2017 - 18 Season of Events
Archive of Centenary Stage Company's 2017 - 18 season of events including professional theatre productions, live music and dance events.
Curtain Up!
w/ Tapestry: The Carole King Song Book
Saturday, September 16 at 8:00 pm
Sitnik Theatre : Lackland Performing Arts Center
Tapestry: The Carole King Songbook, is North America's premier musical tribute to Carole King. Suzanne O. Davis recreates the sound and vibe of a 1970s Carole King concert experience following her legendary album, Tapestry. You will be transported back to the iconic image of her record breaking, multi-million selling album of 1971.
Boston's Ensemble Chaconne
Live Concert Series
Sunday, September 24 at 2:00 pm
Sitnik Theatre : Lackland Performing Arts Center
Measure for Measure: The Music of Shakespeare's Plays
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Elizabethan England comes alive with the versatility and dramatic flair in love songs, comic antics, madness and tragedy in the music Shakespeare's audience would have heard. Selections are performed on renaissance instruments and include music from As You Like It, Twelfth Night, Henry V, The Winter's Tale, The Tempest, Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth, and other plays.
The Learned Ladies
Professional Theatre Series
October 6 - 22
Sitnik Theatre : Lackland Performing Arts Center
By Moliere
Adapted by Freyda Thomas
Philamente and her daughter Armande are rabid supporters of the new intellectual movement among women. In her overzealousness, Philamente plays marriage matchmaker for her sweet younger daughter Henrietta. Add to this a meek husband, a loony if lovable sister, a practical sister-in-law and a couple of mouthy-servants and you have the makings of a sprightly theatre event!
Song & Dance Men
CSC Fringe Festival
October 26 - 29
Kutz Theatre : Lackland Performing Arts Center
"Its The Rat Pack with tap shoes... New York's best variety show!"
Direct from New York City, Song & Dance Men features famous tunes by George Gershwin, Irving Berlin, George M. Cohan, and the dance styling of Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire and many more!
Tillie Smith
Special Event
October 28 at 2:00 pm: Historical Walk
November 1 at 7:30 pm: Staged Reading
Kutz Theatre : Lackland Performing Arts Center
Over 100 years ago the murder of a kitchen worker rocketed the town of Hackettstown to national prominence. Many say her ghost haunts the campus of Centenary University to this day. These presentations are offered as part of the 150th anniversary celebrations of Centenary University in Hackettstown.
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The presentation features a historical walk tracing the steps of Tilly's final hours and a staged reading of Tillie Smith the play.
School House Rock Live! Jr.
Young Audience Series
November 2 - 6
The Little Theatre
The Emmy Award-winning 1970s Saturday morning cartoon series that taught history, grammar, math, science and politics through clever, tuneful songs is instructing a whole new generation to Unpack Your Adjectives and do The Circulations!
The New Jersey Ballet
Professional Dance Series
Saturday, November 4 at 8:00 pm
Sitnik Theatre : Lackland Performing Arts Center
For more than half a century, New Jersey Ballet has thrilled audiences from Bergen to Cape May with top quality professional ballet.
The New Jersey Ballet: Cinderella
Professional Dance Series
Sunday, November 5 at 2:00 pm
Sitnik Theatre : Lackland Performing Arts Center
Family Event!
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The classic fairy tale comes to life with lavish sets and costumes, performed with New Jersey Ballet's original "storyteller" narration so little children can follow along. Cinderella is rich, colorful entertainment with a moral for children of all ages.
Seeger: A Multimedia Solo Show
CSC Fringe Festival
November 9 - 12
Kutz Theatre : Lackland Performing Arts Center
Randy Noojin resurrects the prolific icon, Pete Seeger, America's beloved folksinger/activist - singing Seeger's greatest songs, vocalizing a brilliant script, and projecting mesmerizing visuals to tell of his personal struggles for free speech.
My Name is Gideon:
I'm Probably Going to Die Eventually
CSC Fringe Festival
November 16 - 19
Kutz Theatre : Lackland Performing Arts Center
Award winning, sold out performances, and 5 stars from the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Theatrical couch-surfing troubadour, Gideon has hopped from one town to the next on bike, roller blades, and automobiles, performing and sleeping in 504 homes of perfect strangers. Now, with his banjo Rossana under his arms Gideon invites you into his own living room on the stage. The instruments are eclectic, the stories astonishing and the spell he casts transports you out of this world. "Eccentric and exhilarating. The best possible combination" (Stephen Sondheim)
Disney's Newsies
Family Holiday Spectacular
November 24 - December 10
Sitnik Theatre : Lackland Performing Arts Center
Music by Alan Menken, Lyrics by Jack Feldman, Book by Harvey Fierstein
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The 2012 Tony-award winning musical. Based on the 1992 motion picture and inspired by a true story, Newsies is the rousing tale of Jack Kelly, a charismatic newsboy and leader of a band of teenaged "newsies." When titans of publishing raise distribution prices at the newsboys’ expense, Jack rallies newsies from across the city to strike against the unfair conditions and fight for what's right!
Freda Payne: Tribute to Ella Fitzgerald
January Music Festival
Sunday, January 14 at 2:00 pm
Sitnik Theatre : Lackland Performing Arts Center
Freda Payne scored a No. 1 hit with her 1970 pop anthem, Band of Gold. Over the course of the last four decades, Payne has toured the world in concerts, theater performances and one-woman shows.
Larry Miller
Special Event
Saturday, January 20 at 8:00 pm
Sitnik Theatre : Lackland Performing Arts Center
Speical Fundraiser for the Hackettstown Rotary Club
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Opening with guest comedian Rodney Laney. One of Hollywood's most recognizable faces, Larry Miller has appeared in over 100 film and television shows, made dozens of appearances on The Tonight Show, The Late Show and Real Time, has starred in his own HBO comedy specials and on Broadway.
Swing that Music!
January Music Festival
Sunday, January 21 at 2:00 pm
Sitnik Theatre : Lackland Performing Arts Center
A Jazz Tribute to the Three Louis
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Vocalist-saxophonist, Danny Bacher swings the praises of the three Louis... Armstrong, Prima & Jordan in an unforgettable performance.
Matuto
January Music Festival
Sunday, January 27 at 8:00 pm
Sitnik Theatre : Lackland Performing Arts Center
"The joyous, ebullient music of Matuto merges the folkloric music of Brazil with the sounds of all-American bluegrass" says the Chicago Tribune. In Brazil, Matuto is slang for Country Boy, but these urbanized virtuosos have headlined renowned Bluegrass, Jazz and World Music Festivals across North America, as well as recent collaborations with Carnegie Hall.
Sleepy Man
Special Event
Sunday, February 3 at 8:00 pm
Sitnik Theatre : Lackland Performing Arts Center
A trio of virtuoso bluegrass musicians who play with dazzling vivacity, Sleepy Man launched to national visibility with their appearance on TEDtalks Music in 2012. A special benefit concert to support Centenary University's Innovation Initiative.
1984
NEXTstage Repertory
February 8 - 12
The Little Theatre
by George Orwell
Adapted for the stage by Michael Gene Sullivan
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Based on the iconic novel by George Orwell, 1984 brings us the story of Winston Smith, a cog in the giant machine state of Oceania. A ferocious and provocative adaptation of one of the most prescient works of literature of the last century.
Ranky Tanky
Concert Series
Saturday, February 10 at 8:00 pm
Sitnik Theatre : Lackland Performing Arts Center
"You've got to hear this band!" (Fresh Air, Terry Gross)
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Soared to top 10 on the Billboard Charts this month! Taking its name from the Gullah phrase for "work it" or "get down" Ranky Tanky infuses the music of the Georgia/South Carolina sea island with jazz, gospel, and R&B - and the result is irresistible.
ART
Professional Theatre Series
February 16 - March 4
Sitnik Theatre : Lackland Performing Arts Center
by Yasmina Reza
translated by Christopher Hampton
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Winner of the 1998 Tony Award for Best Play and Winner of the 1996 Olivier Award for Best Comedy, ART focuses on the meaning of art, as well as, the meaning of friendship, to both the man who brought the painting and the two friends who come to see it. "Anyone looking for a play that is funny, sophisticated, stylish, stimulating and moving should go to 'ART'" (Independent, London)
Turning
Special Event
Thursday, March 8 at 7:00 pm
Bickford Theatre at the Morris Museum
by Darrah Cloud
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From the backyards of Newark to Hitler's 1936 Berlin Olympics, the women of the first US Women's Gymnastics Team were scrappy, they were fearless, and they were dedicated to something so much larger than themselves.
Molsky's Mountain Drifters
Concert Series
Saturday, March 10 at 8:00 pm
Sitnik Theatre : Lackland Performing Arts Center
Grammy-nominated Bruce Molsky on fiddle, banjo, guitar and song with next generation virtuoso guitarist Stash Wyslouch and banjo player Allison de Groot are a force to be reckoned with and are creating some of the most soul-stirring music out there today.
Moe-tion Dance Theater
Professional Dance Series
Sunday, March 11 at 3:00 pm
Sitnik Theatre : Lackland Performing Arts Center
by Darrah Cloud
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"Artistic Director Marueen Glennon Clayton's choreography has the ring of truth", says NJ dance critic Robert Johnson, and her work has been called "refreshing, wise, and grounded in experience". Known for their site-specific work, Moe-tion Dance Theater is dedicated to creating new forms of expression through movement and dance.
XY Dance Project
Professional Dance Series
Sunday, March 18 at 3:00 pm
Sitnik Theatre : Lackland Performing Arts Center
Led by Artistic Director Nijawwon Matthews, XY Dance Project has a unique movement style that blends contemporary dance through the spiritual rhythms of African dance, the grace and peace of Tai Chi and the heart of street dance.
Lunasa
Concert Series
Saturday, March 24 at 8:00 pm
Sitnik Theatre : Lackland Performing Arts Center
Back by popular deman, the "hottest Irish acoustic group on the planet" returns to the Centenary stage. Lunasa's novel arrangements and unique musical approaches create a singular sound that has propelled Irish acoustic music into exciting new territory.
Nimbus Dance Works
Professional Dance Series
Sunday, March 25 at 3:00 pm
Sitnik Theatre : Lackland Performing Arts Center
Nimbus Dance Works presents ESTHER, an edgy retelling of the First Testament tale of gender, power, and seduction, with full glam-rock/high-concept verve. In collaboration with Brooklyn-based indie rock band Sky Pony (fronted by Tony-nominated Lauren Worsham), ESTHER creates crossover appeal between rock and concert dance, high-brow and low-brow, and resonates deeply in today's turbulent context.
Hitler's Tasters
Professional Theatre Series
April 6 - 22
Kutz Theatre : Lackland Performing Arts Center
World Premiere.
Winner of the 2017 Susan Glaspell Award. Inspired by the true story. Three times a day, every day a group of young women have the opportunity to die for their country. They are Adolph Hitler's food tasters. And what do girls discuss as they wait to see if they will live through another meal? Like all girls, throughout time, they gossip and dream, they question and dance. They want to love, laugh and above all else, they want to survive.
WPS: Turning
Women Playwrights Series
Wednesday, April 11 at 7:30 pm
Kutz Theatre : Lackland Performing Arts Center
by Darrah Cloud
In the heart of 1930s Newark, a group of scrappy young women began to train in backyard gyms for what would become the experience of a lifetime.
WPS: Havana Orthodoxy
Women Playwrights Series
Wednesday, April 18 at 7:30 pm
Sitnik Theatre : Lackland Performing Arts Center
by Vita Patrick Morales
Inspired by a true story. A harrowing journey of courage and commitment by one family embroiled in the political turmoil of 1950s Cuba. Torn between idealism and survival.
WPS: Another Revolution
Women Playwrights Series
Wednesday, April 25 at 7:30 pm
Kutz Theatre : Lackland Performing Arts Center
by Jacqueline Bircher
It is 1968. From opposing disciplines & worlds, Kate and Henry are forced to share a lab in the midst of a campus devolving into political chaos.
Lucky Stiff
NEXTstage Repertory
April 27 - May 6
Sitnik Theatre : Lackland Performing Arts Center
Book & Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens
Music by Stephen Flaherty
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Based on The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo by Michael Butterworth. This murder mystery farce of mistaken identities, millions in diamonds and a wheelchair-bound corpse will leave you dying of laughter.
Lee Rocker
Summer Jamfest
Saturday, July 14 at 8:00 pm
Sitnik Theatre : Lackland Performing Arts Center
The Stray Cat Lee Rocker: Grammy-nominated musician and Bass Player Hall of Famer. From the cover of the Rolling Stone magazine, to appearing on Saturday Night Live, to headlining the US Festival and touring with the Rolling Stones, Lee Rocker has seen and done it all.
George Gee Swing Orchestra
Summer Jamfest
Saturday, July 21 at 8:00 pm
Sitnik Theatre : Lackland Performing Arts Center
30 Years of Swingin' - and still going! The George Gee Swing Orchestra style in a nutshell: Happy music played by happy musicians for happy people! The George Gee Swing Orchestra packs a lot of swing into compact songs and tight, well organized sets. Long enough to catch a groove, short enough to catch your breath!
Hair
Summer Musical Theatre Series
July 27 - August 5
Sitnik Theatre : Lackland Performing Arts Center
Book & Lyrics by Gerome Ragni & James Rado
Music by Galt MacDermot
A NEXTstage Repertory production. The American tribal love-rock musical HAIR celebrates the sixties counterculture in all its barefoot, long-haired, bell-bottomed, beaded and fringed glory. To an infectiously energetic rock beat, the show wows audiences with songs like “Aquarius,” “Good Morning, Starshine,” “Hair,” “I Got Life,” and “Let The Sun Shine.” Exploring ideas of identity, community, global responsibility and peace, HAIR remains relevant as ever as it examines what it means to be a young person in a changing world.
Yessongs: The Concert
Summer Jamfest
Saturday, August 11 at 8:00 pm
Sitnik Theatre : Lackland Performing Arts Center
Book & Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens
Music by Stephen Flaherty
Considered pioneers of the progressive rock genre and regarded by fans as living legends, YES has etched its unique sound and mystical lyrics into international charts for over 40 years. Recreating this fantastic visual and audio, masterpiece, The Hype Touring Agency presents YESSONGS: The Concert diligently recreating the 1972 concert with stunning detail.