Top 15 NJ Arts Events of the Week: The Rolling Stones, Heart, ‘Sidekicked,’ more

by JAY LUSTIG
Rolling Stones NJ preview

DAVE HOGAN

The Rolling Stones will perform at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford on Aug. 1 and 5.

A roundup of arts events taking place around the state, through Aug. 5:

POP/ROCK

In dates postponed from June because of Mick Jagger’s heart valve replacement surgery, The Rolling Stones will perform at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, Aug. 1 and 5 at 8 p.m. Tickets originally sold for June 13 will be honored on Aug. 1 and tickets originally sold for June 17 will be honored on Aug. 5. The British band The Wombats will open on Aug. 1, and Lukas Nelson (Willie Nelson’s son) and his band Promise of the Real will do so on Aug. 5. The shows — the band’s first New Jersey appearances since 2012 — are part of their No Filter tour, which began in 2017, and are two of only 17 shows they are doing in North America this summer.

Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart have put aside their differences and are touring again as Heart this summer, for the first time in three years. Their Love Alive Tour will come to the BB&T Pavilion in Camden, Aug. 2 at 7 p.m., with Joan Jett & the Blackhearts and Elle King opening. Heart and Jett will also return to the state later in the year, to perform at the Prudential Center in Newark, Sept. 7 at 7 p.m.

The Jersey-based roots-jam band From Good Homes has not been a full-time endeavor since the 1990s, with band members pursuing other projects while continuing to get together occasionally for reunion shows. However, the group has released a new studio album — its first in more than 20 years, titled Time and the River — and will celebrate it with a concert at the Waterloo Concert Field in Stanhope, Aug. 3. Doors will open at 2 p.m., and Marco Benevento, Yarn, Owl and Crow and Nebula will open.

Stray Cats reunion

RUSS HARRINGTON

The Reunited Stray Cats (from left, Lee Rocker, Brian Setzer and Slim Jim Phantom).

The retro-rock trio The Stray Cats — Brian Setzer, Lee Rocker and Slim Jim Phantom — celebrated their 40th anniversary with a May album, 40, followed by a tour that comes to Ovation Hall at Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City, Aug. 3 at 8 p.m. Phantom also has a show of his own scheduled for Randy Now’s Man Cave in Bordentown, Aug. 4 at 7 p.m., with Jennie Vee opening.

Stick Men, featuring King Crimson members Tony Levin and Pat Mastelotto, will perform at The Saint in Asbury Park, Aug. 2 at 7:30 p.m., with No More Pain opening. Levin — also known for his work with Peter Gabriel and others — plays the Chapman stick, the bass-like instrument for which the band is named. Stick Men member Markus Reuter and guest performer Tim Motzer also play the Chapman stick as well as other stringed instruments.

Actress Sally Struthers will host an Aug. 2 benefit concert for the new Asbury Park Theater Company at The Asbury hotel. The event — titled “A Little Musical Night” and featuring Broadway veterans Carter Calvert (“It Ain’t Nothin’ but the Blues”) and Jim Newman (“Hands on a Hardbody,” “Curtains”), as well as James Edward Alexander — will take place at 8 p.m. in the hotel’s ballroom.

CLASSICAL

The Summer Stars Classical Concert Series at the Great Auditorium in Ocean Grove will conclude, Aug. 1 at 7:30 p.m., with a concert featuring the MidAtlantic Orchestra, conducted by Jason Tramm. Tenor Ronald Naldi and organist Gordon Turk will be featured in a program that will include music by Saint-Saëns, Bizet, Howard Hanson and David Winkler.

Vivian Vance in “I Love Lucy.”

THEATER

“Sidekicked” — a new play about actress Vivian Vance — will be presented at Cape May Stage, Aug. 7-11, 13-18, 20-25 and 27-31 and Sept. 1, 3-8, 10-15 and 17-20. Vance played Lucy’s best friend Ethel Mertz on the classic sitcom “I Love Lucy”; the play’s action takes place on the day when the last episode was filmed.

The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey at Drew University in Madison will present “The Rainmaker” — Richard Nash’s 1954 drama about a con man and a spinster in drought-stricken, Depression Era Kansas — through Aug. 18. Previews began July 31, and the official opening night is Aug. 3. “The Rainmaker” was made into a film starring Burt Lancaster and Katharine Hepburn in 1956, and was later adapted into a musical, “110 in the Shade.”

The Two River Theater in Red Bank presents its Crossing Borders Festival (Cruzando Fronteras), Aug. 1-4. Billed as “A Celebration of Plays and Music by Latinx Artists,” the fest will include readings of plays by Mando Alvarado, Benjamin Benne, Georgina Escobar and Eliana Pipes, as well as a night of music by Flaco Navaja & The Razor Blades.

The Dragonfly Multicultural Arts Center will present Nikolai Gogol’s 19th century satire, “The Government Inspector,” Aug. 1-4 at the duCret School of Art in Plainfield, as well as Aug. 9 and 11 at Metuchen High School.

The last presentation in the Plays in the Park series at Roosevelt Park in Edison — a production of the 2010 musical, “The Addams Family” — began on July 31, and continues Aug. 1-3 and 5-10 at 8 p.m.

FAMILY

The annual New Jersey State Fair/Sussex County Horse Show takes place at the Sussex County Fairgrounds in Augusta, Aug. 2-11, with carnival games and rides, agricultural displays and contests, racing pigs, a petting zoo, pony rides, a bicycle stunt show, a performing arts tent, crafts, monster truck rides and more.

OTHER

Aug. 3 at 7 p.m., the Paramount Theatre in Asbury Park will present a “Sinatra Meets the Sopranos” show: “Sopranos” actors Michael Imperioli (who played Christopher Moltisanti), Vincent Pastore (Sal “Big Pussy” Bonpensiero) and Steve Schirripa (Bobby “Bacala” Baccalieri) will make appearances, telling stories about the landmark HBO series, and Michael Martocci will sing Sinatra songs with a 20-piece orchestra.

We need your help!

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.

$

Custom Amount

Personal Info

Donation Total: $20.00

Explore more articles:

Leave a Comment

Sign up for our Newsletter