"We had tremendous success in the current season adding a multitude of new performances all year long," said John Schreiber, NJPAC's president and CEO. "We were able to take advantage of unique booking opportunities that came up to add exciting programming that audiences really responded to."
"In terms of program diversity, what Carnegie Hall, the Beacon Theater and The Apollo are to New York, NJPAC is all that and more to New Jersey audiences, all while providing important educational opportunities for young people linked to most performances," says David Rodriguez, Executive Producer of NJPAC.
Summer 2013
This summer at NJPAC will be its busiest programming season yet, with six mainstage pop performances and the return of Horizon Foundation Sounds of the City. The 2013-2014 season kicks off on July 7 with Cyndi Lauper, fresh off of her Broadway triumph with Kinky Boots, makes her NJPAC debut on her new "She's So Unusual" Tour. The Tour includes a full performance of her 1983 debut LP as well as a variety of other hits from her career.
Other sizzling performances this summer include Billboard's Female Entertainer of the Century Diana Ross on August 16, and rock-and-Roll Hall of Famers The O'Jays will share the stage on August 23 with eight-time Grammy-winning "Empress of Soul" Gladys Knight.
From July 11 through August 29, NJPAC will continue Horizon Foundation Sounds of the City, a free outdoor concert series on Thursday nights featuring a taste of what audiences can expect to hear on the mainstage in the upcoming season. The hot lineup showcases artists from a variety of genres: Rhythm Revue Dance Party with Felix Hernandez, hip-hop royalty Naughty By Nature, percussionist and vocal pop star Sheila E., Grammy-winning reggae star Shaggy, R&B legend The Ohio Players and more!
Children and Families
One of the founding missions of NJPAC revolves around serving children and families, and with one of the largest arts education programs in the country, NJPAC delivers fun, engaging and educational performances for thousands of kids in the region each season. On November 3, Kevin Maynor, a leading American bass known for his performances at the Metropolitan Opera and New York City Opera, stars in Trilogy: An Opera Company's Paul Robeson Remembered, a production that recaptures the words and songs of Paul Robeson, the legendary singer, actor and activist. Aladdin and Other Enchanting Tales, an inventive production for young audiences featuring masks, magic, pantomime and puppetry by the Enchantment Theater Company, will be presented on November 23; the return of the Hudson Vagabond Puppets in Mammoth Follies, a larger-than-life musical revue that explores the wonders of evolution through giant puppents on March 1, 2014; We're Going on a Bear Hunt, a musical adaptation of the award-winning children's book from author Michael Rosen and illustrator Helen Oxenbury, on March 29, 2014; Dallas Children's Theater's take on E.B. White's classic Stuart Little on May 17, 2014; and the return, on June 7, 2014, of Imagination Stage, this time with Cinderella Remix, an ultra-contemporary version of Cinderella imagined through song, dance and hip-hop. Black Violin, the virtuoso violin duo of Kev Marcus and Wil Balso, returns to NJPAC on February 22, 2014, with their own music fusion that includes classical, jazz, blues, R&B, and hip-hop. And two performances for children and their families are pure spectacle: the return of Montreal-based Cirque Eloize on December 13 with its production of Cirkopolis, and the acrobatic stagecraft from The Peking Acrobats, an elite group of gymnasts, jugglers, cyclists, and tumblers on February 23, 2014.
For more information about NJPAC and its 2013-2014 season, visit www.njpac.org or call 888-GO-NJPAC.
