January - March / 07

		The Greater Trenton Symphony Orchestra The Greater Trenton Symphony Orchestra – 85 years old – celebrates its younger sibling’s birthday – The Trenton War Memorial, turning 75 – with a concert of American classical music on April 1st. One of the selections, “Knoxville, Summer of 1915" was recorded by the orchestra in 1962, and will be reissued later this year. Conducted by John Peter Holly, along with the Westminster Choir, Sunday, April 1, at the Patriots Theater at the War Memorial in Trenton. Visit www.thewarmemorial.com
		Verdi’s Requiem Giuseppe Verdi’s Requiem – his musical setting of the Roman Catholic funeral Mass – is one of the most dramatic Requiems ever written, and uses some of the same theatrical techniques and vocal pyrotechnics he employed in his many operas. The Westminster Symphonic Choir and Festival Orchestra performs the work, conducted by Dr. Joe Miller, March 24th at the Princeton University Chapel. Visit www.rider.edu/888_1381.htm
		Camino Real “Camino Real”, one of Tennessee Williams’ best, most difficult plays, is being given an innovative multi-media spin by Arthouse Productions of Jersey City. Incorporating video and puppetry into a piece that calls for a huge cast and includes figures out of literature (Don Quixote and Camille, for example), the play runs from March 2 - 24 at Victory Hall, 186 Grand Street, in Jersey City. Visit www.arthouseproductions.org
		Water Music Composed for kings, queens and cardinals, Baroque music remains one of the most popular and joyful genres in the classical repertoire. The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra’s upcoming “Water Music” concert recaptures the sounds heard in the grand halls of Versailles, Leipzig and Rome, with works by Handel, Telemann, Vivaldi and Bach. March 9 - 11. Visit www.njsymphony.org
		Tea for Three In her one-woman show “Tea for Three”, Emmy Award-winning actress Elaine Bromka assumes the personae of Lady Bird Johnson, Pat Nixon, and Betty Ford in a revealing play about the personal cost of the hardest unpaid job in the world. Presented by the Passage Theater as part of its Solo Flights series during the month of March, it’s also one of the productions featured in the New Jersey Theatre Alliances Annual Family Week (March 3 - 11). Visit www.passagetheatre.org and www.njtheatrealliance.com
		Horace Clifford Westermann Horace Clifford Westermann (1922-1981) is one of the most important American artists of the postwar era, making paintings and sculpture provoked by his wartime experiences and inspired by popular culture - the fun house, science horror comics, and American folk art. “H.C. Westermann: Dreaming of a Speech Without Words” now at the Montclair Museum, presents 50 paintings, sculptures, and drawings never before seen by the public. Through May 27th. Visit www.montclairartmuseum.org
		James Gibbs Trumpeter James Gibbs can trace his love of his instrument to childhood, when he first saw Dizzy Gillespie on television. But he didn’t take it up seriously until his teens, when he enrolled in the Jazz Institute of New Brunswick. His approach to music is extroverted, and he and his band will be playing standards and new compositions at the Arts Guild of Rahway on Friday, February 23rd. Visit www.rahwayartsguild.org
		Invisible Fences 4th Wall Theater Musical Theater in Bloomfield presents the first production of its Musicals In Development Stage Series. “Invisible Fences,” by the writing team of Gregory G. Allen & Stephen Kitsakos, is set in the rural south during the explosive summer of 1963. Through love, hope and perseverance, the characters try to break through their “invisible fences” to find their dreams. February 8 - 10 at the Westminster Arts Center in Bloomfield. Visit www.4thwalltheatre.com
		The Merry Widow Franz Lehar’s comic operetta “The Merry Widow” has been a classic since it premiered in 1905 – inspiring three film versions and a ballet. As a music theater piece, it requires multiple talents: vocal pyrotechnics, comic timing, and graceful dancing, making it an ideal learning experience for Opera students. Opera at Rutgers presents “The Merry Widow” at the Nicholas Music Center January 26 through February 4. Visit www.masongross.rutgers.edu/music
		The Pavilion “The Pavilion” follows two ex-lovers at their 20th high school reunion in fictional Pine City, Minnesota. It is a sad, funny and highly theatrical tale about love, loss, hope, and the inevitable passage of time, written by playwright Craig Wright -- who has also written for “Lost” and “Six Feet Under,” for which he was nominated for an Emmy. Directed by Two River Theater’s new Artistic Director Aaron Posner, at Two River Theater in Red Bank through February 4th. Visit www.trtc.org
		Lookingglass Alice When Alice falls down the rabbit hole in this hallucinatory version of “Alice in Wonderland”, she floats, flies, and defies gravity. Chicago’s Lookingglass Theater company combines acting, dance, music, and the circus arts to re-imagine this classic tale for all ages. “Lookingglass Alice” is at the McCarter Theater in Princeton January 9 - 28. Visit www.mccarter.org
		I Am My Own Wife The versatile Mark Nelson stars in “I Am My Own Wife”, the tour-de-force one-man play by Doug Wright based on the real life story of an East German transvestite who survived both the Nazi and Communist regimes. Winner of the Tony award for Best Play, and the Pulitzer Prize for drama. At the George Street Playhouse through February 11th. Visit www.georgestplayhouse.org