Elvis Costello and keyboardist Steve Nieve will perform as a duo in Red Bank and Montclair.
Here is a roundup of arts events taking place around New Jersey, through Feb. 27.
MUSIC
• A rare duo tour by Elvis Costello and Steve Nieve will include shows at The Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank, Feb. 21 at 8 p.m.; and The Wellmont Theater in Montclair, Feb. 24 at 8 p.m. Nieve was the keyboard player for Costello’s band The Attractions, beginning in the ’70s, and is now a member of Costello’s band The Imposters. According to his website, he also has released nine solo albums and appeared onstage or on recordings with Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Smokey Robinson, Bruce Springsteen, Lou Reed, Bono, Sting, Squeeze, Burt Bacharach, St. Vincent, Laurie Anderson and many others.
Costello’s latest release, The Coward Brothers, is a collaboration with T Bone Burnett.
At the show that opened the Costello/Nieve tour, Feb. 19 in Easton, Pennsylvania, Costello played a few songs solo before bringing Nieve out, and his setlist included a few trademark songs — such as “Alison,” “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding?” and “(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes” — but also many more unpredictable choices.
Quiana Lynell with Milton Suggs, center, and Luther S. Allison.
• Pianist Luther S. Allison and singers Quiana Lynell and Milton Suggs are featured in “New Orleans Songbook,” a Jazz at Lincoln Center Presents tour that will come to Enlow Recital Hall at Kean University in Hillside, Feb. 23 at 7 p.m., and The McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton, Feb. 28 at 7:30 p.m.
The show, which also features a seven-piece band, celebrates the music of New Orleans artists ranging from Jelly Roll Morton and Louis Armstrong to Professor Longhair and The Meters.
“New Orleans is arguably the most important city in the history of Black American Music,” said Allison in a press release. “The depth of its culture is bar none, and the influence of art from this city has undeniably shaped the development of nearly all genres of music.”
• It is true to that veteran rock stars rarely stop touring after their “farewell” tours are over. But it still should be noted that Rod Stewart, who turned 80 in January, is calling his current tour One Last Time and has said that while he is not retiring, there will be “no more big tours” after this one.
He will perform at The Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena at The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, Feb. 22 at 8 p.m.
• The New Jersey Festival Orchestra, with David Wroe conducting, will perform at The Presbyterian Church of Westfield, Feb. 22 at 7 p.m.; and The Sieminski Theater in Basking Ridge, Feb. 23 at 2:30 p.m. The “Invitation to Vienna” program will include Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 (featuring soprano Marcelina Román) and music by Johann Strauss II, Emmerich Kálmán and Franz Lehár.
LORNA COURTNEY
• Lorna Courtney, who received a Tony nomination in 2023 in the Best Leading Actress in a Musical category for her work in “& Juliet,” will perform in the Broadway at the Barn series, presented by The Holmdel Theatre Company at The Duncan Smith Theater in Holmdel, Feb. 22 at 8 p.m.
Courtney has also appeared on Broadway in “Dear Evan Hansen” and “West Side Story.”
According to the Holmdel Theatre Company, the show will feature “never-before-heard stories, great conversation, and a collection of songs from multiple genres, including jazz, musical theatre, and pop.”
• Nandi Rose, a former member of the band Pinegrove, has been releasing synth-pop albums under the name Half Waif since 2014; her sixth, See You at the Maypole, came out last year. She has said that making the album helped her recover, emotionally, from a miscarriage; on her website, she calls the album “a recognition of personal sadness, and a call to ecstatic togetherness. … The ceremonial folk dance performed around a maypole is filled with fauna and flora, with ribbons woven into complex braids incapable of unraveling; these dances are survivals of ancient ritual, honoring the living trees, and the return of Spring and fertility.”
She will perform at the Outpost in the Burbs series at the First Congregational Church in Montclair, Feb. 22 at 8 p.m., with Slowspin opening.
RENEE MASKIN
MUSIC/FILM
• Singer-songwriter Renee Maskin will present an audio-visual concert as part of New Jersey International Film Festival, Feb. 21 at 7 p.m. at Voorhees Hall at Rutgers University in New Brunswick. This is the latest in a series of audio-visual concerts that began being presented as a component of the festival in 2023.
A short film — “Ascension From the Disco Inferno, by Anita La Belle and Albert Gabriel Nigrin, and featuring music by Marissa Nadler and Milky Burgess — will be shown before the performance.
FILM
• The screening of “Wicked” that will take place at The Barrymore Film Center in Fort Lee, Feb. 22 at 7 p.m., will be followed by a question-and-answer session with Etai Benson and Alyssa Fox, who played Boq and Elphaba, respectively, in the Broadway production of the musical.
“Wicked” will also be shown at The Barrymore Film Center without the question-and-answer session, Feb. 20-21 at 7 p.m. and Feb. 23 at 2 p.m.
FAMILY ENTERTAINMENT
• Artrageous, which has described itself as both “a troupe of misfits” and “Blue Man Group meets Picasso,” will bring its unique show to The Union County Performing Arts Center in Rahway, Feb. 23 at 2 p.m., in a “sensory friendly” performance, adapted for children and adults with autism and other sensory sensitivities.
“Artrageous is really all about the arts,” Lauri Francis, who performs in the show and also works on its costume design and choreography, has said. “We try to throw as many different arts as possible on one stage. So if you come to an Artrageous show, you’re going to see live painting, music, singing, dancing, comedy and audience interaction, and the (visual) artists are always collaborating with the musicians, to try to complete their portraits in the amount of time it takes to do the songs.
“It’s always just like a rush to the finish — every note is being taken up with creating a masterpiece.”
“Ascendant Freedom,” by Radisha James, is part of the “Black Joy” exhibition.
VISUAL ARTS
• The Art in the Atrium organization is presenting an exhibition titled “Black Joy” at the Art Upstairs and Starlight galleries at The Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown, through March 1. Works by Radisha James, Kwesi Kwarteng, Therez Fleetwood, Serron Green and Meclina Gomes are featured.
“The array of artists selected for the Black Joy exhibition expresses the many aspects of our Blackness — history, achievements, and creativity,” curator Wanda R. Croudy has said. “During this time of recognizing and celebrating our oneness we find how varied we are — we are not one-dimensional. We express ourselves in a multitude of ways that is freeing and offering a means of connecting at the same time. I hope that every person who sees this exhibition will learn from, connect with, and feel the joy — the Black Joy in the artwork from these extraordinary artists.”
Croudy, Art in the Atrium representatives and several of the artists will attend a reception in the Art Upstairs space, Feb. 27 at 5:30 p.m. There is no admission charge but space is limited, so those interested in attending are being asked to register HERE.
REVIEWS
“Mystic Pizza” at Paper Mill Playhouse, Millburn. (Through Feb. 23)
“Morven Revealed: Untold Stories From New Jersey’s Most Historic Home” at Morven Museum & Garden, Princeton. (Through March 2)
“Make Believe” at New Jersey Repertory Company, Long Branch. (Through March 9)
“Bony Ramirez: Cattleya” at Newark Museum of Art. (Through March 9)
“Safe Passage in Conversation with Her Flowers: Disruption of Old Narratives: Heather Williams” at Karl and Helen Burger Gallery at Kean University, Union. (Through May 9)
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.
