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  • Budrus

    Join us for a World Cinema Series film screening/discussion illuminating the theme “Wartime Lives: Enduring and Transcending Violence and Occupation” by analyzing the message and impact of the film Budrus (Israeli/Palestinian/American, 2009).

    Budrus is an award-winning feature documentary film about Palestinian community organizer, Ayed Morrar, who unites Palestinian political factions and invites Israeli supporters to join an unarmed movement to save his village of Budrus from destruction by Israel’s Separation Barrier. Success eludes them until his 15-year-old daughter, Iltezam, launches a women’s contingent that quickly moves to the front lines. Struggling side by side, father and daughter unleash an inspiring, yet little-known, movement in the Occupied Palestinian Territories that is still gaining ground today.

    In an action-filled documentary chronicling this movement from its infancy, Budrus shines a light on people who choose nonviolent strategies to confront a threat. The movie is directed by award-winning filmmaker Julia Bacha (co-writer and editor of Control Room and co-director Encounter Point), and produced by Bacha, Palestinian journalist Rula Salameh, and filmmaker and human rights advocate Ronit Avni (formerly of WITNESS, Director of Encounter Point).

    The discussion of the film will be led by Claude Taylor, Director For Academic Transition And Inclusion and Saliba Sarsar, Professor in the department of Political Science and Sociology.

  • The Clay Bird

    Join us for a World Cinema Series film screening/discussion illuminating the theme “Wartime Lives: Enduring and Transcending Violence and Occupation” by analyzing the message and impact of the film The Clay Bird (Bengali, 2002).

    The Clay Bird is a 2002 Bengali War-drama film was written and directed by Tareque Masud. It was his debut feature film. Based on Tareque’s story the screenplay was co-written by Tareque and Catherine Masud.

    Set against a 1960’s backdrop leading up to Bangladesh’s independence from Pakistan, THE CLAY BIRD tells the story of Anu, a boy sent away by his father to an Islamic school. Far from his family and the warmth of his region’s Hindu festivities, Anu struggles to break out of his shell and adapt to the school’s harsh monastic life. As the political divisions in the country intensify, an increasing split develops between the school’s students, just as Anu’s parents find themselves growing apart. Rather than be torn in half, Anu must decide which side he falls upon in this complex tale of tolerance, diversity, and the practice of Islam in a crises-ridden world.

    The discussion of the film will be led by Dr. Rekha Datta, Professor in the department of Political Science and Sociology and Dr. Golam M. Mathbor, Professor in the School of Social Work

  • Korkoro

    Join us for a World Cinema Series film screening/discussion illuminating the theme “Wartime Lives: Enduring and Transcending Violence and Occupation” by analyzing the message and impact of the film Korkoro (France, 2009).

    In this passionate WWII drama, a tightly-knit family of Gypsies journeys through occupied France, trying to avoid the violent Vichy patrols. Directed with wit and vigor by Tony Gatlif (Latcho Drom), Korkoro unearths the hidden story of the Romany people’s joys and struggles during the war.

    Along the way a young French orphan named Claude (Mathias Laliberté) joins their ranks, and is initiated into their culture. Under the tutelage of acrobatic wild man Taloche (James Thiérrée), Claude learns to love his adoptive family. As the Vichy government passes a law restricting their movement, they avoid capture with the help of a local mayor and schoolteacher, who also have ties to the Resistance. But the longer they avoid arrest, the more dangerous their lives become.

    With free-spirited humor and soaring emotion, Korkoro is a revelatory movie about a little known chapter in WWII history. The phenomenal performances, especially Thiérrée’s intensely physical efforts, truly make history come alive.

    The discussion of the film will be led by Christopher DeRosa, Associate Professor in the department of History and Anthropology and Mihaela Moscaliuc, Associate Professor in the department of English

  • The Doo Wop Project

    Back by popular demand – The Doo Wop Project begins at the beginning: tracing the evolution of Doo Wop from the classic sound of five guys singing harmonies on a street corner to the biggest hits on the radio today. In their epic shows The Doo Wop Project takes audiences on a journey featuring foundational tunes from the Crests, Belmonts and Flamingos through the vocal artistry of Smokey Robinson, The Temptations, and The Four Seasons all the way to DooWopified versions of modern hits from Michael Jackson, Jason Mraz, Maroon 5, and Sam Smith.

    Featuring stars from the Broadway hits Jersey Boys, Motown: The Musical, and A Bronx Tale, The Doo Wop Project brings unparalleled authenticity of sound and vocal excellence to recreate—and in some cases entirely reimagine—the greatest music in American pop and rock history.

    Exact member-lineup is subject to change without notice

  • My Mother’s Italian, My Father’s Jewish & I’m Home For The Holidays!

    After last season’s sell-out, it’s another laugh-filled evening of family chaos from the award-winning writer and comedian Steve Solomon. Steve is back with more wild and hilarious stories – including holiday dinner at Grandma’s, where if you’re under 55, you STILL sit at the children’s table. A time of peace – a time of joy – a time of remembering why you left home in the first place!

    We’ll meet: Uncle Willie, Stuttering Cousin Bob, Demented Cousin Kenny, Steve’s new therapist Cousin Sal (and Sal’s parole officer) and a myriad of astounding characters we know, love and tolerate from our own families; each one brought to life on stage by Steve using his gift for creating voices dialects & wacky sound effects that only add to the hilarity of each story.

  • Ken Womack

    Kenneth Womack is one of the world’s leading authorities on the Beatles and their enduring cultural influence. He is the author of a two-volume biography devoted to famed Beatles producer Sir George Martin, including Maximum Volume (2017) and Sound Pictures (2018). His latest book, John Lennon 1980: The Last Days in the Life (2020), traces the story of the former Beatle’s comeback after five years of self-imposed retirement. Dr. Womack will be reading from his upcoming biography of Beatles roadie, Mal Evans.

    This event is free and open to the public. RSVP to mmcbride@monmouth.edu

  • Othello

    An extraordinary new production of Shakespeare’s most enduring tragedy, directed by Clint Dyer with a cast that includes Giles Terera (Hamilton), Rosy McEwen (The Alienist) and Paul Hilton (The Inheritance).

    She’s a bright, headstrong daughter of a senator; elevated by her status but stifled by its expectations. He’s refugee of slavery; having risen to the top of a white world, he finds love across racial lines has a cost.

    Wed in secret, Desdemona and Othello crave a new life together. But as unseen forces conspire against them, they find their future is not theirs to decide.

    Othello is filmed live on the Lyttleton stage of the National Theatre.

  • The Crucible

    A witch hunt is beginning in Arthur Miller’s captivating parable of power with Erin Doherty (The Crown) and Brendan Cowell (Yerma).

    Raised to be seen but not heard, a group of young women in Salem suddenly find their words have an almighty power.  As a climate of fear, vendetta and accusation spreads through the community, no one is safe from trial.

    Lyndsey Turner (Hamlet) directs this contemporary new staging, designed by Tony Award-winner Es Devlin (The Lehman Trilogy). Captured live from the Olivier stage at the National Theatre.

     

  • Miriam Beerman: 1923–2022 NOTHING HAS CHANGED

    This exhibition shines a spotlight on the late Miriam Beerman, a New Jersey artist whose works are included in the permanent collections of over 60 museums worldwide and a female pioneer in the 20th-century art world. Beerman (1923–2022) was one of the 20th-century’s most provocative artists, whose humanist expressionist works highlight her talent as a colorist. A pioneer as one of the first female artists to be given a solo exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum of Art, Beerman is part of a canon of 20th-century women artists who were nearly lost to obscurity due to their gender in a male-dominated art world. Influenced by the social injustice seen around her, Beerman shines a spotlight on the horror and pathos of man’s inhumanity to man. The themes prove to be timeless, resonating today as much as when they were created in the 20th century. Her life and art were explored in the 2015 documentary Miriam Beerman: Expressing the Chaos.

    Nearly 20 large-scale canvases by Beerman will be represented. The show is guest curated by gallerist James Yarosh and draws upon the recent exhibition Miriam Beerman – REDISCOVER, shown at James Yarosh & Associates Gallery in Holmdel, N.J., which opened in spring 2022. “Living with Miriam Beerman’s paintings at the gallery with the current exhibit REDISCOVER, one cannot help but be both moved and stirred to be in the presence of the colossal works, heavy with paint, laden with subject. When you see these humanist expressionist works existing silently, holding the weight of the world, you begin to understand the gallery’s presentation,” says Yarosh, a gallerist fueled by curatorial activism in recent years. “As I described Miriam’s art with clients, it occurred to me that those words also described the role of female artists of the 20th century whose voices were more stifled in favor of male artists—and of women’s roles in a patriarchal society. “If our art history is male-dominant, and the artists before us our teachers, we are only getting half the lessons to be learned,” he continues. “We have an opportunity to do better. This presentation with Monmouth University allows the conversations to continue and include a younger generation.”

    Please join us for a closing reception on December 11 from 1 to 4 p.m.

  • Ricky Tucker

    Please join us for a reading by Ricky Tucker. Tucker is a storyteller, an educator, a lead creative, and an art critic based in NYC. His work explores the imprints of art and memory on narrative, and the absurdity of most fleeting moments. He has written for the Paris Review, the Tenth Magazine, and Public Seminar, among others, and has performed for reading series including the Moth Grand SLAM, Sister Spit, Born: Free, and Spark London. In 2017, he was chosen as a Lambda Literary Emerging Writer Fellow for creative nonfiction.

    Please RSVP for the event to: mmcbride@monmouth.edu