November 13, 2024

Senior Breitman Comes Up Big for PHS Boys’ Soccer As Tigers Top New Brunswick to Make Sectional Semis

STEPPING UP: Princeton High boys’ soccer player Azariah Breitman goes after the ball in a 2023 game. Last Friday, senior star Breitman scored two goals to help third-seeded PHS defeat 11th-seeded New Brunswick 3-0 in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Central Jersey Group 4 sectional quarterfinals. The Tigers, who improved to 16-2-4 in the win, were slated to play at second-seeded Manalapan in the sectional semis on November 12 with the victor advancing to the final on November 15. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

As the Princeton High boys’ soccer team battled New Brunswick in the first half of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Central Jersey Group 4 sectional quarterfinals last Friday, Azariah Breitman implored his teammates to pick up the intensity.

Yelling “Let’s go boys, energy” at various points, PHS senior striker Breitman made several forays into the box to no avail in the early going as the third-seeded Tigers were locked in a scoreless draw with an upset-minded 11th-seeded New Brunswick. more

PHS Girls’ Soccer Sees Cinderella Run End, Losing to Montgomery in Sectional Quarters

HEADY PLAY: Princeton High girls’ soccer player Romy Johnson, right, heads the ball last Thursday as PHS played at Montgomery in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Central Jersey Group 4 quarterfinals. After upsetting top-seeded Freehold on penalty kicks in the first round of the sectional, the 16th-seeded Tigers fell 1-0 to eighth-seeded Montgomery. PHS ended the fall at 7-10-3, rebounding from a shaky 1-8-2 start. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

When the Princeton High girls’ soccer team lost 2-0 to Steinert on October 7 to fall to 1-8-2, it would have been understandable if the squad threw in the towel on the campaign.

The defeat marked the sixth straight loss for the Tigers in a stretch that saw them outscored 11-1. more

Hun Boys’ Soccer Falls to Pennington in Prep A Final Battling to the End as it Posts Stellar 13-4-2 Record

STANDING TALL: Hun School boys’ soccer goalie Diego Pena surveys the action in a game earlier this fall. Last Wednesday, senior standout Pena made 12 saves and scored a goal on a penalty kick as second-seeded Hun fell 6-1 at top-seeded Pennington in the Prep A state final. The Raiders finished the fall with a 13-4-2 record. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

When the Prep A boys’ soccer final was over last Wednesday, Hun School stars Luciano Verduci and Gonzalo Perez Nunez were lying prone on the ground near the bench, getting treated for some knocks to their legs and spent from running all over the field.

Verduci and Perez Nunez exemplified how hard second-seeded Hun battled as it fell 6-1 at top-seeded Pennington. more

PDS Boys’ Cross Country Wins Non-Public B Meet As McLaughlin Sets the Pace for Young Panthers Squad

TITLE DOUBLE: Members of the Princeton Day School boys’ cross country team are all smiles after they placed first in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Non-Public B state meet last Saturday at Holmdel Park. It marked the first Non-Public title in program history for the squad. It was also the second title this fall as the Panthers had previously won its first Prep B state championship in 15 years on October 30. PDS is next in action when it races in the NJSIAA Meet of Champions on November 16 at Holmdel Park.

By Justin Feil

The Princeton Day School boys’ cross country season that began with uncertainty is ending with confidence.

Last Saturday, junior star Grayson McLaughlin finished third to lead a young Panther boys’ team to its first New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Non-Public B state championship on the heels of its first Prep B state championship in 15 years.  more

November 6, 2024

Incumbent Franceschi, New Candidates Santarpio and Meisel Elected to School Board

By Donald Gilpin

In a close race Tuesday for three seats on the Princeton Public Schools Board of Education, incumbent Mara Franceschi, who has received 5,326 votes (20.64 percent), Christopher Santarpio 4,618 (17.90 percent), and Ari Meisel with 4,443 (17.22 percent) have defeated Erica Snyder with 4,310 votes (16.71 percent), Lisa Potter with 4,148 (16.08 percent), and Shenwei Zhao with 2,921 (11.32 percent), according to unofficial results from the Mercer County Clerk’s Office.

With many mail-in ballots and provisional ballots remaining to be counted, certification by the Mercer County Clerk’s office is not expected for about two weeks.

In two other local elections, both uncontested, Mark Freda won another four-year term as Princeton Mayor, and incumbent Leighton Newlin and new candidate Brian McDonald won three-year terms on Princeton Council. more

Cow Serenade

Cows were celebrated and honored at the Annual Cow Parade festival at Cherry Grove Farm in Lawrenceville on Saturday afternoon. The tradition comes from the Swiss Alps, when the cows are brought down from the mountains to the lower pastures each fall, with elaborate decorations. The event also featured hayrides, games, face painting, food, music, dancers, storytelling, and local artisans. (Photo by Sarah Teo)

State Urges Caution as Drought Persists

By Anne Levin

With October 2024 in the record books as New Jersey’s driest October in history, a statewide fire ban is now in effect. On October 17, Gov. Phil Murphy issued a drought watch, urging residents and businesses to conserve water.

It hasn’t rained locally in over a month. And there is no real end in sight.

Thursday, November 14 is the first mention of any precipitation, with “rain ending in the morning” as predicted on Accuweather.com. The next possibility is November 22, when “a morning shower followed by a little rain in the afternoon” is listed. And nothing else is predicted until December 10: “Periods of light rain.” more

“Shop Local” is the Message for Residents, Tourists

IT’S STARTING: Local holiday offerings this year will include the return of the Arts Council of Princeton’s Winter Chalets at Hinds Plaza, selling gifts made by artists in various media from November 14 through December 22.

By Anne Levin

The weather is balmy and Halloween is barely behind us, but the winter holiday season is officially on.

Black Friday and Small Business Saturday are several weekends away, with a late Thanksgiving (November 28) shortening the usual gift-buying season. Drawings for Experience Princeton’s “ShopPrinceton2Win” contest began this week, and decorations will soon be hung around town. The goal is to encourage patronage of local stores and restaurants.

“There is a lot of competition out there, especially online,” said Councilwoman Michelle Pirone Lambros, who is the liaison to Experience Princeton, the nonprofit that promotes local businesses. “You go into the big box stores, and the decorations are out. But it’s still not the same experience as going into a local shop. We have some new retail in town, and they all seem to be gearing up.” more

PPS Presents Theater, Music, Visual Arts; Neil Simon’s “Rumors” Nov. 14-17 at PHS

“RUMORS” AT PHS: The casts of Neil Simon’s 1988 “elegant farce” are preparing for their November 14 opening at Princeton High School. The play runs through November 17. (Photo courtesy of Julianna Krawiecki)

By Donald Gilpin

In theater, music, and visual arts, Princeton Public Schools (PPS) is presenting a diverse array of events in November and December.

Rumors, a 1988 Neil Simon “elegant farce,” as the author described it, will take the spotlight on the Princeton High School (PHS) stage November 14-17. At Princeton Middle School (PMS) on November 22 and 23, the theme will be self-image and social and emotional learning in Hoodie, a short “play for the times,” according to PMS Theater Director Chaundra Cameron. more

PU Graduate Students Bring Love of Science to Community Outreach Events

PUMPKIN BIOLOGY: Members of the Molecular Biology Outreach Program at Princeton University (in MBOP shirts) show young visitors to their booth at the Arts Council of Princeton’s Pumpkin Palooza how to extract pumpkin DNA.

By Wendy Greenberg

When a group of Princeton University graduate students set out to inspire youths and adults in the community with the wonders of science, they found that they ended up being inspired themselves.

Graduate doctoral and post-doctoral researchers in the Molecular Biology Outreach Program (MBOP) recently ran a science fair on campus for high school students; plan to judge a science fair at Stone Bridge Middle School in Allentown; and are inviting adults to a “Science by the Cup” night to educate them on what scientific processes go into making beer.  They also showed community members how to make their own skin lotion, and demonstrated how to extract DNA from strawberries at the Ewing Library and from pumpkins at the Arts Council of Princeton’s Pumpkin Palooza event. more

SPIA in NJ Program to Consider Ideas for a Healthy NJ Economy

By Wendy Greenberg

How can the community contribute to an inclusive, productive, and healthy New Jersey economy? Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs in New Jersey (SPIA in NJ) is partnering with several departments and community nonprofits to find out, with the goal of informing the public and identifying and addressing future challenges before the next election cycle.

The second of three sessions of the program New Jersey & The American Economy will be held on Tuesday, November 12 from 4:30 to 6 p.m. in Robertson Hall, Bowl 002.  Co-sponsors are Princeton University Department of African American Studies, Princeton Public Lectures, the Program for Research on Inequality, Labyrinth Books, and the Princeton Public Library.

Although the three-part program is held close to the 2024 election cycle, it is actually timed for the next one. “We timed this program very intentionally so that New Jerseyans could hear from policy scholars and analysts about some of the issues that polls show matter most to them,” said Anastasia Mann, founding director of SPIA in NJ. “We designed the structure to highlight where we have come from and where we are heading, from a tax and budget perspective, when it comes to issues like wages, access to housing, public safety, food security, immigration, climate, health care, and more.” more

PU Fund for Irish Studies Presents Illustrated Lecture by Paul Muldoon

IRISH HISTORY IN 10 POEMS: Pultizer Prize-winning poet and longtime Princeton University Professor Paul Muldoon will read from his work on November 15 at an event on the campus. (Photo by Christine Harris)

By Anne Levin

A survey of Irish history, from the Vikings to the Troubles and beyond, is the focus of a reading by Paul Muldoon on Friday, November 15 at the James Stewart Film Theater, 185 Nassau Street. “A History of Ireland in 10 Poems” is a free, illustrated lecture presented by Princeton University’s Fund for Irish Studies.

The event is the latest in the Fund’s 2024-25 series, which will also include conversations with leaders of the Abbey Theater, and readings by authors Colm Toibin, Niall Williams, and Fintan O’Toole. The Fund “affords all Princeton students, and the community at large, a wider and deeper sense of the languages, literatures, drama, visual arts, history, and economics not only of Ireland but of ‘Ireland in the world,’” reads a release from the University’s Lewis Center for the Arts. more

Mixing It Up with Phil Lesh and Ezra Pound on The Day After

By Stuart Mitchner

Writing on Sunday, November 3, I’m trying not to worry about the state of the nation on Wednesday, November 6. The backyard is painted yellow gold with leaves; the bird baths, front and back, are thriving; the new birdfeeders are wildly popular, and we’ve had a month of classic autumn weather — if you don’t count the drought. But I might as well be on “Dover Beach” with Matthew Arnold, the night-wind on my face on a sunny afternoon, the closing lines like one long sentence — “the world which seems to lie before us like a land of dreams, so various, so beautiful, so new, hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light, not certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain; and we are here as on a darkling plain swept with confused alarms of struggle and light, where ignorant armies clash by night.”

How about going with something a little lighter but dark around the edges, like Bob Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower” (“let us stop talking falsely now, the hour’s getting late”) — or else “Desolation Row,” even if Ezra Pound and T.S. Eliot are “fighting in the captain’s tower.” Funny, as much as Allen Ginsberg admires Dylan, he complains about that line on allenginsberg.org because “Eliot and Pound were friends.” Hey, this is Bob Dylan, this is what he does, he mixes things up, so does Pound, who didn’t ride to the rescue of The Waste Land with gentle suggestions: he struck the lance of his pen deep into the heart of the first page. Otherwise we’d have something called  He Do The Police In Different Voices.

OK, we’ll mix vintage Ezra with some buoyant electric bass from the Grateful Dead’s Phil Lesh, who died late last month. Lesh’s playing on “Dark Star” and “Alligator” kept me going as I tried to read The Cantos and early troubadour poems like “Na Audiart,” which reads like a verse translation of Lesh’s bassline, with the Dead putting the pulse of life into Pound’s refrain “Audiart, Audiart.” more

New Jersey Symphony Opens Princeton Classical Series with Music of Three Centuries

By Nancy Plum

It is not easy to find a connection among composers from Mexico, Austria and Russia, but New Jersey Symphony brought these three cultures together this past weekend with its opening concert of the 2024-25 Princeton series. Led by Music Director Xian Zhang, the Symphony successfully wound a musical thread through the works of contemporary Mexican composer Gabriela Ortiz, 18th-century Austrian Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and 19th-century Russian Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov.

The key to the three pieces performed Friday night in Richardson Auditorium seemed to be the composers’ use of winds for innovative orchestral color. In Ortiz’s Kauyumari, wind solos reflected the diverse musical influences which surrounded Ortiz in her native Mexico. The one-movement Kauyumari, commissioned in 2021 by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, depicts the ancient “blue deer” rite of Mexico which allows the Huichol people to communicate with ancestors and reaffirm their role as guardians of the planet. Channeling the sounds of Latin America into a classical work, Ortiz created a piece to capture both the blue deer, with its power to “enter the world of the intangible,” and the reopening of live music following the pandemic.  more

Refugees in the U.S. Search for Family Members in “Anon(ymous)”: Lewis Center Presents a Contemporary, Stylized “Odyssey” at McCarter

Students perform Anon(ymous) by Naomi Iizuka during the final dress rehearsal in the Berlind Theatre at McCarter Theatre Center on Oct. 31, 2024. Photo by Larry Levanti

“ANON(YMOUS)”: Performances are underway for “Anon(ymous).” Presented by the Lewis Center for the Arts at Princeton University; and directed by Bi Jean Ngo (assisted by Matthew Cooperberg), the play runs through November 9 at McCarter’s Berlind Theatre. Above: Anon (Aabid Ismail, left) journeys in search of his family, accompanied by a variety of characters, including the streetwise Pascal (Oriana Nelson, right), a West African refugee. (Photo by Larry Levanti / Lewis Center for the Arts)

By Donald H. Sanborn III

The Lewis Center for the Arts at Princeton University is presenting Anon(ymous) at McCarter. Playwright Naomi Iizuka’s contemporary, stylized retelling of The Odyssey centers on two refugees in the U.S. — Anon and Nemasani — each of whom has been separated from a family member.

Iizuka’s script embraces and offers ample scope for multiple forms: drama, modern dance, and performance art — in short, much of what live theater offers. Bi Jean Ngo, director of the Lewis Center production (assisted by Matthew Cooperberg), takes full advantage of this; the polished staging makes use of often dazzling production values while ensuring that the performances are the primary focus. more

Disney Stage Musical Comes to MCCC’s Kelsey Theatre

BE OUR GUEST: Sally Graham Bethman, left, and Pat Rounds star in “Beauty and the Beast” at Kelsey Theatre November 8-24.

Maurer Productions OnStage presents Disney’s musical Beauty and the Beast November 8-24 at Kelsey Theatre on the campus of Mercer County Community College in West Windsor.

The enduring fairy tale tells the story of Belle, a spirited young woman in a provincial town, and the Beast, a prince trapped under the spell of an enchantress. If the Beast can learn to love and be loved, the curse will end, and he will be transformed into his former self. But time is running out, and if those lessons aren’t learned soon, the Beast and his house will be doomed for all eternity. more

Several Cultural Events On Rider University Stages

Rider University’s arts programs are performing in theaters on the Lawrence Township campus throughout the remainder of the fall season.

On Friday and Saturday, November 8 and 9 at 7:30 p.m., the University’s dance majors present their fall dance concert in the Bart Luedeke Center Theater. The following weekend, Westminster Opera Theatre presents Die Fledermaus in the Yvonne Theater. Shows are Friday and Saturday, November 15 and 16 at 7:30 p.m. more

Paul Anka Presents All the Hits — His Way

HITMAKER: Paul Anka is at the State Theatre New Jersey on November 12.

State Theatre New Jersey presents singer-songwriter Paul Anka: All the Hits — His Way on Tuesday, November 12 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets range from $49-$229.

Born July 30, 1941, in Ottawa, Canada, into a close-knit family, Anka sang in a choir, studied piano, and honed his writing skills with journalism courses, even working as a cub reporter at the Ottawa Citizen. In 1956, he convinced his parents to let him travel to Los Angeles to visit his uncle, where he hitchhiked to a meeting with Modern Records that led to the release of his first single. more

Two String Quartets Perform as an Octet

CHAMBER MUSIC: Members of the Ebene and Belcea String Quartets will join forces for a concert at Richardson Auditorium on November 13. (Photo by Maurice Haas and Julien Mignot)

On Wednesday, November 13 at 7:30 p.m. at Richardson Auditorium, the Ebene and Belcea String Quartets will return to the Princeton University Concerts (PUC) series for the first time since 2022 and 2016, respectively.

Their program, part of the Concert Classics series, includes music of Mendelssohn and Enescu; they will bring it to Carnegie Hall the following evening. more

Benjamin Grosvenor to Appear In Princeton Concert Series

PIANIST RETURNS: Benjamin Grosvenor is back on the Richardson Auditorium stage on November 7 with a program of music by Brahms, Schumann, and Mussorgsky.

Pianist Benjamin Grosvenor will make a long-anticipated return to the Princeton University Concerts (PUC) series on Thursday, November 7, at 7:30 p.m. at Richardson Auditorium on Princeton University’s campus.

Grosvenor last came to PUC in 2017, when he was in his early twenties; now he returns with a program of Johannes Brahms Intermezzi, Op. 117, Robert Schumann Fantasie in C Major, Op. 17, and Modest Mussorgsky Pictures at an Exhibition. more

Folk Music Society Presents Mustard’s Retreat

On Friday, November 15 at 8 p.m., the Princeton Folk Music Society presents an evening of uplifting songs and stories with Mustard’s Retreat. The performance takes place at Christ Congregation Church, 50 Walnut Lane.

Since they first got together in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1975, Mustard’s Retreat (David Tamulovich and Libby Glover) have been performing songs and stories they enjoyed and cared about, regardless of the trends of the music industry and pop culture.

“Folk music is, at its heart, defiantly hopeful,” said Tamulevich. “We came of age in the 60s, at the confluence of Pete Seeger, Peter, Paul & Mary, Bob Dylan, and the singer/songwriter revolution. We care much more about what we do and stand for and finding that common ground with our audiences, than fame or money. This is our community of choice, and we consider ourselves so fortunate to be here.”

Tickets are $25 ($20 for members, $10 for students). Visit Princetonfolk.org.

Rye Tippet’s “At First Light” at Morpeth Contemporary

“AT FIRST LIGHT”: This oil on panel work by Rye Tippet is featured in his third solo show at Morpeth Contemporary in Hopewell. An opening reception is on Friday, November 8 from 6 to 8 p.m.

Morpeth Contemporary, 43 West Broad Street, Hopewell, has announced the opening of its latest exhibition, “At First Light,” the third solo show for painter Rye Tippet. Alongside Tippet’s paintings will be a selection of metal sculptures by fellow Bucks County, Pa., artist Justin Long, in his debut with the gallery. The opening reception is on Friday, November 8, from 6 to 8 p.m. The exhibition will be on view through Sunday, November 24.

Tippet’s latest paintings are mysterious and allusive, yet involving, urging closer examination. Their surreal nature ignites viewers’ curiosity, inviting thoughts about where dreams join reality, how the past informs the present, and whether the departed commune with the living.  more

Arts Council Hosts Annual Sauce for the Goose Market

SAUCE FOR THE GOOSE: The Arts Council of Princeton’s Sauce for the Goose Outdoor Art Market, featuring unique gifts from more than 100 local and regional artisans, celebrates its 30th year on November 9 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in downtown Princeton.

Now celebrating its 30th year, the Arts Council of Princeton (ACP) will hold the Sauce for the Goose Outdoor Art Market on Saturday, November 9 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Downtown Princeton.

Sauce for the Goose is an annual destination for unique, high-quality, and handmade gifts. This year’s market will feature more than 100 local and regional artisans selling their wares in ceramics, textile, apparel, jewelry, printmaking, wood, glass, painting, and more. more

“Near and Far” Exhibition at Cranbury Public Library

“CRANBURY HOLIDAY STREET”: Works by local artist Donna Senopoulos are featured in “Near and Far,” on view at the Cranbury Public Library through December 29.

The Cranbury Public Library is hosting a solo exhibition by local artist Donna Senopoulos through December 29. Entitled “Near and Far: From NJ to Florida in Watercolor,” the collection includes scenes from locales such as Cranbury, the Jersey Shore, and Fort Myers, Fla. The artwork is primarily watercolor-based medium on paper, canvas, and wood, and also includes mixed media with pen or pencil, and metallic foils. All artwork is for sale. more

ACP Presents McDonnell’s “The Super Hero’s Journey”

“NO TIME TO EXPLAIN”: This acrylic and mixed media work is featured in “The Super Hero’s Journey,” a solo exhibition of paintings by Princeton resident Patrick McDonnell, on view November 9 to December 7 in the Arts Council of Princeton’s Taplin Gallery. A gallery opening is on November 16 from 3 to 5 p.m.

The Arts Council of Princeton (ACP) will present “The Super Hero’s Journey,” a solo exhibition of paintings by artist Patrick McDonnell, November through December 7 in the Taplin Gallery. McDonnell, a Princeton resident, has entertained audiences for 30 years with MUTTS, his internationally syndicated comic strip. For the first time on the East Coast, he will display his large modernist paintings.

McDonnell’s works, created with acrylic latex, oil stick, ink, and collage, are a continuation of the story of self-discovery told in his graphic novel, The Super Hero’s Journey, created for Marvel and Abrams Books.  more