“Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock Live” is coming to Englewood and New Brunswick.
Here is a roundup of major arts events taking place around New Jersey, through April 17.
FAMILY ENTERTAINMENT
• Jim Henson’s children’s show “Fraggle Rock,” which ran on HBO from 1983 to 1987, was rebooted by Apple TV+ in 2022 as “Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock.” And now, the franchise’s first stage show, “Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock Live,” is on tour, and coming to BergenPAC in Englewood, April 13 at 3 p.m.; and The State Theatre in New Brunswick, April 26 at 1 and 5 p.m.
According to a press release, the show, written and directed by John Tartaglia (“Avenue Q,” “Shrek the Musical”), will feature “both new and classic Fraggle songs” as well as “vibrant new walkaround versions of the Fraggles, new puppet versions of their gearhead friends the Doozers, and visits from a giant Gorg as well as exciting new puppet creature friends — all built by the renowned Jim Henson’s Creature Shop.” (see video below)
JON CHU
Griffin and Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes.
MUSIC
• The band Dawes became a duo last year — brothers Taylor Goldsmith, on lead vocals and guitar, and Griffin Goldsmith, on drums and vocals — though they continue to work with other musicians in the studio and on the road. Guitarist Trevor Menear, bassist Z Lynch, keyboardist Frank LoCrasto and percussionist Ian Bush are joining them on the current Dawes tour, which comes to The McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton, April 13 at 7 p.m.
Dawes’ latest single is a cover of Randy Newman’s “I Love L.A.” (listen below), with proceeds going to MusiCares in support of those affected by the recent fires in Los Angeles. Griffin Goldsmith lost his home and his large collection of percussion instruments, and the band lost its studio, in the fires.
• Actor Jeff Daniels is also a singer-songwriter (see video below), and will perform at The Troubadour Concert Series at The Morristown Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, April 11 at 7:30 p.m., with Abby Posner opening.
• The band Dead Äire will present a tribute to the late Pat DiNizio of The Smithereens, April 12 at 7 p.m., at a nightclub he used to perform at frequently: Crossroads in Garwood. Guests will include Marshall Crenshaw (who now frequently performs with The Smithereens, handling DiNizio’s vocal and guitar parts), The Scotch Plainsmen, Kurt Reil and Kristin Pinell of The Grip Weeds, Joe D’Urso, Mike Fornatale, Billy McCarthy and Pete Mancini, and proceeds will be donated to The Light of Day Foundation.
(Note: There will be no guest appearances by DiNizio’s Smithereens bandmates, since the group has a show that night, with John Cowsill on lead vocals, in Pawling, New York.)
A photo included in the “Tyler Chan: Montclair Snap Memories” exhibition.
VISUAL ARTS
• An exhibition titled “Tyler Chan: Montclair Snap Memories” will be shown at The Montclair Art Museum from April 12 to May 25.
Chan is a college student who previously went to Montclair High School. According to the museum’s website, the exhibition “presents a series of intimate photographs that document the artist’s life as a Chinese American high school student in Montclair. The work explores the complexities of adolescence through the lens of a bicultural experience, presenting a vivid and evocative visual diary that reflects both the universal struggles and the unique challenges of racial diversity and division, even in a community thought to be tolerant like Montclair.”
DANCE
• The Twyla Tharp 60th Anniversary Tour, marking the six decades since Tharp choreographed her first dance (“Tank Dive”) and formed her Twyla Tharp Dance company, will come to The McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton, April 17 at 7:30 p.m. The show is described as a retrospective “highlighting a lifetime of significant works, from classical ballet to modern dance.”
THEATER
• Premiere Stages, in partnership with The New Jersey Theatre Alliance, will present “Healing Voices: Caregivers’ Stories” at Enlow Recital Hall at Kean University in Hillside, April 13 at 3 p.m. This show includes shorts works of theater, prose and poetry about the caregiving experience. There is no admission charge but registration is required.
• New Jersey Repertory Company in Long Branch will present “Comfort,” a new play by Neil LaBute (“In the Company of Men,” “Your Friends & Neighbors,” “Some Velvet Morning”), from April 17 to May 11. It is a two-character play, about a famous writer and her estranged son.
ALEXANDER LOPEZ
WORDS
• Alexander Lopez — founder of The DogFather Dog Institute, a pet training center in Long Beach, California — will present a talk titled “The Psychology of Dogs,” April 17 at 7:30 p.m. at The Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown, and April 21 at 7 p.m. at The Vogel at The Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank. The event will include a lecture, videos, a question-and-answer session and live demonstrations by trained dogs.
• Scott Turow, whose legal thrillers include the best-selling “Presumed Innocent” and the new “Presumed Guilty,” will appear in conversation with New York Times writer Sarah Lyall at Temple Ner Tamid in Bloomfield, April 17 at 7 p.m. The event is being presented by Succeed2gether’s Montclair Literary Festival as a kind of prelude to this year’s fest, which will take place from April 26 to May 3.
REVIEWS
“Fade,” presented by Vanguard Theater Company at Vanguard Theater, Montclair. (Through April 13)
“Sarah Canfield: The Circuit Unseen” at BrassWorks Gallery, Montclair. (Through April 26)
“Take the Lead” at Paper Mill Playhouse, Millburn. (Through April 27)
“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)
“James Prosek: At Work” at Morris Museum, Morris Township. (Through June 8)
“Tatyana Kazakova: In Spite of Our Fears” at Grover House Gallery, Caldwell. (Through June 27)
“Nanette Carter: A Question of Balance” at Montclair Art Museum. (Through July 6)
“Morven Revealed: Untold Stories From New Jersey’s Most Historic Home” at Morven Museum & Garden, Princeton. (Through March 1)
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