Growing up in Bloomington, Indiana, in a house full of music, Jonathan Biss has been playing the piano since childhood. Both his mother (Miriam Fried) and father (Paul Biss) played the violin, dividing their time between teaching, performing solo, and in chamber groups — sometimes with young Biss contributing. He began his piano studies at […]
“Big,” the 1996 musical taken from a 1988 film, stands out among tuners made from hit movies because it’s good. At the Bristol Riverside Theatre, where it runs through April 14, it’s real good. Real, real good. Perfect, in fact. Blockbusters like “The Producers” and “Hairspray” aside, musicals made from popular films have become the […]
In case you hadn’t noticed, “thrifting” — the practice of recycling and reusing clothing — has not only gone viral but gone upscale. No longer just a practice among those who for generations have thrifted out of economic necessity (and long before there was a cool word for it), but who see the virtue in […]
From the time baritone Zachary Angus intones the opening solo notes of “Carmen’s” vocal line in Boheme Opera New Jersey’s production of Bizet’s classic last weekend, you are assured this “Carmen” would join a long line of Boheme programs in featuring meticulous singing that boasts excellence in pitch, tone, vibrance, drama, and intent. To a […]
St. Patrick’s Day is so much more than corned beef and cabbage. Get into the spirit of the Emerald Isle with these St. Patrick’s Day-themed events throughout the greater Mercer County region. Slainte! Killarney’s Publick House Killarney’s Publick House, described on its website as an “old-school Irish alehouse,” brings seasonal imagery to life with a […]
The second number in the second act of McCarter Theatre’s production of “Dreamgirls” is a solo called “I Am Changing,” meant as a comeback number for the show’s lead, Effie White (Trejah Bostic), a diva who was jettisoned by the ensemble that made her a star and looking, after a tough hiatus, to claim some […]
Aptly titled “Classic Beauty,” the sumptuous program presented by American Repertory Ballet at New Brunswick Performing Arts Center from March 8 through 10, struck me as a brilliantly conceived hybrid. It’s not an entire full-evening story ballet, of the ilk that can run close to three hours and grow tiresome in its detailed telling of […]
Matcha, the finely ground powder of specially grown, uniquely flavored green tea leaves that are at the heart of “chanoyu” — the traditional Japanese tea ceremony — is now available at Ooika, a cozy tea house on Lawrenceville’s Main Street dedicated to offering high-quality matcha in its many forms. Ooika opened its doors on February […]
As with most Chris Bohjalian novels, the author’s world premiere play at New Brunswick’s George Street Playhouse, “The Club,” is a page-turner. In a crisp, attention-grabbing 80 minutes, Bohjalian covers acres of ground that show that for all the significant changes and tangible societal progress wrought in recent decades, some attitudes, situations, and issues have […]
Princeton Makes, a Princeton-based artist cooperative, and Ragged Sky Press, a local publisher focused on poetry, host their monthly Second Sunday Poetry Reading on March 10 at 4 p.m. featuring two New Jersey-based poets. The readings take place at the Princeton Makes store in the Princeton Shopping Center followed by a limited open mic for […]