Jersey Arts Podcast

Caleb Hudson is the newest member of the Canadian Brass, the popular quintet that revolutionized the place of brass in classical music. A former principal trumpet of Collingswood’s Symphony in C, Hudson returns as a featured artist on their “Italian Festival” concert on January 27 at the Rutgers Camden Center for the Arts. He spoke to producer Susan Wallner about how he first came to play the trum...

This year commemorates the 100th anniversary of the United States’ entry into World War I. Though often referred to as The Forgotten War, most of us know that it was one of the largest and most brutal wars in history. But there is one short chapter that is still unknown to many—during the Christmas of 1914, peace broke out. Allied and German soldiers on the front lines reached out to each other fr...

The elegant old Hahne and Co. Department Store in Newark, shuttered for 30 years, is now home to a new experiment in the arts. Along with the first Whole Foods in the city, apartments and a new restaurant, it’s home to Express Newark - an “arts incubator” conceived by Rutgers University-Newark in collaboration with community arts leaders. Popular programs include the weekly open studio at the Newa...

We recently spoke with Tony Award-winning director John Rando about the new musical comedy “The Honeymooners” – based on the classic television series – which recently had its world premiere at Paper Mill Playhouse. The common ancestor of many, if not most, television sit-coms, “The Honeymooners” told the stories of married, working-class Brooklynites Ralph and Alice Kramden, their best friends Ed...

ArtYard began in Frenchtown, NJ with a “hatch.” From a huge egg, people emerged in chicken costumes to the music of a jazz saxophonist, leading a parade from ArtYard’s future headquarters in an old egg hatchery to its current space at 62A Trenton Road. It’s the kind of unexpected, collaborative event that ArtYard has become known for, and that you can expect more of in the future. Producer Susan W...

This Friday, the fifth annual New Jersey Uke Fest – that’s Uke as in Ukulele – begins at the Ukrainian American Cultural Center in Whippany. This weekend of concerts and workshops ends on Sunday with a big outdoor “Uke Jam” on the Morristown Green in Morristown, New Jersey. Chris Benincasa recently spoke with one of the festival’s organizers, Fil Wisneski, about what happens when hundreds of ukule...

When the days are longest, the world can magically transform. In a new production of "A Midsummer Night’s Dream," the fairies Moth, Cobweb, Mustardseed, Peaseblossom, Puck, Oberon and Titania transform items most of us casually throw away. Old keys, straws, plastic membership and transit cards, wine corks and CDs, all combine in costumes and sets that evoke a magical world. Director and...

It’s a musical about a woman on her own in the Old American West – disguised as a man named Jo. "The Ballad of Little Jo" opened Friday, June 9th at Two River Theater in Red Bank, and runs through June 25th. Based on the 1993 film of the same name, the show is directed by Maggie Greenwald, who based her story on the real life experiences of a woman named Josephine Monaghan. In the story,...

Joan Osborne is a multi-platinum selling recording artist and seven-time Grammy Award nominee. She shot to fame with her 1995 album "Relish," featuring the hits songs “One of Us” and “St. Teresa.” Since then, she’s appeared with the Grateful Dead and Mavis Staples, fronted her own bands and is now embarked on a Songbook Series featuring the work of writers she admires - starting with Bob...

We recently visited the rehearsal studios of American Repertory Ballet, where Artistic Director Douglas Martin was doing a complete run-through of his new ballet. Based on Jane Austen’s classic 1813 novel “Pride & Prejudice,” this full-length production will be performed at McCarter Theatre in Princeton and will feature live orchestral accompaniment by the Princeton Symphony Orchestra. A compl...

The New York Times has called Amy Beth Kirsten "wondrously eclectic." The New Haven-based composer and librettist has a new work, "Quixote," created with director Mark DeChiazza and the ensemble Howl. The performance theater piece is based on the classic novel by Cervantes. It was developed at Montclair State University through a new, long-term residency program as part of thei...

This year marks the 10th anniversary of Camden Repertory Theater, and to celebrate, founder Desi P. Shelton has brought one of her signature plays back to the stage – or, in this case, a house. "For Sale!" is the name of the play, and it’s a site-specific theatrical experience happening at 445 Mechanic Street in Camden, New Jersey. Christopher Benincasa met up with Shelton earlier this w...

Hot music for a cold month - that's the idea behind Centenary Stage's January Thaw Music Fest in Hackettstown, NJ. Producer Susan Wallner talks with Eddie Allen, leader of 3hree for Louis, a six-piece ensemble playing the music of the great Louis Armstrong. "Louis had a way of putting his signature stamp on every tune he played. There’s no way to improve on what he did with his musi...

Whitney Houston’s smash hit single "I Will Always Love You" was everywhere in the nineties. It was the musical centerpiece of the 1992 Oscar-nominated romantic thriller "The Bodyguard," starring Houston and Kevin Costner. In a way, the Grammy Award-winning soundtrack was as big as the movie. Now, a musical version of "The Bodyguard" has been created for the stage, and...

"Hunger" is a new work based on old Irish songs and first-hand accounts of Ireland’s Great Famine of 1845-1852. It's an opera in the sense that it tells a big story through music. The composer, Donnacha Dennehy, and the lead singer, Iarla Ó Lionáird, join producer Susan Wallner to discuss singing in Irish and the connection between the dark times of the Great Famine and today’s worl...

In an election season as outlandish as this one, it’s probably healthy to take a breather from the news – or get some perspective by seeing what a group of visual artists have to say about it. At The Printmaking Center of New Jersey in Branchburg, a new exhibit titled Election 2016 is on view through October 29. Christopher Benincasa recently spoke with artist Ken Schnall, who was the sole juror o...

On October 7th, The Growing Stage - The Children’s Theatre of New Jersey kicks off its 35th season with the Tony Award-winning Broadway hit "Peter and the Starcatcher." It tells the story of how a wayward orphan became Peter Pan – the famous, flying boy from Neverland who wouldn’t grow up. Cutthroat pirates, unlikely heroes, a treacherous jungle island, a giant crocodile, mermaids and a...

This Friday, the XPoNential Music Festival kicks off a weekend of music on the Camden Waterfront - three days, three stages, and more than 30 performances. At the River Stage at Wiggins Park on Friday, New Jersey guitar legend Billy Hector will ring in the festival with his signature style, a combination of Rock & Roll and Jersey Shore Blues. He’s played with artists like Bonnie Raitt and B.B....

Christopher Benincasa recently sat down with artist Elizabeth Strong-Cuevas at Grounds For Sculpture in Hamilton, New Jersey. This Thursday, you can too – at the Art Salon at Rat’s Restaurant at Grounds For Sculpture. The Art Salon is an opportunity to enjoy fine food, wine, a relaxed atmosphere, and thought provoking conversation. Strong-Cuevas has three pieces in the 42 acre sculpture park - &ap...

Producer Christopher Benincasa recently spoke with Saskia Schmidt, Director of Education at The Noyes Museum of Stockton University, as well as a couple of artists featured in this year’s New Jersey Arts Annual. The exhibit is on display at Atlantic City’s Noyes Arts Garage – a gallery and community space cleverly housed within a parking deck in the historic Duck Town neighborhood – and showcases...

Sarah Kirkland Snider didn't start out to be a contemporary classical composer, although music was what she loved as long as she could remember. In this podcast, the Princeton composer tells producer Susan Wallner how she was drawn to composing, the role of popular music in her work, and what it's like to be premiering her newest piece, "Hiraeth," in her hometown. The half-hour...

"Healing Voices OnStage: Caregivers Stories" is a theatrical project weaving together stories about the experience of being a caregiver – whether it’s taking care of a loved one who is seriously ill, working professionally with patients at a healthcare facility, or going through the transition of becoming the caretaker of a parent. Unlike most plays, this script is based on the writing o...

Paul, Prince and Presley’s dad is the greatest tightrope walker of all time. But with a father's fame comes pressure on his sons, who must learn to walk the ropes of life. Mexico City playwright Bárbara Colio's "Ropes" is at Two River Theater in Red Bank, NJ through March 20, including a special performance on March 5 of the play in Spanish, its original language. Producer Susa...

February 8th marks the beginning of the Chinese Lunar New Year, and the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company is coming to help us all celebrate. The festivities begin on February 6th at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark. 2016 is the Year of the Monkey, and it should be a good one. And if you’re hungry for really good Chinese food after the show, there will be a “Feast of the Monkey King” banque...

There are many great reasons to visit the seaside resort town of Cape May--named one of America's best small towns for Christmas by Town and Leisure Magazine--at this time of year, including taking in a show at Cape May Stage. Marlena Lustik talks to producer Susan Wallner about her new play "A Cape May Christmas," which brings together both the season and the history of the town in...