Bad Start, Powerful Finish in Superb World Premiere

by Bruce Chadwick - published 2022-07-08
I thought only Superman, with his X Ray vision, could see two plays at the same time. I was wrong. The audiences at the Unicorn Theater, in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, in the Berkshires, can do it, too. All anyone needs to do is see the world premier play B.R.O.K.E.N CODE / B.I.R.D SWITCHING, by Tara Wilson Noth.

"Ain’t Misbehavin’" is Behaving Just Fine in Pittsfield

by Bruce Chadwick - published 2022-07-07
I don't know how old the Barrington Stage in Pittsfield, Massachusetts (in the Berkshires) is, but it cannot possibly ever have jumped as wildly as it has been jumping, up and down, back and forth, in the current production of Ain't Misbehavin, the musical about composer Fats Waller and his Harlem Renaissance music. This is a whopping good musical, a jewel in the crown of musical theater in America, and at the Barrington Stage, in the Berkshires, where so many New Jersey residents vacation, it is just terrific.

PHOTOS from "Finishing It Off!" at The Theater Project

by John Posada - published 2022-07-07
Four actors play eight characters in twelve monologues showing the faces of eldercare: the families, the caregivers, the cared for, and the neglected. Finishing It Off! by Mary Jane Walsh, is being presented by The Theater Project at the Burgdorff Cultural Center in Maplewood from July 7-17. Photographer John Posada was on hand to take photos at a dress rehearsal.

Newark Museum of Art presents Broadway in the Bricks on Friday

(NEWARK, NJ) -- Broadway in the Bricks is a live performance series that brings Broadway’s best and brightest talents to Newark. It returns live on stage Friday, July 8 at The Newark Museum of Art with a special “Jazz Night” honoring Broadway musicals from the 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s. Showtime is 7:00pm.

High Schools - for the Rich and for the Poor. Who’s Smarter?

by Bruce Chadwick - published 2022-07-05
Everyday in newspapers we read about problems in high schools for the underprivileged (African-Americans) and schools for the affluent (white). What has to be done to improve schools for the underprivileged and improve them even more for the rich. The poor kids do not let lavish funding, few special programs, poorly paid teachers and are in run down neighborhoods. What can be done to help them? What about the rich kids from affluent neighborhoods? How can those students get into Princeton, Yale, Harvard other prestigious schools? Their high schools get enormous funding, offer all the special programs you could dream of and have the highest paid teachers. Can we help them? Should we help them?

PHOTOS from "American Idiot" at Asbury Park Theater Company

by John Posada - published 2022-07-04
The newly formed Asbury Park Theater Company (APTCo) is presenting Green Day’s American Idiot, the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical, as the company's debut production. The first weekend of performances took place July 1-3 and photographer John Posada was on hand to take photos.  The production returns July 8-10 with shows on Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00pm and on Sundays at 5:00pm at the Kingsley Theater located inside The Berkeley Oceanfront Hotel, 1401 Ocean Avenue in Asbury Park, NJ.

PHOTOS from "Oliver!" at Kelsey Theatre

by John Posada - published 2022-07-02
(WEST WINDSOR, NJ) -- Yardley Players will present Oliver! across two weekends (July 8-10, 15-17) at the Kelsey Theatre located on the Mercer County Community College campus in West Windsor.  A perennial favorite, this three-time Tony Award-winning musical appeals to the emotions with its drama, and through its spirited, timeless songs like “As Long as He Needs Me,” “Food, Glorious Food,” “Consider Yourself,” “I'd Do Anything” and “Where is Love.” Photographer John Posada was on hand to take photos during a dress rehearsal.

Premiere Stages presents "Mud Row"

(UNION, NJ) -- Premiere Stages at Kean University presents the New Jersey Premiere of Dominique Morisseau’s Mud Row July 14-31 in Kean University’s Bauer Boucher Theatre Center. Directed by Marshall Jones III,  Mud Row will feature actors Ashley Nicole Baptiste, Lekethia Dalcoe, Alinca Hamilton, Malik Reed, Stacey Sherrell, and Landon Woodson.

"The Great Gatsby" - Yet Again

by Bruce Chadwick - published 2022-06-27
​​​​​​​Remember high school? You had to read William Shakespeare’s MacBeth and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. MacBeth was about the pursuit of power and fortunes in Great Britain and the 1925 novel Gatsby was about power and fortune in America’s Roaring Twenties.