DINA REGINE/JOHN HUNTINGTON
Lenny Kaye and Tammy Faye Starlite will perform at a benefit for NJArts.net at Outpost in the Burbs in Montclair, Dec. 14.
Here is a roundup of arts events taking place around New Jersey, through Dec. 19.
MUSIC
• Lenny Kaye & Friends and Tammy Faye Starlite will perform at a benefit for NJArts.net taking place at The Outpost in the Burbs at The First Congregational Church in Montclair, Dec. 14 at 8 p.m. Kaye, best known as Patti Smith’s longtime guitarist, will be celebrating the 60th anniversary of his first performance with a band and will be backed by James Mastro (of The Bongos and Ian Hunter’s Rand Band) on bass and John Jackson (formerly of The Jayhawks) on violin and mandolin, with Lonesome Prairie Dogs frontman Steve Strunsky making a guest appearance.
Starlite and her band will perform the great Rolling Stones album Beggars Banquet — including songs such as “Sympathy for the Devil,” “Street Fighting Man,” “No Expectations” and “Stray Cat Blues” — in its entirety.
DENNIS LEOPOLD
MARIAH CAREY
• Mariah Carey‘s Christmas Time Tour — celebrating the 30th anniversary of her Merry Christmas album, which unleashed “All I Want for Christmas Is You” upon the world — will come to The Prudential Center in Newark, Dec. 13 at 7:30 p.m. Co-written and co-produced by Carey and Walter Afanasieff, “All I Want for Christmas Is You” was a worldwide hit in 1994, and soon became a holiday perennial; there isn’t much of a question that it is the most prominent Christmas song of the last 30 years.
• Joe Deninzon, the New Jerseyan who is currently playing violin for the progressive-rock band Kansas, will celebrate his 50th birthday with his own band, Stratospheerius, at The Williams Center in Rutherford, Dec. 15 at 6:30 p.m. The show will also celebrate the release of Stratospheerius’ new album, Impostor!
Guitarist Randy McStine (who currently plays with Porcupine Tree), and The Tea Club (also Jersey-based, and featuring Kansas bassist Dan McGowan).
(For a chance to win two tickets, send an email to njartscontest@gmail.com by 11 a.m. Dec. 12, with the word “Deninzon” in the subject line.)
• The 26th annual “Pipes of Christmas” concert — featuring holiday music with traditional Celtic instrumentation, and readings — will take place at The Central Presbyterian Church in Summit, Dec. 15 at 2 and 7 p.m. (the 2 p.m. show is sold out) as well as in Boston, Dec. 12; and Manhattan, Dec. 14.
Among this year’s cast of performers will be “Pipes of Christmas” veterans Steve Gibb, playing guitar and serving as music director; James Robinson (the actor whose credits include “Braveheart,” “Outlander” and “Saving Christmas Spirit”), who will do some of the readings; Susan Porterfield Currie, handling the shows’ narration; fiddler Caitlin Warbelow; and harpist Rachel Clemente.
Also featured will be The Solid Brass Ensemble, directed by Doug Haislip, and two groups that will be making their “Pipes of Christmas” debuts: The Commonwealth Pipes & Drums (in Boston); and The St. Columcille United Gaelic Pipe Band (in New Jersey and New York). And Madelyn Monaghan, a classically trained soprano, will sing at “Pipes of Christmas” for the first time.
VALERIE SIMPSON
• Valerie Simpson — who formed the songwriting, recording and touring duo Ashford & Simpson with her husband Nick Ashford (who died in 2011) — will perform at The South Orange Performing Arts Center, Dec. 14 at 8 p.m. The show is being billed as “Valerie Simpson & Friends.”
Ashford & Simpson’s biggest successes as recording artists included Top 40 hits “Solid” and “Found a Cure.” And as songwriters, their long list of smashes includes “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” “You’re All I Need to Get By,” “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing,” “Reach Out and Touch (Somebody’s Hand)” and “I’m Every Woman.”
• Michael Wittenburg will conduct The Morris Choral Society in a program titled “Home for the Holidays: Celebrations Around the World,” Dec. 15 at 3 p.m. at The United Methodist Church on the Green in Morristown. The chorus’ set will include songs from various countries, culminating with excerpts from the “Home Alone” movie scores by John Williams.
Also participating will be the women’s ensemble High Society, which will perform the Spanish carol “A la Nanita Nana” and selections from Benjamin Britten’s “A Ceremony of Carols”; the men’s group Express Male, which will perform holiday favorites including “I’ll Be Home for Christmas”; and The Frelinghuysen Middle School Select Choir (under the direction of Gillian Erlenborn), which will perform its own set and join Morris Choral Society for a sing-along.
• Holiday Express is a group of Shore-based musicians who have been playing holiday music at hospitals, nursing homes, soup kitchens and other places in need of a little seasonal cheer, at no charge, every November and December for 32 years. The group also performs at benefit concerts that allow it to fulfill its philanthropic mission; its main 2024 fundraiser will be at The Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank, Dec. 17 at 7:30 p.m. Some 50 musicians will contribute to this show, though more than 100 will take part in various Holiday Express events this year.
• Richie “LaBamba” Rosenberg’s annual “Holiday Hurrah” concert will move from The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, where it has been in recent years, to The Vogel at The Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank, with a show taking place Dec. 13 at 7 p.m. The trombonist and singer will lead a big band in high-energy versions of holiday songs, with guests including Bobby Bandiera and Glen Burtnik (LaBamba’s former bandmates in Southside Johnny’s Asbury Jukes and LaBamba & the Hubcaps, respectively).
ALI STROKER
• Ali Stroker — the singer and actress who won a Tony in 2019 in the Featured Actress category, for playing Ado Annie in Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “Oklahoma!” — will perform at Pfleeger Concert Hall at Rowan University in Glassboro, Dec. 15 at 2 p.m. While at Rowan, Stroker also will present a musical theater master class, and some of the students will be invited to perform with her for a few songs during the concert.
Stroker’s other credits include “Spring Awakening,” on Broadway, and “Glee,” “Ozark” and “Only Murders in the Building” on television.
• Steve Katz, a founding member of Blood, Sweat & Tears and The Blues Project who also co-produced albums for Lou Reed, will present “An Evening of Story and Song” at The Flemington Jewish Community Center, Dec. 14 at 7 p.m. Katz published a memoir, “Blood, Sweat, and My Rock ‘n’ Roll Years: Is Steve Katz a Rock Star?,” in 2015.
COMEDY
• The Williams Center in Rutherford will present a Comedy Festival, Dec. 19-21, with performances by Rich Vos, Tony Daro, J-L Cauvin (taping a comedy special in which he impersonates President-Elect Trump), Danny Polishchuk and Chris Lamberth; competitions, showcases and open mics; a comedy class by Rick Crom; screenings of the films “Aiplane!,” “”White Chicks” and “Tropic Thunder”); game shows; book signings; and more.
New Jersey Ballet will present its annual production of “The Nutcracker” in Morristown, through Dec. 26.
DANCE
• In an annual tradition, New Jersey Ballet will perform “The Nutcracker” with New Jersey Symphony playing Tchaikovsky’s score, Dec. 13-15, 20-24 and 26 at The Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown. Constantine Kitsopoulos will conduct the symphony, Benjamin Freemantle will appear as a guest dancer at the 6 p.m. Dec. 14-15 shows, and a livestream will be available for the 7:30 p.m. Dec. 20 performance.
• Other “Nutcracker” performances that will take place or begin their runs around the state, by Dec. 15, include:
Dec. 13: “A Rahway Nutcracker,” presented by Rahway Dance Theatre at Union County Performing Arts Center, Rahway.
Dec. 13-14: “The Nutcracker,” presented by Atlantic City Ballet at Stockton Performing Arts Center at Stockton University, Galloway.
Dec. 13-15: “The Nutcracker,” presented by Company of Dance Arts at Count Basie Center for the Arts, Red Bank.
Dec. 13-15: “The Nutcracker,” presented by NJ Dance Connection at Kelsey Theatre at Mercer County Community College, West Windsor.
Dec. 13-15 and 20-22: “Jersey City Nutcracker,” presented by Nimbus Dance at Nimbus Arts Center, Jersey City.
Dec. 14: “The Nutcracker,” presented by American Repertory Ballet at Patriots Theater at War Memorial.
Dec. 14: “The Nutcracker,” presented by Ballet for Young Audiences at Grunin Center for the Arts at Ocean County College, Toms River.
Dec. 14-15: “The Nutcracker,” presented by BalletArts and Adelphia Orchestra at River Dell High School.
Dec. 15: “The Nutcracker,” presented by State Ballet Theatre of Ukraine at Prudential Hall at NJPAC, Newark.
Dec. 15: “The Nutcracker,” presented by Atlantic City Ballet at Caesars, Atlantic City.
GRAND KYIV BALLET
Grand Kyiv Ballet will present “The Snow Queen” in Trenton and Englewood.
• And, if you’ve grown tired of “The Nutcracker,” another seasonally appropriate option would be “The Snow Queen,” which is being presented by Grand Kyiv Ballet on its current tour. The tour come to The Patriots Theater at The War Memorial in Trenton, Dec. 15 at 7 p.m.; and BergenPAC in Englewood, Dec. 23 at 7 p.m.
This is a new production, based on the Hans Cristian Andersen fairy tale. According to promotional material, it is “about love and friendship, and how the warmth of a friend’s devoted heart removes the spell of a wicked Queen.” The choreography is by Alexander Abdukarimov, and it features music by Finnish composer Tuomas Kantelinen.
A portion of the proceeds from all Grand Kyiv Ballet shows supports the arts and displaced artists in Ukraine. Principal dancers Grand Kyiv Ballet dancers Kateryna Kukhar and Oleksandr Stoianov, who have two young children together, relocated to Seattle after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. “Now we have another mission,” Stoianov, who founded Grand Kyiv Ballet in 2014, has said. “When the war started, we started dancing for our country. It is our cultural front line.”
FAMILY ENTERTAINMENT
• As part of its Classic for Kids series, The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey will present a holiday program titled “Merry, Merry Mischief,” Dec. 14 at 11 a.m. at its F.M. Kirby Shakespeare Theatre at Drew University in Madison. STNJ company members will perform “script-in-hand” versions of Oscar Wilde’s “The Selfish Giant,” Ogden Nash’s “The Boy Who Laughed at Santa Claus” and L. Frank Baum’s “A Kidnapped Santa Claus,” as well as seasonally appropriate songs and poems.
FILM
• Macaulay Culkin will discuss his hit 1990 comedy “Home Alone” after a screening of it at Prudential Hall at NJPAC in Newark, Dec. 13 at 8 p.m. The event is titled “A Nostalgic Night with Macaulay Culkin.”
Culkin, who was 9 when “Home Alone” was filmed and 10 when it was released, is now 44.
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REVIEWS
“The Christmas Show Must Go On” at Mile Square Theatre, Hoboken. (Through Dec. 15)
“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)
“Kimberly Camp – Cross River: A Parallel Universe” at Hunterdon Art Museum, Clinton. (Through Jan. 12)
“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)
CONTRIBUTE TO NJARTS.NET
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