(MONTCLAIR, NJ) -- Montclair, NJ, is getting a new theater and event space! “The Vanguard,” at 180 Bloomfield Ave, is ready for its close-up, with grand opening events planned for June 4th and 5th, kicking off an opening month with events every weekend through the month of June!
Vanguard Theater Company is having duplicate opening nights with each capped at 50% capacity.
Both nights will be complete with photographers, surprise guests, and interviews along a “purple carpet;” individually packaged light fare, wine and other beverages, and delicious desserts; plus exclusive screenings of “Songs For a New World,” followed by talk-backs with the actors.
Tickets are $175 a person and $300 a couple. “The Vanguard” is newly renovated, with a state of the art HVAC air exchange and filtration system, touchless fixtures, and other health and safety precautions, to help patrons feel safe and comfortable. Tickets available at bit.ly/openingVTC.
Vanguard Theater Company filmed “Songs For a New World,” written by Jason Robert Brown, on locations in NJ with a dynamic cast of professional actors. This beloved song cycle is about moments that change one’s life forever. VTC has taken a look at these songs through fresh eyes in a way that will truly resonate given the events of the past year. On Sunday, June 6th, Vanguard will host a general screening of “Songs for a New World,” at $21 a person, which will then stream as part of the New Jersey Stages Festival.
June 12th and 13th will feature a screening of “Shrek Jr,” the beloved musical about self acceptance and love, and not making assumptions about people based on preconceived notions. Tickets and more information available at bit.ly/shrekVTC
On weekend 3, June 18 and 19, Vanguard is partnering with the Montclair Neighborhood Development Corporation, Montclair African American Heritage Foundation, and the Montclair NAACP on a Juneteenth presentation and celebration to commemorate the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States.
The last weekend of June will see the world premiere of “Walk In My Gravity,” a beautiful song cycle conceived, written and performed by members of VTC Next, a program designed to train the next generation of “behind-the-scenes” theater professionals. Their song cycle - recorded in a state of the art Montclair recording studio earlier this spring - takes audiences on a journey through the true weight of their gravity. Because you never really know what someone is going through until you take a walk in their shoes. Stay tuned for ticketing info!
Throughout the month of June, there are plenty of opportunities to experience the whole range of what Vanguard is all about, as it seeks to change the narrative through theater dedicated to diversity, reciprocity, education, activism, and mentorship.
Founded in 2015, Vanguard Theater Company is a unique 501(c)(3) committed to changing the narrative through theater dedicated to DREAM: Diversity, Reciprocity, Education, Activism & Mentorship.
PHOTO: From left to right, top: Shania Mundy, Lauren Anne, Lou Steele; Bottom: April Leonhard, Branden R. Mangan, Lawrence Dandridge
