New Jersey Countryside Magazine provides a comprehensive listing of New Jersey’s performing arts, museum and gallery exhibits, and special events.

Swan Lake: The battle between white and black swan unfolds with savage grace in Swan Lake. Tchaikovsky’s haunting music traces the steps of prima ballerina Mariya Aleksandrova as she dances both Odette and Odile in this definitive production from the Bolshoi Ballet. Approximate run time: three hours with one intermission. January 15 at The State Theatre, 15 Livingston Avenue, (732) 246-SHOW, www.statetheatrenj.org.

Bickford Theatre (Morristown)
Mayo Performing Arts Center (Morristown)
J.M. Stringer Gallery of Fine Art (Bernardsville)
Montclair Art Museum
Paper Mill Playhouse (Millburn)
South Orange Performing Arts Center
The State Theatre (New Brunswick)
Two River Theater Company (Red Bank)
Union County Performing Arts Center (Rahway)

Bickford Theatre
at the Morris Museum
6 Normandy Heights Road
Morristown
(973) 971-3706  or (973) 971-3700
www.bickfordtheatre.org
1/26-2/12. Veronica’s Room. This chilling psychological thriller by the author of Deathtrap explores the thin line between fantasy and reality as it spins a web of deceit, madness and murder! A young couple is enticed to a mansion by its caretakers. There, the girl is persuaded to impersonate the owner — who believes she’s still alive. Wearing the dead girl’s clothes and trapped in her room, the nightmare truly begins.

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Mayo Performing Arts Center 
100 South Street
Morristown
(973) 539-8008 
www.mayoarts.org    
1/6. The Best of Broadway: The Songs of Andrew Lloyd Webber. Take an unforgettable journey through the music of one of the world’s most successful and prolific musical theater composers. Enjoy songs from the powerful rock musical, Jesus Christ Superstar, the thrilling strains of Evita, the playfulness of Cats, the soaring passion of Phantom of the Opera and many other Andrew Lloyd Webber gems.

1/13. Bobby Collins. Comedian Bobby Collins is a storyteller whose heartfelt humor engages audiences with a hilarious blend of characterizations to which everyone can relate. Mature themes, language.

1/14. Frankie Gavin and De Dannan. Since their formation in the pubs of county Galway in the 1970s, De Dannan has been on the forefront of the revival of traditional Irish music. Led by fiddler Frankie Gavin, De Dannan performs upbeat jigs, reels and emotional ballads that speak to the spirit and soul of Ireland.

1/15. Clifford the Big Red Dog. Join Clifford and his friends Emily Elizabeth, Cleo and T-Bone as they embark on fun and exciting adventures in this all-new musical celebrating Clifford’s 50th anniversary. With memorable songs and choreography, there will be even more of Clifford to love! 

1/17. Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons. The original Jersey Boys are back. Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons sing their greatest hits including “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Walk Like A Man” and “Rag Doll.”

1/20. Burton Cummings. One of the great voices in rock, Burton Cummings, the famed lead singer for The Guess Who, performs such timeless classics as “American Woman,” “These Eyes,” “Laughing,” “No Time,” “Undun” and “Share the Land.”

1/27. Manhattan Comedy Night. Enjoy an evening of stand-up featuring some of rising young stars of comedy. Adults Only. Mature themes, language.

1/28. Blast. Winner of the 2001 Tony for “Best Special Theatrical Event.” Blast features 35 brass, percussion and visual performers in a unique explosion of music and theatre which evolved from the showmanship and pageantry of the drum corps, bands and color guards that perform on athletic fields across the nation. 

1/29. The Intergalactic Nemesis. The year is 1933. Are you ready for the adventure? Three actors — dozens of characters. One Foley artist — hundreds of sound effects. One keyboardist – thousands of notes. And more than 1,250 hand-drawn, full-color, hi-res, blow-your-mind comic-book images blasting from a two-story-high screen. Experience a graphic novel come to life. Ages 7 and up.

2/1. David Garrett: Rock Symphonies II. Whether it’s Mozart or Metallica, David Garrett’s charisma, passion and dedication to the violin defy categorization. Showing off his “rocker side,” Garrett energizes pop music with a fresh and vibrant sound that appeals to generations young and old.

2/3. Paquito D’Riviera. Cuban-born saxophonist and clarinetist Paquito’s performances transcend musical genres, where he is equally at home performing cool jazz, hot Latin sounds or even a classical concerto. 

2/4. Super Diamond. Sing along to such classics as “Sweet Caroline,” “Cracklin’ Rosie,” “Song Sung Blue” and “Love on the Rocks” with the ultimate Neil Diamond tribute band in this high-octane tribute concert that’s a pure gem. 

2/5. Romeo and Juliet. Toronto’s Classical Theatre Project captures the youthful passion, beauty and ultimate tragedy of Shakespeare’s timeless and unforgettable story in this production that uses The Bard’s original language but is staged to engage a 21st century audience’s imagination.

2/10. An Evening of Romance with Michael Amante. Known as the “People’s Tenor,” Michael Amante has been crowned the “Prince of High C’s” for his remarkable ability to hit and sustain one of the highest notes of a tenor’s voice. Enjoy a special evening of show stoppers from Broadway and the Metropolitan Opera from this gifted artist. Featuring guest soprano Marissa Famiglietti.

2/11. Lisa Lampanelli. Comedy’s lovable Queen of Mean is an equal opportunity offender who pulls no punches with her trademark in-your-face insult comedy. Adults only. Mature themes, language.

2/12. Ragamala Dance: Sacred Earth. Ragamala Dance presents innovative works within the tradition of Bharatanatyam, the classical dance of southern India. Sacred Earth, performed against large-scale painted panels by master folk artist Anil Chaitya Vangad, brings two ancient Indian visual art traditions--Warli paintings and Kolam rice flour drawings--into conversation with this dance style, transforming the stage into a sacred space and invoking a deep connection to the Earth.

2/16. Celebrity Autobiography. The international smash hit comedy where outrageous and true celebrity memoirs are acted out live on stage by the funniest performers on earth. It’s a remarkable and hilarious look at celebrity conceit — all in their own words.

2/17. “Tschaikowski” St. Petersburg State Orchestra. This program includes Ravel’s “Daphnis and Chloe Suite No 2” and Prokofiev’s “Piano Concerto No. 1.”

2/18. Soul Rebels Brass Band / Brother Joscephus and the Love Revival Revolution Orchestra. Mardi Gras concert. The Soul Rebel Brass Band, the ultimate New Orleans party band, infuses traditional Crescent City brass band jazz with elements of R&B, funk, soul and hip-hop. Join the revolution with Brother Joscephus and the Love Revival Revolution Orchestra, a 14-piece feel-good explosion of love, righteousness and pure New Orleans soul.

2/23. The Robert Cray Band and Shemekia Copeland. Five-time Grammy-winning blues singer/songwriter/guitarist Robert Cray brings 35 years of blues mastery to the stage. Featuring special guest Shemekia Copeland, whose powerful and beautiful vocals draw comparisons to the likes of classic soul singers such as Ruth Brown and Etta James.

2/24. The Spencers: Theatre of Illusion. The Spencers redefine the art of illusion as they delight fans young and old with extraordinary magic that leave audiences awestruck and amazed. 

2/25. New Jersey Ballet’s Repertory Concert of Audience Favorites. Chase away the winter blues with an evening of favorite pas de deux, excerpts and short pieces from the company’s extensive repertory of classical and contemporary dance.

2/26. The New York Gilbert &Sullivan Players: “I’ve Got a Little Twist”. It’s where The Mikado meets The Music Man. Where the HMS Pinafore sets sail for Brigadoon. Where The Pirates of Penzance take shore leave On the Town. Celebrate the legacy of Gilbert & Sullivan in American musical theater, featuring favorites from Rodgers & Hammerstein, Bernstein, Sondheim, Lerner and Lowe and more.

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J.M. Stringer Gallery of Fine Art
21-25 Claremont Road
Bernardsville
(908) 766-6400 
www.jmstringergallery.com
1/28-2/25. An Artists Life: the Recent Paintings of John C. Traynor. This exhibit will display the recent paintings of John C. Traynor. It opens January 28 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and January 29 from 12 p.m. 5 p.m. Regular gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. or by appointment. 

3/3-4/13. Visionary Tales. This exhibit will display the work of John Philip Osborne and William P. Duffy. It opens March 3 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and March 4 from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Regular gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. or by appointment. 

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Montclair Art Museum
3 South Mountain Avenue
Montclair
(973) 746-5555 
www.montclairartmuseum.org
Through 1/8. Marina Zurkow: Friends, Enemies, and Others. This exhibit will comprise five digital animation videos, two of which will be screened on the Museum’s grounds, as well as 16 works on paper. 

Through 4/1. George Inness: Private Treasures. Inness, often called the “father of American landscape painting,” was a visionary artist whose renderings of nature were profoundly personal and inspired by his belief in Swedenborgianism, the philosophy of Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772), which embraced a theory of the connection of the spiritual and material worlds. Inness’s considerable contribution to American art at the turn of the century greatly influenced 20th-century art movements. 

South Orange Performing Arts Center
One SOPAC Way
South Orange
(973) 313-ARTS
www.SOPACNOW.org   
1/27. The Sounds of Sarah Vaughan. Vocalist Rosena M. Hill, trombonist Jason Jackson and legendary jazz pianist Cyrus Chestnut, pay tribute to the stirring music of Sarah Vaughan.

1/29. Juilliard SOPAC: Toomai String Quintet. Toomai String Quintet performs the music of Ernesto Lecuona and Manuel Ponce in a tribute to two Latin American masters. 

1/31. Emanuele Segre & the Brooklyn Chamber Music Society. A concert celebrating music of Italy. 

2/4. Carolyn Dorfman Dance Company: Inspired. With works inspired by life and a gala theme celebrating lives inspired by dance, this performance brings dance that is fresh, passionate, and deliciously physical.

2/10. Jane Monheit. Monheit’s romantic interpretations of exceptional American jazz standards have made her a favorite of the jazz and cabaret worlds.

2/11. Mammoth Follies. Enter prehistoric times and be shaken by the earth-shattering dances of more than 20 dinosaur puppets. Through one-of-a-kind songs and original choreography.

2/12. Jazz in the Loft. Blues and jazz concerts set in an informal, club café atmosphere. 

2/18. Eric Roberson with Special Guest Angela Johnson. New Jersey-native and Grammy Nominated soul artist Eric Roberson makes his SOPAC debut.