Ray Charles On Everybody's Mind

by Bruce Chadwick - published 2023-02-15
My son recently moved to Savannah, Georgia. Right after he told me he was going there he started to hum the Ray Charles hit song, "Georgia on My Mind." Perfect.

George Street Playhouse presents "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee"

(NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ) -- George Street Playhouse (GSP) announces its spring musical comedy event-- the Broadway/Off-Broadway hit The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Performances of this fresh and newly conceived production begin March 14th and continue through April 9th at the Arthur Laurents Theater at the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center. Tickets are now on sale.

McCarter Theatre Center Partners with Princeton University to Showcase Performance Pieces Inspired by the Toni Morrison Papers

(PRINCETON, NJ) -- The McCarter Theatre, the Tony Award-winning performing arts center on the campus of Princeton University, will premiere a set of commissioned performances on March 24 and 25, 2023 as part of a robust calendar of campus-wide programming celebrating the acclaimed author Toni Morrison’s (1931–2019) life and legacy. The performances are the result of collaborations with McCarter’s Associate Artistic Director Nicole A. Watson and Autumn Womack, curator of Princeton University Library’s exhibition Toni Morrison: Sites of Memory and assistant professor of English and African American Studies. Multidisciplinary artists Daniel Alexander Jones and Mame Diarra Samantha Speis visited the University Library’s Toni Morrison Papers archive, a large trove of personal papers, letters, manuscripts and objects that were acquired by the University in 2014 to inspire original creations.

McCarter Hosts Wise Children's Acclaimed production of "Wuthering Heights"

(PRINCETON, NJ) -- McCarter Theatre is thrilled to host the internationally-acclaimed UK production of Wuthering Heights by groundbreaking theatre-maker Emma Rice and her celebrated theatre company Wise Children. Live music, dance, puppetry, and a dash of impish irreverence combine in an intoxicating revenge tragedy for our time. This exclusive New Jersey engagement and the production’s final stop on its US tour, will be on stage in McCarter’s Matthews Theatre starting February 23 through March 12.  

REVIEW: "Clyde's" at George Street Playhouse

by Charles Paolino - published 2023-02-11
For a discouraging piece of advice, it’s hard to beat this one: “Don’t get high on hope.” The title character in “Clyde’s,” now on stage at the George Street Playhouse, lays that on her employees at a truck-stop diner, and she counts on them to accept it, or else she’s in trouble.

Interview with Hunter Foster, Director of "Parade" at American Theater Group

by Mafalda Cavanaugh - published 2023-02-09
(BASKING RIDGE, NJ) -- American Theater Group is thrilled to have Tony Award-nominated actor Hunter Foster directing their upcoming production of the critically-acclaimed musical Parade, written by Alfred Uhry (Driving Miss Daisy) with a score by Jason Robert Brown (The Bridges of Madison County).  Parade runs March 2-5 at the Sieminski Theater in Basking Ridge and March 9-11 at the JCC MetroWest in West Orange.

Carmen Matarazzo Talks "Sweeney Todd" and Crafting the Role of Tobias

by Gina Marie Rodriguez, JerseyArts.com - published 2023-02-09
Carmen Matarazzo, a graduate of Pinelands High School in New Jersey, is an actor/drummer who has been seen in multiple productions at his high school and several theaters across the state including Mary Poppins (Robertson Ay), Clue: On Stage (Professor Plum), Spring Awakening (Ernst), The Addams Family (Lucas), The Sound of Music (Captain Von Trapp).

Algonquin Arts Theatre Creates Game to Guess 2023-24 Broadway Series

(MANASQUAN, NJ) -- Algonquin Arts Theatre released a series of eight images on February 7th for fans to try and guess their 2023-2024 Broadway Series titles. The theatre will randomly chose a winner of two tickets for their May production of Hello Dolly! from their social media platforms among fans that can guess at least one of the productions. 

Vivid Stage presents "Only Human: Stories of Connection"

(SUMMIT, NJ) -- Vivid Stage, in residence at Oakes Center at 120 Morris Avenue in Summit, will present Only Human: Stories of Connection from February 23 through March 5. The evening is made up of seven short plays by the playwrights Barbara Blumenthal-Erlich, Laura Ekstrand, Steve Harper, Stephen Kaplan, Mark Harvey Levine, Matthew Weaver and David Lee White.