From left, Ryan Shaw, Capathia Jenkins, Renée Fleming (photo by Marvin Joseph) and Melissa Errico will perform at this year’s Princeton Festival.
Here is a roundup of major arts events taking place around New Jersey, through June 12.
MUSIC
• This year’s edition of The Princeton Symphony Orchestra’s annual Princeton Festival will start on June 6 and run through June 21, with most events taking place at a rain-proof performance pavilion at The Morven Museum & Garden. Offerings in the first week will include:
June 6, 7 p.m.: “ICON: The Voices That Changed Music” at Morven Museum & Garden. Capathia Jenkins and Ryan Shaw will sing hits by Michael Jackson, Prince, Whitney Houston, Elvis Presley, Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder and others with The Princeton Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Lucas Waldin.
June 7, 8 p.m.: Renée Fleming with the Princeton Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Rossen Milanov, at Morven Museum & Garden
June 8, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.: A free “Community Day” with family-oriented activities at Morven Museum & Garden.
June 8, 4 p.m.: “Sondheim in the City” at Morven Museum & Garden. Cabaret-style tribute to Stephen Sondheim featuring singer Melissa Errico.
June 12, 7 p.m.: Solo recital by violinist Tessa Lark at Trinity Church. The program will include works by Ysaÿe, Telemann, Bach and others.
HALSEY
• Halsey‘s current tour, titled For My Last Trick, draws heavily from her 2024 album The Great Impersonator, and features a lot of elaborate visuals. One reviewer said the show “felt more like a surreal play than a pop concert.”
She will perform at The PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, June 6 at 8 p.m. (with Alvvays and Sir Chloe opening); and at The Freedom Mortgage Pavilion in Camden, June 7 at 7 p.m. (with Alvvays and Hope Tala).
• Kelli O’Hara — who won the 2015 Tony for starring in “The King and I” and has been nominated for Tonys seven other times — will perform at the “A Night in Lights” annual benefit gala for The State Theatre in New Brunswick, June 7. The event will start at 5 p.m. and include a cocktail hour, dinner, silent auction, awards ceremony and after-party (with dessert, live music and dancing) in addition to O’Hara’s performance.
• André De Shields — one of the few people to have won Tony, Emmy and Grammy awards — will perform at the “McCarter Gala,” benefiting The McCarter Theatre Center, June 6 at the nearby Lewis Arts Complex at Princeton University. The event will start at 6 p.m. and also include a cocktail reception, and post-show dinner and dancing “under the stars.”
Ari Afsar, a singer and actress as well as the composer and lyricist of “I & You: The Musical” (which will be presented at McCarter in September and October), will also perform.
DARLENE LOVE
• Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Darlene Love will perform at the “Share the Love” fundraiser for The South Orange Performing Arts Center, June 12 at 7 p.m., with a cocktail hour with live music and an awards ceremony preceding her performance, and an after-party with more music as well as food and drinks.
• Les Paul, who died in 2009 at the age of 94, would have turned 110 on June 9, and The Mahwah Museum will honor him, June 7 at 2 p.m., with a “Les Paul 110th Birthday Celebration” at the H-Wing Auditorium of Ramapo College, featuring performances by DnA (Dani Zanoni and Alex Kerssen), The Ed Laub Quartet, and Tom and Sandy Doyle. Paul lived for many years in Mahwah.
• The North Jersey Blues Society will present a fundraiser for its Artist Emergency Relief Fund with Big Frank & Mike Smith, The Bob Lanza Blues Band and The Mechanic Street Blues Project, June 8 at 2 p.m. at The Stanhope House.
• Woodbridge will kick off its ambitious series of free summer shows — there will be six shows a week, most weeks — with its Woodbridge Summerfest, June 7 from noon to 9 p.m. at Merrill Park in Iselin. The day will include sets by Back to the Garden 1969 (Woodstock tribute), the Blue Meanies (The Monkees tribute), B Street Band (Bruce Springsteen tribute), Moroccan Sheepherders, The Powertones and Revolver, in addition to food trucks, a beer garden, and children’s activities.
THEATER
• Two River Theater will present Arthur Miller’s Tony-nominated 1967 family drama “The Price,” with the first preview on June 7, the official opening night on June 13, and the last show on June 29. Brandon J. Dirden, who has acted in many Two River plays in addition to directing there, will dirrect.
Studio Playhouse in Montclair will present “The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon” from June 6 to June 21.
• Studio Playhouse in Montclair will present “The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon,” written by Don Zolidis, June 6-8, 13-15 and 20-21. The theater describes the show as “a teen/adult-centric retelling of Rapunzel, Rumpelstiltskin, Hansel and Gretel, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and more … Twists and turns will make you laugh until you cry as classic tales are turned on their heads.”
DANCE
• In the Eyes Like Mine organization’s Dancing With the Blind program, sighted and vision-impaired people team up to create dance routines. A short film about the program will be shown at Art House Productions in Jersey City, June 6 at 7 p.m. This will be followed by a live dance presentation, and then a question-and-answer session with the dancers.
FAMILY
• The New Jersey Irish Festival, taking place at Monmouth Park in Oceanport from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on June 8, will include music on two stages (by The Pat Roddy Band, The Snakes, The Narrowbacks and others), a step-dancing stage (featuring performers from local dance schools), talks on Irish culture and heritage, a pipe band competition, a human horse race, vendors and more.
FILM
• Actor Jason Alexander, of “Seinfeld” and Broadway fame, is also a film director. His credits in his capacity include the 1999 comedy-drama “Just Looking,” with Ryan Merriman, Patti LuPone and Gretchen Mol among those in the cast. The Lighthouse International Film Festival, which will take place June 4-8 at various Long Beach Island locations, will present a 25th anniversary screening of the film, June 6 at 1:15 p.m. at The Surflight Theatre in Beach Haven, with Alexander, producer Mike Jackman and writer Marshall Karp taking part in a post-screening discussion.
• Director Kevin Smith will discuss his irreverent 1999 comedy “Dogma” (featuring Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Chris Rock and others) following a 7:30 June 5 screening at it at his SModcastle Cinemas in Atlantic Highlands.
According to the theater: “Every SModcastle show at which Kevin appears runs very, very long. The night usually starts 15 to 30 minutes late, then kicks off with a fundraising auction to support the theater (which includes rare one-of-a-kind props, mementos and signed items). Post-auction, there’s an intro to begin the main program, followed by a Q&A/Group Discussion after the movie ends. We suggest you plan your night accordingly.”
The theater will also present 25th anniversary screenings of the movie June 6-8 and 11-12.
Robert Lugo’s “Put Yourself in the Picture.”
WORDS
• One of the works that currently can be seen at Grounds for Sculture in Hamilton is Robert Lugo’s “Put Yourself in the Picture,” which was inspired by a poem that hip-hop artist KRS-One read on the “Def Poetry Jam” television series. In it, KRS-One states, “visualize wealth and put yourself in the picture.”
In connection with it, Grounds for Sculpture will present an event titled “Wordsmith: A Def Poetry Reunion Honoring Sonia Sanchez — The Poetry of Peace & Resistance,” June 12. Sanchez, the renowned poet and activist, will participate in a discussion with Abiodun Oyewole of the group The Last Poets, moderated by Tammi Lawon of The New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, at 5:30 p.m. There will then be poetry and music from 6:30 to 9 by Sanchez, Oyewole, Toni Blackman, Lezlie Harrison, Ursula Rucker and others.
• Dave Davies of The Kinks will sign copies of his 2022 book “Living on a Thin Line: The Autobiography,” June 8 at 3 p.m. at The Leonia Municipal Complex.
Davies, who lives in Bergen County, formed The Kinks with his brother Ray (plus drummer Mick Avory and bassist Pete Quaife) in London, in 1963. Dave was the group’s dynamic and inventive lead guitarist, and though Ray was the frontman, Dave occasionally wrote songs and sang lead on them.
According to promotional material, “In his autobiography, Davies revisits the glory days of the band that spawned so much extraordinary music, and which had such a profound influence on bands from The Clash and Van Halen to Oasis and Blur. Full of tales of the tumultuous times and the ups-and-downs of his relationship with his brother Ray, along with encounters with the likes of John Lennon and Jimi Hendrix, this will be a glorious read for Kinks fans and anyone who wants to read about the heyday of rock ‘n’ roll.”
REVIEWS
“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)
“Disney’s The Little Mermaid” at Paper Mill Playhouse, Millburn. (Through June 29)
“Nanette Carter: A Question of Balance” at Montclair Art Museum. (Through July 6)
“Andrea Chung: The Ocean Doesn’t Recognize Tears” at Project for Empty Space, Newark. (Through Aug. 17)
“Indigenous Identities: Here, Now & Always” at Zimmerli Art Museum, New Brunswick. (Through Dec. 21)
“Morven Revealed: Untold Stories From New Jersey’s Most Historic Home” at Morven Museum & Garden, Princeton. (Through March 1)
Code Embed: Cannot use CODE1 as a global code as it is being used to store 3122 unique pieces of code in 3291 posts
_______________________________
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.
