Center for the Arts

Gallery Exhibitions

Eileen Sackman: The Elephant in the Room

The Elephant in the Room calls attention to threatened and endangered animals, encapsulating their expressive nature through emotional representation. By addressing the “elephant in the room” these wood fired portrait-esque pieces bring awareness to species that have been brought to the brink of extinction due to human interference and have been forever impacted by these interactions.

Illustrated Lecture: Thurs., Feb. 2 from 6 - 7 pm. Reception follows in the Ice House Gallery from 7 - 9 pm

Gallery Exhibitions

Les Paul Thru the Lens

“Les Paul: Thru the Lens” explores the life of pioneering musician and innovator Les Paul. Through a series of 24 photographs, visitors will see a chronicle of Paul’s life, career, and achievements: his early performances as Red Hot Red, his marriage to and work with Mary Ford, his explorations in the recording studio and with the electric guitar, and of course his long and influential performing career.

Performing Arts Series

Special Event

The American Soldier

MATINEE SHOW ADDED! Douglas Taurel (“Nurse Jackie,” “Blue Bloods”) is the creator and star of the Off-Broadway Award-nominated solo play, “The American Soldier,” based on true events and documentary letters written by veterans and their family members from the American Revolution through current-day Afghanistan. It honors the experiences of veterans and their families and explores the internal struggles they face when returning home from combat. “The American Soldier” has been nominated for the Amnesty International Award for theatre excellence , received 4 stars internationally, and has been featured in The Huffington Post, The Washington Post and Time Out.

Performing Arts Series

Special Event

The American Soldier

Douglas Taurel (“Nurse Jackie,” “Blue Bloods”) is the creator and star of the Off-Broadway Award-nominated solo play, “The American Soldier,” based on true events and documentary letters written by veterans and their family members from the American Revolution through current-day Afghanistan. It honors the experiences of veterans and their families and explores the internal struggles they face when returning home from combat. “The American Soldier” has been nominated for the Amnesty International Award for theatre excellence , received 4 stars internationally, and has been featured in The Huffington Post, The Washington Post and Time Out.

The Metropolitan Opera: Live in HD

Falstaff

Verdi’s Shakespearean comedy features a brilliant ensemble cast in Robert Carsen’s celebrated staging. Baritone Michael Volle sings his first Verdi role at the Met as the caddish knight Falstaff, gleefully tormented by a trio of clever women who deliver his comeuppance. Reuniting after their acclaimed performances in the production’s 2019 run are soprano Ailyn Pérez as Alice Ford, soprano Jennifer Johnson Cano as Meg Page, and mezzo-soprano Marie-Nicole Lemieux as Mistress Quickly. Soprano Hera Hyesang Park and tenor Bogdan Volkov are the young couple Nannetta and Fenton, and Daniele Rustioni conducts.

Tuesday Night Record Club

The Kinks’ Are the Village Green Preservation Society

It’s just like book club but with albums! With new advances in technology, the way we consume music through our devices, apps and on demand streaming services like Pandora, Spotify and iTunes is making the idea of the “album” as an art form extinct. Get together with other music enthusiasts on Tuesday nights to discuss some of the greatest records of all-time! Listen to the album beforehand and then come prepared to discuss. This event will feature The Kinks’ Are the Village Green Preservation Society.

ArtNOW: Performance, Art, and Technology

Do You Know Where Your Art Comes From? by Victoria Reis

rator Victoria Reis, Founder & Artistic Director of Transformer Arts Organization, will highlight innovative contemporary platforms artists and arts organizations have initiated nationally to develop, create, and present art. Showcasing a range of visual art practices, including performative, experiential, social, and pedagogical, Do You Know Where Your Art Comes From? investigates current and future models of art organizing.

Tuesday Night Book Club

T. S. Eliot’s The Waste Land

Join us for Tuesday Night Book Club! Hosted by Monmouth University’s Ken Womack, each month we’ll explore a different novel. All you have to do is Zoom in and join the discussion! This month’s novel is T. S. Eliot’s The Waste Land

Adult Education Series

Roots of Rock ’n’ Roll, Part IV

This three-session virtual course taught by Kit O’Toole explores the question – just what is rock?
Rock’s roots extend far beyond America, with sounds from various countries encompassing the building blocks of the genre. This course provides an overview of some of the cultures and traditions that contributed to the melting pot that is rock music. Africa, Cuba, Italy, and Mexico are among the places visited on this three-week musical tour. In addition to multimedia presentations, class discussion and activities will enable attendees to identify elements of these cultures in rock and roll.

Class Schedule: Thursdays - April 13, April 20 & April 27 | 7:30 - 9:00 PM

Performing Arts Series

Tell Pharaoh

Produced by DUNBAR REPERTORY COMPANY, Tell Pharaoh is a concert drama about Harlem, our nation’s foremost Black community, from the time of slavery all the way through the 21st century. Written by playwright Loften Mitchell who was part of a groundswell of writers that contributed to the Black American theatre movement in the 1960s, the play is a masterfully crafted and poetic recitation of a history that began long before the slave trade.

National Theatre: Broadcast in HD

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.

Performing Arts Series

Arlo Guthrie – What’s Left Of Me – A Conversation With Bob Santelli

Arlo Guthrie is returning to the stage for a series of appearances after his retirement from musical performances. As the oldest son of Woody Guthrie and Marjorie Guthrie, Arlo made his first appearance onstage at age 13 and built a renowned career touring North American for six decades. In October 2020, Guthrie announced his retirement from the road amid the onslaught of the Coronavirus pandemic. Two years later, he’s had enough of retirement and launched a new company Gut3 Productions with his wife Marti Ladd to present the new “In Conversation with Arlo Guthrie” four-part series. Ladd is the Director of Set Design for the series and has created a beautifully intimate setting with a backdrop of Arlo’s heroes and mentors hanging within a living room environment.

The Metropolitan Opera: Live in HD

Champion

Six-time Grammy Award–winning composer Terence Blanchard brings his first opera to the Met after his Fire Shut Up in My Bones made history in the 2021–22 season. Bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green is the young boxer Emile Griffith, who rises from obscurity to become a world champion, and bass-baritone Eric Owens portrays Griffith’s older self, haunted by the ghosts of his past. Soprano Latonia Moore is Emelda Griffith, the boxer’s estranged mother, and mezzo- soprano Stephanie Blythe is the bar owner Kathy Hagan. Yannick Nézet-Séguin returns to the podium to conduct Blanchard’s second Met premiere. Director James Robinson, whose productions of Fire Shut Up in My Bones and Porgy and Bess brought down the house, oversees the staging. Camille A. Brown, whose choreography electrified audiences in Fire and Porgy, also returns.

Tuesday Night Record Club

Yes, Close to the Edge

It’s just like book club but with albums! With new advances in technology, the way we consume music through our devices, apps and on demand streaming services like Pandora, Spotify and iTunes is making the idea of the “album” as an art form extinct. Get together with other music enthusiasts on Tuesday nights to discuss some of the greatest records of all-time! Listen to the album beforehand and then come prepared to discuss. This event will feature Yes, Close to the Edge.

Adult Education Series

The Enduring Mystery of King Tut

The tomb of Tutankhamun was arguably the most famous archaeological find of the 20th century. How was the tomb discovered? Who were the scholars responsible for the find and, who was the Boy King and why did his tomb survive largely intact for thousands of years? This well-illustrated presentation by RICH VEIT, will seek to answer those questions as we celebrate the centennial of this amazing discovery.

Class Schedule: Thursday, May 4 | 7:30 - 9:00 PM

Performing Arts Series

An Evening with Cowboy Junkies

In 1988, Cowboy Junkies proved that there was an audience waiting for something quiet, beautiful and reflective. The Trinity Session was like a whisper that cut through the noise — and it was compelling. It stood out in the midst of the flash and bombast that came to define the late 80’s. The now classic recording combined folk, blues and rock in a way that had never been heard before and went on to sell more than a million copies.

Tuesday Night Book Club

Anthony Doerr’s Cloud Cuckoo Land

Join us for Tuesday Night Book Club! Hosted by Monmouth University’s Ken Womack, each month we’ll explore a different novel. All you have to do is Zoom in and join the discussion! This month’s novel is Anthony Doerr’s Cloud Cuckoo Land.

Performing Arts Series

Special Event

The Les Paul Experience

A musical tribute celebrating the life & career of the legendary jazz musician, inventor & musical pioneer known as the “father of the electric guitar,” Les Paul. This evening of Jersey Jams will feature an all-Star Band including Layonne Holmes, Tony Perruso, John Pittas, Kevin Bregande, Muddy Shews, Tommy Labella and Jillian Rhys McCoy led by musical director and performer, BOBBY BANDIERA. The evening will feature some of New Jersey’s greatest performers including: SONNY KENN, ANTHONY KRIZAN of the Spin Doctors, REAGAN RICHARDS of Williams Honor, BILLY HECTOR, LENNY KAYE of the Patti Smith Band and SPECIAL GUESTS (to be announced).           

The Metropolitan Opera: Live in HD

Der Rosenkavalier

A stellar trio assembles to take on the lead roles of Strauss’s comedy, with soprano Lise Davidsen in her Met role debut as the Marschallin, opposite Mezzo-soprano Samantha Hankey in her Met role debut as Octavian, and soprano Erin Morley as Sophie. Bass Günther Groissböck returns as Baron Ochs, and Markus Brück is Sophie’s father, Faninal. Maestro Simone Young takes the podium to oversee Robert Carsen’s fin-de-siècle staging.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, this opera has been rescheduled from it's original date of April 15 to May 13. All previously sold tickets will be honored for this screening.

The Metropolitan Opera: Live in HD

Don Giovanni

Tony Award–winning director Ivo van Hove makes his Met debut with a new staging of Mozart’s tragicomedy Don Giovanni. The tale of deceit and damnation is set in an abstract architectural landscape that explores the dark corners of the story and its characters. Nathalie Stutzmann makes her Met debut conducting a star-studded cast led by baritone Peter Mattei as a magnetic Don Giovanni, alongside the Leporello of bass-baritone Adam Plachetka. Sopranos Federica Lombardi, Ana María Martínez, and Ying Fang are Giovanni’s conquests—Donna Anna, Donna Elvira, and Zerlina—and tenor Ben Bliss sings Don Ottavio.