Events

Martin Sexton
2011-12-09 20:00 (America/New_York)
A Winter Night:
An Intimate Solo Acoustic Performance
Cost: prices vary

The New York Times wrote that this artist” jumps beyond standard fare on the strength of his voice, a blue-eyed soul man’s supple instrument,” adding that “his unpretentious heartiness helps him focus on every soul singer’s goal: to amplify the sound of the ordinary heart.“Martin Sexton is ripe with raw, expansive talent.His voice comes in a hundred impossible shades. His songs are sweet and spirited and soulful. His repertoire is like a cross country tour of the American musical vernacular.” — Boston Globe
VIP/meet and greet available!Check with the box office for more information.
Produced by Concerts East, Inc

Faust - Gounod (Broadcast in HD)
2011-12-10 13:00
Faust – Gounod (New Production)
Encore Date: Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 7 p.m.
With Jonas Kaufmann in the title role, René Pape as the devil, and Marina Poplavskaya as Marguerite, Gounod’s classic retelling of the Faust legend couldn’t be better served. Tony Award-winning director Des McAnuff updates the story to the first half of the 20th century with a production that won praise in London last season. Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts on the heels of his Don Carlo success. (4 hours 20 minutes, 2 intermissions)
Broadcast in HD

Deck The Halls
2011-12-11 16:00
From the company that brought you the hit Sing, Sing Sing! comes their new seasonal musical marvel,Deck The Halls!. With a company of more than 40 singers, tap dancers, and musicians, your favorite family holiday songs will come reeling to life at the Pollak Theatre. Resplendent with magnificent Dickens costumes, as well as a myriad of theatrical delights, this musical extravaganza is sure to delight the entire family.
Guinness Book record holder in Tap Dancing, David J.V. Meenan, will lead his company of Broadway friends through an evening that you will talk about for years!
Cost: $38/30

Don Giovanni Encore - Mozart
2011-12-15 19:00
Mariusz Kwiecien brings his youthful and sensual interpretation of Mozart’s timeless anti-hero to the Met for the first time, under the direction of Tony Award®-winning director Michael Grandage and with James Levine conducting. Also starring Marina Rebeka, Barbara Frittoli, Ramón Vargas, and Luca Pisaroni. (3 hours 55 minutes, 1 intermission)
For more information visit The Metropolitan Opera online.

MU Faculty Exhibition
2012-01-17 - 2012-03-09 | Rotary Ice House Gallery
MU Faculty Exhibition

January 17 – March 9, 2012
Opening Reception:
Friday, January 27 from 7 – 9 p.m.
ICE HOUSE GALLERY
Featuring the work of the Monmouth University Department of Art & Design faculty.

Rodelinda Encore - Handel
2012-01-19 19:00
Sensational in the 2004 Met premiere of Stephen Wadsworth’s much-heralded production, Renée Fleming reprises the title role. She’s joined by Stephanie Blythe and countertenor Andreas Scholl, and Baroque specialist Harry Bicket conducts. (4 hours 15 minutes, 2 intermissions)
For more information visit The Metropolitan Opera online.

The Enchanted Island - Handel
2012-01-21 13:00
Encore Date: Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 7 p.m.
In one extraordinary new work, lovers of Baroque opera have it all: the world’s best singers, glorious music of the Baroque masters, and a story drawn from Shakespeare. In The Enchanted Island, the lovers from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream are shipwrecked on his other-worldly island of The Tempest. Inspired by the musical pastiches and masques of the 18th century, the work showcases arias and ensembles by Handel, Vivaldi, Rameau, and others, and a new libretto by Jeremy Sams. Eminent conductor William Christie leads an all-star cast with David Daniels (Prospero) and Joyce DiDonato (Sycorax) as the formidable foes, Plácido Domingo as Neptune, Danielle de Niese as Ariel, and Luca Pisaroni as Caliban. Lisette Oropesa and Anthony Roth Costanzo play Miranda and Ferdinand. The dazzling production is directed and designed by Phelim McDermott and Julian Crouch (Satyagraha and the Met’s 125 anniversary gala). (3 hours 55 minutes, 1 intermission)

SAMINA QURAESHI - Reflections on a Sufi Path
2012-01-30 17:00 - 2012-03-15 19:00 | Pollak Gallery
SAMINA QURAESHI: Reflections on a Sufi Path
January 30 – March 15, 2012
Opening Reception:
January 30, 2012
from 5:00-7:00 pm
Pollak Gallery
Admission compliments of Monmouth University
Imaginative, vibrant, and saturated with the rich colors of South Asia, Samina Quraeshi’s photographs, calligraphic works, and mixed media montages reflect the diversity of Islamic expressions of faith. Her work is a creative response to the experience of pilgrimage to the Sufi shrines in the Indus Valley. The images evoke the music, dance, and acts of faith that animate these sacred spaces.
Click for more information on the Caravanserai events.

Provost Film Series: Scheherazade: Tell Me a Story
2012-01-30 19:30
SCHEHERAZADE: TELL ME A STORY (Not Rated)
Karim and Hebba are a young married and loving couple. Both have
great careers. Karim is just about to be appointed as editor-in-chief of
the greatest governmental newspaper. Hebba is the hostess of much
appreciated TV programs about female victims, e.g., daughters who are
buried alive because of improper behavior, people drowning when
attempting illegal immigration to Europe. Karim is told that he will
only be appointed if his wife avoids political topics. He does persuade
her to make programs on ordinary people instead. But her “non-political”
programs will become even more repugnant to the authorities.
Panelist: Dr. Maysa Hayward, dean of E-Learning, Ocean County College

Money Matters
2012-02-06 19:30
Director: Ryan Richmond
Monday, February 6, 2012at 7:30 p.m.Pollak Theatre
Admission courtesy of Monmouth University
Money Matters is a coming-of-age story about a 14 year-old biracial girl, Monique Matters, as she tries to navigate faith and sexuality questions of adolescence, a dysfunctional single-mother household, and the rough waters of our nation’s capital’s best kept secret–the inner city. Monique never knew her father, and as her mother’s disturbing past comes to light, she must somehow reconcile the relationships and circumstances surrounding her very existence.

Cherish The Ladies
2012-02-10 20:00
Cherish the Ladies: Irish Homecoming with Maura O’Connell
Cost: $47/37
When describing Cherish the Ladies, the critics say it best. “It is simply impossible to imagine an audience that wouldn’t enjoy what they do,” says the Boston Globe, “An astonishing array of virtuosity,” adds the Washington Post, “Expands the annals of Irish music in America, the music is passionate, tender and rambunctious,” notes The New York Times. For the past twenty five years, Cherish the Ladies have proven themselves worthy to live up to these accolades and in doing so have become one of the most engaging ensembles in the history of Irish music.
By transforming lyrics and music into intimate portraits of human life, Maura O’Connell offers soulful consolation on simply living it. The ultimate singer’s singer, O’Connell’s gems are worth hearing again and again.

Götterdämmerung - Wagner (Broadcast in HD)
2012-02-11 12:00
With its cataclysmic climax, the Met’s new Ring cycle, directed by Robert Lepage, comes to its resolution. Deborah Voigt stars as Brünnhilde and Gary Lehman is Siegfried—the star-crossed lovers doomed by fate. James Levine conducts.(6 hours 24 minutes, 2 intermissions)
Broadcast in HD
For more information visit The Metropolitan Opera online.

In The Mood: A 1940s Musical Revue
2012-02-12 15:00
Back by popular demand, In the Mood returns with their big band orchestra, singers, and swing dancers. This retro 1940s musical revives 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 Web Site
Cost: $42/35

Faust Encore - Gounod (Broadcast in HD)
2012-02-16 19:00
With Jonas Kaufmann in the title role, René Pape as the devil, and Marina Poplavskaya as Marguerite, Gounod’s classic retelling of the Faust legend couldn’t be better served. Tony Award-winning director Des McAnuff updates the story to the first half of the 20th century with a production that won praise in London last season. Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts on the heels of his Don Carlo success.
(4 hours 20 minutes, 2 intermissions)
Broadcast in HD
For more information visit The Metropolitan Opera online.

Carolina Chocolate Drops with M Shanghai String Band
2012-02-17 20:00
“The Carolina Chocolate Drops are…revisiting, with a joyful vengeance, black string-band and jug-band music of the Twenties and Thirties—the dirt-floor dance electricity of the Mississippi Sheiks and Cannon’s Jug Stompers.” — Rolling Stone
“To call them a string band does not really do justice to the flying instruments, the role changes and the strong and sometimes dangerous singing of Rhiannon Giddens …” — New York Times
“The hottest thing to hit the old-time music community in decades.” — NPR
The M Shanghai String Band will open the show. For more information about the bands visit: carolinachocolatedrops.com and mshanghaistringband.com
Cost: $32

Made In Pakistan
2012-02-21 19:30
“Made in Pakistan” Film Screening and Discussion with Ayesha Khan
Ayesha Khan, director of feature film KASHF: Lifting of the Veil and executive producer of Made in Pakistan is one of Pakistan’s most talented and dynamic young filmmakers. Ayesha will showcase the film Made in Pakistan to American audiences for the Caravanserai film residencies. Made in Pakistan,
a 60-minute documentary directed by Nasir Khan and produced by Ms.
Khan, follows the lives of four young, middle-class Pakistanis during
Pervez Musharraf’s state of emergency in 2007. Winner of the Audience
Choice Award for Best Documentary at the South Asian International Film
Festival in New York, Made in Pakistan is a riveting glimpse
into life in Pakistan—a country where politics, fashion, religion,
debate, and tradition intermingle, where one definition of an Islamic
State no longer holds true. A successful example of independent
filmmaking in contemporary Pakistan, Made in Pakistan will
provide a framework for thought-provoking screenings and discussion led
by a bright new voice from Pakistan’s burgeoning film industry.

Caravanserai: Made in Pakistan
2012-02-21 19:30
Made in Pakistan (Not Rated)
An insider’s look into “The Most Dangerous Country in the World” as labeled by a cover story in Newsweek on
October 29, 2007. The documentary follows the lives of four Pakistani
individuals who defy this prevailing stereotype of the country by the
very choices they have made in their lives. They are working
professionals—two women entrepreneurs, a politician, and a lawyer. These
four individuals represent a multifaceted Pakistan—a country where
politics, religion, debate, tradition, and fashion intermingle—where one
definition of an Islamic State no longer holds true.
Panelists: Nasir Khan, film director and Mohammed Sheikh, graduate student, Monmouth University

Liliana Ursu
2012-02-23 16:30
Club Rooms 107-108, Magill Commons
Liliana Ursu, internationally acclaimed Romanian poet, was born in Sibiu, Romania, in 1949. Ursu has published eight books of poetry in Romanian. Her first book in English,The Sky Behind the Forest(Bloodaxe Books, 1997), translated by Ursu, Adam J. Sorkin, and Tess Gallagher, became a British Poetry Book Society Recommended Translation and was shortlisted for Oxford’s Weidenfeld Prize.Goldsmith Market (Zephyr Press, 2004) is Liliana Ursu’s third book of poetry in Romanian, and her third book to appear in English. Lightwall will be published by Zephyr Press in 2009. Her most recent book A Path to the Sea was published in 2011
During 1992-93 and again in 1997-98, Ursu was a Fulbright Lecturer at Penn State’s University Park campus; in spring 2000 she served as a visiting professor of creative writing at the University of Louisville. In fall 2003, she was Poet-in-Residence at the Stadler Center for Poetry, Bucknell University. Ursu has worked for Romanian National Radio since 1980, producing a literary magazine of the air.
The reading is sponsored by Global Initiatives and The Visiting Writers Series

The Enchanted Island Encore - Handel
2012-02-23 19:00
In one extraordinary new work, lovers of Baroque opera have it all: the world’s best singers, glorious music of the Baroque masters, and a story drawn from Shakespeare. In The Enchanted Island, the lovers from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream are shipwrecked on his other-worldly island of The Tempest. Inspired by the musical pastiches and masques of the 18th century, the work showcases arias and ensembles by Handel, Vivaldi, Rameau, and others, and a new libretto by Jeremy Sams. Eminent conductor William Christie leads an all-star cast with David Daniels (Prospero) and Joyce DiDonato (Sycorax) as the formidable foes, Plácido Domingo as Neptune, Danielle de Niese as Ariel, and Luca Pisaroni as Caliban. Lisette Oropesa and Anthony Roth Costanzo play Miranda and Ferdinand. The dazzling production is directed and designed by Phelim McDermott and Julian Crouch (Satyagraha and the Met’s 125 anniversary gala). (3 hours 55 minutes, 1 intermission)

Cowboy Junkies
2012-02-24 20:00
For more than 20 years, Cowboy Junkies have remained true to their unique artistic vision and to the introspective, quiet intensity that is their musical signature, creating a critically acclaimed body of original work that has endeared them to an audience unwavering in its loyalty. Albums like The Caution Horses (1990), Black Eyed Man (1992), Pale Sun, Crescent Moon (1993), Lay It Down (1996), and more recently, Open (2001), One Soul Now (2004), Early 21st Century Blues (2005), and At the End of Paths Taken (2007), chronicle a creative journey reflecting the independent road the band has elected to travel.
Cost: $55/45/35

Ernani - Verdi (Broadcast in HD)
2012-02-25 13:00
Encore Date: Thursday, April 12, 2012 at 7 p.m.
Angela Meade takes center stage in Verdi’s thrilling early gem. Salvatore Licitra is her mismatched lover, and all-star Verdians Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Ferruccio Furlanetto round out the cast. (3 hours 49 minutes, 2 intermissions)
Broadcast in HD

Fambul Tok
2012-03-05 19:30
Fambul Tok
Director: Sara Terry
Monday, March 5, 2012at 7:30 p.m.Pollak Theatre
Victims
and perpetrators of Sierra Leone’s brutal civil war come together for
the first time in an unprecedented program of tradition-based
truth-telling and forgiveness ceremonies. Through reviving their ancient
practice of fambul tok (family talk), Sierra Leoneans are
building sustainable peace at the grass-roots level–succeeding where the
international community’s post-conflict efforts failed. Filled with
lessons for the West, Fambul Tok explores the depths of a
culture that believes that true justice lies in redemption and healing
for individuals–and that forgiveness is the surest path to restoring
dignity and building strong communities.

Provost Film Series: Rachida
2012-03-21 19:30
RACHIDA (Not Rated)
A look at terrorism in Algeria in the 1990s through the eyes of Rachida,
a teacher in one of the school districts. The film digs into the life
of a woman in the Sunni Muslim patriarchal culture and the day-to-day
living with anxiety and fear as bands of guerrilla thugs roam the
streets. Panelists: Dr. Nancy Mezey, director, Institute for Global
Understanding and Dr. Saliba Sarsar, professor of political science,
Monmouth University

Natasha Trethewey
2012-03-22 16:30
Natasha Trethewey is author of Beyond Katrina: A Meditation on the Mississippi Gulf Coast (University of Georgia Press); Native Guard (Houghton Mifflin), for which she won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize; Bellocq’s Ophelia (Graywolf, 2002), which was named a Notable Book for 2003 by the American Library Association; and Domestic Work (Graywolf, 2000). Her collection Thrall is due for publication in 2012. She is the recipient of fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Bunting Fellowship Program of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard. Her poems have appeared in such journals and anthologies as American Poetry Review, Callaloo, Kenyon Review, The Southern Review, New England Review, Gettysburg Review, and several volumes of The Best American Poetry. Her first collection of poetry, Domestic Work (2000), was selected by Rita Dove as the winner of the inaugural Cave Canem Poetry Prize for the best first book by an African American poet and won both the 2001 Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters Book Prize and the 2001 Lillian Smith Award for Poetry.

On Broadway with David J.V. Meenan and Friends
2012-03-24 20:00
Back again this spring, the roof will be rocking with your favorite Broadway, Pop, and Jazz favorites as The Royale Orchestra swings in to action with David J.V. Meenan and Friends in On Broadway. Incredible tap dancing numbers, Broadway performers singing your favorites show tunes, and comedy will have you dancing and rolling in the aisles again! With a cast of more than 40, you will not want to miss this amazing musical song and dance extravaganza. Featuring hits from Wicked, West Side Story, Mama Mia, Hairspray, Les Miserable, The Phantom of the Opera, and so much more! (Shore Concerts Production)
Cost: $38/30

Spring Musical: Working
2012-03-28 20:00 - 2012-04-05 20:00 | Lauren K. Woods Theatre
The Department of Music and Theatre Arts presents
Spring Musical: Working
Monmouth University’s Department of Music & Theatre
will present the first East Coast production of the newly revised
musical, Working, based on the book by Pulitzer-Prize winning author Studs Terkel. Adapted by Stephen Schwartz (Wicked, Pippin, and Godspell) from his original version with Nino Faso, the new Working recently completed a run in Chicago. Monmouth’s production will be the first by any university in the country.
Directed by Nicole Ricciardi, Working
is the working man’s A Chorus Line. A musical exploration of twenty-six
people from all walks of life, with songs by all-star composers Craig
Carnelia (Sweet Smell of Success), Micki Grant (Don’t Bother Me, I Can’t Cope), Tony Award-winning Lin-Manuel Miranda (In the Heights), Mary Rodgers (Once Upon A Mattress), Susan Birkenhead (Jelly’s Last Jam), Stephen Schwartz, and Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter, James Taylor. The musical director is George Wurzbach.
Working celebrates
everyday people in a genuinely funny and touching way, and has been
called “the perfect musical for everyone who has ever worked a day in
their lives.” Updated to fit 21st century audiences, cast members sing
and dance with cell phones and laptops as they tell the tales of
traditional careers: teacher, waitress, firefighter; and more modern
additions: hedge fund manager, UPS delivery man, and a customer service
representative in India.

First Senior Exhibition (Fine Art)
2012-03-30 - 2012-04-06 | Pollak Gallery
First Senior Exhibition (Fine Art)
March 30 – April 6, 2012
Opening Reception:
Friday, March 30, 7 – 9 p.m.
ICE HOUSE & POLLAK GALLERIES
Featuring the work of the Monmouth University graduating seniors who will receive their degrees in fine art and/or art education.

Jazz and Poetry with Robert Pinsky
2012-03-30 19:30
Jazz and Poetry with Robert Pinsky
accompanied by Ben Allison
Cost: $10; $20
Robert Pinsky, three-time U.S. poet laureate and author of several acclaimed books of poetry, prose, and translation will bring his verse to life on the Pollak Theatre stage in a reading with musical accompaniment. Elegant and tough, vividly imaginative, Pinsky’s poems have earned praise for their wild musical energy and ambitious range.
The Long Branch native whose first ambition was to be a jazz musician, told The Paris Review “in jazz, as in poetry, there is always that play between what’s regular and what’s wild. That has always appealed to me.” During these performances Pinsky explains, “The musicians have read the poems beforehand, and we discuss appropriate music a bit, but what we do is at the heart of it improvised.”
Pinsky will be accompanied by celebrated bassist/composer Ben Allison who was called “one of today’s best young jazz musicians” by the Boston Globe and a “visionary composer, adventurous improviser, and strong organizational force on the New York City jazz scene” by JazzTimes.

Arif Lohar/Arooj Aftab
2012-03-31 20:00
Caravanserai’s Spring 2012 music residencies will feature one of Pakistan’s most beloved contemporary folk singers, Arif Lohar. Born in a small village called Aach Goch in Gujrat District of Punjab, Pakistan, Arif Lohar follows in the footsteps of his father, famous Pakistani folk singer Alam Lohar. Singing contemporized interpretations of traditional Punjabi songs, Arif Lohar captures the sights and sounds of modern Pakistani culture with a unique mix of pop and folk stylings. Playing his beloved chimta, a traditional percussion instrument resembling tongs, Arif Lohar will be backed by an ensemble of talented Pakistani musicians.’
In a special collaboration, Arif Lohar will be joined by talented world music songstress Arooj Aftab. Born and raised in Lahore, Pakistan and now based in New York City, Arooj Aftab pays homage to her cultural roots with inspired original songs that fuse classical Pakistani, Sufi, and South Asian music traditions with contemporary jazz, folk, and pop influences. Her dynamic vocals mesh with subtle, graceful acoustic arrangements to create a signature sound that has been described as “indigenous soul.”
For Caravanserai, Arif Lohar and Arooj Aftab celebrate their cultural heritage by imagining new musical horizons, crossing boundaries, and inviting U.S. audiences to share their journey with peace and love.
Click for more information on the Caravanserai events.
Click here to read an interview with Arif Lohar
Click here to read an interview with Arooj Aftab
Caravanserai: A place where cultures meet is managed by Arts Midwest on behalf of the U.S. Regional Arts Organizations with financial support from the Building Bridges program of the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art. This event is locally sponsored by the Arab American Forum.
Cost: $15

Jacob Landau: An Exhibit of Selected Works
2012-04-05 - 2012-04-19 | Monmouth University Library
MONMOUTH UNIVERSITY PRESENTS:
Advocacy of the Human: An Exhibit of Selected Works

By Jacob Landau

This exhibit is a selection from Monmouth University’s extensive collection of Jacob Landau’s work. Each line of these images reveal an aspect of our humanity and affirms our inviolable individuality. He places the human at the center of our world because it is the individual who suffers and, at the same time, who envisions a world without suffering, so that it can be created. And in this act every human is an artist.
At the Monmouth University Library

Seminar Rooms 102 & 104

April 5-19, 2012

Open to public & docent tours available.
Consult library website for times https://library.monmouth.edu/
