Additional Artists to be Scheduled
Contact the Box Office for Updates
732-263-6889
Schedule Subject to Change
This program is made possible in part by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts
2009-2010 Performing Arts Season
at the
Pollak Theatre
************************************************************
Father Alphonse Stephenson and The Orchestra of Saint Peter by the Sea
Friday, December 4, 2009 at 8 p.m.
Cost: $38
Father Alphonse Stephenson
In his 19th annual holiday concert, the beloved Father Alphonse Stephenson and his 42-piece orchestra share a marvelous evening of joyful music.
Be sure to call the box office today to see if tickets are still available for this annual sell-out.
For More Information
Father Alphonse Stephenson and The Orchestra of Saint Peter by the Sea
************************************************************
Charles Dickens'
A Christmas Carol
Friday, December 11, 2009 at 8 p.m.
Saturday, December 12, 2009 at 2 p.m.
Sunday, December 13, 2009 at 2 p.m.
The Sunday matinee includes sign language throughout. Please inform our box office staff when ordering tickets if you need special seating for this event.
Cost: $28 adults/$15 children and students
One of the most beloved holiday stories of all time comes to the stage in a spectacular production with a cast of fifty! Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol stars Jack Cibrian in the title role. Come marvel with us at the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future. Delight in the fun at the Fezziwig party and be sure to bring the entire family to one of New Jersey’s grandest productions. Members of the original cast have been assembled for this production, adapted and directed for the stage by David J.V. Meenan. Only three performances, so order your tickets early!
************************************************************
Presentation and book signing by NPR’s
Pete Fornatale
Back to the Garden: The Story of Woodstock
Wednesday, January 27, 2010 at 7 p.m.
Cost: $10
Pete Fornatale
Introducing his engaging oral history, Fornatale, an author and longtime New York radio personality, admits that his attempt to parse fact from fiction regarding an endlessly mythologized pop culture milestone, the Woodstock Music & Art Fair, isn't always easy. It has been four decades, after all, and most of Fornatale's 110 sources spent that rainy August weekend in a hallucinogenic haze. But Fornatale does bring new stories to light, revisits old stories, and dispels some common misperceptions. Among others, festival production manager John Morris reveals how close the festival came to being shut down by the National Guard; filmmaker Michael Wadleigh explains the choices behind his groundbreaking documentary Woodstock; original Sha Na Na guitarist Henry Gross tells drinking stories featuring Jimi Hendrix; and attendee Jim Marion reflects on leaving the festival early and disappointed. Fornatale lets his subjects carry the story, providing cogent artist histories and conversational segues in this vivid portrait. -- Publisher’s Weekly
************************************************************
Richie Havens *
Friday, January 29, 2010 at 8 p.m.
Cost: $30
Richie Havens
This Woodstock artist shares his unique and ageless soulful folk songs that convey messages of brotherhood and personal freedom. Gifted with one of the most recognizable voices in popular music, Richie has entertained listeners for more than three decades and with over 25 albums, including performances on the legendary Ed Sullivan Show and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.
Billboard said “this acoustic soul giant truly seems to be getting more inspiring and graceful with age” and Mojo remarked, “he’s lost none of his power to enthrall and enchant.”
A sense of timelessness rings through Richie Havens’ recent album, Nobody Left to Crown, emphasizing that he has never been more relevant than he is today.
* Artist will have a Workshop, Master Class, or Q & A.
Details To Be Announced
For More Information
Available Videos
************************************************************
Concerts East + AEG Live present
Brandi Carlile
With Special Guest, Gregory Alan Isakov
Friday, February 5, 2010 at 8 p.m.
Cost: $39.50/$29.50
Brandi Carlile
You’ve heard her songs featured on ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy. Now hear Brandi Carlile live at the Pollak Theatre where she will be performing your favorites and songs from her newest album, Give Up The Ghost, Brandi’s third album which unveils her talents in their truest form. If the phrase “give up the ghost” most often refers to death or dying, it can also be used to describe the passing of stages in life, of transformation. “They say it takes you your whole life to write your first record, and in our case the first two records, and that you have to write your second record in just a matter of months. So we went into the songwriting process conscious of that, and really made an effort to just leave ourselves behind. We wrote about about life, the world, how we felt, how we will feel. In that sense, these songs are like time travelers in that they exist on a much more ethereal plane, and that’s what ‘give up the ghost’ means to us,” Carlile explains.
The recording of Give Up The Ghost offered new experiences including working with the likes of Elton John, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers multi-instrumentalist Benmont Tench, drummer Chad Smith, and Amy Ray of The Indigo Girls, all of whom contribute to the album. Among the growing legion of Carlile fans is Elton John. “Brandi has an amazing voice,” he says. “She’s a great songwriter and has a tremendous career ahead of her.”
For More Information
Available Videos
************************************************************
Brooklyn Rider *
Friday, February 19, 2010 at 8 p.m.
Cost: $28
Brooklyn Rider
The multi-faceted string quartet Brooklyn Rider delivers a creative performance that illuminates music in new ways. They are as willing to explore the world of Haydn as they are in the music of our time and have performed in venues as varied as Joe's Pub in NYC, Todai-ji Temple in Nara, Japan and the Petronas Towers in Malaysia.
Brooklyn Rider has been invited to record the complete quartets of Philip Glass and they have a longstanding participation in Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble. Featured on WNYC's Soundcheck, the quartet also draws inspiration from the exploding array of cultures and artistic energy found in the borough of Brooklyn, a place they also call home.
Concert Program:
- Colin Jacobsen - Achilles Heel
- Dimitri Yanov-Yanovsky - ...al niente
- Phillip Glass - string quartet (TBA)
Intermission
- John Cage - In a Landscape, arr. for string quartet by Justin Messina
- Claude Debussy - String Quartet in g minor, Op. #10
* Artist will have a Workshop, Master Class, or Q & A.
Details To Be Announced
For More Information
Available Videos
************************************************************
Cherish the Ladies *
Friday, February 26, 2010 at 8 p.m.
Cost: $32/$40
Cherish the Ladies
The most successful and sought-after Irish-American group in Celtic music, Cherish the Ladies combines all the facets of Irish traditional culture and puts it forth in a humorous and entertaining package.
Champion step dancers join Cherish the Ladies in every performance with artistry that captivates audiences.
“One of the best nights of music I’ve ever heard ... I can’t rave enough about Cherish the Ladies!”
— Oliver Sweeney, Hot Press Magazine (Dublin)
“The music is passionate, tender and rambunctious.”
— Jon Pareles, The New York Times
* Artist will have a Workshop, Master Class, or Q & A.
Details To Be Announced
For More Information
************************************************************
Saw Doctors *
Friday, March 19, 2009 at 8 p.m.
Postponed — New Date to be Announced
Cost: $25
Saw Doctors
THE SAW DOCTORS, a gritty folk-rock band from Ireland, is named after itinerant craftsmen who once traveled from sawmill to sawmill sharpening and repairing saws. A true "people's band," they boast a fervent American following, and hold the record for Ireland's biggest-selling single of all time, “I Useta Lover.” The band frequently invokes local atmosphere, haunts, and characters, as well as singing about working class lives in economically difficult times. These unpretentious rock’n’rollers have a well-deserved reputation for dazzling live shows.
"…one of the world's most appealing roots rock outfits."
— Washington Post
* Artist will have a Workshop, Master Class, or Q & A.
Details To Be Announced
For More Information
************************************************************
Suzanne Vega
Saturday, April 10, 2010 at 8 p.m.
Cost: $40
Suzanne Vega
With exquisite melody, Grammy-winner Suzanne Vega sings in a distinctive, clear vibrato-less voice that has been described as "a cool, dry sandpaper-brushed near-whisper." One of the most brilliant songwriters of her generation, Suzanne’s poetic songs focus on city life, ordinary people, and real world subjects.
Solitude Standing was nominated for three Grammys including Record of the Year and went platinum with “Luka,” a song that has entered the cultural vernacular. Suzanne’s recent recording, Beauty & Crime is a love letter to her hometown of New York City and was hailed “as original, gritty and gorgeous as ever” by Newsweek and “ ... lovely and literate” by People Magazine.
For More Information
************************************************************
In the Mood: A 1940s Musical Revue
Sunday, April 11, 2010 at 3 p.m.
Cost: $32/$40
In the Mood: A 1940s Musical Revue
With a big band orchestra, singers, and dancers, this retro 1940s musical brings back the music that moved a nation’s spirit and helped win a war.
The combination of up-tempo instrumentals and intimate, romantic ballads set the mood for a future filled with promise, hope and prosperity.
This Big Band Theatrical Swing Revue features the music of Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman, Harry James, Erskin Hawkins, The Andrews Sisters, Frank Sinatra, and more.
For More Information
In the Mood: A 1940s Musical Revue
************************************************************
The Music and Theatre Arts Department presents Totally Mozart
Friday, April 16, 2010 at 7:30 p.m.
Cost: $22/$30
The Music and Theatre Arts Department presents Totally Mozart
The concert will feature:
- the powerful and joyous Coronation Mass;
- the deeply moving motet Ave Verum;
- the beloved overture to the master’s “most perfect” opera The Marriage of Figaro;
- and the magnificent final Symphony #41 in C major (The Jupiter).
With period orchestra and 120 voices there is no venue like it this side of New York City.
For More Information
The Music and Theatre Arts Department presents Totally Mozart
************************************************************
Lúnasa and Martin Hayes & Dennis Cahill
Friday, April 23, 2010 at 8 p.m.
Cost: $30/38
Lúnasa
Lúnasa, Ireland’s new all-star quintet, steers Irish acoustic music into surprising new territory with inventive arrangements and bass-driven grooves. With its distinctive use of the upright acoustic bass, teamed with percussive guitar, melodic interweaving of wind and string instruments, pairing flutes, fiddle, whistle and pipes Lúnasa achieves breathtaking arrangements. The result is a sound that, though distinctly Irish in flavor touches on jazz and other improvisational music forms.
Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill
Irish fiddle virtuoso Martin Hayes and American master guitarist Dennis Cahill have garnered international renown for taking traditional Irish music to the edge of the genre with slow-building, fiery performances while incorporating sensibilities from the worlds of blues and jazz. Hayes has taken home a National Entertainment Award (the Irish equivalent to the Grammy) and in 1999, was named Folk instrumentalist of the Year by the BBC Radio Awards. While Martin pursues a melody, Dennis explores the harmony and rhythm within the tunes. Hayes says, “Our primary wish is that the musical experience be one that lifts our spirits and those of the audience.”
For More Information
************************************************************
Previous Events from this Season
Film Screening
Tuesday, October 6 at 7 p.m.
Los Lonely Boys Cottonfields and Crossroads
Free and open to the public
For more information: www.loslonelyboysmovie.com/
************************************************************
Brotherhood Acoustic Tour
with Los Lonely Boys, Alejandro Escovedo, and Hacienda
Friday, October 9, 2009 at 8 p.m.
Los Lonely Boys
Come out for a night of emotionally charged, all-acoustic music steeped in the rich musical traditions of Texas, the American Southwest and Mexico. The fiery blues-rockers Los Lonely Boys and genre-bending singer-songwriter Alejandro Escovedo team up at the Pollak Theatre with an opening performance by Hacienda.
Alejandro Escovedo
Los Lonely Boys features the Garza brothers who soared to national attention with their debut album, winning a Grammy for their global hit, “Heaven.” The trio is known for its electrifying, yearning, heartfelt music and has recorded with legends, Willie Nelson, Carlos Santana and Los Lobos.
Alejandro Escovedo infuses lyrical Tex-Mex and folk balladry with rock and classical influences. In a career marked by critical acclaim for music that places him “in a genre all his own,” (Rolling Stone Magazine), Escovedo has journeyed through several musical incarnations in his 20-plus-year career from punk rock (The Nuns) to a solo career, culminating with Real Animal, which appeared on many Top Ten lists.
************************************************************
Neil Berg’s 101 Years of Broadway *
Saturday, October 17, 2009 at 8 p.m.
Rita Harvey
Following the enthusiastic response to last season’s hit Broadway review, Neil Berg returns with his all new production, 101 Years of Broadway to the Pollak Theatre.
Carter Calvert
This highly anticipated return engagement features a dazzling cast of five Broadway stars accompanied by an all-star New York band. This production will feature Rita Harvey who portrayed Christine in The Phantom of the Opera, and Carter Calvert from It Ain’t Nothin’ But the Blues, among others.
* Artists will have a Workshop, Master Class, or Q & A.
Details To Be Announced
For More Information
Neil Berg’s 101 Years of Broadway
************************************************************
Melissa Manchester
Friday, October 30, 2009 at 8 p.m.
Melissa Manchester
Cost: $32
This Best Female Vocalist Grammy-winner has headlined at Carnegie Hall and Radio City Music Hall, performing for sold-out audiences across the country. Her compelling singing and songwriting includes smash hit singles like “Midnight Blue” and Academy Award-nominated movie themes, “Through the Eyes of Love” and “The Promise.” She has combined her acting and singing talents in Andrew Lloyd Weber’s Song and Dance and Music of the Night and Stephen Sondheim’s musical masterpiece Sweeney Todd in Los Angeles. This multi-talented artist has also composed for Disney’s The Great Mouse Detective, along with co-writing the score for Lady and the Tramp II. Come hear why she has been honored with the Governor’s Award from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences for her contributions to the music and recording arts.
For More Information
************************************************************
DRUM!
Sunday, November 15, 2009 at 7 p.m.
Cost: $32/$40
DRUM! is Nova Scotia's spectacular new musical production featuring 20 musicians, dancers, drummers, and singers from four of the principle cultures — Black, Acadian, Aboriginal, and Celtic — brought together in a heart-pumping fusion of music, dance, poetry, video, rhythm, and song. Recently nominated for two East Coast Music Awards, DRUM! brings its energy to the Pollak Theatre for a festive, memorable evening.
“Sensational!”
— Chicago Tribune
"... uplifting ... remarkable ... will keep you hooked from the opening beat."
— Halifax Chronicle Herald/Mail Star
For More Information
