(DEAL PARK, NJ) -- On Thursday, June 23, the Axelrod Performing Arts Center held its annual Gala where they honored Axelrod Executive Board Member James Aaron and celebrated the mission of providing cultural arts to the community. The night was capped off by Tony Award nominee Jarrod Spector performing with a 10-piece band in the Vogel Auditorium. Photographer John Posada was on hand to take photos of the performance.

Jarrod Spector was nominated for a Tony Award for creating the role of Barry Mann in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. He also created the role of Sonny Bono in The Cher Show on Broadway. Jarrod holds the record for playing the lead role of Frankie Valli in  Jersey Boys—1500 times!  

Jarrod's wife, Kelli Barrett, an actress who has performed on Broadway, film and television, joined him on stage.

The Gala honored James Aaron, a partner in Ansell, Grimm and Aaron, who has served as a leader and longtime board member, supporting the expansion and advancement of Axelrod Performing Arts Center programming.  Honorary committee members for the event included co-chairs Elise Feldman and Ira Kreizman.  

Axelrod Performing Arts Center is located at 100 Grant Avenue in Deal Park, New Jersey. They produce their own professionally staged musicals and ballets for the Jersey Shore in collaboration with Broadway directors, choreographers, and designers, showcasing professional actors, dancers and singers. The Axelrod Performing Arts Center fosters artistic excellence by showcasing varied and distinct cultural programs which enrich the imaginative, intellectual and creative soul, inspire Jewish journeys, and cultivate an appreciation of our diverse communities through the pursuit of the arts. A 501c3 organization, funding support for the Axelrod PAC comes from individuals, foundations, and grants that enable the arts center to present their year-round events and programming.

ALL PHOTOS BY JOHN POSADA

John Posada is a New Jersey based photographer specializing in photographing live theatre and music performances. For more than 15 years, John has photographed live events where he mastered the techniques of timing and capturing fast moving action under challenging lighting conditions. Currently, John has spent the last 3 years concentrating on photographing almost 200 theatre productions for over 70 different theatres. Click here for John's website.