WHAT HAPPENED? Here’s a small sample of events in the area that you won’t want to miss in the coming days.
The Sun Ra Arkestra is scheduled to give a concert at the White Eagle Hall in Jersey City this Friday, Feb.whiteeaglehalljc.com
music
♦ The New Jersey Symphony will provide a live soundtrack to accompany the movie “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2,” in concert, 2 pm Saturday, Feb. 4, at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center’s Prudential Hall in Newark.
The eighth and final film in the Harry Potter series features a stirring musical score, as the young wizard and his friends face their greatest battle yet against the evil Lord Voldemort.
Tickets are $39-$89. The center is at 1 Center St., Newark. 888-696-5722, njpac.org.
♦ Lake Street DiveThe folk-rock-jazz band Rolling Stone called “oddballs, but in the best way,” will perform at 7 p.m. Sunday, February 5, at Prudential Hall at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark.
The band’s current lineup features original members Rachael Price on vocals, Bridget Kearney on bass and Michael Calabrese on drums with keyboardist/vocalist Akie Bermiss and guitarist James Cornelison.
Tickets are $40.50-$100.50. The center is at 1 Center St., Newark. 888-696-5722, njpac.org.
Lake Street Dive will perform Sunday, February 5, at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark.njpac.org
♦ The late legendary band leader Sun Ra may have returned to Saturn (where he always claimed to be his homeland), but his music lives on.
the Sun Ra Arkestraled by founding member saxophonist Marshall Allen, will perform at 8 pm on Saturday, February 4, at White Eagle Hall, 335-337 Newark Ave., Jersey City.
Sonic Youth drummer Steve Shelley, will be the guest DJ.
Tickets are $25-$30. whiteeaglehalljc.com, 201-885-5166.
♦ The Princeton Symphony Orchestra welcome back pianist Inon Barnatan for performances in Alexander Hall’s Richardson auditorium on the Princeton campus at 8 pm on Saturday, Feb. 4, and 4 pm on Sunday, Feb. 5.
The program will include Johannes Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat Major, Op. 83, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92 and contemporary composer Carlos Simon’s “Fate Now Conquers.”
Tickets are $5-$112. The auditorium is located off Nassau St. princetonsymphony.org, 609-497-0020.
The New Jersey Youth Symphony will present a Black History Month program of music, dance and oration on Saturday, February 4, at the War Memorial in Trenton.New Jersey Youth Symphony
♦ The New Jersey Youth Symphony returns to the War Memorial’s Patriots Theater in Trenton 7 pm Saturday, Feb. 4, to celebrate Black History Month.
The program will explore the culture of America’s African legacy through a combination of music, oration and dance. George Marriner Maull of the Discovery Orchestra and dancers from the Newark School of the Arts will lead the audience through a performance of African American plantation folk dance from 19th century African slave communities in “Discovering Juba Dance.” The NJYS Youth Symphony will perform works by Omar Thomas, Florence Price and Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9, “From the New World.”
Tickets start at $15 and are available online at WhartonArts.org.
♦ The Swing Time Dolls will present a revue of pop and rock songs from the 1960s at the Investors Bank Theater, 72 Eyland Ave. in the Succasunna section of Roxbury.
Titled “Good Morning Vietnam!,” the program will include music from the Mamas and Papas, Jefferson Airplane, Nancy Sinatra and more.
Tickets are $25. roxburyartsalliance.org, 973-945-0284.
Jersey City Theater Center will present the drama “Han!” with Hyun Ju Baek on Thursday, February 9, at the White Eagle Hall in Jersey CityJCTCenter.org
theater
♦ Jersey City Theater Center present the East Coast premiere of “He!,” 7:30 pm Thursday, February 9, at White Eagle Hall, 335-337 Newark Ave., Jersey City.
Using storytelling and song, the play follows a young Korean woman as she journeys toward understanding “han,” a concept that is “deeply rooted in her culture – neither sadness, nor anger, nor hope, perhaps all and more.”
Directed by Thomas Richards, “Hey!” will feature Hyun Ju Baek in Korean, with English subtitles. Tickets are $20-$50. jctcenter.org, 201-795-5386.
♦ Top performances at the Montclair State University Alexander Kasser Theater, 1 Normal Ave., Montclair, will open its season on Thursday, February 9, with a world premiere production of “The Night Falls.”
Described as “a new myth for our fractured times,” the work is choreographed and directed by Troy Schumacher (NYC Ballet and BalletCollective), with book and lyrics by Karen Russell (“Swamplandia!”) and music. and lyrics by Ellis Ludwig-Leone (San Fermin). It is performed for nine dancers, eight singers and a chamber music ensemble.
Tickets are $40-$50. Performances are 7:30 pm Thursday-Friday, Feb. 9-10, 8 pm Friday, Feb. 11, and 3 pm Sunday, Feb. 12. 973-655-5112, peakperfs.org.
Montclair University’s Peak Performances series will present “The Night Falls,” February 9-12 on the Montclair campus.peakperfs.org
dance
♦ Based in San Francisco ODC/Dance will take the stage at 7:30 pm Friday, February 3, at Stockton University’s Performing Arts Center on the Galloway campus.
The 10-dancer troupe will present a trio of works “exploring our environment, forms of communication and Euclid’s mathematics,” created by artistic director Brenda Way, associate choreographer Kimi Okada, associate KT Nelson and guest choreographer Kate Wear.
Tickets are $15-$35. The center is at 101 Vera King Farris Drive. stocktonpac.org, 609-652-9000.
♦ Alborada Spanish Dance Theater will mount a free encore show at “Heartbeat! Spain and the Afro-Caribbean Connection” in honor of Black History Month, 6 pm Thursday, February 9, at Monmouth University’s Pollak Theater on campus at 400 Cedar Ave. West of Long Branch.
The program features guest artists Cimarrones and Amazonas. alboradance.org, 732-255-4071.
The San-Francisco-based ODC/Dance troupe will be at the Stockton Performing Arts Center in Galloway this Friday, Feb.stocktonpac.org
Art
♦ Mercer County Community College Gallery will have an opening reception for “Paintings and Sculptures by Leroy Johnson” on Wednesday, February 8, from 5:30 to 7:30 pm in the communication building on the West Windsor campus at 1200 Old Trenton Road.
Johnson, a Philadelphia native who died last year, was a self-proclaimed “urban expressionist” whose work was shaped by African-American history and inner-city life. Mostly self-taught, he used painting, collage and assemblage sculpture within the “Arte Povera” movement – an Italian art movement from the late 1960s to the 1970s whose artists explored a variety of conventional process and non-traditional materials.
The exhibit is on view through March 24. Gallery hours are 9:30 am to 4:30 pm Monday, Tuesday and Thursday and noon to 7 pm Wednesday. mccc.edu/gallery, gallery@mccc.edu
“Storm Coming” is one of the images in “Paintings and Sculptures by Leroy Johnson” that opened February 8 at the Mercer County Community College Gallery in West Windsor.Courtesy of the Leroy Johnson estate
♦ Peters Valley School of CraftThe annual High School Student Exhibition returns for its 11th year at the Sally D. Francisco Gallery, beginning with an opening reception 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 4, and until February 27.
The exhibit will feature works by artists grades 9-12 from Blair Academy, Delaware Valley, Fort Lee, High Point Regional, Kittatinny Regional, Newton, Randolph, Sayreville War Memorial, Sparta, Wallkill Valley Regional and Watchung Hills Regional High Schools.
The gallery is at 19 Kuhn Road in Layton and is open 10 am to 5 pm daily. petersvalley.org, 973-948-5202.
Comedy
♦ The Laughing Girls are Funny and Amazing returns to the Bergen Performing Arts Center, 30 N. Van Brunt St. Englewood, 8 pm Friday, Feb. 3.
The show will include the “winners and best talent” from the “Ladies of Laughter” international competition. Sara Contreras, Erin Maguire, Liz Glazer, Maureen Langan and Marion Grodin are scheduled to perform, along with host Dena Blizzard.
Tickets are $29-$39. 201-227-1030, bergenpac.org.
“Ladies of Laughter — Back to Jersey” will feature, clockwise from top left, Dena Blizzard, Sara Contreras, Erin Maguire, Marion Grodin, Maureen Langan and Liz Glazer.bergenpac.org
family
♦ “Pinkalicious the Musical” will have two performances at the Mayo Performing Arts Center, 100 South St., Morristown, on Sunday, Feb.
Based on Victoria Kann’s children’s book series, the production tells the story of a girl who finds herself in a colorful predicament after her overindulgence in too many pink cupcakes causes a severe case of Pinkitis that turns pink from head to toe.
There is a 1:30 pm show followed by a 4:30 pm sensory-friend show. Tickets are $12-$15. The production is recommended for ages 4 and up. mayoarts.org, 973-539-8008.
♦ State Theater New Jersey, 15 Livingston Ave., New Brunswick, is the host “Llama Llama Live,” a family stage production based on Anna Dewdney’s children’s books and the new Netflix series, at 1pm on Sunday, February 5.
Tickets are $19-$29. stnj.org, 732-246-7469.
“Llama Llama Live!,” a new musical inspired by the Anna Dewdney children’s books and new Netflix series, will take the stage at the New Jersey State Theater in New Brunswick on Sunday, February 5.stnj.org
The others
♦ Highlands Business Partnership’s 13th year “Beef and Brew” fundraiser will be held 3 to 7 pm Sunday, February 5, at Proving Ground Waterfront Dining, 56 Shrewsbury Avenue, Highlands.
Tickets cost $40 and will include an Irish buffet dinner that includes corned beef, potatoes and cabbage, shepherd’s pie, vegetarian options and two beer tickets. Proceeds will benefit 2023 St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
Highlands 2023 grand marshal Karen Taylor-Burke will be honored and presented with her sash, there will be a gift auction and the Middlesex County Police and Fire Pipes & Drums will perform. highlandsnj.com, 732-291-4713.
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Patrick O’Shea can be reached at poshea@njadvancemedia.com.
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