Center for the Arts

Children's Theatre

Pete the Cat

When Pete the Cat gets caught rocking out after bedtime, the cat-catcher sends him to live with the Biddle family to learn his manners – and boy are they square! But for the groovy blue cat, life is an adventure no matter where you wind up, so the minute Pete walks in the door, he gets the whole family rocking. The whole family, that is, except for young Jimmy Biddle, the most organized second grader on planet earth. As the end of second grade approaches, Jimmy has a lot of tests, and the last thing he needs is some groovy cat in his life, changing his family and turning everything upside down. But when Jimmy draws a blank in art class during the last week of school, it turns out Pete is the perfect friend to help him out. Together, they set out on a mission to help Jimmy conquer second grade art, and along the way, they both learn a little something new about inspiration. Join Jimmy and Pete on an adventure of friendship, all the way to Paris and back in a VW Bus.

Grammy Museum Affiliation

Tuesday Night Record Club

David Bowie’s The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars

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… there will be special guest moderators and panelists at each event! This event will feature David Bowie’s The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.

Performing Arts Series

Life, Death, Life Again: Children Sentenced to Die in Prison

Life, Death, Life Again: Children Sentenced to Die in Prison is a verbatim theater piece by Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg, that shares the stories of four people sentenced to die in prison for violent crimes committed as children, and a victim’s grandson who chose to lead with forgiveness. Each performance will be followed by a facilitated discussion on the themes discussed in the play – radical forgiveness and how we can create a more humane criminal justice system.

Department of Music & Theatre Arts Productions

Winter Dance Showcase: Magic of The Season

Winter brings us the joy and the wonder of the holiday season. Join us to celebrate the power of young artists’ imagination and their faculty’s interpretation of winter rhythms of the magical music of the season. Let the magic of dance be the part of your holidays! The concert is created by our talented faculty, staff and students.

Department of Music & Theatre Arts Productions

Wilson Hall Holiday Concert

Please note that advance tickets to this event are SOLD OUT! A limited amount of STANDING ROOM only tickets will be available the evening of the event by CASH ONLY. MU Students can also attend in the STANDING ROOM Section for free with their ID. A cavalcade of Holiday favorites featuring the Monmouth University Chamber Orchestra, The Jazz Hawks, The Concert Choir, the Chamber Choir, soloists, and a special appearance by the Colts Neck Reformed Church Exultation Ringers, all in the magisterial setting of Wilson Hall.

Performing Arts Series

Orchestra of St Peter

This event is SOLD OUT! Please call the box office at 732.263.6889 to be put on the waiting list. An annual holiday tradition, the ever lovable and charismatic Father Alphonse Stevenson returns to conduct the Orchestra of St. Peter by the Sea for their 28th concert of carols and seasonal favorites. There’s simply no better way to start the holiday season than to spend a special evening with Father Alphonse, his 42-piece orchestra and distinguished vocalists as he provides humorous and personal anecdotes amidst a program of holiday classics and carols.

This event is sold out!

Performing Arts Series

Wynonna & The Big Noise

Respected by the millions of fans who are drawn to her music and undeniable talent, Wynonna’s rich and commanding voice has sold over 30-million albums worldwide spanning her remarkable 34-year career. As one-half of the legendary mother/daughter duo “The Judds,” Wynonna was once dubbed by Rolling Stone as “the greatest female country singer since Patsy Cline.” This iconic performer has received over 60 industry awards, with countless charting singles, including 20 No.1 hits such as “Mama He’s Crazy,” “Why Not me,” and “Grandpa, (Tell Me ‘Bout The Good Ole Days).”

The Metropolitan Opera: Live in HD

Marnie (Encore)

Nico Muhly’s Marnie, based on Winston Graham’s novel, which in turn inspired Alfred Hitchcock’s suspenseful thriller, has its U.S. premiere at the Met this season. Isabel Leonard stars in the title role opposite Christopher Maltman as her blackmailing husband Mark Rutland, Iestyn Davies as his brother Terry, Janis Kelly as Mrs. Rutland, and acclaimed mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves as Marnie’s mother. Robert Spano makes his company debut conducting.

Grammy Museum Affiliation

Words & Music

Words & Music: Glen Burtnik

With “Words & Music,” Monmouth University’s Grammy Affiliate program offers an intimate conversation with the musician and writers of our day. Hosted by Dean Kenneth Womack, the series will be convened at the University’s LakeHouse Studios space and attendees will enjoy the opportunity to interact with some of the most exciting and vibrant artists of our times. Glen Burtnik is a multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter whose work includes hit singles for the likes of Don Henley and Patty Smyth. During his storied career, he has played with such bands as Styx, The Orchestra, and, most recently, The Weeklings.

Gallery Exhibitions

Special Event

“The Other Vincent” Documentary Film Premiere and Closing Reception

Please join us for the closing reception of Vincent DiMattio/50 a retrospective of work by Vincent DiMattio celebrating his 50 years as a professor in Monmouth University’s Department of Art & Design at 6:30 PM in the Pollak, DiMattio & Ice House Galleries. After the reception, there will be the premiere of a documentary film The Other Vincent at 7:30 PM in Pollak Theatre about Vincent DiMattio’s 50 year journey at Monmouth University as an artist and educator.

The Metropolitan Opera: Live in HD

La Traviata (Giuseppe Verdi)

Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts Verdi’s timeless tragedy La Traviata. Directed by Michael Mayer, this new production features a dazzling 18th-century setting that changes with the seasons. Diana Damrau is the doomed heroine Violetta, opposite Juan Diego Flórez as her lover, Alfredo, and Quinn Kelsey as Alfredo’s protective father, Giorgio Germont.

The Bolshoi Ballet

Don Quixote

Inspired by heroic stories of brave knights, with his faithful servant Sancho Panza at his side, Don Quixote sets out on an adventure to meet his ideal woman, Dulcinea. With panache and sparkling technique, principal dancers Ekaterina Krysanova and Semyon Chudin lead the spectacular cast of toreadors, flamenco dancers, gypsies, and dryads in the Bolshoi’s critically-acclaimed staging of this exalted performance. A quintessential Bolshoi event.

The Metropolitan Opera: Live in HD

La Traviata (Encore)

Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts Verdi’s timeless tragedy La Traviata. Directed by Michael Mayer, this new production features a dazzling 18th-century setting that changes with the seasons. Diana Damrau is the doomed heroine Violetta, opposite Juan Diego Flórez as her lover, Alfredo, and Quinn Kelsey as Alfredo’s protective father, Giorgio Germont.

The Metropolitan Opera: Live in HD

Adriana Lecouvreur (Francesco Cilea)

For the first time at the Met, Anna Netrebko sings the title role of Adriana Lecouvreur, the great 18th-century actress in love with the military hero Maurizio, sung by Piotr Beczała. Gianandrea Noseda conducts Cilea’s tragedy, directed by Sir David McVicar, with the action partially set in a working replica of a Baroque theater. The cast also features Anita Rachvelishvili as the Princess of Bouillon, Adriana’s rival for Maurizio’s affections; Ambrogio Maestri as Michonnet, Adriana’s faithful friend; and Carlo Bosi as the duplicitous Abbé.

Springsteen on Broadway

Gallery Exhibitions

BEYOND #METOO

As a universal language the arts are a very effective tool for addressing social issues. The #metoo movement has brought to the surface long ignored injustices perpetrated mostly against women for generations that are finally screaming to be remedied. This juried exhibition will feature works that eloquently depicts remedies, that teach us how to honor women and others who have been maligned, how to implement change within our culture, to alter perceptions and ultimately excise this malady for future generations.

Gallery Exhibitions

Mike Quon

Born into the world of art and design, Mike Quon learned the ropes early on from his father who was an art director and an animator and promotional artist at Disney working on classics like Dumbo and Fantasia. After graduating from UCLA School of the Arts, Mike launched his own career as an art director at J. Walter Thompson and Young and Rubicam before establishing his award-winning design office in New York City 30 years ago. Since then, Mike’s bold and bright promotional illustrations for advertising and editorial campaigns, his graphic design collateral and packaging, and his hand-crafted logos have been seen around the world, helping to promote events like the Summer Olympics and build lasting brand identities for consumer products, businesses and nonprofits.

World Cinema Series

Good bye Lenin!

In 1990, to protect his fragile mother from a fatal shock after a long coma, a young man must keep her from learning that her beloved nation of East Germany as she knew it has disappeared.

National Theatre: Broadcast in HD

The Madness of George III

Multi-award-winning drama The Madness of George III will be broadcast live to cinemas, in National Theatre Live’s first ever broadcast from Nottingham Playhouse.

Written by one of Britain’s best-loved playwrights Alan Bennett (The History Boys, The Lady in the Van), this epic play was also adapted into a BAFTA Award-winning film following its premiere on stage in 1991.

The cast of this new production includes Olivier Award-winners Mark Gatiss (Sherlock, Wolf Hall, NT Live Coriolanus) in the title role, and Adrian Scarborough (Gavin and Stacey, Upstairs Downstairs, After the Dance).
It’s 1786 and King George III is the most powerful man in the world. But his behaviour is becoming increasingly erratic as he succumbs to fits of lunacy. With the King’s mind unravelling at a dramatic pace, ambitious politicians and the scheming Prince of Wales threaten to undermine the power of the Crown, and expose the fine line between a King and a man.

The Metropolitan Opera: Live in HD

Adriana Lecouvreur (Encore)

For the first time at the Met, Anna Netrebko sings the title role of Adriana Lecouvreur, the great 18th-century actress in love with the military hero Maurizio, sung by Piotr Beczała. Gianandrea Noseda conducts Cilea’s tragedy, directed by Sir David McVicar, with the action partially set in a working replica of a Baroque theater. The cast also features Anita Rachvelishvili as the Princess of Bouillon, Adriana’s rival for Maurizio’s affections; Ambrogio Maestri as Michonnet, Adriana’s faithful friend; and Carlo Bosi as the duplicitous Abbé.