Simon and Garfunkel fans at New Brunswick’s State Theatre New Jersey are feelin’ groovy this Friday, February 7, 2025 evening as they anticipate a live performance of The Simon and Garfunkel Story.
The Simon and Garfunkel Story is a concert-style theater show which chronicles the history of the folk-rock duo of Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel. The show features a live band performing nearly 30 songs accompanied by large scale photo and video projections.
The Simon and Garfunkel Story covers the duo’s beginnings as Tom and Jerry and traces their transformation into one of the best-selling music groups of the ’60s along with their dramatic split in 1970. The show culminates with the pair’s famous “Concert in Central Park” reunion in 1981 which was attended by more than 500,000 fans.
Inside the historic State Theatre auditorium, Sarah Chaplin, President and CEO of STNJ, welcomes tonight’s packed crowd and introduces The Simon and Garfunkel Story. Musicians Marc Encavo on guitar/keyboard, Jay Hemphill on bass, and Billy Harrington on drums/percussion take the stage along with lead performers Elliot Lazar as “Paul Simon” and Max Pinson as “Art Garfunkel.”
As stage lights begin to shine, the familiar sound of acoustic guitar picking introduces “The Sound of Silence.” In front of a city backdrop, Lazar and Pinson’s rich two-part vocal harmonies call out on the song’s haunting “Hello darkness my old friend/I’ve come to talk with you again” lyric before Encavo, Hemphill, and Harrington kick in on electric guitar, bass, and drums.
Following the Simon and Garfunkel folk tune, “He Was My Brother,” Lazar greets the crowd and Pinson explains how Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel met doing an elementary school play in Queens, NY. Inspired by The Everly Brothers, the duo went on to record their first song as teens under the name Tom and Jerry. The crowd claps along to the pair’s swinging 1957 Top 50 pop hit, “Hey, Schoolgirl.”
The backup band exits the stage leaving Lazar’s precision guitar fingerpicking and Pinson’s sweet harmony to drive “Bleeker Street,” a folk song from Simon and Garfunkel’s debut recording, Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. The crowd learns that when the album initially proved to be unsuccessful, Simon went to England to pursue a solo career and Garfunkel studied for a Ph.D. at Columbia University. Representing the mood, Lazar and Pinson perform “Leaves That Are Green” where the pair sings, “And the leaves that are green turn to brown/And they wither with the wind/And they crumble in your hand.”
Following Lazar’s solo rendition of “Kathy’s Song,” concertgoers find out that once an enhanced version of Simon and Garfunkel’s song “The Sound of Silence” worked its way up to #1 on the US charts, Simon left his budding solo career in England to come back to the States to continue recording with Garfunkel. On the 1966 Wednesday Morning hit, “I Am a Rock,” Lazar sings, “A winter’s day/In a deep and dark December,” before he’s joined by Pinson and the rest of the band on this track from the group’s sophomore album, Sounds of Silence.
On “Richard Cory,” another cut from Silence, Marc Encavo alternates between playing the arrangement’s twangy electric guitar part and an electronic keyboard and Billy Harrington plays drums with a drumstick in one hand and a maraca in the other in front of a shifting factory backdrop. Lights dance on the upbeat “Somewhere They Can’t Find Me” before a video recalling scenes from 1967’s Summer of Love plays on screen and the cast performs the driving rocker, “The Big Bright Green Pleasure Machine.”
After explaining that Simon and Garfunkel’s third recording, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, sold over a million copies and featured Paul’s twangy and percussive “Patterns,” Lazar interprets the song in front of a psychedelic nature-themed backdrop. Accompanied by Marc Encavo’s acoustic guitar, Pinson sings the lovely ballad, “For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her,” and Levin and the band return to perform the folk-rocker, “Homeward Bound,” in a performance which elicits enthusiastic audience cheers and applause.
The cast follows up with Simon and Garfunkel’s version of the English folk song, “Scarborough Fair/Canticle,” which is backed by projected video footage of the Vietnam War, and music lovers clap along as Act I concludes with a joyful rendition of 1966’s “The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy).”
Following a short intermission, five-part vocal harmonies are featured on “Mrs. Robinson,” Simon and Garfunkel’s 1968 #1 pop hit from their fourth recording, Bookends. Following a rocking rendition of “A Hazy Shade of Winter,” the backup band leaves the stage and Lazar and Pinson sit on stools to perform an intimate version of “Old Friends” in front of a line drawing of New York City.
On the enigmatic “Punky’s Dilemma,” Pinson cries, “Wish I was a Kellogg’s cornflake,” before he’s spotlighted on a whimsical “whistle solo.” Postcards of various American locales appear on screen during “America,” where the Jersey crowd happily cheers on the song’s “Counting the cars on the New Jersey Turnpike” lyric and Jay Hemphill is featured on a bass solo. Next, on-screen photos of novice and expert workers illustrate Bookends’ “Fakin’ It.”
The audience learns that although Simon and Garfunkel’s final recording, Bridge Over Troubled Water, went on to become the best-selling album of 1970, 1971, and 1972, the duo’s relationship at the time had become severely strained. The band gets the audience clapping along on Bridge’s “Cecilia” as guitarist Encavo and bassist Hemphill play percussion instruments. Then, Encavo’s electric guitar playing is spotlighted on a lively interpretation of “Keep the Customer Satisfied” and five-part vocal harmonies are featured on “The Only Living Boy in New York,” a song Simon wrote about the pair’s impending break-up.
Lazar and Pinson leave the stage to Encavo, Hemphill, and Harrington who play an instrumental medley of Simon’s “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover,” “You Can Call Me Al,” and “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard” as Simon and Garfunkel’s individual post-duo accomplishments are recounted on the screen.
Concertgoers are informed that on September 19, 1981, Simon and Garfunkel reunited for a fundraiser in New York City. From this “Concert in Central Park,” the entire cast delivers a lively rendition of “Late in the Evening” which features synthesized brass and a catchy Billy Harrington drum solo. Then, the crowd joyfully claps to the beat on “Baby Driver,” a bouncy number performed before an artistic Central Park stage backdrop.
“Thanks for being such an incredible audience tonight!” exclaims Lazar as he and Pinson shift into Simon and Garfunkel’s tribute to The Everly Brothers, “Bye Bye Love,” while further accomplishments roll across the screen including the duo’s 1990 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction and their 2004 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
The crowd cheers as the performers exit the stage before Pinson returns with Encavo for an encore of “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” his sweet tenor floating out over the audience as he sings, “When you’re weary/Feelin’ small.” Audience members are mesmerized by Pinson’s performance and sing along when Lazar joins in vocalizing on the song’s dynamic “Sail on, silver girl/Sail on by” coda.
Following an extended standing ovation, concertgoers clap on the pair’s presentation of “The Boxer.” Lights flash on the accent beats and concertgoers sing along on the powerful “Lie-la-lie” coda before the cast members take a bow and exit the stage as the crowd continues to stand and cheer.
After the show, music lovers gather around as Max Pinson — who played “Art Garfunkel” — shares his thoughts on performing in The Simon and Garfunkel Story. Explaining, “The show was written back in 2014 — it started over in London and then began touring in the U.S. in 2017, and I got involved with it three years ago,” Pinson confesses, “I wasn’t a huge Simon and Garfunkel fan beforehand — I knew the big hits, but it was great to learn so much more about the music where the songs have now become part of me and I have this profound appreciation for them.” Adding, “Performing for tonight’s Jersey audience was great,” Pinson acknowledges, “It was especially fun hearing the extra loud cheers for the ‘New Jersey Turnpike’ during ‘America’ as we don’t get that in every city!”
Audience members also comment on this evening’s performance. Recalls Mark from Long Beach, NY, “I was there to see Simon and Garfunkel live in Central Park in 1981, so this show brought back a lot of memories for me. Three of my favorite songs are Simon and Garfunkel songs — ‘The Sound of Silence,’ ‘Scarborough Fair,’ and ‘I Am a Rock’ — and they did all three tonight,” before revealing, “I’m going to see the show again in two weeks in New York.” Marcy from Montclair declares, “I loved The Simon and Garfunkel Story! It’s the second time I’ve seen it — the first time was in a very small theater which was very intimate, but this was a more theatrical experience where the audience was really into it.”
Contends Vi from Manalapan, “I loved this show! ‘Paul’ and ‘Art’ were fantastic, especially when ‘Art’ did ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ and hit it out of the park!” Vi’s daughter, Serena, agrees, commenting, “It was so good! My favorite song was ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water,’ too. ‘Art’ sang it beautifully, making the evening a great way to celebrate my mom’s birthday with her.”
Lisa from Princeton contends, “I thought The Simon and Garfunkel Story was fantastic! The leads and band sounded great, the songs were terrific, and I liked the history and the projections so much I’m ready to see it again.” Whereas Caitlin from Westfield asserts, “It was fabulous! The cast is so talented, I feel so lucky to have seen it — it was spectacular!” Kate from Scottsdale, AZ insists, “The harmonies were incredible, the projections were awesome, ‘Art’s’ voice was amazing, and ‘Paul’s’ intricate guitar playing made for an all-around great time.”
Elliot from Highland Park exclaims, “I thought it was a great show! The songs were fabulous — they really don’t write them like they used to — and that’s why everyone has to come to the State Theatre because every show they have here is different; plus, they’re all live!”
Lastly, Saul from Marlboro recalls, “I grew up during the ’60s and ’70s and I remember when all the Simon and Garfunkel songs they performed tonight first came out. During the show, they covered all the ones I wanted to hear — like ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ and ‘The Boxer’ — and they were all excellent,” before concluding, “It was a very touching and moving show — a stirring performance!”
To learn more about The Simon and Garfunkel Story, please go to thesimonandgarfunkelstory.com. For information about great upcoming shows at STNJ — including The Yacht Rock Gold Experience featuring Elliot Lurie (“Brandy”) on March 8, The Fab Faux performing A Hard Day’s Night and Abbey Road on May 31, and One Vision of Queen featuring Marc Martel on June 13 — please click on stnj.org.
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