January 15, 2025

By Stuart Mitchner

Blowing through the buttons of our coats / Blowing through the letters that we wrote / Idiot wind / Blowing through the dust upon our shelves….” The next lines, and the last, of Bob Dylan’s song are “We’re idiots, babe / It’s a wonder we can even feed ourselves.”

If the Dylan of Rough and Rowdy Ways truly contains multitudes, “we’re idiots” means everybody. In his 2004 memoir, Chronicles: Volume One, Dylan claims that his 1975 album Blood On The Tracks was “based on Chekhov short stories,” a reference that resonates in the Chekhovian sensibility behind that line. It’s said that Dylan’s revised the lyric over the years, but however you read it, the wording covers a lot of beautiful and unbeautiful universal ground, not just the relationship between the singer and his wife.

Meanwhile the idiot writing this column has been busy for days on an article about the new film A Complete Unknown. Besides being fixated on New York in January 1961 when the city was buried in snow and you could ski on lower Fifth Avenue, I’ve been staring over my shoulder at the devastation the idiot winds of Santa Ana have inflicted on my wife’s Pacific Palisades homeland. more

GUEST FLUTIST: Patrick Williams, associate principal flutist of The Philadelphia Orchestra, will perform with the Youth Orchestra of Central Jersey on January 19 at Kendall Hall, The College of New Jersey, Ewing.

The Youth Orchestra of Central Jersey (YOCJ) will hold its Winter Large Ensemble Concert on Sunday, January 19 at 8 p.m. with YOCJ’s Symphonic Orchestra featuring soloist Patrick Williams, associate principal flutist of The Philadelphia Orchestra, at Kendall Hall, the College of New Jersey, Ewing.

The YOCJ’s Saxophone Choir will also perform at that concert. Earlier in the day, at 3 p.m., the Wind Symphony, Sinfonietta String Orchestra, and Pro Arte Orchestra will play. more

David Lang
(Photo by Peter Serling)

On Tuesday, February 4 at 7:30 p.m., The Crossing, a three-time Grammy Award-winning chamber choir, performs David Lang’s poor hymnal at Richardson Auditorium. The concert is presented by McCarter Theatre.

In poor hymnal, Lang wonders “if the hymns of a community that did not want to forget our responsibilities to each other, and that wanted to make our responsibilities to each other the central tenet of our coming together, might be different from the hymns that we are singing now.”

Premiered in December 2023 in Philadelphia, the concert-length work immediately entered The Crossing’s canon. Lang is a winner of the Pulitzer, Grammy, Bessie, and Obie awards, and an Academy Award nominee. A co-founder of the Bang on a Can collective, his work has been performed at concert halls and theaters around the world, including numerous times at Lincoln Center.

Tickets are $43-$68. Visit Mccarter.org.

With his friend violinist Leila Josefowicz by his side, Princeton Symphony Orchestra Music Director Rossen Milanov was surprised by a birthday cake rolled on stage at the start of his 60th birthday concert at Richardson Auditorium on Saturday, January 11. Before starting the program of music by Stravinsky and Tchaikovsky, the orchestra and Josefowicz also performed “Happy Birthday” with the audience joining in.

ART MAKING AT ACP: The Arts Council of Princeton will honor Martin Luther King Jr. Day with an art-making workshop led by artist Tamara Torres on Monday, January 20 from 1 to 3 p.m. The event is free and open to all ages.

The Arts Council of Princeton (ACP) will honor Martin Luther King Jr. Day with an art-making workshop, food drive, and community gathering, free and open to all ages.

In this workshop, artist Tamara Torres will lead participants to explore color’s varying effects on emotions and, together, discuss ways to express feelings through abstract art. Participants will spend 10 minutes to create freely on a sheet of paper, allowing themselves to express their feelings without the constraints of perfection, rules, or judgment. Afterward, they’ll be challenged to tear up their paper and use the pieces to create a new collage that represents a different perspective, transforming it into something new. This exercise encourages conversations about changing perspectives and looking at things in a fresh way.  more

“ON A SHORT LEASH”: This acrylic painting is featured in “Charles David Viera: Selected Works 2006-2025,” on view January 24 to March 30 at the Trenton City Museum at Ellarslie. An opening reception is on January 25 from 4 to 6 p.m.

The Trenton City Museum at the Ellarslie will present “Charles David Viera: Selected Works 2006-2025,” on view January 24 to March 30. The exhibition will feature works selected by Joan Perkes and Janis Purcell from Viera’s paintings and drawings created from 2006 to the present. The public is invited to an opening reception on Saturday, January 25 from 4 to 6 p.m.

The artworks chosen include a variety of paintings and pastel drawings from this versatile artist,  some of which have never been exhibited locally before and several acquired from personal collections.  more

“YOUTH ART EXHIBITION” Anagha Kannurpatti of Council Rock High School North in Newtown, Pa., took First Place in the Works on Paper category for “Illumination” in last year’s student exhibition at the Phillips’ Mill Community Association.

Twelve years after its debut, the “Youth Art Exhibition” at Phillips’ Mill Community Association continues to showcase the artwork of area high school students. It will be on view at the historic mill on weekends January 26 through February 16, from 12 to 4 p.m. The show can also be viewed online at www.phillipsmill.org/art/youth-art-exhibition.

Art teachers at 24 area high schools curate the artwork, submitting paintings, works on paper, photography, digital art, and 3-dimensional work. The schools participating this year are Central Bucks High School East, Central Bucks High School West, Central Bucks High School South, Council Rock High School North, Council Rock High School South, Ewing High School, George School, Hillsborough High School, Holy Ghost Preparatory School, Hopewell Valley Central High School, Hunterdon Central Regional High School, Neshaminy High School, New Hope-Solebury High School, Notre Dame High School, Pennsbury High School, Princeton Day School, Solebury School, Stuart Country Day School, The Hun School, The Pennington School, Upper Dublin High School, West Windsor-Plainsboro North, West Windsor-Plainsboro South, and Villa Victoria. more

This oil painting by Mike Mann is featured in “Trio,” his joint exhibition with Judith Marchand and David Horowitz, on view through March 3 at the Green Building Center, 67 Bridge Street, Lambertville.

January 8, 2025

By Stuart Mitchner

I was crazy about The Great Gatsby, Old Gatsby. Old sport. That killed me.

—from The Catcher in the Rye

I woke up from a nap five minutes before midnight, turned on the TV, and there was Times Square packed with Happy 2025-top-hatted, rainwear-cloaked revelers under a delirium of color that swarmed into futuristic formations every time I blinked my eyes. At first the signs were meaningless, nameless, wordless, New Year’s Eve on Mars, like a vision of the place I loved as a 14-year-old seen through the eyes of old Rip Van Winkle emerging from a showing of A Star Is Born on a rainy night in 1954. What does it mean, all this dazzling stuff? Where’s a familiar face? Where’s Judy Garland? Where’s any legible meaningful remnant of lost New York? Then, wonder of wonders, a floodlit sign for The Great Gatsby comes into view on the first day of the novel’s 100th year, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s masterpiece is in lights, and Broadway makes 20th-century sense again….

Now it’s as if Times Square is being submerged in Francis Cugat’s hallucinatory cover art for the first edition of Gatsby, that deep all-consuming blueness descending on the rainy chaos of celebration, two narrow witchy eyes with golden neon pupils peering above an emerald teardrop and the red lips of a siren, luring us between the covers to one of Gatsby’s epic parties where “men and girls” are coming and going “like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars” while “the cars from New York are parked five deep in the drive, and already the halls and salons and verandas are gaudy with primary colors and hair bobbed in strange new ways, and shawls beyond the dreams of Castile.”  more

TRIPLE THREAT: Actress, singer, and dancer Sutton Foster comes to the State Theatre New Jersey on January 31. The Tony Award-winning artist will perform from her extensive Broadway catalog. (Photo by Jenny Anderson)

State Theatre New Jersey presents “An Evening with Sutton Foster” on Friday, January 31 at 8 p.m. Foster will perform songs from her Broadway hits including The Music Man, Anything Goes, and Sweeney Todd. Tickets range from $39-$69.

Foster most recently starred in the Broadway revival of Once Upon a Mattress, reprising the role after leading the New York City Center Encores! adaptation. Prior, Foster starred as Mrs. Lovett in the Broadway revival of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street opposite Aaron Tveit.

Foster starred as Marian Paroo in the 2022 Broadway Revival of The Music Man, earning her seventh Tony Award nomination and the 2022 Drama League Distinguished Performance Award. more

BACK IN TOWN: Laurie Berkner brings her band to her hometown of Princeton for a special “Greatest Hits” concert on Saturday, March 1 at McCarter Theatre.

The Laurie Berkner Band will return to Berkner’s hometown with a “Greatest Hits” concert for families at 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 1 at McCarter Theatre. Prior to the event, Berkner will give a special solo, sensory-friendly, “relaxed performance” at 11 a.m., joined by dancer Michelle Esch.

“I can’t wait to come back to the McCarter Theatre,” said Berkner. “It’s such a thrill to have made playing at my neighborhood theater from childhood into a yearly tradition. And I’m so grateful that my partnership with the theater allows me to present both a sensory-friendly show (for those who prefer less stimulation) and a full-band show. Both experiences are uniquely special and being able to share them with my fans brings me so much joy.”

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CREEPY AND KOOKY: “The Addams Family” musical brings Gomez, Morticia, and the rest of the clan to State Theatre New Jersey January 24-26. (Pamela Raith Photography)

State Theatre New Jersey presents the musical comedy The Addams Family for four performances on Friday, January 24 at 8 p.m.; Saturday, January 25 at 2 and 8 p.m.; and Sunday, January 26 at 2 p.m.

Following the show on January 24, there is a cast party with food, music, and giveaways in the STNJ Studio. Tickets for the cast party are $10. Show tickets range from $40-$105. more

“MONIZA”: This painting by Mari Keeler Cornwell is featured in “Unwavering Grace,” on view January 18 through February 15 in the Considine Gallery at Stuart Country Day School of the Sacred Heart. An opening reception is on January 18 from 2:30 to 4 p.m.

Stuart Country Day School of the Sacred Heart, the all-girls independent day school for PS-12 at 1200 Stuart Road, has announced its upcoming winter gallery exhibition, “Unwavering Grace,” featuring the work of artist and Stuart alumna Mari Keeler Cornwell ’96. The exhibit will showcase Cornwell’s evocative acrylic paintings that celebrate the strength, resilience, and unique stories of women from diverse backgrounds.

“Mari’s show exemplifies Stuart’s commitment to fostering creativity and empowering voices through art,” said Andres Duque, gallery director. “Her work not only highlights her artistic mastery, but also reflects the powerful influence of the women who have inspired her life and career.”

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Artworks Trenton has announced an upcoming exhibition, “Clifford Ward: I’ll Make Me a World, prologue.” It will run February 1 through April 12, with an opening reception on February 1 from 6 to 9 p.m., offering visitors a unique opportunity to experience Ward’s artwork.

The exhibition brings together selected works from multiple series of works by Ward, celebrating the intersection of his artistic journey with the imaginative and forward-looking spirit of Afrofuturism. Curated by Addison Vincent, artistic director of Artworks Trenton, this exhibition represents a unique collaboration between Artworks Trenton and Grounds For Sculpture (GFS), located in Hamilton. The Artworks Trenton exhibition is a first look at select pieces to be featured in GFS’ upcoming exhibition, “Clifford Ward: I’ll Make Me a World.” The exhibition at GFS is guest curated by Noah Smalls and will be on view in its Museum Building from May 18 to January 11, 2026. Expanding on the Artworks Trenton exhibition, GFS will display Ward’s work in a larger context, revealing the complete narrative and the interconnectedness of his greater oeuvre. more

The Princeton Public Library is is seeking submissions of art of all types for “Our Natural World in 8×8: An Art and Poetry Exhibition.”

Artwork of any type, inspired by an original poem or one that is in the public domain, may be submitted through March 1. Entries should be 8-by-8 inches in dimension or be able to stand on an 8-by-8-inch surface.

Selected works from three age categories, adults included, will be displayed in the Main Lobby April 1-21 to coincide with the Princeton Environmental Film Festival and Earth Day.

All types of art are welcome including painting, drawing, sketching, sculpture, mosaic, and collage. The use of recycled or repurposed, environmentally friendly materials is strongly recommended.
For additional details and an entry form, visit princetonlibrary.org/PEFF.

“DUAL NATURE”: Beatrice Bork’s “Winter Nap” and Joe Kazimierczyk’s “Whispering Sky” will be on view January 19 to February 28 at the Tulpehaking Nature Center in Hamilton. An opening reception is on January 26 from 2:30 to 4 p.m.

Tulpehaking Nature Center at Abbott Marshlands invites art enthusiasts and nature lovers alike to “Dual Nature,” an art exhibition that explores nature from two distinct perspectives. Featuring the work of animal artist Beatrice Bork and landscape artist Joe Kazimierczyk, “Dual Nature” will be on view January 19 through February 28.

In “Dual Nature,” both artists reveal their unique approaches to capturing the natural world, bringing together Bork’s watercolor wildlife portraits and Kazimierczyk’s oil landscapes. Bork, known for her expertise in capturing the spirit and beauty of animals, relies on firsthand observation in the field to inspire her works, creating narratives that invite viewers into the intimate lives of her subjects. Her meticulous watercolors highlight the essence of the animals she observes, blending detailed renderings with expressive backgrounds that evoke a sense of the spiritual and poetic, seamlessly merging precision with artistic sensitivity.  more

January 1, 2025

By Stuart Mitchner

I am forced to the appalling conclusion that I would have never become a writer but for Joan’s death…

—William S. Burroughs

A book of great beauty and maniacally exquisite insight with a wild and deadly humor

—Norman Mailer on The Naked Lunch

Joan Adams Vollmer. (Wikipedia)

Dreaming of another fantastical New Year’s Eve party like the Harpo Marx/Charlie Parker/Times Square centenary blast I arranged for 1911/2011, I checked celebrity births for 1924 on the Notable Names Database (NNDB: “Tracking the Entire World”), and found a star-studded cast headed by Marlon Brando, Lauren Bacall, and James Baldwin, with supporting players like presidents George H.W. Bush and Jimmy Carter sharing a table next to one occupied by country singers Chet Akins and Slim Whitman. For comic relief, you’ve got Brando’s buddy for life Wally Cox (Mr. Peepers), Carroll O’Connor’s Archie Bunker (All in  the Family), Dr. Strangelove’s Terry Southern, and Twilight Zone’s Rod Serling, not to mention Bill Dana (“My name José Jiménez”) and Don Knotts (“Are you nervous?”) from the Steve Allen Show, plus Norm Alden, the coach who drowned in a bowl of chicken noodle soup on Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman.

Okay, let’s set this year’s party at Birdland just up Broadway from the Royal Roost, site of the 2011 celebration. Among jazz stars born in ‘24, there’s alto saxophonist Paul Desmond (runner up to Charlie Parker in the 1954 Downbeat poll), trombonist J.J. Johnson, pianist Bud Powell, drummer Max Roach, trumpeter and arranger Shorty Rogers, and tenor man Sonny Stitt, plus songs by Dinah Washington, the Divine Sarah Vaughan, and Doris Day, who got her start singing with Les Brown’s Band of Renown. At the ringside table with Brando and Cox are  Marlon’s co-stars Katy Jurado (One-Eyed Jacks) and Eva Marie Saint (On the Waterfront). Fresh from Paris and Rome, respectively, Charles Aznavour (Shoot the Piano Player) and Marcello Mastroianni (La Dolce Vita) are being interviewed by Truman (In Cold Blood) Capote, who is covering the Farewell ‘54 celebration for The New Yorker.  more

By Nancy Plum

New Jersey Symphony closed out the first half of its 2024-25 Princeton series the week before Christmas with an enduring holiday favorite. George Frideric Handel’s oratorio Messiah is always a crowd-pleaser at this time of year, and the Symphony’s performance this season was an especially unique musical experience. Preparing a work of this scope every year under a different conductor keeps the Symphony players on their toes, with each director reimagining the music to their own taste and scholarly background. Guest conductor Jeannette Sorrell, who led a Friday night presentation in Richardson Auditorium (the concert was repeated the following night) brought Baroque-era expertise, creative musical thinking and her own harpsichord skills to lead the Symphony musicians, four vocal soloists and chorus in a version which captured the audience’s attention. 

With close to 50 choruses, arias, and duets and a complete run time of three hours, Messiah has long been subject to excised numbers and abbreviated adaptations for the sake of audience appeal. Handel’s timeless work is a musical arc over three parts, telling the Christmas story and the narrative of the crucifixion and resurrection, together with affirmation of redemption. When conductors adjust the score, the arc and Handel’s overall message cannot help but be affected. Sorrell made most cuts in the second and third parts, while retaining arias which encapsulated the liturgical texts and showcasing popular choruses.  more

NAZI-ERA DISCOVERY: This photo from the New York Theatre Workshop’s production of “Here There Are Blueberries” shows one of several haunting moments from the play, which is coming to McCarter Theatre January 24-February 9. (Photography by Matthew Murphy)

The national tour of the play Here There Are Blueberries, a co-production with La Jolla Playhouse, comes to McCarter Theatre January 24-February 9. A Pulitzer Prize finalist for 2024, the play is by Moises Kaufman and Amanda Gronich.

The play is focused on a mysterious album featuring Nazi-era photographs that arrive at the desk of a U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum archivist in 2007. As curators unraveled the shocking truth behind the images, the album soon made headlines and set off a debate that reverberated far beyond the museum walls. more

VIRTUOSIC FIDDLING: Violinist and fiddler Mari Black comes to Christ Congregation Church on January 17 at 8 p.m. (Photo by Glenn Black)

On Friday, January 17 at 8 p.m., the Princeton Folk Music Society presents an evening of virtuosic violin music with multistyle violinist and champion fiddler Mari Black. The concert is at Christ Congregation Church, 50 Walnut Lane.

Black is known as a master of diverse musical styles and winner of several major international competitions, playing global dance music: Celtic, American, and Canadian fiddling; jazz, tango, and klezmer tunes; original works; and more. A guitarist and a bass player round out Black’s trio. more

Judy Torres

State Theatre New Jersey and Fever Records present “Freestyle Flashback 2025,” featuring freestyle artists from the ’80s and’90s, on Saturday, January 18 at 8 p.m. Tickets range from $39-$99.

This concert event features dance-pop and freestyle artists including  TKA (“Maria,” “Come Baby Come”), George LaMond (“Bad of the Heart, “Look Into My Eyes”) Judy Torres (“No Reason To Cry,” “Come Into My Arms”), Noel (“Silent Morning”), Cynthia (“Change On Me,” “Dreamboy Dreamgirl”), Betty D Of Sweet Sensation (“Hooked On You,” “Love Child”), Lisette Melendez (“Together Forever,” “A Day in My Life”), Soave (“Crying Over You”), C-Bank (“One More Shot,” “I Won’t Stop Loving You”), and Joe Zangie (“When I Want You Back”).

Freestyle Flashback is hosted by Sal Abbatiello from Fever Records and Speedy with music by DJ Whiteboy KYS.

State Theatre New Jersey is at 15 Livingston Avenue in New Brunswick. For tickets, more information, or group discounts, call at 732-246-SHOW (7469) or visit online STNJ.org.

With performances of The Nutcracker finished for the season, American Repertory Ballet will next focus on Spirit of the Highlands, a ballet by artistic director Ethan Stiefel set for performances at New Brunswick Performing Arts Center March 7-9.

Based on the classic La Sylphide, the ballet reimagines the tale of a Scotsman’s romantic pursuit of a mystical forest spirit. According to information from the company, “Steifel traces his mother’s family roots back to the Scottish Highland Clan Munro, and will infuse his own authentic Scottish heritage into the choreography and overall design aesthetics of this lively and bewitching ballet.”

Stiefel will partner once again with scenic designer Howard C. Jones, costume designer Janessa Cornell Unwin, and lighting designer Joseph Walls. more

“HANGRY HIPPO”: This work by Judith Marchand is part of “Trio,” on view January 2 through March 3 at the Green Building Center in Lambertville. An opening reception is on January 4 from 5 to 8 p.m.

The “Trio” art show will open with a reception on Saturday, January 4 from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Green Building Center at 67 Bridge Street, Lambertville. Visitors can enjoy two floors of artwork by Modern Fossils (Judith Marchand and David Horowitz), David Horowitz Studio, and Mike Mann’s Art. Light refreshments will be served.

The artists said they are happy to exhibit their art in a gallery space provided by an organization that shares their love for our Earth. Marchand and Horowitz both create their work with salvaged materials. Mann’s paintings reflect the beauty of the region, and he travels by bicycle to paint whenever possible. The artists will donate and plant a native tree for every piece sold at their show.  more

“AUTUMN GLORY”: This work by Valerie Chaucer Levine is featured in the “Annual Juried Photography Exhibition” on view January 11 through February 2 at Gallery 14 Fine Art Photography in Hopewell.

Gallery 14 Fine Art Photography presents its “Annual Juried Photography Exhibition” January 11 through February 2. An awards ceremony and meet the artists reception with light refreshments are on Saturday, January 11 from 1 to 3 p.m.

There were 33 artists accepted into this exhibition with 50 images to be displayed in the gallery.

Gallery 14  Fine Art Photography is a co-op gallery located at 14 Mercer Street in Hopewell. It is dedicated to the promotion of photography as a fine art form. Its members work in all photographic styles.

Gallery hours are Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. or by appointment. To make an appointment, email galleryfourteen@yahoo.com. For more information, visit gallery14.org.

“THE FLOWER SHOW”: Turned wood botanicals by Bucks County artist Mark Sfirri  are featured in an exhibition at the Michener Museum in Doylestown, Pa., through May 4.

Bucks County artist and woodworker Mark Sfirri’s first solo exhibition at the Michener Art Museum in Doylestown, Pa.,  displays an all-new springtime series, resulting from a two-year obsession with turned wood flowers. This garden of botanical creations is on view through May 4.

The concept for “Mark Sfirri: The Flower Show” emerged when the artist learned that his son’s wedding venue, the Museum for Art in Wood in Philadelphia, did not allow cut flowers at events in order to protect its collection from potential bugs, pests, and pollen. Sfirri decided to make the wedding flowers himself, creating a bouquet for the bride and a boutonniere for the groom. The preoccupation continued for years as he incorporated different exotic woods, painted elements, and produced more elaborate compositions. more