Faire at the Middletown Grange Fairgrounds, 576 Penns Park Road in Wrightstown, Pa on September 17 and 18 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Visitors of all ages will enjoy performances of jousting, falconry, fire breathing, human chess, archery, puppetry, juggling, dancing, petting zoo, and more. Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for students. Parking is free.
Dubbed “The Voice of Broadway,” actress and singer Betty Buckley will perform at NJPAC in Newark on Saturday, September 17 at 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Buckley won the 1983 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a musical for her role as Grizabella in “Cats.” She also starred as Martha Washington in “1776” and Norma Desmond in “Sunset Boulevard,” for which she received an Olivier Award nomination. Buckley will perform new material and favorites from her solo album “Ghostlight.” To purchase tickets, call (888) GO-NJPAC or visit www.njpac.org.
The Princeton Senior Resource Center will host a performance by The Capitol Steps on Friday, September 30 at 7:30 p.m. at Princeton University’s Richardson Auditorium. The fundraiser will also feature a VIP reception with cast members following the performance. General seating reserved tickets can be purchased through the University ticket office at https://tickets.princeton.edu. more
So Percussion will offer the first of two free performances in Princeton as part of their Edward T. Cone Residency at Princeton University. On Friday, September 16, 2016 at 7:30 p.m. in Richardson Auditorium at Alexander Hall, the community has the opportunity to engage in a striking range of music — from John Cage’s Living Room Music transforming household items into instruments, to the world premiere of Emeritus Professor Paul Lansky’s Springs. more
Anne Carrere returns to McCarter Theatre on October 17 at 7:30 p.m. to pay homage to French singer Edith Piaf. Join “the Sparrow” on a journey through the streets of Montmartre during the halcyon Paris cabaret days of the 1940s and 50s. For tickets, visit www.mccarter.org or call (609) 258-2787.
BATTLEGROUND OF PASSION: Eddie (Matthew Seely) and May (Olivia Nice) can’t live without each other, but they know they can never live together in Sam Shepard’s conflict-fraught drama, “Fool for Love,” Princeton Summer Theater’s final show of the season at the Hamilton Murray Theater and plays for one more weekend. (Photo by Noel Valero)
The Board of Trustees of McCarter Theatre Center recently welcomed Leslie Vought Kuenne as its new president. Ms. Kuenne, who lives in Princeton, has been a McCarter trustee since the 2012-13 season. She has served on the boards of the Arts Council of Princeton and Stony Brook Garden Club. Brian McDonald, right, was board president since 2012 and will remain as the immediate past president.
Princeton Summer Theater closes its 47th season with Sam Shepard’s “Fool for Love,” which opens on Thursday, August 4 and runs through Sunday, August 14. Winner of multiple Obie Awards, the play unfolds in a motel room in the Mojave Desert where two lovers (pictured: Olivia Nice and Matthew Seely) unravel their tangled relationship. A dark exploration into love and family, “Fool for Love” shows us how our pasts surely come back to haunt us. Performances are at the Hamilton Murray Theater located on Princeton University’s campus. To order tickets, call the PST Box Office at (732) 997-0205. (Photo by: Ogemdi Ude)
On Saturday, September 10 at 1:30 p.m., the actor Peyton Dixon will portray the Honorable James Adams as he reminisces on his life in Congress, role in the Treaty of Paris, time as vice president, and relationship with George Washington. The program will take place at Rockingham’s historic Dutch Barn, located at 84 Laurel Avenue/Kingston-Rocky Hill Road in Franklin Township, one mile north of Route 27 in Kingston. Dixon is an actor-historian with over 15 years of experience portraying John Adams. The performance is free, but advance reservations are required by calling (609) 683-7132. To learn more, visit www.rockingham.net.
Open call auditions for The Pennington Players’ October show, In the Heights, will take place at Kelsey Theatre at Mercer County Community College (MCCC) on Saturday, July 30 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Sunday, August 7 from 2 to 6 p.m. All roles are open and will remain so until the end of auditions. This is a non-equity and non-paying production. more
In pursuing its theme of “the Other,” Princeton Summer Theater (PST), last weekend opened its third production of the season, a funny, philosophical, verbally dazzling production of Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead, Tom Stoppard’s 1966 masterpiece spin-off from Shakespeare’s Hamlet. more
Oscar October (his stage name) introduced Spacetime Riffs, a local improvisational theater group of about ten performers, to the assembled audience at a recent performance.
“It’s not stand-up comedy,” he said. “It’s not set piece comedy. It’s unique. It’s improv.” And just to make sure the spectators were fully prepared, “I’m pretty sure we’ll offend everybody before the evening is over.” more
The city of Trenton and The Trenton Downtown Association (TDA) host The Levitt AMP Music Series on Capital Green, July 23 through September 24. Trenton was selected to receive a grant of $25,000 to hold 10 free, family-friendly concerts each beginning at 7:30 p.m. Trenton based NJM Insurance Group is also a presenting sponsor. more
