July - September / 05

		The Umbrellas of Cherbourg The beloved French film musical “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg” – which features the hit song “(If It Takes Forever) I Will Wait for You” and made young Catherine Deneuve into a star – is having its first stage production in 25 years at Two River Theater in Red Bank. Through October 16th. Visit www.trtc.org
		Jewish Music Festival Klezmer may be the best known style of Jewish music, but there are dozens of other forms as well, ranging from African and Middle Eastern to the Spanish flavored Ladino. A smorgasboard of Jewish music, traditional to contemporary, can be sampled at the New Jersey Jewish Music Festival from September 15th - 25th, at JCC Metro West in West Orange. Visit www.jccmetrowest.org
		Artist Books The books on view in “The Elements: Creative Energy” at the Hunterdon Museum of Art are meant to be browsed... but not in the same way you browse at a bookstore. These are one-of-a-kind sculptures, that may or may not have text, pages, or even paper. But they do have something to say. The exhibition runs through October 16th. Visit www.hunterdonartmuseum.org
		Wings 'n Water The Wings 'n Water is one of the premier Wildlife Arts Festivals in the country, where visitors can experience New Jersey’s famous wetlands from all aspects, including as art. The festival features guided walks and hands-on demonstrations with nationally acclaimed artists, carvers, model builders, quilters, crafters and photographers. September 17 and 18 at the Wetlands Institute in Stone Harbor. Visit www.wetlandsinstitute.org/wnw.html
		Fenton Art Glass Wheaton Village celebrates a hundred years of Fenton Art Glass, a West Virginia manufacturer that’s been in the same family for a century, and still makes glass using the same hand-crafted techniques. “The Best of Fenton” is at the Museum of American Glass through November 13th. Visit www.wheatonvillage.org
		The Music Man Surflight Theater in Beach Haven presents “The Music Man”, the classic American musical in which con man Harold Hill sells the gullible citizens of River City, Iowa a fake boy’s marching band, then falls in love with Marian the Librarian and inadvertently enriches the town with a love of music. Runs August 23 through September 4th. Visit www.surflight.org
		Robert Barry Pioneering conceptual artist Robert Barry has created an installation for the Montclair Museum that explores the power and meaning of words, by using them as art objects. The work was commissioned to complement the Museum’s presentation of the New Jersey Fine Arts Annual, which runs through September 11. Visit www.montclairartmuseum.org
		Four by Four A small company of actors play multiple roles in multiple plays in “Four by Four”, an evening of one-acts written by Louisa May Alcott, William Dean Howells, William Gillette, and Elmer Rice. These were some of the most popular plays of their time (1845-1913), and the East Lynne Company presents them with period precision. From August 3 - September 3 in Cape May. Visit www.eastlynnetheater.org
		The Rippingtons The Rippingtons helped popularize the “smooth jazz” radio format. But whether you label it smooth jazz, jazz fusion, or urban jazz, it’s a sound which has remained popular for nearly two decades. The Rippingtons will share the bill with jazz guitarist Stanley Jordan at the Count Basie Theater in Red Bank on August 5th. Visit www.countbasietheatre.org
		The Triumph of Love Love meets politics... and beats politics... in Pierre Marivaux’ nearly 300 year old play “The Triumph of Love”. A princess must resort to deception, seduction, and cross-dressing in order to restore the kingdom’s throne to its rightful owner – and to win the man she loves. At the Shakespeare Festival of New Jersey through August 7th. Visit www.shakespearenj.org
		Atlantic Coast Opera Festival The opera stars of tomorrow take center stage at the Atlantic Coast Opera Festival, a company dedicated to providing a showcase for young singers from all over the world. Audiences, meanwhile, get to enjoy great music and summertime pleasures like picnic suppers on the grass. Visit www.atlanticcoastopera.com Photograph: Robert McFarland, General Director
		Waiting For the Moon The glamorous but doomed love affair of F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald is the inspiration for a new musical by Frank Wildhorn ("Jeckyll and Hyde", "The Scarlet Pimpernel") that portrays the couple as the ultimate personification of the Jazz Age.  "Waiting for the Moon" runs July 16 - July 31 at the Lenape Regional Performing Arts Center. Visit www.sjtheater.com
		Intimacies Jersey City-based artist Raïssa Venables makes familiar places unfamiliar, by playing with both color and perspective to distort — ever so slightly — intimate spaces like stairs, elevators and bedrooms. An exhibition of her photographic transformations, "Intimacies" is at the Jersey City Museum through July 31st. Visit www.jerseycitymuseum.org