April 30, 2025
By Donald Gilpin
A May Day National Day of Action rally, sponsored by the Coalition for Peace Action (CFPA), Indivisible Cranbury, Indivisible Princeton, and the Princeton Community Democratic Organization, will take place at Hinds Plaza on Sunday, May 4 from 1:30 to 3 p.m.
Held in conjunction with more than 800 gatherings throughout the country from May 1 to 4, the rally, in protesting policies and actions of the Trump Administration, will demand that government prioritize families over billionaires.
At the same location in Hinds Plaza next to the Princeton Public Library as a “Hands Off!” rally on April 5 that drew more than 1,000 demonstrators, the May 4 event will feature a number of speakers, including CFPA Executive Director the Rev. Robert Moore, Indivisible Cranbury founder and leader Laura Zurfluh, Communication Workers of America District 1 Political and Field Director Anna-Marta Visky, New Jersey Education Association Vice-President Steven Beatty, and Make the Road New Jersey Executive Director Nedia Morsey. more
By Donald Gilpin
J. Andrew Harris
(Photo courtesy of Princeton Public Schools)
Two major personnel changes for Princeton Public Schools (PPS) were on the Board of Education (BOE) agenda for last night’s April 29 meeting, which took place after Town Topics’ press time.
The BOE was expected to approve the appointment of J. Andrew Harris as business administrator/board secretary and to accept the resignation of Johnson Park (JP) Principal Christopher Sheridan, effective June 30.
Harris, who is currently business administrator/board secretary for the South Hunterdon Regional School District (SHRSD), will take over from Matt Bouldin, who is resigning effective June 30 to become the new business administrator at Ramapo Indian Hills Regional High School District. more
By Anne Levin
The body of missing Princeton University student Lauren Blackburn was found last Friday at Lake Carnegie following a multi-day search. Blackburn, 23, had battled bipolar disorder, according to an obituary on matherhodge.com, the website of the Mather-Hodge Funeral Home.
A member of the class of 2026, Blackburn was reported missing on Tuesday, April 22 by the University’s Department of Public Safety. He had last been seen on Saturday, April 19 near Firestone Library. A search of Lake Carnegie began around 12 a.m. Tuesday morning after a missing person’s phone — presumed to be Blackburn’s — was heard pinging near the lake.
A resident of Corydon, Indiana, Blackburn was a National Merit Scholar and a Gates Scholar at Corydon Central High School. He participated in cross-country, track, the National Honors Society, and Academic Bowl, according to his obituary. At Princeton, he first studied math before settling on English with a minor in creative writing. He was a former features writer for The Daily Princetonian. more
UPLIFTING: “Primary Trust,” the final play of the season at McCarter Theatre, is about renewal and community. From left are DeShawn Harold Mitchell as Kenneth, and Peter Bisgaier, in one of the three different roles he takes. (Photo by Mikki Schaffner)
By Anne Levin
In Primary Trust, the Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Eboni Booth that closes out the season at McCarter Theatre May 8-25, actor Peter Bisgaier plays three different roles. To his delight, none of them are villains.
“As a 50-year-old white man, my place in the theater nowadays is often to play not very nice people,” said Bisgaier, whom local audiences may recognize from his work with Pegasus Theatre Company in West Windsor and, later, Bordentown; and Passage Theatre Company in Trenton. In Primary Trust, he plays a banker, a bookshop owner, and a third character he leaves for audiences to discover.
“I have a history of playing, in the best case, someone who is overwrought and bossy, and in the worst case, someone who is quite racist or awful,” he said during a phone interview last week. “So playing characters who are nice and supportive is great.” more
By Anne Levin
The annual showcase presented by the Westminster Conservatory of Music this Sunday, May 4 at 3 p.m. allows students and ensembles from the Conservatory and Rider University the opportunity to perform at Richardson Auditorium — acclaimed for its acoustics and its architecture — on the Princeton University campus.
On the program are the Westminster Community Orchestra, the Rider University Chorale, the piano duo of Phyllis Alpert Lehrer and Ena Bronstein Barton, student singers from the Honors Music Program, and the young winners of the Westminster Conservatory Piano Competition.
While the event is held every year, this one feels especially significant to Ruth Ochs, who has conducted the Westminster Community Orchestra for the past two decades (Ochs also leads the Princeton University Sinfonia, which performs at Richardson on Friday, May 2). more
By Donald Gilpin
Four Princeton University faculty members, two University Arts Fellows at the Lewis Center, nine Princeton University alumni, and a former Princeton resident who graduated from Princeton High School (PHS) have all received 2025 Guggenheim Fellowships awarded to “exceptional individuals in pursuit of scholarship in the creative arts, humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences.”
Recognizing both “prior achievement” and “future promise,” The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation has awarded the grants annually since 1925. There were 198 American and Canadian scholars selected this year.
Guggenheim winner Rachel Shteir, head of dramaturgy at DePaul University, author of four books, and recipient of numerous writing awards, grew up in Princeton and attended Princeton Public Schools (PPS) from Riverside through PHS. more
By Stuart Mitchner
I’ve always been interested in poetry and poets that show up in unexpected places. And, as happened recently with another national recognition month, I’d forgotten that April was National Poetry Month. Even so, given my sense of poetry as a gift not necessarily confined between the covers of a book, I inadvertently signaled the subject this month with pieces featuring a great poet named Charlie Chaplin (who W.C. Fields, a poet himself, called a “ballerina”); a lesser known “disappearing” poet (Weldon Kees); and the greatest of them all, on the stage or the page or in the air, William Shakespeare. The one sentence of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s I know by heart is from his essay “The Poet”: “The people fancy they hate poetry, and they are all poets and mystics.”
Tony Soprano a Poet?
Before poetry surprised me on the front page of Tuesday’s New York Times with a squib on Charlotte Brontë’s “A Book of Rhymes,” I was well into an article about being haunted by the actors, characters, and situations of 21st-century television series like David Chase’s The Sopranos, Matthew Weiner’s Mad Men, and Graham Yost’s Justified.
David Chase’s shocking cut-to-black never-ending ending of The Sopranos qualifies as poetry if only because it’s sudden and enigmatic, like a line of verse that keeps you wondering. Tony and Carmela and their kids A.J. and Meadow have met for a dinner out, Tony has set Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” playing “on and on and on” on the jukebox, as Meadow hurries in late after a clumsy parking job, adding a touch of everyday angst to the life-or-death tension that the family-meal atmosphere is already pulsing with, an undercurrent of dread thanks to mass audience apprehension energized and intensified by the song, as Steve Perry sings the words “Don’t stop” and James Gandolfini’s Tony gazes into the dark unknown. more
AN ECLECTIC MIX: American Repertory Ballet dancers Leandro Olcese (left) and Savannah Quiner in “The Time That Runs Away” by Stephanie Martinez, on the program at the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center May 9-11. (Photo by Megan Teat)
“Pasion” is the title of the program being presented by American Repertory Ballet at the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center May 9-11. Three works, with Spanish, Mexican, and Cuban ties, are being danced.
Originally choreographed by Joseph Mazilier and later restaged by Marius Petipa in the mid-19th century, Paquita is one of the purest and most technically challenging ballets of the classical repertoire. With its Spanish flair, the ballet includes a pas de deux, pas de trois, and virtuosic solos. more
The LOTUS Project has announced its festival series “Remembrance & Resilience: Commemorating Stories Through Music & Art,” a multi-venue celebration weaving together music, visual art, and community dialogue to honor journeys of survival and solidarity. From May 7 through June 18, audiences are invited to explore self-guided exhibits, chamber and choral-orchestral concerts, gallery talks, panel discussions, and workshops — all in partnership with cultural and humanitarian organizations.
A mix of personal narratives expressed through art and music, the series features new commissions by artist-in-residence Alia Bensliman; musical works by Lori Laitman, Jake Heggie, Caroline Shaw, and Laurence Sherr; and community programs developed with I-Rise Trenton and Kennesaw State University’s Museum of History and Holocaust Education.
“We are deeply honored to partner with Kennesaw State University’s Museum of History and Holocaust Education on this concert-exhibit series. Their invitation to collaborate has allowed us to bring together powerful musical works and visual narratives in a shared space of remembrance and hope. This series is a true celebration of resilience, and we look forward to inviting our communities to experience these stories together.” said Alicia Brozovich, artistic director of The LOTUS Project. more
SPRING CONCERT: The Princeton University Sinfonia, led by Ruth Ochs, includes a world premiere by student Toussaint Santicola Jones ’25 at its Richardson Auditorium performance on Friday, May 2.
Ruth Ochs leads the Princeton University Sinfonia on Friday, May 2 at 7:30 p.m. in a concert at Richardson Auditorium. The Spring Concert will highlight student soloists and Florence Price’s Symphony No. 1.
The concert will also include the world premiere of Toussaint Santicola Jones ’25 That Which I Cannot See: Concerto for Tuba and Orchestra featuring Wesley Sanders ’26, tuba soloist; Strauss’s Concerto No. 1 for Horn, Spencer Bauman ’25, horn soloist, and Luigi Bassi’s Fantasia da Concerto on Themes from Verdi’s Rigoletto, with Mason Thieu ’25, clarinet soloist.
The Sinfonia Flute (Dr. Sarah Shin, director) and Clarinet Ensembles (Jo-Ann Sternberg, director) will also perform.
Tickets are $15 ($5 students). Visit tickets.princeton.edu.
COME TO THE CABARET: Members of the Phillips’ Mill Players perform in the annual Spring Musical Comedy Cabaret May 14-17 at the Mill in New Hope, Pa.
The Phillips’ Mill stage presents “OOPS!,” the annual Spring Musical Comedy Cabaret with four evening performances May 14 -17, at 7:30 p.m., 2619 River Road in New Hope, Pa.
The troupe of 16 local actors act, dance, and sing in five short plays written by local playwrights Lisa DeAngelis, Michael Naylor, John Augustine, John McDonnell, and Richard Goodwin. “OOPS!” is produced by Valerie Eastburn with Fran Young directing and casting, and Betty Benton as choreographer.
“This is community theater at its best. Come and be part of it. You’ll feel good,” said Eastburn.
Seating is cabaret style and audience members are invited to BYOB and snacks. Doors open at 7 pm. Tickets are $28 – $32 including premium seating and member discounts. All tickets must be purchased in advance at phillipsmill.org.
The Raritan River Music Festival (RRM) will hold its 36th season on Saturdays May 10-31 at 7:30 p.m., at locations in Hunterdon County.
Guitarists Laura Oltman and Michael Newman, the festival’s artistic directors, founded the festival with the goal of bringing live chamber music to historic venues in Hunterdon County. This year’s series is titled “Old Friends & New Faces: 300 Years of Music.”
The Newman & Oltman Guitar Duo will perform “Music from the NEW World: 21st Century Masterpieces” with the Bergamot Quartet on May 24. The program includes music by Lowell Liebermann, Daniel Binelli, Ledah Finck, Caroline Shaw and Payton MacDonald and will be held at Stanton Reformed Church, Stanton. more
CLASSICS IN PHILLY: Jacqueline Callahan with artists of the Philadelphia Ballet in rehearsal for “Études,” with shares a program with “La Sylphide.” (Photo by Arian Molina Soca)
Philadelphia Ballet concludes its 2024/25 season with the Romantic ballet La Sylphide and the neoclassical work Études. Performances will run May 8 – 11 at the Academy of Music on Broad and Locust streets.
Set in the misty Scottish Highlands, La Sylphide tells the story of James, a young man lured away from his fiancée on the morning of their wedding by a mysterious and enchanting sylph. La Sylphide is one of the oldest surviving Romantic. In contrast, Études, choreographed by Harald Lander, is a celebration of ballet itself. The ballet begins with dancers at the barre and culminates in a virtuosic display of classical technique. more
A free chamber music and jazz concert is planned for Sunday, May 4 at 2:30 p.m., at the Unitarian Church of Princeton, 50 Cherry Hill Road.
Pianist Jason Gallagher will play pieces by Robert Schumann and Akira Yuyama. Guitarists Frank and Ellen Ruck, the Blue Jersey Band Duet, will perform “The Music and Style of Django Reinhardt.”
Also on the program is clarinetist David Millrod, playing music of Krzysztof Penderecki. Millrod will also perform a piece by Robert Schumann with pianist Nishan Aghababian, who will then perform works by Isaac Albéniz, Sergei Prokofiev, and Frédéric Chopin.
The program is hosted by the Belle Mead Friends of Music.
Laura Beard has immersed herself into the world of birds in her latest exhibit “Plume,” at Artworks Trenton in Trenton from May 6 through June 6. Ranging from realistic to abstract, whimsical to fantastical, her artwork invites the audience to consider birds differently and reflect on their presence and influence on our human world.
An opening reception is on May 10 from 6 to 8 p.m.
“We’re delighted to showcase this body of work from an artist with whom we have a longstanding relationship.” said Addison Vincent, artistic director of Artworks Trenton. “Laura’s work never disappoints and her connection to nature is evident in all her works. We are glad to host this exhibition this spring and our hope is that patrons look at our avian friends differently after viewing this exhibition.” more
ART ALL NIGHT: This year’s Art All Night event will take place place on June 28 from 3 p.m. to 12 a.m. and June 29 from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the War Memorial in Trenton. (Photo by Lucky 17)
Artworks Trenton has announced the theme for Art All Night 2025: Trennaissance — a tribute to Trenton’s creative roots and a call to action for its future. Trennaissance blends “Trenton” and “Renaissance” to celebrate a cultural revival grounded in community, expression, and the enduring power of art to bring people together.
Set to take place June 28 from 3 p.m. to 12 a.m. and June 29 from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the War Memorial, Art All Night will be previewed through a series of lead-up events titled “Artworks Trenton Presents: The Preview,” hosted at 19 Everett Alley. These pop-up happenings will bring back pre-pandemic activities based on community feedback, including the glass blowing demonstrations, and live performances. Attendees will also have the chance to co-create photo walls that echo past installations, to be revealed as featured works at the War Memorial during Art All Night. more
“FLUFFER NUTTER”: This painting by Beatrice Bork is featured in “Still & Wild,” her joint exhibit with Michael Schweigart, on view May 8 through June 1 at Artists’ Gallery in Lambertville. An opening reception is on May 10 from 5 to 8 p.m.
Artists’ Gallery, 18 Bridge Street, Lambertville, will present “Still & Wild,” an exhibition featuring the animal art of Beatrice Bork and the landscapes of Michael Schweigart, May 8 to June 1, with an opening reception on Saturday, May 10, from 5 to 8 p.m.
This exhibition highlights the beauty and contemplation found in animal and landscape art. Both artists offer intimate depictions that invite viewers to explore nature’s stillness and wildness in harmony. more
The Arts Council of Princeton (ACP) will present the Princeton Art Bazaar, a day-long celebration of creativity, in downtown Princeton on Saturday, May 3.
From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., 100+ vendors will line Paul Robeson Place, off Witherspoon Street, to sell their wares. Offerings range from ceramics, jewelry, original paintings, printmaking, glass, photography, wood, fresh florals, and more.
Attendees will recognize local favorites from previous ACP markets, including hand-turned bowls by Jerseywood, fresh flowers from Sprouts, vintage glassware treasures from Beyond the Wildflowers, pottery from Big Smile Ceramics, and sustainable goods from Lotus 8. New finds will include watercolor works by Laura Lee Hallada Fine Art, linocut prints by Huiyi Kuo Prints, photographs by RichJayPhoto, and more. more
TIME FOR A CHECK-UP! “We are set apart as a boutique concierge dentistry. I am always accessible to patients. If someone has an emergency, I will be there for them. There is no middleman, no separation between me and my patients. For me, it’s all about the patients.” Dr. Janak Tull, DMD, of DenTull Dentistry, is a general and cosmetic dentist, who provides a full range of treatments and procedures for patients of all ages.
By Jean Stratton
“I like jokes!” says Dr. Janak Tull, DMD.
He goes on to relate this remark to his dental practice, and how it underscores his approach to his patients.
“I want to help people be able to laugh at a joke. If they haven’t been able to smile because of problems with their teeth, I want to help them to change that. Being able to express your emotions — laugh and smile — is so important. I want to help someone with something that is meaningful to their happiness and health.” more
HOT BATH: Princeton University men’s lacrosse player Michael Bath unloads the ball in recent action. Last Saturday, senior defender and team co-captain Bath scooped up three ground balls and had two caused turnovers as No 2. Princeton defeated Yale 18-7. The Tigers, now 11-2 overall and 5-1 Ivy League, will be heading to Ithaca, N.Y. this weekend to play in the Ivy postseason tournament. Princeton is seeded second and will face third-seeded Harvard in a semifinal contest on May 2 with the victor advancing to the final on May 4 against the winner of the Cornell-Yale semi. (Photo by Karla Donohue, provided courtesy of Princeton Athletics)
By Bill Alden
As Michael Bath went through his Senior Day ceremony with the Princeton University men’s lacrosse team last Saturday afternoon, his thoughts turned to his first college campaign.
“Just being a freshman and having that senior class being such a great standard,” said star defender Bath, reflecting on his Tiger lax experience. “The seniors after that in my sophomore year and last year our senior class was amazing. We have tried to fill those shoes. We have a special group of seniors, all 11 of us are super close.” more
PICKED UP: Jalen Travis heads to the line during his career with the Princeton University football team. Star offensive lineman Travis ’24, who played for Iowa State last fall as a graduate transfer, was selected in the 2025 NFL Draft last Saturday by the Indianapolis Colts with the 127th pick overall in the fourth round. Travis is Princeton’s highest NFL Draft pick in the modern draft era. (Photo by Sideline Photos, provided courtesy of Princeton Athletics)
By Justin Feil
Jalen Travis is headed to his third team in three years.
This isn’t a diatribe against the transfer portal, but rather a celebration of the former Princeton University offensive tackle’s rise to become the Tigers’ highest NFL Draft pick in the modern draft era. The Indianapolis Colts selected him with the 127th pick overall in the fourth round Saturday. more
DOUBLE PLAY: Princeton High boys’ tennis first doubles player Tacto Yamada hits a volley as partner Shaan Zaveri looks on last Wednesday in the final of the Colonial Valley Conference (CVC) Tournament. The pair of Yamada and Zaveri topped Rohan Ramachandran and Shriyan Kumar of WW/P-South 7-6, 5-7 (10-2) in the first doubles final. PHS ended up falling just short of the team title as WW/P-S piled up 26.5 points with the Tigers scoring 26. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)
By Bill Alden
Earlier this month, the Princeton High boys’ tennis first doubles pair of Shaan Zaveri and Tacto Yamada suffered a straight-set defeat against WW/P-South in a regular season matchup.
Last Wednesday, the duo of Zaveri and Yamada were looking to turn the tables on South’s Rohan Ramachandran and Shriyan Kumar as the foes met in a rematch in the first doubles final of the Colonial Valley Conference (CVC) Tournament. more
By Bill Alden
Wearing a black surgical mask and dealing with a nagging cough, Princeton High boys’ tennis player Andrew Kuo wasn’t sure he could make it through the second singles final last Wednesday afternoon at the Colonial Valley Conference (CVC) Tournament.
“It was a struggle at times, it was hard to breathe,” said junior star Kuo. “It was probably allergies mixed with a cold, the allergies probably made the symptoms worse.”
But as Kuo battled Prahalad Dharma of WW/P-South at the Mercer County Tennis Complex, he relied on some literary inspiration to help him press on. more
NO QUIT: Princeton High baseball player Nano Sarceno takes a cut in game earlier this season. Last Thursday, senior standout Sarceno went 2-for-3 with a double and one RBI in a losing cause as PHS fell 16-5 to Hightstown. The Tigers, who lost 12-8 to Somerville last Monday to move to 6-7, play at Hamilton West on May 1, at Ewing on May 2, and at Montgomery on May 6. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)
By Bill Alden
Nano Sarceno was looking to be a catalyst for the Princeton High baseball team as it hosted Hightstown last Thursday.
Batting third for PHS, senior Sarceno belted a double to left field in the bottom of the first inning and advanced to third base on an error. more