INON BARNATAN
Here is a roundup of arts events taking place around New Jersey, through Nov. 7.
MUSIC
• New Jersey Symphony‘s 2024-25 season will officially begin with concerts at The Richardson Auditorium at Princeton University, Nov. 1 at 8 p.m.; The Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank, Nov. 2 at 8 p.m.; and Prudential Hall at NJPAC in Newark, Nov. 3 at 3 p.m. The orchestra’s music director, Xian Zhang, will conduct, and Inon Barnatan will be featured on Mozart’s Piano Concerto Nov. 17. The program also will include Gabriela Ortiz’s Kauyumari and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade.
“Classical Conversations” featuring Symphony musicians discussing the music to be performed, will also be offered one hour before the Newark and Red Bank concerts.
• New Jersey Symphony will also be featured in a different set of concerts, Nov. 7 at 1:30 p.m. and Nov. 8 at 8 p.m. at Prudential Hall at NJPAC in Newark, and Nov. 10 at 3 p.m. at The Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown. These shows will be part of the TD James Moody Jazz Festival and feature Carlos Miguell Prieto as conductor; soprano Amber Monroe; jazz saxophonist, clarinetist and composer Paquito D’Rivera as co-curator and guest artist; and The Paquito D’Rivera Quintet.
The program will include Daniel Freiberg’s Latin American Chronicles; D’Rivera’s arrangement of the Adagio movement of Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto; D’Rivera’s arrangement of a medley of George Gershwin songs (“Summertime,” “It Ain’t Necessarily So,” “But Not for Me” and others); Carlos Chávez Symphony No. 2, “Sinfonía India”; Aaron Copland’s El Salón México; Arturo Márquez’s Danzón No. 2; and José Pablo Moncayo’s Huapango.
The Symphony will also offer an “Instrument Discovery Zone,” an hour before the Nov. 7 concert; and a “Classical Conversation,” an hour before the Nov. 8 concert.
TRACY NELSON
• Tracy Nelson hasn’t performed in New Jersey very much in recent years, but state residents will have three opportunities to hear her earthy, powerful voice next weekend, when she will be at The Grunin Center at Ocean County College in Toms River, Nov. 1 at 7 p.m., before brunch shows at The South Orange Performing Arts Center, Nov. 2 at 1 p.m., and The Vogel at The Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank, Nov. 3 at noon. All three events are sponsored by the Jersey-based Gia Maione Prima Foundation; at them, Nelson will be backed, on piano and accordion, by Steve Conn, who previously has worked with everyone from Bonnie Raitt to the late Kris Kristofferson.
Nelson received a Grammy nomination for her 2023 album, Live Don’t Miss Nobody. Click HERE for a new NJArts.net interview with her.
• Ryan Bingham, Jamey Johnson, Don Was and former Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers members Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench are participating in a tour this fall paying tribute to The Band’s legendary 1976 Last Waltz concert. “Life Is a Carnival: The Last Waltz Tour 24” will come to The Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank, Nov. 4 at 7:30 p.m. Among those joining them will be John Medeski (of Medeski, Martin & Wood), Cyril Neville (of The Neville Brothers), Dave Malone (of The Radiators), Terence Higgins (of The Dirty Dozen Brass Band) and Mark Mullins (of Bonerama).
• Having just released two spirited new recordings in honor of the holiday season — covers of “Holiday Road” (listen below) and “Feliz Navidad” — Fantastic Cat will perform at The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, Nov. 2 at 8 p.m., with singer-songwriter Jonathon Linaberry (who performs under the name The Bones of J.R. Jones) opening.
Fantastic Cat is a freewheeling collective project, made up of four performers — Mike Montali (of the band Hollis Brown), Anthony D’Amato, Brian Dunne and Don DiLego — who have sizable followings of their own but become more than the sum of their parts when performing together.
MARA JUSTINE
• Singer Mara Justine — the New Jersey native who made the finals of both “America’s Got Talent” (in 2014) and “The Voice” (in 2023), and also competed on “American Idol” (in 2018) — will perform at CrossBar at The Red Bull Arena in Harrison before the 4:30 p.m. Nov. 3 Major League Soccer match between The New York Red Bulls and The Columbus Crew. (This will be the second game of a best-of-three playoff series.)
Nini Iris, who also competed on “The Voice” in 2023, will sing “The National Anthem” before the game, and DJ KD will entertain during halftime.
For a chance to win two tickets, good for both the game and Justine’s performance, send an email to njartscontest@gmail.com by 10 a.m. Nov. 1 with the word “Justine” in the subject line.
• Three great guitarists — G.E. Smith, Larry Campbell and Jim Weider — will perform together, under the name Masters of the Telecaster, at The South Orange Performing Arts Center, Nov. 2 at 8 p.m. G.E. Smith has played with Hall & Oates, Bob Dylan, Roger Waters and the “Saturday Night Live” band. Campbell has performed with Dylan and Levon Helm, and toured and recorded extensively with his wife, singer Teresa Williams. Jim Weider is best known as a member of The Band and now performs The Band songs and more with the group The Weight Band.
• In honor of the upcoming Veterans Day holiday, New Jersey Youth Symphony will present a program at The Patriots Theater at The War Memorial in Trenton, Nov. 3 at 3 p.m., that will include the New Jersey premiere of Peter Boyer’s Rhapsody in Red, White and Blue (featuring pianist Jeffrey Biegel) as well as works by Leonard Bernstein and Adolphus Hailstork. Also, two ensembles from the New Jersey Youth Chorus will participate in a selection of patriotic music.
Rhapsody in Red, White and Blue was commissioned by Biegel to celebrate the 100th anniversary of George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue.
Veterans can attend at no charge, and the concerts will also be streamed on YouTube, HERE.
AMY PASQUANTONIO
Bruce Sabath as Tevye.
THEATER
• The Axelrod Performing Arts Center in Deal will present the classic musical “Fiddler on the Roof” — featuring songs such as “If I Were a Rich Man,” “Sunrise, Sunset,” “Tradition” and “Matchmaker” — Nov. 1-3, 7-10, 13-17 and 21-24. Bruce Sabath — who will star as the play’s main character, the long-suffering father of five Tevye the Milkman — has played the role before, in both English and Yiddish (this production will be in English). Sabath also has appeared on Broadway (in the 2006-2007 revival of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s “Company”) and in his own cabaret-style show, “Searching for Tevye: A Musical Journey From Brighton to Broadway.”
For a chance to win two tickets to any show, send an email to njartscontest@gmail.com by 10 a.m. Nov. 1 with the word “Fiddler” in the subject line. Please specify the show you would like to attend, with the date plus the time (if there is more than one show on that day).
• The creative team behind “Don’t Stop Me Now: A Celebration of Rock Musicals” (see video below) had a very broad selection of music to choose from, as the show combines music from musicals that use original rock music (e.g., “Jesus Christ Superstar,” “Hair,” “Rent”) and jukebox musicals that rely on previously existing rock music (e.g., “Jersey Boys,” “Movin’ Out,” “Mamma Mia!”). It will be presented at The Theatre at Raritan Valley Community College in Branchburg, Nov. 2 at 7 p.m.
OTHER
• Michael Benson and Craig Singer will discuss their new book “Moguls: The Lives and Times of Film Pioneers Nicholas and Joseph Schenck,” Nov. 7 at 6:30 p.m. at The Barrymore Film Center in Fort Lee. The event will also include a screening of Buster Keaton’s 25-minute 1922 silent film, “The Blacksmith.”
The Schenck brothers were major film industry figures throughout the first half of the 20th century, holding executive positions at Loew’s, United Artists, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and other companies.
• Actress Christina Ricci will sign copies of her “Cat Full of Spiders (Tarot Deck and Guidebook),” Nov. 7 at 6 p.m. at Bookends in Ridgewood.
According to publicity material, this package “takes a surrealist dive into the cinematic subconscious of the iconic actress. Featuring a personal foreword by Ricci, creative direction by Mark Hampton, and custom artwork by Felipe Flores; the book gives fans a retrospective look at Ricci’s personal journey as told through the tarot. Containing both the Major and Minor Arcana, the set also comes with a comprehensive guidebook, written by tarot author Minerva Siegel, explaining each card’s meaning as well as suggestions for simple spreads for easy readings.”
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REVIEWS
“Jersey Boys” at Paper Mill Playhouse, Millburn. (Through Nov. 3)
“My Italy Story,” presented by American Theater Group at Sieminski Theater, Basking Ridge. (Through Nov. 3)
“Macbeth by Candlelight,” presented by The Curtain at Nimbus Arts Center, Jersey City. (Through Nov. 3)
“Macbeth” at Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey at Drew University, Madison. (Through Nov. 17)
“2024 New Jersey Arts Annual: Exploring Our Connections” at Montclair Art Museum. (Through Jan. 5)
“Under a Southern Star: Identity and Environment in Australian Photography,” presented by Princeton University Art Museum at Art on Hulfish. (Through Jan. 5)
“New Sculpture/New Jersey” at Morris Museum, Morris Township. (Through Feb. 2)
“Morven Revealed: Untold Stories From New Jersey’s Most Historic Home” at Morven Museum & Garden, Princeton. (Through March 2)
“Bony Ramirez: Cattleya” at Newark Museum of Art. (Through March 9)
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