George Street Playhouse will present “The Shark Is Broken,” inspired by the making of “Jaws,” from April 29 to May 18.
Here is a roundup of major arts events taking place around New Jersey, through May 1.
THEATER
• George Street Playhouse‘s production of “The Shark Is Broken” begins previews at The New Brunswick Performing Arts Center on April 29, with the official opening night on May 3 and the last show on May 18. Co-written by Ian Shaw and Joseph Nixon, this 2019 play is a comedy about actors Robert Shaw (Ian Shaw’s father), Roy Scheider and Richard Dreyfuss during the making of the hit 1975 movie “Jaws.”
George Street’s website describes it as a “hilarious behind-the-scenes drama of a movie shoot that goes anything but smoothly.”
A stellar lineup has been assembled for this year’s American Music Honors show.
MUSIC
• The third annual American Music Honors show, presented by The Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music at Monmouth University, will take place at the West Long Branch university’s Pollak Theatre, April 26 at 8:30 p.m. Smokey Robinson, John Fogerty, Emmylou Harris, Tom Morello and Joe Ely will be honored. Springsteen will present Fogerty and Ely with their awards; Stevie Van Zandt, Patti Scialfa and Nils Lofgren will do so for Robinson, Harris and Morello, respectively.
Brian Williams will host and, as they did at the first two American Music Honors shows, Van Zandt’s Disciples of Soul will serve as the house band.
A building that will house the Springsteen Archives is currently being build at the university. The Archives’ 35,000 holdings can now be seen by appointment only.
In conjunction with the American Music Honors show, an online fundraising auction is being held (though May 8) HERE.
• The Count Basie Center Gospel Choir will present “A Concert for World Peace,” including a tribute to the late Harry Belafonte (featuring Belafonte’s Richard Cummings and singers and musicians who worked with Belafonte), April 28 at 6:30 p.m. at The Vogel at The Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank.
ROD PICOTT
• Singer-songwriter Rod Picott, who has announced that he will retire from the road at the end of this year, will perform at The Jersey Shore Arts Center in Ocean Grove, April 26 at 8 p.m., with Anya Hinkle opening. This show concludes the Split Level Concert Series’ 2024-25 series at JSAC.
Proceeds from the series support JSAC’s other arts programming and educational offerings, and representatives from the Musicians on a Mission organizations are at all Split Level shows, to collect non-perishable food donations and cash donations to benefit the Fulfill food distribution center.
• As part of the Rutgers Day extravaganza of arts, cultural and educational activities, April 26, the band Heron House (featuring musicians who graduated from and/or work for Rutgers, and named after an R.E.M. song) will play 1980s R.E.M. material at 12:30 p.m. at The Cove at the Student Center of Rutgers’ Busch Campus in Piscataway. There will be no admission charge.
The set will commemorate R.E.M.’s fondly remembered free concert on the Busch Campus lawn in April 1985. Heron House frontman Michael Steinbrück said in a press release that the show represents “a true labor of love for each of us, and a life-long dream of mine to perform beloved songs from high school and college.”
(Rutgers Day usually takes place outdoors, but most events have been moved indoors because of the threat of bad weather. Also, the 50th anniversary edition of The New Jersey Folk Festival, which had been scheduled for the same day at Rutgers’ Cook Campus in New Brunswick, has been postponed, with the new date not yet announced.)
Christian McBride and Bill Charlap.
• Two of New Jersey’s most revered jazz musicians, bassist Christian McBride and pianist Bill Charlap, will present a rare duo show at the Jazz Room Series at The Shea Center for Performing Arts at William Paterson University, Wayne, April 27 at 3 p.m.
As at all Jazz Room Series shows, a “Meet-the-Artist” session, free to ticket-holders, will be presented one hour before showtime at the Shea Center Recital Hall.
• I will be one of the judges at a competition presented by the North Jersey Blues Society, April 27 from noon to 6 p.m. at The Stanhope House. Seven bands and four solo or duo artists will compete for the opportunity to take part in the next International Blues Challenge in Memphis.
The International Blues Challenge is an annual contest and convention presented by the Memphis-based Blues Foundation; it bills itself as “The world’s largest gathering of blues musicians.”
WORDS/MUSIC
• Cellist Yo-Yo Ma will appear “in conversation with “PBS News Hour” senior correspondent Jeffrey Brown, April 26 at 7:30 p.m. at The McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton. Attendees can expect to hear some live music, too; according to the theater’s website, “Through personal anecdotes and musical interludes, Yo-Yo Ma explores how culture can help us all seek truth, build trust and act in service of one another.”
VISUAL ARTS
A detail from Judi Tavill’s “Contiguous,” which can be seen at The Center For Contemporary Art in Bedminster as part of The Garden State Art Weekend.
• The second annual Garden State Art Weekend, which began on April 24 and continues through April 27, will offer more than 100 opportunities to see art at museums, galleries, studios and other venues throughout the state.
See a complete list of participants at gardenstateartweekend.org or check out NJArts.net visual arts critic Tris McCall’s preview HERE.
WORDS
• The Montclair Literary Festival will last from April 26 to May 3, with appearances by authors including Colum McCann, Jean Hanff Korelitz, Christian Allaire, Connie Chung, Susan Morrison and many others; a May 1 “Pitchapalooza” (in which 20 writers selected at random get to publicly pitch their potential book, with the winner receiving an introduction to an agent or publisher); poetry readings and more. The festival will take place at various Montclair locations, and while some events are ticketed, most are free.
• As part of the second annual FenceSitter Film Festival, Darryl “DMC” McDaniels of the groundbreaking and influential rap group Run-DMC will talk about his life and career, answer questions from the audience, and accept the festival’s Groundbreaker Award, at The Bernardsville Cinema, April 26 at 7:30 p.m.
DANCE
• In three collaborative concerts in March, Nimbus Dance debuted its artistic director Samuel Pott’s new choreography for Stravinsky’s The Firebird ballet score, and as well his “Dark Water,” set to composer Qasim Naqvi’s God Docks at Death Harbor. (Read NJArts.net’s review HERE.)
In shows titled “Firebird & Other Sagas,” May 1-3 at 8 p.m. at Nimbus Arts Center in Jersey City, Nimbus Dance will perform these two works, as well as s Afterburner, choreographed by Kristen Klein.
This Way to the Egress will perform at The Rock & Roll Steampunk Fair.
OTHER
• Veterans Park in Washington (Warren County) will be the site of the fifth annual Rock & Roll Steampunk Fair, April 26, featuring vendors, street performers, sets by four bands (This Way to the Egress, Dust Bowl Faeries, Durty Rotten Parrots Pirate Band, Puppy Grease), a beer garden, children’s activities, and more. The fair will last from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and there will be no admission charge; it will continue, starting at 7 p.m., with an after-party at Buttzville Brewing Company featuring music by another band, A Halo Called Fred.
• The Chiller Theatre Toy, Model & Film Expo will take place at The Hilton Parsippany, April 25-27, with autograph sessions featuring actress Linda Blair (“The Exorcist”), Loretta Swit (“M*A*S*H”), Michael Madsen (“Reservoir Dogs,” “Kill Bill”), Gina Gershon (“Face/Off,” “Cocktail”), John Ratzenberger (“Cheers”) and Peter Riegert (“Animal House”); journalist Geraldo Rivera; singer-songwriter Walter Egan (“Magnet and Steel”) and many others, plus vendors, costume contests and other attractions.
• The Appel Farm Arts & Music Center in Elmer will present The South Jersey Arts Fest, April 26 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., with arts and crafts displays; art-making workshops for both children and adults; food, drink and crafts vendors; and music by AFTYN, Sharing Contest and Danger Club. There will be no admission charge. (UPDATE: This event has been postponed to June 8.)
REVIEWS
“Sarah Canfield: The Circuit Unseen” at BrassWorks Gallery, Montclair. (Through April 26)
“Take the Lead” at Paper Mill Playhouse, Millburn. (Through April 27)
“¡VOS!” at Two River Theater, Red Bank. (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)
“Comfort” at New Jersey Repertory Company, Long Branch. (Through May 11)
“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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