The Spitfire Grill Opens at the Westminster Arts Center

4th Wall Theater kicks off its 15th anniversary year with the musical, The Spitfire Grill.

“Chick flicks” get a bad name. The term, used to denote a “touchy-feely” movie with primarily females in the lead, usually means you’re in for a lot of women bonding and crying together. But what’s wrong with that? “Thelma & Louise”? “A League of Their Own”? “Terms of Endearment”? Some really excellent films can definitely be dubbed “chick flicks”. Kicking off their 15th anniversary, 4th Wall Theater would like you to add “The Spitfire Grill” to that list of great films. Only this one is on the stage. Adapted from the Lee David Zlotoff film of the same name, the story begins with Percy Talbott (Alexis Field) leaving prison and arriving in a small Midwest town called Gilead. She quickly gets a job working for Hannah Ferguson (Jodi Freeman …

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This Weekend: ‘The Revenge of Hamlet’

The Rogues Company presents “The Revenge of Hamlet”, a post-World War II update on Shakespeare’s play, at the Westminster Arts Center.

Hamlet is disaffected youth. Hamlet is contradiction to authority. Hamlet is rebellion without a cause. And so is the vision of director and actor James R. Karcher. With his version of Hamlet, titled “The Revenge of Hamlet,” playing this weekend at the Westminster Arts Center at Bloomfield College, Karcher takes William Shakespeare’s play to the post-World War II era. Along with that period change comes a new version of the story. “I didn’t want to do the same Hamlet,” said Karcher after Thursday’s opening night. “These guys that came out of that school – Brando, James Dean, Montgomery Clift, Paul Newman – all those guys, in a way, were doing their own version of Hamlet in their movies; not just melancholy but the brooder, the intense …

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‘Seussical the Musical’ Delights at the Westminster Arts Center

The NJSDA presents ‘Seussical the Musical’ at the Westminster Arts Center for some mid-summer fun.

With the theater near to capacity and the audience all abuzz, Corinna Sowers-Adler, director of the New Jersey School of Dramatic Arts production of “Seussical the Musical”, took the stage to remind everyone to “remember how to be a kid again.” When the lights came up on the Westminster Arts Center stage (which looked like pages right out of “Green Eggs and Ham”) a child named Jojo (Henry Gardner) opened a box and out popped the Cat in the Hat (Tyler Lynch). From that point forward the show never stopped. For anyone unfamiliar with the play, “Seussical the Musical” takes the children’s rhyming books of Dr. Seuss (nee Theodor Seuss Geisel) and combines them in a non-stop musical. The plot centers on young Jojo getting caught in the tiny …

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‘A Man of No Importance’ Offers an Alternative to Summer Entertainment

A Man of No Importance plays at the Westminster Arts Center this June.

When superheroes have saturated the movie theaters and have even started swinging in and spinning webs on Broadway, where can one turn to find an alternative to typical summer fare? The 4th Wall Theater company answers that question and sates the hunger of New Jersey’s theater-goers with its production of “A Man of No Importance”. Playing until June 18th, this one is not to be missed. However, that recommendation comes with a caveat. This is not a “light” musical. If you are familiar with this play then you already know that it is an emotional mix of humor, pathos, and the bittersweet mess that is life. If you are not familiar with the story then I will try not to give away the twists and turns that stunned me upon my first viewing. In a …

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Orlando Callegari, Jr.

2:19 pm on Friday, June 24, 2011

Thanks a lot. I had never seen the show before but I'm certainly glad I got the chance to.   more ›

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NJSDA Grows Talent on ‘The Apple Tree’

The New Jersey School of Dramatic Arts nurtures the talent of young performers with their production of ‘The Apple Tree’.

“The Apple Tree” is an eclectic musical to say the least. The story spans nearly all of human history jumping from the Bible to history to fantasy; something that is not easy to wrangle into one play. Yet the challenge for the audience, is finding the connections in these disparate tales. Despite the complex story the students of Bloomfield's New Jersey School of Dramatic Arts remarkably and marvelously exceeded expectations. “The Apple Tree” is a story told in three playlets. The first, entitled “The Diary of Adam & Eve” begins as Adam awakens in the Garden of Eden. He is soon joined by Eve. The two grow up and slowly fall in love all the while finding new discoveries in themselves and the world around. The second part, “The Lady or the …

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Keep the Arts Alive in Kids This Summer

The New Jersey School of Dramatic Arts prepares for its 2011 summer camp.

Quick! What do you need for a good education? Reading, writing and ‘rithmetic? That’s not even correct English. But that’s what most parents and educators will agree upon. You have to have a good foundation, they might say. And once those basics are covered, what’s next? Sports, of course! Why? Because, apparently, everyone likes sports. But what happens to the parents of an artist, musician or actor. Or, more importantly, their children, who may be looking for a creative outlet. There aren’t a lot of choices. However, the New Jersey School of Dramatic Arts offers at least one option for those with an inclination for the performing arts. Their performing arts camp starts June 27 and runs until July 29on the premises at 593 Bloomfield …

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Broadway Performing Arts Holds First Adult Hip-Hop Class

Broadway Performing Arts brings their adult hip-hop class to Bloomfield grown-ups

“Even if you’re afraid of looking like a fool, do it. You never know what’s going to happen,” said Jennifer Lehansky, one of the students at Broadway Performing Arts’ new hip hop class. She, of course, was being modest given the prowess the class showed during their first adult lesson. They seemed to be one step away from backing up Beyoncé. But their moves and speedy understanding were no mistake. The members of this class were not mere beginners. Lehansky had been taking tap and ballet at the school for years while Hailey Aromando and Dashana Francis have been doing hip-hop since childhood. This was simply the next step in their performing arts education. With this in mind, it becomes clear why the students seemed to pick up such complex…

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