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  • Songwriters By The Sea

    Distinguished NJ Songwriters Joe Rapolla and Joe D’Urso are back this year hosting the celebrated Songwriters by the Sea series at the Lauren K. Woods Theatre. What once started in a small coffee shop as an area for local songwriters has
    now grown into a series that features some of the top songwriters in the country.

    This year, the show features a twist of rock music and country music. The rock music
    is courtesy of Eric Bazilian, founding member of the rock band Hooters. Bazilian is also known internationally for his efforts as a Grammy nominated songwriter, as well as being an arranger, multi-instrumentalist, and producer.

    Singing-songwriting duo Williams Honor will bring a bit of the country to Woods Theatre. The duo have exploded in Asbury Park’s music scene, and features producer and multi-instrumentalist Gordon Brown and performer powerhouse Reagan Richards. The two previously have worked and toured with many national acts before coming together to form the Jersey Shore’s first ever country duo. They’re about to release their first single to country radio “Send It To Me” from their debut album.

    Opening the show will be Monmouth University students Daniel Amato and Brittany Cannarozzi.

    The net proceeds will support Monmouth University’s Endowed Music Industry Scholarship.

    There will be a pre-show hospitality reception at 7 p.m. and post-show reception (included with ticket price)!

    Sponsored by the Monmouth University Leon Hess Business School and Business Council.

  • Music & Madness at Monmouth University

    Join the Monmouth University Department of Professional Counseling for Music & Madness on Tuesday, March 1 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in Wilson Hall Auditorium on the campus of Monmouth University. The event will take attendees on a journey through bipolar disorder in music and stories. It is produced and performed by saxophonist and Mental Health Counseling graduate student Rob Chaseman. Admission is free and open to the public For more information call 732-571-3570.

  • Andy Statman

    Presented by the Jewish Cultural Studies Program at Monmouth University.

    Had there been a planetarium in 19th-century Galicia, or a kosher deli in Depression-era Kentucky, Andy Statman’s music might have been playing in the background. Meandering through time, geography and
    culture in a few passionate, organic gusts of music, neither the man nor his inimitable hybrid sound has a very clearly defined “before” or “after.” Statman, one of his generation’s premier mandolinists and clarinetists, thinks of his compositions as “a spontaneous, American-roots form of very personal, prayerful Hasidic music, by way of avant-garde jazz.”

    This modest man takes for granted that a performer might embody several worlds in his art, and seems not to recognize that his music, like his story, is extraordinary. It’s a story Statman rewrites with his trio every time they perform: “We’re creating an experience between the audience and us.” Statman performs his distinctive, unconstrained meditations on jazz, klezmer, bluegrass and the human soul with bassist Jim Whitney and percussionist Larry Eagle. “At a certain point, we’re just talking, just having a threeway conversation.” This “conversation” changes each time they have it on stage, no melody sounding quite the same as it did before, and none bearing the definitive stamp of the genre that spawned it. A totally unselfconscious performer, Statman does not mind that many audiences leave slightly befuddled as to what kind
    of music, exactly, they have just heard.

  • CANCELLED: An American Celebration of Grandmother Earth

    Traditional Native American storytelling is deeply rooted in the earth – honoring all life, especially the plants and animals we depend on. Years upon years of a kinship with the land, life, water and sky has lead to intimate connections to the earth and a relationship of give and take with the natural world. Kevin Locke, visionary Hoop Dancer, preeminent player of the indigenous Northern Plains flute, storyteller, cultural ambassador, recording artist and educator leads an ensemble of multi-talented performers in an uplifting evening of storytelling interwoven with traditional Native American music and dramatic dance elements. Featuring music from Locke’s 2009 Nammy (Annual Native American Music Awards) award-winning album “Earth Gift” this world-premiere event will empower and energize us all to become stewards of our surroundings, preserving our world for posterity and encourage us to live together as part of the Universal heartbeat.

  • Intro to Celtic Music Workshop with Switchback

    Attendees are presented with traditional pieces of Irish music, folklore and dance. Following the historic time-line of Irish emigration to the United States, participants are made aware of the evolution of Irish music, once immigrants reached America. They will  listen to the transformation of Irish music into today’s western, jazz and bluegrass. The resurgence of Irish music, dance and culture are also examined.

    Brian FitzGerald and Martin McCormack of Switchback have been playing their brand of eclectic Celtic and Americana music at sold-out concert halls, performing arts centers and festivals for over 20 years. Featuring a mix of Irish music and original songs, their concerts have been described as “breathtaking scenery for your ears.” With a mix of mandolin, guitar, and bass their harmonies have won comparisons to the Louvin Brothers, the Everly Brothers and Simon and Garfunkel.

    Held in conjunction with the concert featuring Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill with Switchback on April 22 at 8 PM in Pollak Theatre

  • BENISE – Strings of Passion: 10 Year Anniversary World Tour!

    10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY WORLD TOUR!

    The Prince of Spanish Guitar, BENISE is ‘Bennissimo!’ in this special 10 year anniversary production called “Strings of Passion”.  Armed with his fiery Spanish Guitar, a stage full of musicians, and an international dance troupe, BENISE takes us on a musical journey through Salsa, Flamenco, Samba, Waltz and Tango, fused with classic rock anthems by Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, AC/DC, Santana and The Eagles…to name a few.   The show captures world music at its best, with a show that appeals to the hearts and souls of people of all ages, cultures and musical backgrounds.

    “Strings of Passion” – an unprecedented and spectacular adventure through Spanish Flamenco, Cuban Salsa, and Brazilian Samba –  raises the standards of live performance to a fresh new level of originality with dancing that is equally mysterious, sensual and festive.  The dancers in ‘Strings of Passion’ – ‘The Gitanas’ — were carefully handpicked from a global pool of some of the most brilliantly diverse talent to be found. Breathtaking couture fashion and innovative staging and choreography give Spanish dance a fresh and luminous makeover.

    “This is a great show for the whole family; I really think we have something for everyone,” comments BENISE, for whom music has always been a journey…from his humble beginnings as a street performer, to performing around the world. “I wanted to push the boundaries of traditional Nuevo Flamenco/Spanish guitar while combining the elements of dance and theater. This show is a celebration of culture–the culmination of all the shows we’ve done over the last 10 years.”

    Go center stage with BENISE in this amazing production that takes your audiences to  Spain, China, Paris, Egypt, India, Cuba, Italy, Dubai, the Heartland of America…and more:  the Theatrical World Music and Dance Spectacle that has been called “The Latin Riverdance”.

    VIP FAN EXPERIENCE – INCLUDED WITH THE GOLD CIRCLE SEATS
    Go behind the scenes, meet Benise and cast, and get your own photo moment when you attend a working sound check!

    VIP PACKAGE INCLUDES:
    * Exclusive Meet & Greet with the Benise and Cast
    * Premier Seating (first 4 rows)
    * Private Sound Check Experience
    * Personal Photograph with Benise
    * Souvenir Official Meet and Greet Laminate
     

  • Aquila Theatre’s Much Ado About Nothing

    Shakespeare’s great comedy, Much Ado About Nothing, highlights Aquila Theatre’s 25th anniversary season. Spying, subterfuge, deception, false identities, slander, manipulation and love all take part in this wonderfully entertaining battle of the sexes. Much Ado About Nothing, thought to have been written in 1598, belongs to a group of Shakespeare’s more mature romantic comedies. It is an exuberant, philosophical, and festive play exceling in combative wit, melodrama, and potential tragedy. Much Ado About Nothing is wonderfully intricate, flush with surprising twists and turns, and articulated in expert language. Aquila Theatre’s original Much Ado opened in Boston and toured the United States in 2000/2001. It was performed in 60 American cities, ran for nearly a year including Off Broadway in New York, was performed at the White House for the President and First Lady, and was then revived at the La Jolla Playhouse in 2006. The New York Times described the show as “Outstanding . . . almost unbearable fun. . . gleefully engaging . . . and directed with inspiration.” The New Yorker hailed it as “Just plain cool . . . beautifully spoken, dramatically revealing, and crystalline in effect.” Aquila’s original Much Ado was a Critic’s Choice for Time Out, The Village Voice and The New York Times.

    There will be a preshow talk at 6:00 PM with the cast the day of show.  

  • Walnut Street Theatre’s Last of the Red Hot Lovers

    America in the 1960s, an era that encouraged LOVE, was populated by “Mad Men” and “Mod Women” trying to navigate the new normal. In this freshly conceived production of Neil Simon’s classic, Last of the Red Hot Lovers, true comedy ensues when a modern man in the hip sixties looks for something new and different, but ends up finding himself in the same situation, again and again…and again!

    Barney Cashman is middle-aged, married, overworked and overweight. It’s finally his turn to join the sexual revolution… before it’s too late. With no experience in covert maneuvers, he arranges three attempted trysts. His targets; a bawdy bundle of fun who likes smooth whiskey and other women’s husbands, a young actress too kooky for words, and a neurotic housewife who happens to be married to his best friend. And through all the mishaps and laughter, Barney begins to rediscover his humanity and what he thought was missing all along.
    Last of the Red Hot Lovers had a lengthy run on Broadway and was made into a hit film starring Alan Arkin and Sally Kellerman.

    Walnut Street Theatre, America’s Oldest Theatre, celebrated 200 years of great entertainment in 2009. Most noteworthy American actors of the 19th century and many from the 20th century have appeared on stage at the Walnut. Some of the Walnut’s shining stars include: Edwin Forrest, Edwin Booth, the Drews, the Barrymores, George M. Cohan, Will Rogers, The Marx Brothers, Helen Hayes, Henry Fonda, Katharine Hepburn, Marlon Brando, Jessica Tandy, Ethel Waters, Audrey Hepburn, Sidney Poitier, Lauren Bacall, George C. Scott, Jane Fonda, Robert Redford, Julie Harris, Jack Lemon, and William Shatner.

    The theatre has been home to many pre-Broadway try-outs of plays that would go on to become American classics, such as A Streetcar Named Desire starring Marlon Brando, A Raisin in the Sun featuring Sydney Poitier, The Diary of Anne Frank featuring Susan Strasberg, Mister Roberts, starring Henry Fonda, and Neil Simon’s first Broadway play, Come Blow Your Horn.

    The Walnut began its most recent incarnation as a self-producing, non-profit regional theatre when Bernard Havard took the helm in 1982, founding the Walnut Street Theatre Company with a vision of once again creating theatre in a space that is so steeped in the American theatre’s traditions and history. Today, you can experience the realization of that dream when you attend a live performance. With over 56,000 subscribers annually, Walnut Street Theatre is the most subscribed theatre company in the world. For additional information about Walnut Street Theatre: Visit WalnutStreetTheatre.org.

    “Delightfully hilarious and witty, as well as filled with wisdom about human nature…an uproariously funny author. But he is far more than that. He has a mellow and compassionate understanding of how weak and essentially well meaning mankind behaves…a genuinely brilliant play.”- New York Post

  • Visiting Writers: The Breakbeat Poets

    Hip-Hop is the largest youth culture in the history of the planet rock. It has produced generations of artists who have revolutionized their genre(s) by applying the aesthetic innovations of the culture.

    The BreakBeat Poets features 78 poets, born somewhere between 1961-1999, All-City and Coast-to-Coast, who are creating the next and now movement(s) in American letters. This is the first poetry anthology by and for the Hip-Hop generation. It is for people who love Hip-Hop, for fans of the culture, for people who’ve never read a poem, for people who thought poems were only something done by dead white dudes who got lost in a forest, and for poetry heads. This anthology is meant to expand the idea of who a poet is and what a poem is for.

    The BreakBeat Poets are the scribes recording and remixing a fuller spectrum of experience of what it means to be alive in this moment. The BreakBeat Poets are a break with the past and an honoring of the tradition(s), an undeniable body expanding the canon for the fresher.

  • Visiting Writers: Gerald Stern

    Gerald Stern was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1925 and was educated at the University of Pittsburgh and Columbia University.  He is the author of 16 books of poetry, including, most recently, Divine Nothingness (Norton, 2014) and In Beauty Bright (Norton, 2012), as well as This Time:  New and Selected Poems, which won the 1998 National Book Award and a kind-of memoir of a year in 85 sections titled Stealing History, was published by Trinity University Press in the spring of 2012.  Stern was awarded the 2005 Wallace Stevens Award by the Academy of American Poets, was the 2010 recipient of the Medal of Honor in Poetry by the American Academy of Arts and Letters, he was inducted into the 2012 class of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and was the 2012 recipient of the Rebekah Johnson Bobbitt National Prize for Poetry from the Library of Congress.  He was the 2014 winner of the Frost Medal. Stern has two books coming out in 2017, a poetry collection from W. W. Norton called Galaxy Love and a book of non-fiction titled Deathwatch, to be released by Trinity University Press.