JAMES MADDOCK
Here is a roundup of major arts events taking place around New Jersey, through Jan. 16.
MUSIC
• The Light of Day WinterFest began on Jan. 4 and the last show will be on Jan. 24, but most of the activity is concentrated from Jan. 15 to Jan. 18 in Asbury Park and Red Bank, with a “Kickoff” concert scheduled for Asbury Lanes, Jan. 15 at 6:30 p.m. The lineup for this show includes James Maddock, Williams Honor, The Matt O’Ree Band, Joe D’Urso & Stone Caravan, Jake Thistle, The Matt Kelley Band, Emily Grove, Bob Polding, Dave Vargo, Joe Vadala, and Milly the Band.
Founded in 1998, Light of Day raises money and awareness for the continuing quest to end Parkinson’s disease and its related illnesses ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) and PSP (progressive supranuclear palsy) within our lifetime. Click HERE to see a listing of all 2026 shows.
• The Morris Museum in Morris Township will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of the great guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli – who was born on Jan. 9, 1926 — with a concert, Jan. 11 at 3 at The Bickford Theatre, featuring his son, bassist Martin Pizzarelli, performing with his own trio.
Bucky died in 2020 at the age of 94; Martin often performed with him. According to the museum’s website, Martin Pizzarelli’s trio will perform “some of his father’s arrangements and favorite tunes from the Great American Songbook.”
RANDALL GOOSBY
• Violinist Randall Goosby will perform Samuel Barber’s Violin Concerto with New Jersey Symphony, conducted by Xian Zhang, at The State Theatre in New Brunswick, Jan. 8 at 7 p.m.; Richardson Auditorium at Princeton University, Jan. 9 at 7:30 p.m.; Prudential Hall at NJPAC in Newark, Jan. 10 at 7:30 p.m.; and The Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown, Jan. 11 at 2 p.m. The program also will include Jean Sibelius’ Finlandia; and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No.2, “Ukrainian.”
Click HERE to read a new interview with Goosby.
• The Wonder Bar in Asbury Park will present a “Rock for Hunger” benefit for Fulfill (formerly known as The FoodBank of Monmouth & Ocean Counties), Jan. 10 at 7 p.m., with The Billy Walton Band, Sharon Lasher & the Flashers (with JT Bowen), Anthony Krizan, Eric Mason Band, Johnny Kasun, and Mother Hubbard. Canned and non-perishable food can be dropped off at the show, for donation.
Note: This show was postponed from Dec. 26 because of inclement weather; tickets for that date will be honored.
FAMILY
• Chris Funk will present “Redefining Wonder” — a comedy and magic show, with live music — at The Sitnik Theatre at The Lackland Performing Arts Center in Hackettstown, Jan. 8 at 7 p.m., to kick off the Centenary Stage Company‘s 2026 Winter Thaw Music Festival.
• Mike Wiley will present his one-man show “Tired Souls: King and the Montgomery School Bus Boycott” — focusing on the Civil Rights contributions of The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Frederick Douglass and less well-known figures, as well— at The South Orange Performing Arts Center, Jan. 15 at 7 p.m., and participate in a discussion after the show.
Melanka Coppola’s “Take These Seeds, Put Them In Your Pocket.”
VISUAL ARTS
• Works by Nathalie Halbout, Elena Samarsky and Melanka Coppola will be featured in “The Nightingale Sings: Ukrainian Artists in New Jersey,” an exhibition that will open at The Art Alliance of Monmouth County in Red Bank on Jan. 10 and run through Feb. 3. An artists’ reception and panel discussion will take place Jan. 10 at 6 p.m.
“Each January, the Art Alliance mounts an invitational exhibition designed to amplify the voice of an under-recognized artistic group,” said curator Eileen Kennedy, in a press release. “As the war in Ukraine continues, we wanted to shine a light on artists here in New Jersey who may be impacted.”
THEATER
• Bergen County Players will present the late Edward Albee’s absurdist comedy “Seascape” — two of whose characters are human-sized, talking lizards — at The Little Firehouse Theatre in Oradell, Jan. 10 and 16-17 at 8 p.m., and Jan. 11 and 18 at 2 p.m. The play was first performed in 1975, and won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
The Jan. 16 performance will be followed by a talk with cast members and Jakob Holder, who was Albee’s personal assistant and is now executive director of the Edward F. Albee Foundation.
CHRISTIAN JULES LeBLANC
• Christian Jules LeBlanc, who has won three Daytime Emmys for playing lawyer Michael Baldwin on the television soap opera “The Young and the Restless,” starting in the ’90s, will co-star in Edward Albee’s “At Home at the Zoo,” which is being presented by Ruth Stage at The Jersey Shore Arts Center in Ocean Grove, Jan. 15 at 7 p.m. and Jan. 16-17 at 8 p.m.
“At Home at the Zoo” combines Albee’s 1959 one-act play “The Zoo Story” with a one-act prequel, “Homelife,” that Albee wrote more than 40 years later because he felt, he once said, that one of the two characters in “The Zoo Story” needed to be more “fleshed out.” Click HERE to read Jim Testa’s review of it in its recent production by Hudson Theatre Works in Weehawken.
• The Broadway Theatre of Pitman will present “Merrily We Roll Along” from Jan. 16 to Feb. 8. The musical, co-written by Stephen Sondheim (music and lyrics) and George Furth (book), was not a big hit when it premiered on Broadway in 1981, but it was later revised, and its 2023 Broadway version won four Tonys, including Best Revival of a Musical. A movie version is also currently in production.
FILM
• Roy’s Hall in Blairstown will screen ‘The Librarians,” Jan. 10 at 6:30 p.m., in a benefit to support Warren County libraries. The 2025 documentary follows the efforts of librarians fighting book-banning initiatives in Texas, Louisiana, Florida and other states. (see trailer below)
KENAN THOMPSON
OTHER
• Longtime “Saturday Night Live” cast member Kenan Thompson — his 23-season tenure is the longest in the show’s history, in fact — has written a children’s book, “Unfunny Bunny,” and will sign copies of it at Bookends in Ridgewood, Jan. 11 at 1 p.m. The book is about a bunny who wants to be the funniest kid in his class, but has a hard time getting laughs. It is about “unexpected friendship and pursuing your dreams,” Thompson says.
REVIEWS
“Disney’s Frozen” at Paper Mill Playhouse, Millburn. (Through Jan. 11)
“Andrew Harrison: This Was Always a Place” at Visual Arts Center of New Jersey, Summit. (Through Jan. 18)
“Jake Troyli: Fine Line” at Project for Empty Space, Newark. (Through Jan. 18)
“Morven Revealed: Untold Stories From New Jersey’s Most Historic Home” at Morven Museum & Garden, Princeton. (Through March 1)
“Salvador Jiménez-Flores: Raíces & Resistencias” at Grounds for Sculpture, Hamilton. (Through Aug. 1, 2027)
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