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WHAT’S GOING ON? Here is a small sample of area happenings you may want to check out in the coming days.
MUSIC
♦ Emmy and Tony Award-winning performer Kristin Chenoweth returns to Mayo Performing Arts Center, 100 South St., Morristown, with a “For the Girls” tribute concert to women artists on Saturday, April 29 at 8 p.m.
The program will feature songs popularized by such singers as Barbra Streisand, Dolly Parton, Judy Garland and others.
Tickets are $79-$149. mayoarts.org, 973-539-8008.
♦ Radio station WHDA will host “Rock the Rock Fest” at the Prudential Center, 25 Lafayette St., Newark, 5:30 p.m. Friday, April 28.
The night will include performances by Breaking Benjamin, The Pretty Reckless, Beartooth and Dorothy.
Tickets are $39-$204. prucenter.com, 973-757‑6000.
♦ New Jersey Symphony will present “Symphonie fantastique” with guest conductor Gemma New at three venues around the state this weekend.
The program will feature solo pianist George Li in Rachmaninoff’s “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini,” Berlioz’s “Symphonie fantastique” and Sarah Gibson’s “warp & weft.”
Performances will be 1:30 p.m. Thursday, April 27, at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark; 8 p.m. Saturday, April 29, at Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank; and 3 p.m. Sunday, April 30, at the Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown.
Tickets range from $20 to $92. njsymphony.org, 800-255-3476.
♦ New Jersey Performing Art Center’s “American Song” series will put the spotlight on Audra McDonald 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 29.
A star of TV, film and theater, McDonald is the winner of six Tony Awards and has released a series of solo albums, including “Way Back to Paradise” and “Sing Happy.”
Tickets are $39-$99. njpac.org, 888-696-5722.
♦ Suga, the lead rapper in the South Korean superstar K-pop band BTS, will bring his international solo tour to the Prudential Center, 25 Lafayette St., Newark, 8 p.m. Saturday, April 29. Tickets were no longer available online. prucenter.com, 973-757‑6000.
♦ Hard-working Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons return to the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, 1 Center St., Newark, 8 p.m. Friday, April 28.
With one of the most distinctive voices in all of the American music, the New Jersey born and raised Valli has scored a bundle of hits over the decades, including “Rag Doll,” “Sherri,” “December, 1963 (Oh What a Night” and “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You.”
Tickets are $49.50-$179.50. njpac.org, 888-696-5722.
♦ The Gipsy Kings featuring Tonino Baliardo will bring their international blend of flamenco and pop music to the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, 1 Center St., Newark, 7 p.m. Sunday, April 30.
Formed in 1978 in southern France, the band specializes in Catalan rumba, flamenco, salsa and pop.
Tickets are $52-$182. njpac.org, 888-696-5722.
♦ The Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum will celebrate Jazz Appreciation Month and the history of African American music in New Jersey with “Jazz in the Sourlands,” with special events this weekend.
On Friday, April 28, from 6 to 8 p.m., there will be a concert and wine and cheese reception at the True Farmstead, a historically Black-owned property on Hollow Road in Skillman, next to the museum. Guests will be invited to the National Historic Register-listed Mt. Zion AME Church to view “From Fiddlers to Jazz Bands: African American Music of the Sourlands,” a new exhibit. Tickets are $40.
An outdoor concert featuring the Jonathan Ware Quartet will take place 1 p.m. Saturday at the True Farmstead. Vocalist Gia Ware will accompany the band. Attendees are invited to bring a picnic, blanket or chairs and BYO. Tickets are $15-$25. ssaamuseum.org, info@ssaamuseum.org.
♦ Plainfield Symphony will conclude its 103rd season with a “Tchaikovsky Festival” concert 7 p.m. Saturday, April 29, at Crescent Avenue Presbyterian Church, 716 Watchung Ave., Plainfield.
The program will feature the Russian composer’s “Romeo and Juliet Overture-Fantasy” and Symphony No. 5.
Tickets are $30-$65. There also is a “Conductor’s Circle” after concert party with dinner at a private home. Tickets are $50. plainfieldsymphony.org, 908-561-5140.
Also of note: New Jersey Youth Symphony’s “Bringing It All Together: Music, Dance & Story Beyond Cultural Boundarie,” 7 p.m.Sunday, April 30, at The Nicholas Music Center at Rutgers University in New Brunswick; Denis DiBlasio Sextet’s free “Tribute to Charlie Parker” 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 3, at Gregory’s Restaurant and Bar in in Somers Point; “Bimah to Broadway,” a showcase of showtunes with Jewish roots, 2 p.m. Sunday, April 30, at Congregation B’nai Israel in Toms River (732-349-1244); and “Porchfest,” free concerts taking place at porches around Princeton.
ART
♦ Studio Montclair will have an opening reception for “Viewpoints 2023″ 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, April 28, at the Leach Gallery, 641 Bloomfield Ave., Montclair.
The annual exhibit will highlight the works of more than 70 artists, selected from hundreds of submissions. Works “cover themes of nature, transformation, joy, and death.”
The exhibit will run through June 2. Hours are 1 to 5 p.m. Wednesdays-Sundays. studiomontclair.org, 862-500-1447.
♦ The American Labor Museum/Botto House National Landmark, 83 Norwood St. in Haledon, will host its annual May Day Festival 7 p.m. Monday, May 1.
Scheduled to perform in the outdoor event are Bev Grant, former lead singer of the folk/rock band Human Condition and founder of the Brooklyn Women’s Choir; singer/songwriter Carolann Solebello; lyric soprano Annamaria Stefanelli, who will sing arias that were popular with immigrant workers; folk artist, former union organizer and activist George Mann; and the N.J. Industrial Union Council’s Solidarity Singers.
The show will move indoors in event of inclement weather. The museum will be open for the unveiling of its new exhibit of works by Mark Priest, “The Still Family Saga: Seeking Freedom.”
Tickets are $10. labormuseum.net, 973-595-7953.
♦ The West Orange Arts Council will have an opening reception 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday, April 29, for its new exhibit, “Mother Earth,” at the West Windsor Arts Center, 551 Valley Road, West Orange.
“Mother Earth” includes works by 20 local artists that aim to “inspire viewers to appreciate our planet and remind us of its beauty,” according to WOAC board chair Patricia Mitrano. ““Several have depicted the essence of the powerful bond between mothers and their children.”
The exhibit will run through May 27. Gallery and gift shop hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays and noon to 3 p.m. Sundays, or by appointment. woarts.org, info@woarts.org.
♦ The spring Covered Bridge Artisans Studio Tour will take place 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, April 29 and 30.
The free, self-guided tour will invite participants to make stops at eight professional art studio in Lambertville, Stockton, Sergeantsville and New Hope, Pa. There will be an additional 14 area artists displaying their works at the Sergeantville Firehouse events center.
The tour will present a variety of artisans working in glass, jewelry, ceramics, cast bronze, painting, photography, bookbinding, woodworking, quilts and more. coveredbridgeartisans.com
♦ The Jewish Heritage Museum of Monmouth County in Freehold will have an opening reception 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday, April 30, for its newest exhibit, “The Eisner Family: From Stitching Military Uniforms to Stitching Together the Red Bank Jewish Community.”
The display highlights the business of Sigmund Eisner in Reb Bank, which grew from humble beginnings to a booming family enterprise, which allowed Eisner and his descendants “to employ hundreds of Jewish immigrants, support the founding of two synagogues, and serve the Jewish community in a myriad of ways.”
The museum is located in the Mounts Corner Shopping Center, 310 Mounts Corner Drive, Freehold, at the corner of Route 537 and Wemrock Road.
The exhibit will run through the end of the year. Hours are 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sundays and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays, or by appointment. jhmomc.org
Also of note: The Center for Contemporary Art’s annual “Art Throwdown” fundraiser, 3 to 4:30 p.m. Sunday, April 30, in Bedminster; and “Art in the Park Festival” 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, April 29, and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, April 30, at Goffle Brook Park, 675 Goffle Road, Hawthorne.
DANCE
♦ The 15th annual “Ailey Day Celebration” featuring free dance and movement classes for all levels will take place Saturday, April 29, at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, 1 Center St., Newark.
The sessions, which will begin at 9 a.m., will be taught by professional artists, including Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater alumni, faculty and students.
THEATER
♦ Luna Stage of Montclair will present “The Ground on Which We Stand” — a multi-writer, site-specific performance exploring the history and impact of the local James Howe House from 1780 to the present day — in two fashions this weekend.
The Howe House is the first property in the township to be owned by an African American and formerly enslaved person, and has been the site of much current controversy.
Free, outdoor site-specific performances will take place in Montclair on Saturday, April 29. The first performance begins at 10 a.m., and tour groups are scheduled on the half-hour with the final tour beginning at 2:45 p.m. The distance traveled during the outdoor performance is approximately 1 mile. The 11:30 a.m. performance will move slightly more slowly for anyone who prefers a gentler walk.
Free indoor performances will take place at Luna Stage, 555 Valley Road, West Orange, 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday, April 30.
Reservations are encouraged. lunastage.org, info@lunastage.org.
♦ “Heathens on the Beach,” a new comedy by Moorestown playwright Alex Wilkie, will get its premiere this weekend at the Ritz Theatre Company in Oaklyn.
Set in the “darkest days of the Middle Ages,” the story tells of monks who are forced to retreat to a nunnery after their monastery is attacked by Vikings. The nuns and monks then team to defend their ground, eventually leading to a chaotic standoff pitting “the pious vs. the pagan.”
Curtain times are 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, April 28-29, and 2 p.m. Sunday, April 30. Tickets are $27. ritztheatreco.org, 856-288-3500.
♦ Mile Square Theatre, 1400 Clinton St., Hoboken, is staging its new family show, “Balloonacy,” in a four-week engagement through May 21.
Written by Barry Kornhauser, the 45-minute production is a “wordless comedy about the power of friendship,” and involves an ornery, lonely old man and a misbehaved balloon.
Showtimes are 2 and 5 p.m. Saturdays and 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $24-$35. milesquaretheatre.org, 201-683-7014.
♦ George Street Playhouse will have opening night for the world premiere of “Tales from the Guttenberg Bible,” a comedy written by and starring Steven Gutternberg, 8 p.m. Friday, April 29, at the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center, 11 Livingston Ave., New Brunswick.
Joined by four actors playing 90 characters, Guttenberg tells the story of his journey from his family home on Long Island to “the glamour of Hollywood … and his run-ins with everyone from Paul Reiser to Tom Selleck, Kevin Bacon to Merv Griffin.”
The production, directed by GSP artistic director David Saint, will run through May 21. Curtain times are 8 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays and 2 p.m. Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Tickets are $25-$70. georgestreetplayhouse.org, 732-246-7717
♦ “Legally Blonde — the Musical” will hold court at State Theatre New Jersey, 15 Livingston Ave., New Brunswick, 8 p.m. Friday, April 28, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, April 29, and 2 p.m. Sunday, April 30.
The story follows the transformation of a young woman as she tackles stereotypes, sexism, snobbery and scandal in pursuit of her dreams to become a lawyer (and impress the boy she wants to date).
Tickets are $40-$98. stnj.org, 732-246-7469.
Also of note:
also of note: Vivid Stage’s Spring Solo series presents David Cale’s “Harry Clarke,” April 27 through 30 at the Oakes Center in Summit; Yardley Players’ production of “Hello Dolly,” April 28-May 7 at Mercer County Community College’s Kelsey Theatre in West Windsor; “Something Wonderful” cocktails reception and an ensemble’s concert revue of classic Broadway tunes, Spring Lake Theatre in Spring Lake, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 29; and “Newsical the Musical,” 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 29, Stockton University’s Performing Arts Center, Galloway.
COMEDY
♦ This weekend is forecast to be rainy, but the humor will be dry as ever when Steven Wright performs 8 p.m. Friday, April 28, at the Count Basie Center for the Arts, 99 Monmouth St., Red Bank.
The off-beat comedian has been thriving with his deadpan style of standup since 1982, and he also has recorded several albums and appeared in films, including voicing a character in the “The Emoji Movie.”
Tickets are $29-$49. thebasie.org, 732-842-9000.
OTHER
♦ Historic Longstreet Farm on Longstreet Road, Holmdel will host Wool Days/Sheep Shearing noon to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, April 29 and 30.
There will be free sheep-shearing and sheep-herding dog demonstrations and wagon rides to the Monmouth County Historical Associations’ Holmes-Hendrickson House, where staff will demonstrate the way wool was used in Colonial America with spinning and weaving activities. monmouthcountyparks.com, 732-842-4000.
♦ The third annual Washington Rock ‘n’ Roll and Steampunk Fair will take over Veterans Park at 44 E. Washington Ave., and the downtown area from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, April 29.
Steampunk combines the “steam-powered Victorian Era energy of the classic science fiction genre with a punk and rock‘n’roll feel.”
Themed vendors, live music and activities are planned, including performances by Walter Sickert and the Army of Broken Toys, This Way to the Egress and Hi-Rev Combo. Other attractions will include a Victorian photo booth, Lady Gypsy and Karnevial, free STEM activities, and special promotions at local businesses. A steampunk swap will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. at Buttzville Brewing, with music by A Halo Called Fred. washingtonbid.org.
♦ The Burnham Park Association will celebrate its 75th anniversary with a free Family Fun Day in Burnham Park on Saturday, April 29, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Activities will occur near the larger gazebo and the fireplace/picnic areas and extend to the trails on the “Green Strip” between East Lake/West Lake boulevards and Jones Woods.
There will be children’s games, a “Snakes’n’Scales” presentation, K9 demonstration, watercolor workshop, nature exercise and a scavenger hunt. Free food and water will be available. burnhampark.org, burnhamparkassoc@gmail.com
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Patrick O’Shea may be reached at poshea@njadvancemedia.com.
Send event press releases to events@starledger.com
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