A performance of choice, two tickets: The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey . This acclaimed theater is one of the leading Shakespeare theaters in the nation. Serving 100,000 adults and children annually, it is the longest running Shakespeare Theatre on the East Coast and is New Jersey’s only professional theater company dedicated solely to Shakespeare’s canon and other world classics. Enjoy a pair of tickets to any production of the 2011 or 2012 Season. (Not valid for Saturday nights, or Saturday and Sunday matinees.) Call (973) 408-5600 or visit www.shakespearenj.org for more information. Some restrictions apply.
A performance of choice, two tickets: Paper Mill Playhouse . Two tickets. Bringing the best of musical theater to this historic playhouse in beautiful northern New Jersey, the Paper Mill Playhouse experience is unlike any other. Choose one of the following Paper Mill Playhouse 2011-2012 season productions: Newsies — Adapted for the stage from the popular Disney film. (September 15 through October 16). Irving Berlin's White Christmas — Based on the beloved Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye film, this merry musical tells the tale of two famous song-and-dance men who stage a show in a scenic, snow-topped Vermont inn. (November 16 through December 24). Boeing-Boeing — Hijinks are in the air for Bernard, an American playboy in swinging ’60s Paris, as he juggles three flight-attendant fiancées. (January 18, 2012 through February 12). Damn Yankees — The grand slam musical that knocks it out of the park! (March 7 through April 1). Once On This Island — Take a trip to an island paradise where palm trees sway in Caribbean breezes in this magical, musical love story. (May 30 through June 24). Two tickets for a Wednesday, Thursday or Sunday evening performance. For more information, call (973) 376-4343 or visit PaperMill.org.
Free admission for two during fall: Montclair Art Museum . Two tickets. Fall exhibits run through January 8, 2012. Marina Zurkow: Friends, Enemies, and Others will run from September 17 to January 8 and is the inaugural exhibition in the Montclair Art Museum’s New Directions series. Curated by Alexandra Schwartz, MAM’s first curator of contemporary art, the exhibition marks the world premiere of Zurkow’s Friends and Enemies, and will comprise approximately a dozen works on paper and four digital animation videos. George Inness: Private Treasures will be on display from November 6 to April 1 and will provide a rare opportunity to view significant works that span the artist’s career. The town of Montclair was frequently the subject of his art. Inness’s presence attracted other well-known artists, helping to establish the town’s reputation as an intellectual community and artists’ colony, one of the earliest in the country. Lastly Engaging with Nature: American and Native American Artists: What Is Portraiture? will be on display through November 6. The works in this collection exhibition were selected to challenge and extend conventional concepts of portraiture. For more information about the shows, please visit www.montclairartmuseum.org.
A main stage performance of choice, two tickets: Bickford Theatre . The 2011-2012 Main Stage Series will resurrect four plays. It’s love on the lam in this NJ Premiere of a new comedy by Richard Dresser, The Last Days of Mickey and Jean, the hilarious and touching Over the River and Through the Woods, the chilling psychological thriller Veronica’s Room, and the funny, heartwarming, and nostalgic musical I Do! I Do!. Two tickets to any performance (Opening nights are excluded.) For more information, call (973) 971-3706 or visit www.bickfordtheatre.org.
A 2011-2012 Performance at Mayo Center for the Performing Arts. Two tickets for one of the center's 2011-2012 shows. Call (973) 539-8008 or visit www.mayoarts.org for more information.
March 17 performance with West Point Army Band, two tickets: New Jersey Ballet . Enjoy a pair of tickets to New Jersey Ballet’s March 17, 2012 performance at 7 p.m. at NJPAC in Newark. For the first time ever the acclaimed musicians of the West Point Army Band will be playing for a dance company! This exciting and beautifully choreographed performance is a $120 value. Call (973) 597-9442 or visit www.njballet.org for more information.
Spanish Inspiration, two tickets: New Jersey Symphony Orchestra . Enjoy a pair of tickets to Spanish Inspiration on February 24, 2012, at 8 p.m. at NJPAC in Newark. Savor the spicy, earthy notes of Rimsky-Korsakov’s Iberian-tinged Capriccio and Lalo’s “symphonie,” a violin concerto in disguise. Verdi’s passionate overture brings a pleasing blast of heat, while Ravel’s suite soothes with silken melodies. Call (973) 624-3713 or visit www.njsymphony.org for additional information.
New Jersey Ballet, four tickets: Union County Performing Arts Center . Enjoy four tickets to the New Jersey Ballet at the Union County Performing Arts Center. Witness the elegance and grace of New Jersey Ballet onstage at the beautiful Union County PAC. Four tickets to one of two 2012 performances at the Union County PAC; Saturday, May 5 at 3 p.m. or Sunday, May 6 at 3 p.m. For more information call (732) 499-8226 or visit ucpac.org.
My Wonderful Day, two tickets: Two River Theatre Co . Winnie Barnstairs, a nearly 9-year-old, Anglo-Caribbean girl from south London, has a school assignment to write an essay about her day. By chance, she is spending it with her mother, a house cleaner who works for a rich, unhappily married, minor television celebrity. Instructed to get on with her homework, Winnie sits quietly with her notebook and does just that, observing and recording all the events around her … even as the day turns into an increasingly frenetic domestic farce of marital infidelity, volcanic egos, and comic misunderstandings. Written by one of the world’s most popular playwrights, My Wonderful Day is an insightful, compassionate, and hilarious comedy about life’s disappointments, as seen through the eyes of a watchful child. Performances May 15 through June 3, 2011. Winner will receive two tickets. Based on availability. Call (732) 345-1400 or visit www.trtc.org for more information.
Dance Theatre of Harlem Ensemble two tickets: South Orange Performing Arts Center (SOPAC) . Enjoy a pair of tickets to Dance Theatre of Harlem Ensemble performance on November 20 at 7 p.m. A world-renowned ballet company, this ensemble performs classical, neoclassical and contemporary ballet, and modern dance. Call (973) 275-1114 or visit sopacnow.org for more information.
Indigo Girls, two tickets: Monmouth University’s Pollak Theatre . Enjoy a pair of tickets to see Grammy-winning singer/songwriters the Indigo Girls. Amy Ray and Emily Saliers celebrate their long-standing passion for live performances on their latest release, Staring Down the Brilliant Dream. The Indigos still consider live shows the most vibrant part of what they do and there is no place better than Pollak Theatre to see them do it up close and personal. For more information, call (732) 263-6889 or visit www.monmouth.edu/arts.
Pirates of Penzance or Hairspray, two tickets: The Kelsey Theatre at MCCC. Enjoy two tickets to either Pirates of Penzance (January 13-22) or Hairspray (April 13-22). The Pirates of Penzance features some of the wittiest lyrics ever written for the stage provide fun and entertainment for the whole family. In Hairspray, lovable heroine Tracy Turnblad has a passion for dancing and wins a spot on the local TV dance program. Can a larger-than-life adolescent manage to vanquish the program’s reigning princess and find true love? For more information call (609) 570-3333 or visit www.kelseyatmccc.org.