Top 15 NJ Arts Events of Week: NJ Hall of Fame ceremony, Springsteen symposium, more

by JAY LUSTIG
patti scialfa nj hall of fame preview

Patti Scialfa will be inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame, Oct. 29.

NJPAC in Newark will host the 8 p.m. Oct. 29 induction ceremony for The New Jersey Hall of Fame’s class of 2023, with E Street Band member Patti Scialfa, “The Sopranos” creator David Chase and “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree” singer Tony Orlando among the honorees. Danny DeVito will host, and previous New Jersey Hall of Fame members The Smithereens will perform.

Scialfa, Chase and Orlando will be the inductees in the Performing Arts & Entertainment category; Scialfa is already a member of the hall, since The E Street Band was inducted in 2012. Other inductees will include former New York Giants running back Tiki Barber, former WNBA player Sue Wicks, and philanthropist and former Automatic Data Processing CEO Josh Weston.
_________________

Here is a roundup of other events taking place around the state, through Nov. 2.

MUSIC

Following a 50th anniversary symposium for Bruce Springsteen’s debut album — Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. — in January, the Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music at Monmouth University in West Long Branch will present one for Springsteen’s second album, The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle, Oct. 28, beginning at 9 a.m.

According to a press release, “the day-long event will include panel discussions, interviews, a pop up exhibit, and musical performances of the songs on the album performed by regional musicians. Among the guests participating in the symposium will be original E Street Band members, music industry legends, and special guests.”

(UPDATE) In an Oct. 25 interview with DJ Jim Rotolo on SiriusXM satellite radio’s E Street Radio channel, Archives executive director Robert Santelli confirmed that original E Street Band members David Sancious, Garry Tallent and Vini Lopez will be among the participants.

The fourth annual “Zombie Opera” takes place in Jersey City, Oct. 28.

The fourth annual “Zombie Opera” will take place in Hamilton Park in Jersey City, Oct. 28 at 6 p.m., with no admission charge, and an ” ’80s Prom Party” (with a DJ playing ’80s pop songs) following.

Six opera singers — tenor Ta’u Pupu’a, sopranos Yohji Daquio and Molly Dunn, bass Kofi Hayford, mezzo-soprano Rachelle Pike, and bass-baritone Eliam Ramos — will sing arias from operas including “Faust,” “La Traviata,” “La Bohème,” “Carmen” and “Rigoletto.” The show will also feature members of the New York-based orchestra TerpsiKord and a zombie chorus made up of North River Sing members, students from New Jersey City University and others.

See highlights from the 2022 “Zombie Opera” in the video below.

Recently added to the fall event schedule at the Axelrod Performing Arts Center in Deal is a benefit for the Jewish Federation’s Israel Emergency Fund, Oct. 29 at 7:30 p.m., featuring two prominent Israeli artists: pianist and composer Guy Mintus, and singer and actress Naama Nachum. The Israel Emergency Fund provides aid to victims of terror.

“It’s important for me to contribute as much as I can through the powerful means that is music,” said Mintus, in a press release. “Raising funds, helping the shattered spirits of many of us, I believe that every little bit helps and since we’re all connected, each of those avenues feels meaningful right now.”

Don McLean will bring his American Pie 50th Anniversary Tour to the Wilkins Theatre at Kean University in Union, Oct. 28 at 7:30 p.m. The tour began last year, 50 years after the song hit No. 1 (in January 1972, after being released in October 1971).

MARTIN SCORSESE

FILM

As part of this year’s Montclair Film Festival — which is currently underway and runs through Oct. 29 — Stephen Colbert will interview Martin Scorsese at NJPAC in Newark, Oct. 27 at 8 p.m. The event’s official title is “Montclair Film Tribute to Martin Scorsese Hosted by Stephen Colbert.” All proceeds will benefit Montclair Film, which produces the Montclair Film Festival; owns and operates The Clairidge movie theater in Montclair; and offers film-related educational programs year-round.

Scorsese’s most recent movie, “Killers of the Flower Moon” — co-starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro and Lily Gladstone — was released on Oct. 20.

The 1993 film “Jurassic Park” will screen with the New Jersey Symphony, conducted by Constantine Kitsopoulos, playing John Williams’ Grammy-nominated score, Oct. 25 at 7:30 p.m. at the Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown.; Oct. 27 at 8 p.m. at the Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank; Oct. 28 at 8 p.m. at Prudential Hall at NJPAC in Newark; and Oct. 29 at 3 p.m. at the State Theatre in New Brunswick.

Patricia Quinn, who played Magenta in the 1975 movie “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” will meet fans at an 8 p.m. Oct. 25 screening of it at BergenPAC in Englewood.

Chazz Palminteri, who wrote and co-starred in the 1993 film “A Bronx Tale,” will participate in a question-and-answer session following a 7 p.m. Oct. 26 screening of it at the Union County Performing Arts Center in Rahway.

Director Chantal Akerman’s 1975 film “Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles” received new interest recently when it was named the greatest film of all time in a critics poll in Sight & Sound magazine. You can check it out for yourself at a screening at The Village at SOPAC in South Orange, Oct. 29 at 1 p.m.

ROSEMARY LOAR

THEATER

As part of its Fringe Festival, the Centenary Stage Company will present jazz singer Rosemary Loar in a show titled “Sting*Chronicity,” Nov. 2-5 at the Kutz Theatre at the Lackland Performing Arts Center in Hackettstown. The show combines monologues with Loar’s performances of songs originally recorded by Sting and his former band The Police, and is set in Madison Square Garden at a Police reunion concert. (see video below)

Hudson Theatre Works will open its 11th season with a double-bill of one-act plays by Harold Pinter, “The Dumb Waiter” (1957) and “The Lover” (1962), Nov. 2-5, 9-12 and 16-19 at The Theatre at the Wilson School in Weehawken.

DANCE

The Connecticut-based dance company MOMIX presents “Alice,” based on Lewis Carroll’s classic story “Alice in Wonderland” and choreographed by MOMIX artistic director Moses Pendleton, Nov. 2 at 7:30 p.m. at the State Theatre in New Brunswick. According to a press release, “Alice” blends “illusion, acrobatics, magic, and whimsy.” Pendleton says: “I don’t intend to retell the whole Alice story, but to use it as a taking off point for invention.”

OTHER

The Chiller Theatre Toy, Model & Film Expo takes place at the Hilton Parsippany, Oct. 27-29, with autograph sessions featuring Danny Glover, Frankie Avalon, Erik Estrada, Jennie Garth, Emmanuel Lewis, Chuck Zito, Barbara Carrera, Stacey Dash and many others, plus music, vendors, costume contests and other attractions.

CHITA RIVERA

The Shea Center for Performing Arts at William Paterson University in Wayne presents “A Conversation With Chita Rivera,” Oct. 30 at 7:30 p.m. WPU president Richard J. Helldobler and singer-actor Robert Bannon will moderate. Rivera’s honors over her long career include three Tonys (including a Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre), The Presidential Medal of Freedom and Kennedy Center Honors.

REVIEWS

“The Woman in Black” at McCarter Theatre Center, Princeton. (Through Oct. 29)

“Welcome to Matteson!” at New Jersey Repertory Company, Long Branch. (Through Oct. 29)

“In Whose Image?,” works by Valerie Huhn presented by The Arts Council of Princeton at the Taplin Gallery. (Through Nov. 4)

“A Man for All Seasons” at Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey at Drew University, Madison. (Through Nov. 5)

“Tracy Jones” at Art House, Jersey City. (Through Nov. 5)

“The Great Gatsby” at Paper Mill Playhouse, Millburn. (Through Nov. 12)

“Westphalia” at Luna Stage, West Orange. (Through Nov. 12)

“Funny, Like an Abortion” at Mile Square Theatre, Hoboken. (Through Nov. 12)

“Searching for Drama,” works by Allan Gorman at BrassWorks Gallery, Montclair. (Through Dec. 15)

“It’s Not Paint!,” works by Lisa Lackey at Hillside Square Gallery, Montclair. (Through Dec. 15)

“The Brodsky Center at Rutgers University: Three Decades, 1986-2017” at Zimmerli Art Museum, New Brunswick. (Through Dec. 22)

“Spiral Q: The Parade” at Grounds for Sculpture, Hamilton. (Through Jan. 7)

“Local Voices: Memories, Stories and Portraits” at Grounds for Sculpture, Hamilton. (Through Jan. 7)

“George Inness: Visionary Landscapes” at Montclair Art Museum. (Through June 30)

CONTRIBUTE TO NJARTS.NET

Since launching in September 2014, NJArts.net, a 501(c)(3) organization, has become one of the most important media outlets for the Garden State arts scene. And it has always offered its content without a subscription fee, or a paywall. Its continued existence depends on support from members of that scene, and the state’s arts lovers. Please consider making a contribution of any amount to NJArts.net via PayPal, or by sending a check made out to NJArts.net to 11 Skytop Terrace, Montclair, NJ 07043.

$

Custom Amount

Personal Info

Donation Total: $20.00

Leave a Comment

Explore more articles:

Sign up for our Newsletter