New Jersey Stage logo
New Jersey Stage Menu



FEATURES | EVENTS | PREVIEWS | COLUMNS | LINKS | RADIO | ADVERTISE





Rick Wakeman LIVE! at bergenPAC

Spotlight Central and Love Imagery have photos and a recap of Wakeman and Son at bergenPAC on March 25, 2026.



 

Advertise here for $50-$100 per month,
click here for info




New Release Review - "The Mortuary Assistant"

After decades of failures, video game adaptations are suddenly a hit at the box office, with screen translations of such heavy hitters as Super Mario Bros, Sonic the Hedgehog and Minecraft among the biggest earners of recent years. Just as there are cult movies, there are cult video games. Take The Mortuary Assistant, in which the player takes on the icky job of the title and attempts to finish their night shift at a morgue while evading demons. With another cult horror game, Five Nights at Freddy's, spawning two hit movies, it's no surprise that The Mortuary Assistant has now received a cinematic adaptation.



The The Band Band presents The Last Walz Celebration 50th Anniversary 2026 Tour at The Newton Theatre

(NEWTON, NJ) -- The The Band Band presents The Last Walz Celebration 50th Anniversary 2026 Tour at The Newton Theatre on Saturday, June 27, 2026. Doors are at 7:00pm; showtime is 8:00pm.



Centenary Stage Company presents free Staged Reading of "Breeders"

(HACKETTSTOWN, NJ) -- Centenary Stage Company presents Breeders as part of its Women Playwrights Series (WPS), with a free staged reading on Wednesday, April 8, 2026 in the Sitnik Theatre of the Centenary University campus, located at 715 Grand Avenue in Hackettstown. Showtime is 7:00pm.



Emerging Artists Theatre's Spark Theatre Festival NYC Celebrates 20th Anniversary

(NEW YORK, NY) -- Award-winning Emerging Artists Theatre (EAT) returns with their bi-annual Spark Theatre Festival NYC, on Monday, April 6 and runs until April 26, 2026 at The 28th Street Theatre (TADA). The three-week festival will showcase over 60 new works in progress, including musicals, plays, solo performances, storytelling, and dance. Theatre luminaries such as TV comedy icon Joyce Bulifant, Tony Award nominee Christopher Sieber, and Emmy Award winner Dorothy Lyman will take part in the Spring Spark Theatre Festival NYC.



Lantern Theater Company Announces 2026-27 Season

(PHILADELPHIA, PA) -- Lantern Theater Company has announced its upcoming 2026-27 season, which will mark the company's 33rd year of bringing great stories from great writers to Philadelphia and beyond. The season showcases four extraordinary plays from renowned playwrights, past and present.



Terry Fator brings "Pure Imagination" to bergenPAC

(ENGLEWOOD, NJ) -- Beloved Las Vegas headliner, comedian, ventriloquist, singer, and Season 2 winner of America's Got Talent, Terry Fator is bringing his all-new show, Pure Imagination to the Bergen Performing Arts Center (bergenPAC) on Sunday, April 19, 2026. Showtime is 7:00pm.



Keith Carne releases "Magenta Light"

A departure. An arrival. Keith Carne's debut album as a leader, Magenta Light, is both a disappearing act and an apparition. The latest entry in his long log of termite art practices, Magenta Light (to be released April 20, 2026) gnaws away at genre conventions, blending expansive droney space with propulsive dance rhythms, all strung along an indie-pop spine. Atmospheric, instrumental themes serve as the sinew between five melancholic-pop songs whose lyrics tackle the yawning space between connection and dislocation.



NJCU Visual Arts Gallery presents: Intertwined: 2026 NJCU BFA Thesis Exhibition

(JERSEY CITY, NJ) -- Get ready to be inspired! The New Jersey City University Visual Arts Gallery is unveiling its annual Bachelor of Fine Arts exhibition, showcasing two incredible groups of emerging artists. Each opening reception will celebrate the creativity, innovation, and passion of NJCU's graduating BFA students.



Today's Brightest Young Jazz Musicians will Unite to Celebrate International Jazz Day at NJPAC on April 26

(NEWARK, NJ) -- New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), the state's anchor cultural institution, will celebrate International Jazz Day on Sunday, April 26, 2026, with a free musical celebration featuring 50+ young local musicians performing on the iconic NJPAC stage. Showtime is 4:00pm.



Titus Andronicus – Revenge is Served

It is said that Titus Andronicus is Shakespeare's bloodiest and goriest play. There are schools of thought that this was his first tragedy and one that is not based on historic precedents or sources. Instead, it is an original play with a double revenge narrative. One can picture an audience in the late 1500's coming to the theater to see this play and how they might be entertained by all of this. Remarkably, elements of what make up the story are still very much in our world today. It is just that we might represent it differently than Shakespeare did in his writing.



Daily Edition 04-04-26

Here is the morning update from New Jersey's arts newswire. We regularly publish between 8-15 new articles and news reports each day. Nobody covers the Arts throughout the Garden State like New Jersey Stage!










EVENT PREVIEWS

ART | COMEDY | DANCE | FILM | MUSIC | THEATRE | COMMUNITY | KIDS

To narrow results by date, categories,
or region of New Jersey click here.

Roy's Hall presents James McMurtry

(BLAIRSTOWN, NJ) -- Roy's Hall presents singer-songwriter James McMurtry on Saturday, April 4, 2026 at 8:00pm. He's been called "one of this generation's most unflinchingly potent and powerfully erudite recording artists" by American Songwriter.


Cape May MAC to Screen "Once in a Hundred Years: The Life & Legacy of Marian Anderson" on April 4th

(CAPE MAY, NJ) -- The award-winning documentary film, Once in a Hundred Years: The Life & Legacy of Marian Anderson, will be presented Saturday, April 4, 2026 at Cape May Stage Theater in partnership with Cape May MAC (Museums+Arts+Culture). Admission is free, but donations will be collected to benefit the Cape May Community Food Closet. The screening begins at 2:00pm and continues the celebration of Black History Month.


SOUP CAN Magazine to Celebrate Five Years With a Monumental Canniversary Event

(ASBURY PARK, NJ) -- On Saturday, April 4, 2026 at 6:00pm, SOUP CAN Magazine will mark five years of magazine magic byhosting its annual "Canniversary" with a night engineered to feel like a main‑stage, stadium‑level celebration of the community that built it. Wild Air Beerworks will host the event, but the scale of the evening reaches far beyond the venue — this is a full‑force thank‑you to the readers, performers, and neighbors who transformed Soup Can from a DIY idea into one of New Jersey's most vibrant creative movements. In a show of collective power, the Canniversary aims to break their standing record of food donations by gathering over 1,100 pounds in a single night, all to benefit Mercy Center of Asbury Park.


Avenel Performing Arts Center presents singer-songwriter Steve Forbert

(AVENEL, NJ) -- Avenel Performing Arts Center presents singer-songwriter Steve Forbert on Saturday, April 4, 2026 at 7:30pm. Limited tickets remain.


The Vogel presents Comedian Joe Matarese on Saturday

(RED BANK, NJ) -- The Vogel presents Comedian Joe Matarese on Saturday, April 4, 2026 at 8:00pm. Matarese grew up in the South Jersey/Philadelphia area and his comedy has a very strong connection to where he comes from.







LATEST FEATURES

ART | COMEDY | DANCE | FILM | MUSIC | THEATRE | COMMUNITY | KIDS

Titus Andronicus – Revenge is Served
It is said that Titus Andronicus is Shakespeare's bloodiest and goriest play. There are schools of thought that this was his first tragedy and one that is not based on historic precedents or sources. Instead, it is an original play with a double revenge narrative. One can picture an audience in the late 1500's coming to the theater to see this play and how they might be entertained by all of this. Remarkably, elements of what make up the story are still very much in our world today. It is just that we might represent it differently than Shakespeare did in his writing.



Bassist Martin Wind Adds Piano to His Gravity Trio for Area Performances

German-born bassist and composer Martin Wind has built an extensive résumé with more than 20 albums as a leader or co-leader and performance credits with legends such as clarinetist Buddy DeFranco, guitarist Pat Metheny, alto saxophonist Phil Woods, harmonicist Toots Thielemans, and many others. He has regularly performed at some of the top jazz venues in the world. Upcoming performances include release performances for his newest record September (2026, Laika Records) with his Gravity Trio and special guest Glenn Zaleski on piano -- April 9 at Smalls Jazz Club in New York; April 10 at the Puffin Cultural Forum in Teaneck, NJ; and at the Deer Head Inn in Delaware Water Gap, PA, April 11.




PHOTOS from "1776" at Paper Mill Playhouse

(MILLBURN, NJ) -- Paper Mill Playhouse celebrates our nation's 250th anniversary, and history comes to life in 1776, the Tony Award-winning musical that brings the story behind the creation of the Declaration of Independence to the stage with witty satire, compelling drama, and a thrilling score. The production runs now through May 2, 2026. Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade was on hand to take photos.




New Release Review - "Pretty Lethal"

Pitting teenage ballerinas against heavily armed Hungarian mobsters, Pretty Lethal gives new meaning to the term "balletic violence." It's a throwback to all those '70s/'80s exploitation thrillers in which stranded cheerleaders were menaced by mouth-breathing rednecks. Surprisingly for a movie debuting on a mainstream streaming service in 2026, it carries over the extreme violence of those movies, along with the threat of sexualised violence, but its tongue is firmly in its cheek.




Jersey Arts Podcast: The Gateway Playhouse Offers a Full Slate of Musicals and More

It is a big year for the Gateway Playhouse in Somers Point as they near their 10th Anniversary Season, but as they brace for that landmark next summer, they are offering a plethora of opportunities to their community and hopefully to you in the meanwhile.




Five-time GRAMMY Winner Angélique Kidjo Comes to McCarter Theatre Center on April 11th

(PRINCETON, NJ) -- Five-time GRAMMY Award winner Angélique Kidjo comes to McCarter Theatre Center on Saturday, April 11, 2026 at 7:30pm for an electrifying evening of music spanning her extraordinary career. The performance is part of a limited six-city U.S. tour before Kidjo continues to Europe for a series of international festival appearances.




State Theatre New Jersey presents '60s Rock 'n Roll Revival

(NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ) -- State Theatre New Jersey presents '60s Rock 'N Roll Revival on Saturday, April 18, 2026 at 7:00pm. The evening features performances by Jay and the Americans, The Grass Roots, The Lovin' Spoonful, and The Brooklyn Bridge.




Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey presents a Reading of "The Agitators" by Mat Smart

(MADISON, NJ) -- The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey (STNJ) has announced the cast for its upcoming presentation of The Agitators by Mat Smart, presented as part of the theatre's Revolutionary Voices play reading series. The performance will take place on Monday, April 27, 2026 at the F.M. Kirby Shakespeare Theatre on the campus of Drew University. Showtime is 7:30pm.










UPCOMING EVENTS
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 




LATEST COLUMNS
The Makin Waves Song of the Week is "Promises" from Jersey Shore-based roots rocker Dave Vargo's latest album, "Ghost Towns."



Rock On! This Week's Sound Bites... 04/02/2026

"Yeah, we are looking forward to it," said guitarist Johnny A of The Johnny A Trio just prior to their recent New York City Iridium appearance.



Winifred McNeill: "Between Air and Earth"

Any good cook will tell you that reducing something doesn't always mean diminishing it. Sometimes it's the best way to intensify its personality. Size, we've learned in the era of streaming entertainment on tiny phone screens, does not determine how clearly a thing communicates. If it fills our senses, it can slip right into our bloodstream.


* Events This Week in New Jersey

* This Week in Music

* This Week in Theatre

* Top 15 Most Read Stories
from the Past Week



DAILY EDITION

Here is a look at the articles published on Thursday. The Daily Edition will be back on Monday with a recap of the articles published over the weekend.


New Jersey Stage

© 2026 by Wine Time Media, LLC
PO Box 811, Belmar, NJ 07719
[email protected]

Nobody covers the Arts
throughout the
Garden State
like New Jersey Stage!

Images used on this site have been sent to us from publicists, artists, and PR firms. If there is a problem with the rights to any image, please contact us and we will look into the matter.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Threads, Bluesky, and on our RSS feed

Art | Comedy | Dance | Film | Music | Theatre | Advertising | About Us | Pitch a Story | Links | Radio Shows | Privacy Policy