Steve Martin and Martin Short’s “You Won’t Believe What They Look Like Today!” will arrive at the Hackensack Meridian Health Theatre at the Basie Center Campus in Red Bank, N.J. this fall! Ticket prices range from $75 to $299 and there is a limit of eight tickets per mailing address. more
Fatoumata Diawara is a rarity among Malian singers, wielding her electric guitar to write songs that blend Wassoulou folk music, spiritually centered Afropop, and desert blues. Singing mostly in Bambara, the national language of Mali, Diawara sings about migration, African identity, motherhood, and the struggle of African women. A veteran of screen and stage, she debuted as an actress in the ’90s, appearing in films such as Cheick Oumar Sissoko’s La Genèse and the Oscar-nominated Timbuktu. Since her 2011 debut LP Fatou, she’s collaborated with the likes of Herbie Hancock, Bobby Womack, Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Damon Albarn (Blur, Gorillaz), who co-produced her latest album London Ko. more
Twenty Sailors, assigned to Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser USS Princeton (CG 59), visited their ship’s namesake city June 6-8 to engage with the community, share the Navy’s story, and learn more about the historical connection to their vessel’s namesake.
During the visit, the crew met with the mayor, city officials, and public figures, toured the campus of Princeton University with NROTC representatives, visited important landmarks, and gave presentations at the local schools. more
Join Penn Medicine Princeton Health for a special event with cancer survivor and TV host Al Roker on Wednesday, June 28 at 7 p.m. at the Westin Princeton at Forrestal Village.
During this moderated conversation, NBC TODAY’s weatherman and co-anchor Roker will describe his own experience with cancer. Roker was diagnosed with prostate cancer in November 2020. He shared the news on-air with the TODAY audience and helped to raise awareness about prostate cancer and the importance of screening and early detection. more
Celebrated singer-songwriter Corinne Bailey Rae will perform live at McCarter Theatre on Tuesday, June 6 at 7:30 p.m.
From the very start of her career, Rae has demonstrated her talent for writing and performing songs with a free, airy quality that belies their emotional heft. The soulful rhythm and blues crooner debuted her self-titled solo album in 2006, which hit No. 1 on U.K. charts driven by singles “Put Your Records On” and “Like a Star.” Her second album, The Sea, was nominated for the Mercury Prize in 2010 and she’s taken home two Grammys — her first for her work on Herbie Hancock’s River: The Joni Letters, and another for her version of Bob Marley’s “Is This Love.” Rae’s music has frequently appeared in film and television. She composed the theme to Stan Lee’s Lucky Man, covered Coldplay’s “The Scientist” for Fifty Shades Darker and “New to Me,” which Tracee Ellis Ross performed in the 2020 film The High Note. Her latest album is 2016’s The Heart Speaks in Whispers. more
In collaboration with Philadelphia’s public radio station WXPN, Kimmel Cultural Campus welcomes singer-songwriter Natalie Merchant as part of her Keep Your Courage Tour. The event will take place on Friday, April 21 at 7:30 p.m. at the Miller Theater located at 250 South Broad Street in Philadelphia. The concert is estimated to run 2 hours and 30 minutes with intermission. more
On Tuesday, April 4 at 7:30 p.m., the State Theatre New Jersey welcomes humorist David Sedaris.
Beloved for his personal essays and short stories, Sedaris is the author of Barrel Fever, Holidays on Ice, Naked, Me Talk Pretty One Day, Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, When You Are Engulfed in Flames, Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls and Calypso, which was a Washington Post Best Book of the Year. more
Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank welcomes Fran Lebowitz on March 30 at 7:30 p.m. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
In a cultural landscape with endless pundits and talking heads, Fran Lebowitz stands out as one of the most insightful social commentators.
Her essays and interviews offer her acerbic views on current events and the media — as well as her pet peeves including tourists, baggage-claim areas, after-shave lotion, adults who roller skate, children who speak French, or anyone who is unduly tan. The New York Times Book Review calls Lebowitz an “important humorist in the classic tradition.” Purveyor of urban cool, Lebowitz is a cultural satirist whom many call the heir to Dorothy Parker. more
Join New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) for Philip Roth Unbound, a weekend-long festival that will celebrate, challenge, and explore the life, legacy, and work of novelist and Newark native Philip Roth, on what would have been his 90th birthday weekend. more
Penn Medicine and Princeton House Behavioral Health invite the public to An Evening with Matthew Perry at the Hyatt Regency Princeton, located at 102 Carnegie Center Drive in Princeton on Friday, November 4 at 7 p.m. Admission is $45 per person, which includes a copy of Perry’s book, light desserts, coffee, and tea. Click here to register: https://bit.ly/3VdOXEj.
Join Friends star Matthew Perry and a special guest for a rare in-person conversation about his new memoir, Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing. more
On Friday, October 7 at 7:30 p.m. join the Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown for The Beauty of Dusk: An Evening with Frank Bruni. Tickets are $60 per person.
Bruni has been a prominent journalist form more than three decades, including more than 25 years at The New York Times, the last 10 of them as a nationally renowned op-ed columnist who appeared frequently as a television commentator. He was also a White House correspondent for the Times, its Rome bureau chief, and for five years, its chief restaurant critic. more
On Tuesday, July 26 at 6:30 p.m., Princeton Public Library and the Historical Society of Princeton welcome bestselling author Jennifer Weiner to the Updike Farmstead at 354 Quaker Road in Princeton. Tickets are $30 and include a copy of The Summer Place, plus sparkling beverages, sorbet, and other sweets. Purchase tickets here: https://bit.ly/3Pj61Vz. This event is presented with support by Labyrinth Books. more
Musician Elton John will perform live at Met Life Stadium on Saturday, July 23 and Sunday, July 24 at 8 p.m. Ticket prices start at $85 and are available through ticketmaster.com.
This concert is meant to be an electrifying tour de force of John’s greatest hits and a look back on the heels of his 75th birthday. more
Platinum-selling and Grammy-nominated singer and actor Chris Isaak will perform at the Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown on Tuesday, July 26 at 8 p.m. A concert favorite over the last three decades, Isaak is known for timeless songs like “Wicked Game,” “Baby Did a Bad Bad Thing,” “Somebody’s Crying,” and more. Ticket prices start at $59 per person. more
Summer in Atlantic City attracts world-class stars and entertainers, and this year is no different. In fact, there is something for everyone’s taste. Browse this sampled June calendar of event listings below and book your tickets today!
Thursday, June 9 - Sunday, September 4
Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City
Ticket prices $28.50+ more
Celebrated country singer Jake Owen will perform at Asbury Park’s iconic Stone Pony on Sunday, July 24 from 6 to 10 p.m. Tickets are $49.50 in advance and $55 at the door.
Owen’s music has risen to the top of country charts multiple times and his latest single “Made For You” is looking to do the same. Some of his best-known tracks are “I Was Jack (You Were Diane),” “Homemade,” “Barefoot Blue Jean Night,” “Beachin,” “Anywhere With You,” “Alone With You,” “The One That Got Away,” and “American Country Love Song.” more
On Tuesday, May 24 at 6 p.m., Hopewell Theater presents never-before-seen archival footage, personal photos, first-person narratives, and cutting-edge food cinematography that traces Julia Child’s 12-year struggle to create and publish the revolutionary Mastering the Art of French Cooking (1961), which has sold more than 2.5 million copies to date, and her rapid ascent to becoming the country’s most unlikely television star. It’s the empowering story of a woman who found her purpose — and her fame — at the age of 50 and took America along for the whole delicious journey. more
Works by iconic 20th-century landscape photographer Ansel Adams are now on display at the Galleries at Liberty Hall Academic Center at Kean University.
The “Early Works” exhibition features 42 original vintage photographs by the master photographer of the American West, ranging from the 1920s to the 1950s. It is open to the public with a pay-what-you-wish (PWYW) admission. more
Join New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) for a special virtual presentation on Friday, April 29 at 7 p.m. to celebrate International Jazz Day, National Poetry Month, and the playwright and novelist Langston Hughes.
Viewers will be treated to song and poetry performances by NJPAC’s Verses and the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Two local Newark poets, Dimitri Reyes and Treasure Borde, will share poetry inspired by Hughes’ life and times. Renowned jazz saxophonist Mark Gross and his quartet will also share their interpretations of Hughes’ compendium of writing. more
Now on view at the Michener Art Museum in Doylestown, Pa., “Keith Haring: A Radiant Legacy” is drawing visitors from around the region for this intimate and extensive collection of a beloved artist. The exhibit will run through July 31, 2022.
Born in Reading, Pa., and raised in nearby Kutztown, Pa., Haring (1958-1990) developed an early love for drawing, which eventually expanded into paintings, prints, posters, sculpture, and his famous street art. Completely unique to himself, Haring developed a style that became as recognizable as Jean-Michel Basquiat and Kenny Scharf. Haring’s colorful graffiti, which punctuated New York City’s streetscape, helped to contribute to his meteoric rise. more
Join the Arts Council of Princeton and the Paul Robeson House of Princeton to commemorate Paul Robeson’s 124th birthday on Saturday, April 9 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
The gathered community will celebrate with the laying of a wreath on Robeson’s bust outside the Arts Council and the acknowledgement of the first Robeson Scholars to honor area students who excel in the arts and athletics. A reception will follow with cake for all to enjoy. more
Fans of Bruce Springsteen are invited to explore 49 years of Springsteen and the E Street Band history through exclusive interviews, iconic performances, and artifacts from the Bruce Springsteen Archives at Monmouth University. Partnering with the Grammy Museum Experience at the Prudential Center in Newark, the “Bruce Springsteen Live!” exhibit will be on view through March 20, 2022, before traveling to Los Angeles. more
On February 22 at 2 p.m., Morven Museum presents a virtual event entitled “Return of the Rosarian” with Michael Marriott, live from the U.K. Marriott will discuss the British roots of Mount Vernon’s historic roses on Washington’s birthday and will share other rose-related tips and tricks for cultivating your own special rose-hued oasis. Personal Zoom links will be emailed to registered participants on the day of the event. A recording of the lecture will also be sent to all registrants following the event. Attendance is $10-15. more
Camille Schrier (Hun School ’13) became a viral sensation when she was crowned Miss America 2020. Schrier was the first person in the organization’s 100 year history to win the famous competition based on a STEM platform. Her talent was in fact a demonstration of a chemical reaction using hydrogen peroxide, sodium iodide, and dish soap. The result was a large foamy concoction which she dubbed “elephant toothpaste.”
Schrier is currently pursuing a doctorate of pharmacology at Virginia Commonwealth University and visited the Hun School in early January to speak with current students. Schrier made for an engaging guest and discussed everything from her path to Miss America, women’s leadership, drug education, the opioid crisis, how substance abuse effects cognitive behavior, and her experiences so far in the STEM field. more
One of the most famous Hoboken natives, Frank Sinatra, received his own six-foot-tall bronze statue on December 12, on what would have been the singer’s 106th birthday. The legendary personality and entertainer is depicted in a three-piece suit leaning against a flickering lamp post with his hat tilted to one side. The confident and charismatic look was a trademark of Sinatra’s and the singer’s own daughter, Tina, stated that the statue is of a strong likeness to her father. The statue was designed by Carolyn D. Palmer. more
Don’t miss An Evening with Harry Connick Jr. on Friday, February 4 at 8 p.m. at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank. Ticket prices start at $50 per person and doors open at 7 p.m.
Connick’s career has exemplified excellence across theater, film, and music. A best-selling musician, singer, and composer, he is particularly known for his live performances, which exude energy and fun, an attribute of his native New Orleans roots. Connick has appeared on Broadway and in over 20 feature films. He began singing and playing piano at age 5 with his musician father. more
A book authored by local historian Harold James has been named to the Financial Times’ Best Books of 2021: Politics List.
The War of Words: A Glossary of Globalization, published by Yale University Press, reveals the origins of key buzzwords and concepts used in contemporary political debate such as “neoliberalism,” “geopolitics,” and “globalization,” while highlighting communication challenges associated with their misuse. more
What do you get when you mix one part cabaret, one part comedy, and one heaping helping of Christmas kitsch? A Swingin’ Little Christmas! It’s a fun fresh twist on the Christmas specials of the ’50s and’60s when harmonies were tight, and swing was the thing.
Starring Emmy and Golden Globe winner Jane Lynch (Glee, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), along with Kate Flannery (The Office, Dancing with the Stars), Tim Davis (Glee’s vocal arranger), and The Tony Guerrero Quintet. These top-notch talents will jingle your bells and get you in the holiday spirit faster than a glass of eggnog. more
What would George Washington or Walt Whitman have dined on? The new PBS series Drive by History: Eats answers these questions and more as it dives deep into New Jersey’s culinary past.
In the first episode, New Jersey resident and Blair Academy alum Melissa F. Clark ’05 explores a meal designed to curry George Washington’s favor at The Hermitage in Ho-Ho-Kus, N.J. Using ingredients that would have been on hand during the summer of 1778 and employing the food trends popular during the period, Clark dishes up a delectable fried breaded chicken with sorrel sauce and raspberry fool for dessert. more
Labyrinth Books in Princeton will host a hybrid, livestream event with Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Paul Muldoon on Wednesday, December 1 at 6 p.m. Muldoon will introduce his 14th collection of poetry, entitled Howdie-Skelp: Poems. He will be joined by fellow poet Michael Dickman. more
