Arts & Entertainment
SOPAC Hosts Winter Rep, Music, Christopher O' Riley, John Waters
The January - February schedule is packed
JANUARY
SUN 1/13 @ 7:00PM – MIDTOWN DIRECT REP IN THE LOFT: IN THE BOOK OF
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Theatre
Tickets: $15 Cover, Cash Bar, No Minimum
Find out what's happening in South Orangewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Join Midtown Direct Rep (MDR) in developing new and innovative American theatre. Following on the heels of MDR's successful development of Rated P (for parenthood), a new program, “Midtown Direct Rep in the Loft,” aims to do the same for other previously unseen material.
MDR will be presenting monthly readings or workshops of new plays and musicals one Sunday night a month at 7PM in the SOPAC loft. With a cash bar and post show discussions with the cast and creative team, MDR will foster a fun and collaborative environment to nurture the development of top notch theatre right here at home.
Tonight’s program unveils IN THE BOOK OF by John Walsh.
SAT 1/26 @ 11:00AM – PINKALICIOUS THE MUSICAL
Kids, Family
Tickets: $16
Pinkalicious can't stop eating pink cupcakes despite warnings from her parents. Her pink indulgence lands her at the doctor's office with Pinkititis, an affliction that turns her pink from head to toe - a dream come true for this pink loving enthusiast. But when her hue goes too far, only Pinkalicious can figure out a way to get out of this predicament.
SAT 1/26 @ 8:00PM – JESSICA MOLASKEY WITH MARTIN PIZZARELLI AND A VERY SPECIAL GUEST
Jazz, Broadway
Tickets: $35, $45, $55
Jessica Molaskey’s crisp and friendly vocal stylings will put a spring in your step. A veteran of over a dozen Broadway shows, Ms. Molaskey can also croon out jazz standards with the best of them. Appearing with brother-in-law Martin Pizzarelli and a surprise guest, this is one show you don’t want to miss! Jessica Molaskey is a veteran of a dozen Broadway shows: A Man of No Importance at Lincoln Center written by Terrance McNally, Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, Parade (directed by Hal Prince), Dream, Tommy, Crazy For You, Les Miserables, City of Angels, Chess, Cats and Oklahoma! and she has performed off-Broadway and regionally in dozens of productions.
Jessica has premiered music written by Ricky Ian Gordon, Adam Guettel, Jason Robert Brown, Michael John LaChiusa, Stephen Sondheim and John Bucchino. She has written songs for almost a dozen recordings including “Greed”, part of a commission for Audra McDonald’s Seven Deadly Sins at Carnegie Hall and Ms. McDonald’s CD Cradle and All. Along with her husband John Pizzarelli, Jessica hosts a weekly national radio program called Radio Deluxe.
SUN 1/27 @ 3:00PM – DUO L&L: LIONEL COTTET & LOUIS SCHWIZGEBEL
Classical
Juilliard @ SOPAC
Tickets: $20
“A light and genial performance, full of sparkling details and with a dash of rapt reveries…” - The Strad
The acclaimed Duo L&L, Lionel Cottet (cello) and Louis Schwizgebel (piano), were recently admitted into the prestigious Artist Diploma program at The Juilliard School, where they will continue their artistic pursuits under the tutelage of Emmanuel Ax, Robert McDonald, and Joel Krosnick.
FEBRUARY
FRI 2/1 @ 8:00PM - OMAR SOSA & PAOLO FRESU
Jazz, Latin
Tickets: $25-$35
5000 miles and the Atlantic Ocean separate Sardinia and Cuba, birth places of Paolo Fresu and Omar Sosa. Yet these two improvisers and genius composers found a way to eliminate the distance to form an unusual duo. Their latest album Alma celebrates this new collaboration between six-time Grammy-nominated Cuban composer and pianist Omar Sosa and celebrated Italian trumpet and flugelhorn player Paolo Fresu.
SAT 2/2 @ 8:00PM – JOHN WATERS: THIS FILTHY WORLD
Theatre
Tickets: $35-$75*
*Premium ticket includes invitation to private post-performance reception with John Waters.
John Waters’ one-man show This Filthy World celebrates the film career and obsessive tastes of the man William Burroughs once called "The Pope of Trash". John Waters is famed for his trash epics (Pink Flamingos, Polyester, Serial Mom, A Dirty Shame), as well as his commercial films that have been adapted for the stage (Hairspray, winner of eight Tony Awards and Cry Baby - The Musical nominated for four Tony Awards). This Filthy World focuses on Waters’ early negative artistic influences, his fascination with true crime, exploitation films, fashion lunacy, the extremes of the art world, Catholicism, sexual deviancy and a love of reading.
THU 2/7 @ 7:30PM – CHRISTOPHER O’RILEY: OUT OF MY HANDS
Classical
Tickets: $25, $35
Christopher O'Riley is well-known for his eloquent and compelling musings on music and popular culture. As the host of NPR’s From the Top, O’Riley works and performs with the next generation of brilliant musicians. His performances stretch the piano beyond the classical repertoire and into the rich uncharted territory of contemporary and alt-rock. The music flows seamlessly from one genre to another, from the familiar to the fresh. His latest recording Out Of My Hands, includes the music of R.E.M., Portishead, Cocteau Twins, Pink Floyd, Nirvana, the Bad Plus, the Smiths, Tears for Fears as well as material from Radiohead and Elliott Smith.
SUN 2/10 @ 2:00PM – SUPER SCIENTIFIC CIRCUS
Kids, Family
Tickets: $16
The Super Scientific Circus starring Mr. Fish and Trent the Mime, proves that science can be fun and funny. Alternately assisted and foiled by the comedic antics of Trent the Mime, Mr. Fish uses amazing circus skills involving boomerangs, bubbles, beach balls, and magic to introduce the principles of friction, inertia, centripetal force, aerodynamics, sonic booms, air pressure, and ultraviolet light.
SUN 2/10 @ 7:00PM – BLUES IN THE LOFT: VIVIAN SESSOMS
Blues
Tickets: $15 Cover, Cash Bar, No Minimum
As part of SOPAC’s “IN THE LOFT” series of jazz, blues and theater performances in the casual, club café atmosphere of the SOPAC Loft.
With parents deeply rooted in the music world, it’s no shock that Vivian Sessoms has had an amazing musical career. Raised in Harlem by a jingle singer/songwriter mother and a flutist/ percussionist father (who played with James Brown), Sessoms was singing by the time she could talk. At the age of nine she began doing television and radio voice-overs, while auditioning for Broadway plays and classically training her voice. By the time she was 16, Sessoms started to compose her own songs and her career took off. Her musical growth led to performances with P. Diddy, Donna Summer, Natalie Cole and Chaka Khan, and recordings with Michael Jackson and Gavin Degraw. Recently Sessoms paired up with Chris Parks, guitar/ bass player turned producer, releasing “Sunny One Day.” “Sunny One Day,” an album of unique soul and jazz, took three years to create but follows her motto of “believing in or feeling something about what you’re sing.”
THU 2/14 @ 8:00PM – JON B: MY VALENTINE
R&B
Tickets: $30, $40, $50
R&B singer, songwriter, and producer Jon B. delivers smooth R&B. His unforgettable 1997 classic hit, “They Don’t Know” lead the charts and later became a platinum certified single. Jon B’s sophisticated sound paved the way for artists like Robin Thicke, Bruno Mars and Justin Timberlake. An accomplished songwriter, Jon B. has penned material for artists including Maxi Priest, For Real, After 7, Spice Girls, Az Yet, and Toni Braxton. His recent album Comfortable Swagg, released on his independent label Vibezelect Inc., reflects Jon B’s refined R&B style.
SUN 2/17 @ 7:00PM – JAZZ IN THE LOFT: WINARD HARPER
Presented by SOPAC, The Baird + the Village of South Orange
Tickets: $15 Cover. Cash Bar. No Drink Minimum
SOPAC is excited to launch the new "In the Loft" series - consisting of blues, jazz and Midtown Direct concerts set in an informal club cafe atmosphere in the SOPAC Loft. A casual, affordable and fun concert series featuring up-and-coming musicians and seasoned professionals, the "In the Loft" series offers an up-close perspective on today's blues and jazz musicians as well as Midtown Direct Rep.
SUN 2/24 @ 3:00PM – CHRISTINA & MICHELLE NAUGHTON
Classical
Juilliard @ SOPAC
Tickets: $20
“stellar musicianship, technical mastery, and awe-inspiring artistry.” - San Francisco Examiner
Christina and Michelle Naughton, hailed for their “electrifying and moving musical performances,” offer a program of Classical, Romantic, and Neo-Classical masterworks. In performing both solo and duo pieces, they demonstrate their individual virtuosity as well as showcase the expressive possibilities of four hands on one keyboard.
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