The
much-anticipated, $172 million New Brunswick
Performing Arts Center – two years in the making – is finally opening its
doors to the public on Wednesday afternoon during an invitation-only reception
at 6 p.m.
On Thursday,
local and NBPAC officials will hold an official ribbon-cutting ceremony at 4
p.m. followed by the start of a 10-day production of “Paul Robeson” at the
Crossroads Theatre Co.’s new facilities.
City and
state officials broke ground on NBPAC’s construction in 2017. The NBPAC will be
home to the George Street Playhouse and Crossroads Theater, the American
Repertory Ballet and several facilities from the Mason Gross School of the
Arts, towering 22 stories over the New Brunswick area – 18 of which are luxury
apartments.
New Brunswick Development Corp. President
Chris Paladino said he hopes this is the final residence for the two theaters,
both longtime arts centerpieces in the city, as well as the American Repertory
Ballet.
“The George
Street Playhouse, this will be their third home in New Brunswick. They started
out in a grocery store on George Street, they retrofitted the YMCA, this, we
hope, will be the third and last time in New Brunswick,” Paladino said.
Crossroads,
according to Paladino, jumped across the city several times over the past
decades before finally arriving at the NBPAC.
NBPAC is a
public-private partnership between DEVCO, the New Brunswick Parking Authority,
Rutgers University, Middlesex County, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority
and Pennrose Properties, several of whom provided large chunks of the project’s
funding.
“We’re
expecting an additional $25 million economic impact annually,” Paladino said. “
From parking to hotel rooms to restaurants to ticket sales.”
The county will
run the newly formed Arts Institute of Middlesex County, an office within the
NBPAC, to centralize arts and culture projects and events from the county’s
roughly 800,000 residents.
Pennrose
will rent out 207 units on the 18 floors above the offices and theater space.
Twenty percent of the apartments are set aside for affordable housing. Pennrose
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Richard Barnhart said they are shooting
for tenants to move in by the end of September, though the priority was the completion
of the two theaters.
“We’re really pushing hard just to get the
theaters complete,” Barnhart told NJBIZ. “When somebody says two years ago
there’s a performance on Sept. 5, you’ve got to stick with that.”
George
Street Playhouse has a new home at the brand new NBPAC (New Brunswick Performing
Arts Center) which also serves as the resident home for American Repertory
Ballet, Crossroads Theatre Company and the Mason Gross School of the Arts. The
new cultural venue is set to open this evening (Wednesday) with an invitational
gala at 6 pm at the Elizabeth Ross Johnson Theater, the larger of the two
state-of-the-art theatres at NBPAC. This special event will feature two musical
numbers performed by the stars of George Street Playhouse’s upcoming engagement
of the new musical LAST DAYS OF SUMMER, based on the best-selling novel by
Steve Kruger and directed by Jeff Calhoun (GREASE, NEWSIES). NBPAC marks a new
era in George Street Playhouse’s esteemed history of bringing world-class
productions to New Jersey audiences.
Under the
leadership of Artistic Director David Saint since 1998, and Kelly Ryman,
Managing Director since 2013, George Street Playhouse produces groundbreaking
new works, inspiring productions of the classics, and hit Broadway plays and
musicals that speak to the heart and mind, with an unwavering commitment to
producing new work. As New Brunswick’s first producing theatre, George Street
Playhouse became the cornerstone of the revitalization of the City’s arts and
cultural landscape. With its 45-year history of producing nationally renowned
theatre, the Playhouse continues to fill a unique theatre and arts education
role in the city, state and greater metropolitan region.
LAST DAYS OF
SUMMER features book & lyrics by Steve Kruger and music by Grammy Award
winner Jason Howland (LITTLE WOMEN). The 16-member cast stars Teal Wicks (THE
CHER SHOW, WICKED, FINDING NEVERLAND) and Bobby Conte Thornton (A BRONX TALE)
and performances are set to begin October 15 through November 10. In this new
musical, Joe Margolis and his young son open an old box of letters that
transport Joe back to his youth in Brooklyn and the summer of 1942, when young
Joey and his best friend Craig are writing fan letters to their hero Charlie
Banks, the star third baseman of the New York Giants. Amid the tumultuous events
of World War II, Joey and Charlie forge an unlikely friendship that might be
the very thing they both need. LAST DAYS OF SUMMER, produced in association
with Daryl Roth, features a new score of big band sounds and jazz music of the
era.
Tickets
became available to the public August 19 and have already shattered previous
sales records for George Street Playhouse.
The New
Brunswick Performing Arts Center features two state-of-the-art performance
spaces, a donor lounge, expanded restroom facilities, an expansive two-story
lobby, and elevator access to the lobbies and theatres. NPBAC boasts modern and
comfortable new seats, contemporary heating and cooling systems, and all the
amenities for patron comfort, convenience and accessibility. It also offers expanded
theater technology such as a fly loft, an expansive orchestra pit and more.
“Arriving
on the advent of my 23rd season at George Street Playhouse, the New Brunswick
Performing Arts Center represents a dream fulfilled and a momentous point in
our history,” said GSP Artistic Director David Saint. “We have built
our national reputation upon developing and premiering new works, and we are
thrilled to continue that commitment in our new home.”
Following
LAST DAYS OF SUMMER will be MY LIFE ON A DIET in NBPAC’s intimate Arthur
Laurents Theater. Called “fascinating. lighthearted & spicy” by
The New York Times, this hilarious autobiographical comedy stars Academy
Award-nominated and Emmy Award-winning writer and actress Renée Taylor, best
known for her starring role on TV’s THE NANNY. In her side-splitting one woman
show, which she wrote with her husband Joseph Bologna, she looks back on a life
full of memorable roles in Hollywood and on Broadway, and just as many fad
diets. Featuring juicy anecdotes about screen legends such as Joan Crawford,
Marilyn Monroe and Barbra Streisand, MY LIFE ON A DIET, originally directed by
Joseph Bologna, will begin performances on November 19 and will run through
December 15. MY LIFE ON A DIET is produced in association with Julian
Schlossberg.
Kicking off
2020 is MIDWIVES, a world premiere thriller based on the book-turned-film of
the same name by Chris Bohjalian. Adapted for the stage by the author from his
own bestselling novel, an early selection of Oprah’s Book Club, this tale of
suspense and courtroom drama explores the fallout of an impossible decision
made by midwife Sibyl Danforth during a routine at-home birth. This new play,
directed by Artistic Director David Saint, is certain to keep audiences on the
edge of their seats. MIDWIVES runs January 21 through February 16.
Also taking
the stage in the Arthur Laurents Theater is CONSCIENCE, a world premiere
historical drama set during the American Red Scare, written by Playhouse
mainstay Joe DiPietro (MEMPHIS, Tony Award; NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT; I LOVE
YOU, YOU’RE PERFECT, NOW CHANGE). Making a bold stand against party lines,
real-world Congresswoman and Senator Margaret Chase Smith becomes one of the
first to challenge Senator Joseph McCarthy in this gripping historical tale
inspired by real events. Taking the stage under the direction of David Saint,
performances begin March 3 and will run through March 29.
Closing the
2019-20 season in the Elizabeth Ross Johnson Theater is Pamela Gray’s A WALK ON
THE MOON, a new musical with music & lyrics by Paul Scott Goodman, based on
the critically acclaimed film of the same title. Longing for more than her life
as a mother and housewife, Pearl Kantrowitz catches the eye of a free-spirited
traveling salesman while vacationing with her family in the Catskills. As the
Woodstock music festival comes to life nearby, their whirlwind romance, set in
the summer of 1969 when mankind first stepped on the moon, brings audiences on
a musical journey set against the backdrop of an iconic moment in American
history. Sheryl Kaller returns to direct A WALK ON THE MOON, which runs April
21 through May 17. A WALK ON THE MOON is produced by special arrangement with
Stephen and Ruth Hendel.
Originally
located in an abandoned supermarket on the corner of George and Albany Streets,
George Street Playhouse was the first professional theatre in New Brunswick and
played a major role in the revitalization of the downtown area. In 1984, the
Playhouse moved to a renovated YMCA on Livingston Avenue, and in 2017 took
temporary residence in the former Agricultural Museum during construction of
its new home.
The
Playhouse has been well represented by numerous productions both on and
Off-Broadway, including the Outer Critics Circle Best Musical Award winner THE
TOXIC AVENGER; the Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk and Drama League-nominated
production of THE SPITFIRE GRILL;and the Broadway hit and Tony and Pulitzer
Prize-winning play PROOF by David Auburn, which was developed at the Playhouse
during the 1999 Next Stage Series of new plays. In 2015, IT SHOULDA BEEN YOU
opened on Broadway and Joe DiPietro’s CLEVER LITTLE LIES opened Off-Broadway.
Both shows received their premieres at the Playhouse. In 2018, George Street
Playhouse was represented on Broadway with GETTIN’ THE BAND BACK TOGETHER,
which premiered on the Playhouse mainstage in 2013. AMERICAN SON, produced by
George Street Playhouse in 2017, opened on Broadway in 2018 starring Kerry
Washington and Stephen Pasqual, and will be appearing on Netflix.
In addition
to the mainstage season, the Playhouse’s education department provides
extensive programming for children, youth and adults. Partnering with
administrators and educators throughout New Jersey, the Playhouse provides
unique education experiences that both reinforce classroom curriculum and
investigate issues such as bullying, diversity, immigration, health and
wellness, and the rising epidemic of opioid addiction.
George
Street Playhouse programming is made possible in part by funds from the New
Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a partner agency of the
National Endowment for the Arts.
To purchase
tickets, buy a subscription or learn more about George Street Playhouse, visit
www.GeorgeStreetPlayhouse.org. NBPAC is located in downtown New Brunswick at 11
Livingston Avenue.
September 4, 2019 Ed Murray and Brianna Kudisch Star-Ledger
Picture
yourself seeing an energetic, live musical with bright lights, crisp sound,
enormous sets, and room for a 465-seat audience in freshly-upholstered chairs.
The newest theater planning for big, live shows isn’t on Broadway, it’s in New
Brunswick — and the brand new $172 million venue is dressed to impress.
NJ Advance
Media got a sneak peek of the space, which is officially opening Wednesday. It
seats a total of 720 between its two theaters and plans to start its inaugural
season in 2019. Not only does the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center span two
theaters, rehearsal studios, and public parking, it also includes a 207-unit
residential tower.
Walk into
the main lobby of the performing arts building at 11 Livingston Avenue and
you’ll see an open space with walls lined with mesh-like black panels, which
light up and change color from behind. To your right is a glossy, full-service
bar, with nearby standing tables.
Large video
boards display the center’s logo and other multimedia elements, including a
timelapse of the center’s construction. A donor wall highlights the project’s
contributors, while a desk to the left welcomes visitors. All of the surfaces
are covered in sleek, black stone.
Overseen by
the New Brunswick Development Corporation, or Devco, the 450,000-square-foot
project is located on the site of the former George Street Playhouse and
Crossroads Theater on Livingston Avenue in downtown New Brunswick.
Touted as a
public-private partnership between Devco, the City of New Brunswick, Rutgers
University, Middlesex County, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority,
and many other organizations, the project broke ground in the fall of 2017.
In addition
to the two theaters and rehearsal studios, the main performing arts building
will also contain 30,000 feet of office space on the two floors above the
theater, which will be owned by the County of Middlesex and intended to be used
by arts organizations and potential private sector groups.
One of the
studio spaces and the adjacent future donor lounge, which can also be converted
into a rehearsal space, feature floor-to-ceiling windows that allow the light
to soak the room. A wall in the empty rehearsal room is covered with ceramic
tiles, which were created by the MudGirls
Studio, an Atlantic City non-profit that empowers disadvantaged women
through making art.
The 255-seat
Arthur Laurents theater, a more intimate space designed for theatrical and
smaller dance performances, will also be open to Rutgers University film
students for their projects.
A crew was
there Tuesday working on the technical equipment, preparing for the upcoming
show “Paul Robeson,” which Crossroads Theatre Company is opening Thursday
night.
“They’re
like kids in a candy store,” Merissa Buczny, the executive director of the
NBPAC, said of the technicians using the new equipment.
Next door is
the 465-seat Elizabeth Ross Johnson theater, which features a double orchestra
pit. Buczny said a typical pit includes space for about 20 musicians, but
Rutgers requested a pit that would seat 60 people.
The
orchestra pit also features a hydraulic lift, which allows the production
company to lift the entire orchestra up and down, altering the space to fit the
specific show’s needs. The theater’s stage features a staggering 75-foot height
from the floor to the ceiling.
Buczny said
the new rigging capabilities allow them to take an entire set and suspend it in
the air above the curtain, or below the stage, so a different performance or
activity can take place on stage for the night.
“It’s so
much more flexible,” she said.
Updating the
theater’s capabilities is a large reason behind the new development, according
to Mark Sharp, the director of operations.
“They didn’t
have any of the bells and whistles that the new theater has, which kind of
restricted what the artistic companies were able to do,” he said. “This complex
gives [the theaters] new opportunities to do bigger and broader productions.
The
residential rental apartment tower, which is above the theater complex,
includes 207 units. Owned and operated by Penrose LLC, the tower has affordable
housing in 20 percent of its units.
The
developers partnered with The Actors Fund to market the affordable units to
actors, musicians, dancers, and theater employees. A two-bedroom, two-bathroom
apartment in a corner unit was immaculate and pleasantly decorated.
The
apartment featured massive, floor-to-ceiling windows that flooded the space
with natural light. Residents in the tower also have access to the building’s
amenities, which are highlighted on the penthouse floor.
The outside
deck on the penthouse will soon house a barbecue area and lounge seating. A
long, three-and-a-half feet deep shimmering pool seats neatly on the elevated
deck, and offers sweeping views of the city, and if you look hard enough,
Manhattan. Go back inside and you’ll find a swanky bar and lounge area, created
for residents’ enjoyment.
The public
parking garage is located at 60 Baynard Street, but is not yet finished. Buczny
said she expects it to be completed by Friday.
Development
officials are celebrating Wednesday’s official opening, with a 6 p.m. reception
and performances in the Elizabeth Ross Johnson Theater. Dozens of city and
company officials will be present, including Mayor James M. Cahill, Robert L.
Barchi, the president of Rutgers University, and Stephen Sweeney, the president
of the New Jersey State Senate.
The city did
not immediately respond to requests for comment on how much it contributed to
the project.
A
ribbon-cutting ceremony will celebrate the building’s official opening on
Thursday, Sept. 5.
As the New
Brunswick Performing Arts Center prepares for its soft opening Wednesday night,
the benefits it will bring to the arts community in Middlesex County cannot be
overstated.
The two
theaters — the Elizabeth Ross Johnson Theater, which seats 463 and has an
86-foot stage, and the Arthur Laurents Theater, which seats 252 for its 60-foot
stage — are as state of the art as they come, including:
An ability to bring props up onto the stage from
any of the 48 traps on the floor (or down from the ceilings, where more than 7
miles of rigging will help support sets above the stage);
Enough space on the wings to make the
transitions of ballet and opera performers seamless;
A modern sound system and control booths, which
not only have the latest technology, but have enough room for those who operate
them. (Those operators, in some cases, will be Rutgers students, learning the
industry.)
And, in the larger setting, an orchestra pit
that can comfortably sit 65 musicians down below or be elevated up top and used
for added seating, depending on the needs of the performance.
All this in
a setting that has enough dressing rooms — 70 (including some reserved
exclusively for child performers) — and bathrooms to make those attending in
any capacity feel comfortable.
“Arts is a
long-term investment, but it pays significant dividends,” Chris Paladino,
president of the New Brunswick Development Corp., said. “This building will
have a tremendous impact on not only the arts but New Brunswick for generations
to come.”
The center
will have a private opening Wednesday night — an invitation-only gathering for
leading figures in the arts community, benefactors and, of course, elected
officials — and a public ribbon-cutting and open house (complete with tours)
Thursday.
What might
not be readily apparent at each of these events is how NBPAC stands not only as
another example of a public-private partnership DEVCO has used to bring another
element to New Brunswick, but it also will serve as another anchor that will
help bring the city’s residents and businesses together.
Paladino
feels its location — across from the Heldrich Hotel (which DEVCO built) and the
small triangular city park (which DEVCO helped refurbish) — provides the final
piece to the much-needed puzzle that all cities are trying to complete.
This synergy
also will include the occasional closing of the portion of Livingston Avenue
that runs between the three.
“There’s
some programming that we’ll do that for,” Paladino said. “I think there’s some
community performances that have been done in the parks that we may do here.”
The three
areas will be tied together by more than just the keyboard-looking crosswalk
that connects them.
Paladino is
selling that as he negotiates a naming rights deal that could bring the project
up to an additional $1 million in revenue.
(And he’s so hopeful he’ll have a deal by the end of the year that the
letters for the facility were put up with the knowledge that they soon may be
changing.)
“The naming
rights opportunity for the building is tied it to the hotel,” Paladino said.
“We can put their name on the boards inside the Heldrich that tell people where
to go to meetings. We can put their logos on the key cards. When people turn
the TV on in their rooms, it can go right to an ad.”
Paladino is
even tying it to another DEVCO project, the Yard — a mixed-used facility that
helps anchor the Rutgers campus DEVCO helped create across town.
“We give
them the ability to connect to the Yard and do commercials on the board there,”
he said. “Since we control all these things, it’s easy to bring them all
together.”
NBPAC’s ties
to the community go further.
In addition
to the executive offices of the four companies that call the building home,
many of the offices for Middlesex County’s arts, culture and heritage
organizations will be housed in the building, as well.
The benefits
to this are great, Paladino said.
“They not
only can share conference rooms and more easily collaborate, but the county is
going to help with shared services, such as IT and payroll and those type of
things,” he said.
And the
building’s numerous rehearsal spaces — there are four, two each that resemble
the stages themselves — not only assure that arts activity will be going on all
day and night, they are situated on the second and third floors of the
building, assuring that rehearsals can be easily seen by those outside at the
park.
When not
being used for rehearsals, the spaces have the capacity to handle smaller art
shows.
“There could
be a quartet performing for 50 people or exhibitions by a painter sculptor,”
Paladino said.
More than
that, all of the spaces are available for use by the business community.
“The
rehearsal room upstairs is the largest rehearsal space in New Jersey by far,”
Paladino said. “You can do big meetings. You can have a dinner for 200 people.
“We think
there’s a lot of opportunity to do rentals. One company that does new employee
training once a month said they’d love to come here. I’ve got a VC firm that’s
going to do a couple of dinners here.”
This
business, Paladino said, only helps the Heldrich Hotel.
“This isn’t
taking away,” he said. “There is great synergy with the Heldrich, because we’ve
got more space. We can do things the Heldrich can’t. Everyone is excited about
the ability to use the theatres for corporate space.”
The new
building, Paladino said, is able to book larger meetings because it has larger
rooms.
And, it’s
not all for business.
“A lot of
companies are talking to us about getting a block of tickets for a show and
having a dinner before or after.”
A wedding
already has been booked, too.
NBPAC, of
course, is more than just an arts facility.
The $172
million, 450,000-square-foot building is 23 stories tall, with 20 floors
housing more than 200 multifamily units to be operated by Pennrose LLC. (Here’s
how the building was financed.)
The 42
affordable units already have been gobbled up by a variety of folks associated
with the arts (dancers, musicians, choreographers, set-builders, etc., Paladino
said).
The market
rate studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units are attracting attention from
empty-nesters, who are looking for an urban space; commuters, who travel as far
away as New York City and Philadelphia and have been lured by its access to transit;
and millennials, who don’t want to buy, but don’t want to live with their
parents, Paladino said.
Some
residents will begin moving in mid-month, about the same time leasing on the
market-rate units will officially begin.
Paladino,
who has long stressed how the arts helps bring urban communities together, is
perhaps most pleased by the fact NBPAC only adds to New Brunswick. He doesn’t
see it taking away from anywhere.
“This isn’t
really about competition,” he said. “We’re not competing with NJPAC or Count
Basie or any of the other arts centers around the state.”
That
includes the neighboring State Theatre, which the facility will share a loading
dock with.
It’s all
part of the plan, Paladino said.
“I don’t
think there’s competition as much as we’re just growing the arts scene,” he
said.
To New
Brunswick Development Corp. President Christopher J. Paladino, the city’s
arts-driven cultural rebirth and economic growth was like an unfinished
symphony.
On Sept. 5
when the $64-million New Brunswick Performing Arts Center (NBPAC) opens to the
public to the first time with a 4 p.m. ribbon-cutting ceremony and then
Crossroads Theatre Co.’s production of “Paul Robeson,” that masterpiece will be
completed, he said.
“The arts
always have been central to the revitalization of New Brunswick going back to
the purchase and renovation of the State Theatre,” Paladino said. “If you
follow the history, George Street (Playhouse) started off in a grocery store on
George Street and moved into a renovated YMCA. Crossroads was in the King Block
building on what was then Memorial Parkway and now is Route 18 and moved to a
new building in the 1980s. This was the next logical step.”
Like George
Street and Crossroads, DEVCO, the city’s nonprofit redevelopment agency, was
founded in the mid-1970s. Paladino has led the organization for half that time,
overseeing $1.6 billion in redevelopment.
He said he
expects the arts center to pay for itself in less than three seasons by
bringing more than $25 million into the city annually. The state-of-the-art
venue already has grown the four resident companies’ performance schedules and
will grow their audiences, Paladino said. In addition to George Street
Playhouse and Crossroads, the resident companies are American Repertory Ballet
and Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts.
Stage
technology in the 463-seat Elizabeth Ross Johnson Theater and 259-seat Arthur
Laurents Theater, as well as three massive rehearsal spaces, will allow for
more productions, Paladino said. While resident companies rehearse in
stage-size, well-equipped spaces, the venue can present non-company
productions.
“What we
tried to do is to create more performances for our resident companies and grow
and diversify their audiences and let that be a part of the New Brunswick revitalization
story,” he said. “We were determined to do that by creating state-of-the-art
facilities for the resident companies — which we are so fortunate to have in
the city — and let them help grow the economy by bringing larger audiences to
the city. We had to bring Mason Gross downtown to have Rutgers be part of the
New Brunswick Performing Arts Center community and not isolated on the Douglass
Campus, allowing not only to grow their audience, but for us to help Rutgers
give more opportunity to their students, faculty and staff to work in a
professional environment.”
“In the
first season, we’re going to go from 210 performances that George Street and
Crossroads did to nearly 340, and that possibly may grow to 360,” Paladino
continued. “We have an 80-foot fly in the Johnson Theater so that if there’s no
George Street performance on a Monday night, we can fly the scenery and use the
38 traps to move them to do a jazz or comedy performance or a classical quartet
or a lecture series. We made the facilities so that they are more versatile. We
have the Chinese Symphony coming in and an Indian dance company. We have
popular music, such as The Best of The Eagles.”
The theaters
will share a lobby to encourage word-of-mouth between audiences about
productions, Paladino said.
He said was
one of his favorite aspects of the venue is that it purposely was designed with
large windows that overlook Livingston Avenue in a transparent way that will
“energize the street.”
He
explained, “If you’re coming out of the Heldrich (Hotel) or are pulling up to
the valet parking or sitting in Monument Park looking at the building, you’ll
know it’s a performing arts center because you’ll see two floors of people
rehearsing. They will be able to see ballet dancers or someone rehearsing a
piano part or people doing a table reading.”
“We hired
first-class designers and top-line theater consultants,” Paladino continued. “I
remember a four-hour argument about the sound system we purchased. I tried to
get a cheaper one, but the artists and professionals always carried the day in
this project. I learned not to be pennywise and pound foolish. When we made
decisions, it was always erring to the side of the arts.”
‘Crossroads’
Act III’
Paladino’s
excitement is matched by those of the resident companies, all of which will
have offices at the new venue.
For
Crossroads, NBPAC is the third of three acts, Artistic Director Marshall Jones
said.
“Act I of
Crossroads Theatre Co. began in 1978 in a sewing factory on Memorial Parkway in
New Brunswick that was retrofitted with a stage and about 120 seats,” Jones
said. “Act II was our second home on Livingston Avenue along Theatre Row, a new
building we moved into in 1985 that accommodated our growing audience, needs
and repertoire. When the opening of NBPAC is celebrated, the curtain will rise
for Crossroads’ Act III.”
Tony-winning
Crossroads will kick things off with “Paul Robeson,” Phillip Hayes Dean’s look
at the life of the legendary Rutgers-educated activist, athlete, actor and
singer. Starring veteran Broadway performer Nathaniel Stampley (“Lion King,”
“The Color Purple”) in the title role, “Paul Robeson” will run Sept. 5 to 15 in
the Arthur Laurents Theater.
Crossroads’
season will continue with a multi-cultural musical version of “A Christmas
Carol,” Dec. 5 to 15; Genesis Festival of Plays in February, and the world
premiere of the civil rights saga “Freedom Rider,” co-written and directed by
the company’s co-founder Ricardo Khan, April 9 to 19. On Oct. 19, “A Night with
Crossroads” gala will honor Tony- and Oscar-winner Denzel Washington with a
reception at NBPAC, as well as across the street at The Heldrich hotel, plus
performances next door to the arts center at the State Theatre.
“Crossroads
has been a part of the fabric of New Brunswick’s arts, entertainment, cultural
and business communities for over 40 years,” said Anthony P. Carter, president
of the company’s board of trustees. “When we came on the scene, the city’s
backdrop and landscape were very different, and the city was becoming more
diverse. Crossroads was a beacon, lighting the way illuminating stories of the
African diaspora.”
“It was
truly a stroke of genius to design a state-of-the art performance space to be
the home of four member companies,” Carter continued. “It’s the hardware and
software together. The trajectory of arts and culture with economic and housing
development is positioning New Brunswick to soar to new heights and be a model
for urban development throughout our country… NBPAC is the culmination of many
dreams, a convergence of cultural, social and business imperatives of the city
Crossroads Theatre Co. calls home and the burgeoning diversity of New
Brunswick, our region, state and country.”
‘Having a
home’
American
Repertory Ballet’s season will commence with “New Heights” from Sept. 20 to 22.
The program will open with former American Repertory Ballet Artistic Director
Septime Webre’s “Fluctuating Hemlines,” set to a percussion score by Robert
“Tigger” Benford that explores the animalistic side of human nature. Webre now
is artistic director of Hong Kong Ballet. His work will be staged alongside
Ethan
Stiefel’s “Overture,” set to music by Beethoven; the world premiere of Riccardo
De Nigris’ latest work, created specifically for the ballet company’s opening
performance, and the late modern-dance giant Paul Taylor’s masterpiece “Airs.”
American
Repertory Ballet Executive Director Julie Diana Hench said, “Having a home
theater at the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center enables us to provide
dancers and audiences with more performances while increasing the diversity of
the programming and community engagement. We are proud to be a founding
resident company alongside our fellow arts organizations that will make this
incredible new facility our home.”
Hench said
American Repertory Ballet’s season reflects a breadth of our programming. From
classical to contemporary to modern dance, there’s something for everyone, she
said. At NBPAC, that will include the romantic classic “Giselle,” just in time
for Valentine’s Day on Feb. 14 to 16; “Summer Series,” featuring three works,
including Trey McIntyre’s Blue Until June set to the music of R&B great
Etta James, June 5 to 7 and “New Voices: Works by Emerging Choreographers, June
12 and 13. American Repertory Ballet also will dance at the State Theatre,
Newark Performing Arts Center, McCarter Theatre, Princeton, and more.
The first
Mason Gross production at NBPAC will be Palissimo Co.’s “Custodians of Beauty,
Sept. 13 and 14. The evening-length work by the company’s Bessie and Guggenheim
award-winning founding artistic director, Pavel Zuštiak, examines beauty’s
intrinsic relationship with art through minimalist movement, sensuous
abstraction, and potent stage imagery.
“We are
thrilled to welcome the community to our inaugural events at the New Brunswick
Performing Arts Center, which offers state-of-the-art performance space for our
student-artists,” said Gerry Beegan, interim dean of Mason Gross School of the
Arts. “We have hundreds of events on campus — and even a Rutgers in New York
program — but now we can showcase our talented theater artists, musicians,
dancers, and production designers in downtown New Brunswick. This inaugural
season will feature jazz, classical, dance, film, opera, and theater. Rutgers’
investment in this landmark initiative emphasizes the importance of a thriving
arts scene to New Brunswick’s sense of community and sense of pride.”
Other Mason
Gross season highlights include Rutgers Symphony Orchestra, Sept. 28; Rutgers
Theater Co. performing Kate Hamill’s adaptation of Jane Austen’s “Sense
and Sensibility,” Oct. 4 to 12; Rutgers Jazz Ensemble, Oct. 18, and
DancePlus featuring Rutgers faculty, Nov. 21 to 23.
‘Broadway
Journey’
George
Street Playhouse Artistic Director David Saint said, “This theater has been a
dream long felt and held, and it’s finally happening because of a great public,
private partnership between the city of New Brunswick, Mayor (James) Cahill,
the county, the Middlesex County Freeholders, the state, Chris Paladino and
DEVCO, and many others to make this finally happen. I can’t tell you how
thrilling it is for me… For the past three or four years, I’ve worked with the
architects in designing this space. I’m so proud that the architects and I
realized that you need to have a theater practitioner helping you to design a
space that is a theater… If you don’t have that input, you don’t know what’s
important and what’s not.”
“This is the
first time in 45 years that we are actually going to be performing in a center
that was designed from the beginning to be a theater,” Saint continued. “And it
makes a huge difference. George Street has always been a proponent of new work
that can go on to New York and be produced around the country. We’ve had a
great track record that way, and it’s only going to get bigger because now, for
the first time, we have this building.”
Saint said
that more Broadway producers are looking to New Brunswick Performing Arts
Center to incubate and tour shows.
Paladino
agreed.
“The hottest
set designer in New York City is doing their first show,” he said. “Their two
musicals, the first and last shows, are going to Broadway. You’re going to see
more of that. Shows that may have been in Seattle or Toronto or Washington are
going to come here. New Brunswick is going to be part of that journey to
Broadway.”
Broadway
bound are the nostalgic baseball-themed “Last Days of Summer,” based on the
best–selling novel by Steve Kluger, directed by Tony Award nominee Jeff
Calhoun (“Newsies”), starring Teal Wicks, following her lead performance in
Broadway’s “The Cher Show” and featuring music by Grammy-winner Jason Howland
(“Little Women”). “Last Days of Summer” will run Oct. 15 to Nov. 10 in the
Johnson Theater.
Also headed
to the Great White Way is the season-closing “A Walk on the Moon,” a new
musical with music and lyrics by Paul Scott Goodman and book by Pamela Gray,
based on her acclaimed 1999 motion picture starring Diane Lane and Viggo
Mortensen. The musical recaptures the affair between a mother and housewife
longing for adventure and a free-spirited traveling salesman while she summers
in the Catskills with her family. Their whirlwind romance is set in the summer
of 1969 to the iconic backdrop of the Woodstock music festival and Neil
Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin’s first steps on the moon. The run will be April 21
through May 17 in the Johnson Theater.
In between,
George Street will present in the Arthur Laurents Theater the Lucille Lortel
Award-nominated “My Life on a Diet,” an autobiographical comedy by Renée
Taylor, Oscar nominee and Emmy winner known for her role in “The Nanny,” Nov.
19 through Dec. 15; “Midwives,” a world-premiere thriller based on the
book-turned-film of the same name by Chris Bohjalian, Jan. 21 to Feb. 16, and
Playhouse mainstay Joe DiPietro’s “Conscience,” a world-premiere historical
drama set during the American Red Scare of the 1950s, March 3 to 29. DiPietro’s
previous George Street premieres include the Outer Critics’ Circle Best Musical
Award-winning “The Toxic Avenger” and the Off Broadway-bound “Clever Little
Lies.”
“Each piece
has something really special about it … created by award-winning,
top-of-the-line American theater artists,” Saint said.
Non-company
productions at NBPAC will include New Brunswick Jazz Project’s 125th birthday
celebration for city-born stride piano great James P. Johnson, composer of “The
Charleston” and other Golden Age of Jazz hits, on Sept. 8; Best of The Eagles,
Nov. 14, and Hub City Jazz Festival, Nov. 16.
Michael Tublin
of New Brunswick Jazz Project, one of the organizers of Central Jersey Jazz
Festival Sept. 13 to 15 in Flemington, New Brunswick and Somerville, said the
organization was thrilled to be the first non-company to present at the new
state-of-the-art venue.
“We had
talks early in the building phase of the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center
with DEVCO to discuss ways that NBJP could be involved in presenting there,”
Tublin said. “We look forward to a long and jazzy relationship with them.”
Paladino added,
“The building is just the next step that makes New Brunswick on par and maybe
exceeds any city that we can compare to. I don’t think another small city of
65,000 people in America has this type of performing arts center.”
What you can
do
New Brunswick
Performing Arts Center, 11 Livingston Ave., will celebrate its opening at 4
p.m. on Sept. 5 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony followed by the season-opening
production of “Robeson” by Crossroads Theatre Co. An invitation-only event will
precede that from 6 to 9 p.m. on Sept. 4. For more information about NBPAC,
call 732-249-2220 or click nbpac.org/.
For more
about Crossroads Theatre Co. and “Robeson,” visit
crossroadstheatrecompany.org/. Virtually visit George Street Playhouse at
georgestreetplayhouse.org. American Repertory Ballet’s online home is
arballet.org. And for Mason Gross School of the Arts, check out
masongross.rutgers.edu/.
The curtain will soon rise on the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center (NBPAC) and the community is invited to attend the welcome party for the city’s new epicenter of arts and culture.
A
ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 5 at 4 p.m., followed
by tours of the new building’s two state-of-the-art theater spaces, three
rehearsal spaces, elegant lobby and bar area and two floors of office space to
accommodate the Middlesex County Arts Institute.
The $172
million project broke ground in 2017. The 450,000 square-foot building also
includes 207 residential units, 20% of which are designated as low- and
moderate-income housing.
Refreshments
will be available and live music will be performed by the New Brunswick
District Jazz Band. Admission is free and open to all.
“After
careful planning, preparation and building, we’re thrilled to be able to cut
the ribbon and welcome our community into their New Brunswick Performing Arts
Center, the newest act in the story of arts and culture in our city,” Mayor Jim
Cahill said. “This spectacular venue will house live music, dramatic theater,
film screenings, community discussions and theater workshops, offering
something for everyone. We’re thrilled to be able to open the doors and welcome
in the public to see it for the first time.”
The first
performance at the NBPAC will be held Saturday, Sept. 7 when the Crossroads
Theatre Company presents “Paul Robeson,” a play based on the life and
times of one of New Brunswick’s favorite native sons.
NBPAC
features two theaters for live performances, named in honor of benefactors of
the arts in New Brunswick.
The Elizabeth
Ross Johnson Theater is a 463-seat theater space meant to house larger
productions, such as musical theater or opera.
The Arthur
Laurents Theater is an intimate space that seats up to 252 patrons and was designed to showcase
dramatic theater and dance productions.
Both theater
spaces are outfitted with state-of-the-art lighting and production systems to
best showcase the works of our local performing arts entities, including
American Repertory Ballet, Crossroads Theatre Company, George Street Playhouse
and Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University.
NBPAC will
also house musical performances, lectures and community events throughout the
season.
“The arts
play a crucial role in the culture, economy and livelihood of New Brunswick and
this state-of-the-art facility is on par with some of the finest performing
arts houses in the country,” said New Brunswick Development Corporation (DEVCO)
President Chris Paladino.
NBPAC is
located at 11 Livingston Avenue. For more information about the New Brunswick
Performing Arts Center, including a schedule of performances for the coming
months, log on to www.nbpac.org.
