Archives for November 7, 2013

In case you haven’t heard, the New Jersey Performing Arts Center is presenting a Duke Ellington tribute concert called “Portrait of Duke” on Saturday afternoon as part of its week-long James Moody Democracy of Jazz Festival. I’m the curator of and master of ceremonies for the program, which features performances by Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks (about whom much more here) of original big-band charts by Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, including “Chelsea Bridge,” “Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blues,” “Ko-Ko,” “Mood Indigo,” and “The Mooche.”
Hilary Gardner, a fabulous young singer about whose debut album I recently raved in this space, is supplying the vocals. As for me, I’ll be reading excerpts from Duke and introducing rare film clips of Ellington on and off stage.
The show starts at two p.m. Admission is $49. To buy a ticket or for more information, go here.

Here’s my list of recommended Broadway, off-Broadway, and out-of-town shows, updated weekly. In all cases, I gave these shows favorable reviews (if sometimes qualifiedly so) in The Wall Street Journal when they opened. For more information, click on the title.

BROADWAY:

• Annie (musical, G, closing Jan. 5, reviewed here)

• Matilda (musical, G, nearly all performances sold out last week, reviewed here)

• Once (musical, G/PG-13, reviewed here)

OFF BROADWAY:

• Avenue Q (musical, R, adult subject matter and one show-stopping scene of puppet-on-puppet sex, reviewed here)

• The Fantasticks (musical, G, suitable for children capable of enjoying a love story, reviewed here)

• Fun Home (musical, PG-13, unsuitable for children, extended through Dec. 15, reviewed here)

CLOSING SOON OFF BROADWAY:

• Good Person of Szechwan (play, PG-13, extended through Dec. 8, reviewed here)

• Juno and the Paycock (drama, G/PG-13, far too dark for children, closes Dec. 8, reviewed here)

CLOSING SOON ON BROADWAY:

• The Winslow Boy (drama, G, too complicated for children, closes Dec. 2, reviewed here)

“She was never ironic or sarcastic or cynical or nihilistic or contemptuous or any of those things, which are all the signs of the tarantula in smart people, the resentful small deadly creature that never fights…that only waits to bite fiercely and maybe kill you that way.”
Tom Wolfe, Back to Blood