July - September / 07

		Happy Days: The Musical “Happy Days” are here again, as the Paper Mill Playhouse presents “Happy Days: The Musical”, based on the popular television series set in 1950s Milwaukee. The stage show reintroduces the Cunningham family, Richie and the gang, and of course, The Fonz, performing a rock-n-roll-based score by Oscar, Grammy and Golden Globe winning songwriter Paul Williams. Runs September 26 through October 28. Visit www.papermill.org
		New Jersey Storytelling Festival Storytellers from all over New Jersey will entertain listeners Sunday, September 30, 2007, at the Grounds For Sculpture in Hamilton, NJ, at the 15th annual New Jersey Storytelling Festival. Tucked among the sculptures will be five indoor and outdoor venues for tale telling to children, adults, and general audiences, from noon to 6 p.m., rain or shine. Visit www.groundsforsculpture.org
		Our Town Two River Theater Company presents a radical new production of the classic Thornton Wilder play “Our Town”, in which seven actors play the main characters as well as the rest of Grovers Corners, with the help of evocative puppets designed by Aaron Cromie. Aaron Posner directs this re-imagining of a groundbreaking classic, at Two River Theater in Red Bank, September 11-30. Visit www.trtc.org
		1776 Surflight Theater in Beach Haven presents “1776", the Tony-winning musical retelling of the quest to create the Declaration of Independence. More than a history lesson, this fast-paced show portrays the Founding Fathers as real people with feelings, moods and flaws. Runs August 14-26. Visit www.surflight.org
		Full Count Big Band The Full Count Big Band, a division of the not-for-profit New Jersey Workshop for the Arts in Westfield, NJ, is an 18-piece big-band consisting of sax, trombone, trumpet and rhythm section. Under the musical direction of Ken Fink, this dynamic band explores the full range of jazz styles from swinging nostalgia to straight-ahead Jazz standards, from sultry Bossa Novas to toe-tapping Broadway numbers, all in the interest of perpetuating the art form of big band jazz. Visit www.westfieldnj.com/fullcount
		Atlantic City Ballet Ballet aficionados and neophytes alike flock to the weekly Friday night ballet performances on the boardwalk, presented free by the Atlantic City Ballet. Now in its 8th year, the “Ballet at the Beach” series showcases the company’s young dancers in excerpts from classics like “Swan Lake” and “Coppelia” as well as new choreography and modern dance. Free performances Friday evenings at 6:00, on 6/29, 7/6, 7/20, 7/27, 8/03, at Kennedy Plaza on the Boardwalk, outside Convention Hall. Visit www.acbt.org
		Nature/Culture If the environment is the hot issue of our time, it’s become a hot issue for artists as well, who are coming at the topic from multiple perspectives. A show at the Morris Museum explores the relationship between the natural world and the manmade urban environment, and points out the conundrums we all face when trying to make a cultural impact without leaving an ecological footprint. “Nature/Culture: Artists Respond to Their Environment” is at the Morris Museum through November 11th. Visit www.morrismuseum.org
		The Magic Flute This summer the New Jersey Opera Theater presents three fully staged new productions in the intimate Berlind Theater at the McCarter in Princeton: “Pirates of Penzance”, Gounod’s “Romeo et Juliette”, and Mozart’s “Magic Flute”, which heightens the fantasy elements with magical stage effects and projections. Season opens July 14th and runs through July 29th. Visit www.njot.org