House lights down! Curtain up!
After a year of virtual performances, stages around the College of the Arts are coming alive with music, theater, and dance. Back in the spotlight are some remarkable young talents who represent the future of the performing arts.
Throughout the academic year, there will be something for audiences of every interest and taste—bold and innovative theatrical works . . . music ranging from ageless masterpieces to contemporary jazz . . . dance that excites the eye and challenges the mind.
Take your pick and reserve your seat. It’s showtime at Montclair State!
Daniel Gurskis Dean, College of the Arts
| Anthony Mazzocchi Director, John J. Cali School of Music | Randy Mugleston Chair, Department of Theatre and Dance |
Cali Residency Series
Join us for the 2021-22 academic year for a reimagined professional residency program. The week-long residencies include a rotation of eleven top-rated artists and ensembles. Each residency will contribute to an ongoing exploration of the ever-changing landscape of music today, introducing students by example to a future that will be, at times, less traditional. Through the multiple opportunities to learn and collaborate with guest artists, students will broaden their understanding of their future musical careers.
Please join us for the public events at the Cali School of Music and the co-hosted Bridges Series concerts at Merkin Concert Hall in New York City.
Co-Presented with Kaufman Music Center. Free admission but tickets are required.
University Opera with University Symphony Orchestra
Alexander Kasser Theater | $20.00Gianni Schicchi & Buoso’s Ghost
Music by Giacomo Puccini & Michael Ching
Anna Rebek, Director | Kyle Ritenauer, Conductor
Set in medieval Florence, the established Donati family are grieving around the deathbed of their patriarch, Buoso Donati. But when they find out he’s left their inheritance to the church – mourning turns to rage. They rope in a lower class fix-it guy, Gianni Schicchi, to change the will, in exchange for his daughter Lauretta marrying their young Rinuccio. Schicchi finds the perfect solution, executes the plan, and gets the Donati exactly what they deserve.
In the sequel to Puccini’s masterpiece, Michael Ching’s Buoso’s Ghost, Schicchi discovers a dark Donati secret. When they come back to haunt him, Schicchi screams for mercy, until he conjures up a new plan, and summons the ghost of Buoso for a little help.
Buy TicketsEverybody
Life Hall Studio Theatre | $15.00by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins
Directed by Tommy Schrider
The ever-inventive Branden Jacobs-Jenkins has penned a timeless and timely riff on the Medieval morality play. It’s a wildly fresh, seriously funny, and deeply human meta-story that asks the big questions about what it means to live, what it means to die (if anything!), and how we might travel through the world with a bit more grace and compassion. Oh, and be a bit better about recycling along the way.
Elephant’s Graveyard
Alexander Kasser Theater | $20.00by George Brant
Directed by Sonoko Kawahara
When a traveling circus arrived in a muddy Tennessee town in 1916, the hunger for spectacle and the power of hysteria collided and took a tragic turn. Based on a true story, Elephant’s Graveyard recounts why the hanging execution of a gigantic elephant happened, with personal narrative and lush theatricality that will reverberate long after the curtain goes down.
University Wind Symphony and Clifton High School Wind Ensemble
Alexander Kasser Theater | $20.00Thomas McCauley, Conductor
Join the Wind Symphony and their special guests, the Clifton High School Wind Ensemble, as they present a program that will include the music of composers Andrew Blair, Jennifer Jolly, and Omar Thomas. The Wind Symphony will also feature the winner of the Wind Symphony Concerto Competition.
Choral Showcase #Inspired! University Singers and Guest High School Choirs
Alexander Kasser Theater | Admission by Donation (proceeds to Cali Scholarship Fund)Heather J. Buchanan, Conductor | Steven W. Ryan, Accompanist
#Inspired! showcases the choral artistry of two guest HS choirs, the University Singers, and three combined choirs (SSAA, TTBB, SATB) comprising HS and collegiate singers, this concert celebrates the unique and powerful artistic community that is created through choral singing.
University Symphony Orchestra
Alexander Kasser Theater | $20.00Kyle Ritenauer, Conductor
Join conductor Kyle Ritenauer and the Symphony Orchestra as they present works from classical and contemporary repertoire.
University Jazz Ensemble
Alexander Kasser Theater | $20.00Oscar Perez, Director
Join director Oscar Perez and the Jazz Ensemble as they present an exciting concert of classic and contemporary jazz.
Dance Makers
Memorial Auditorium | $20.00Directed by Maxine Steinman
Come see the next generation of dance makers! In this curated dance concert, Montclair State student choreographers bring their individual and distinct creativity to Memorial Auditorium.
Bright Star
Life Hall Studio Theatre | $15.00Music, Book, & Story by Steve Martin
Music, Lyrics, & Story by Edie Brickell
Directed by Rebecca L. Miller
Edie Brickell and Steve Martin’s BRIGHT STAR tells the story of a woman’s harrowing journey to face her past and reckon with her future. With a powerful and graceful score inspired by the pair’s 2013 collaboration bluegrass album, “Love Has Come for You,” this tale of optimism in the face of impossible choices brings us closer to what makes us human—our capacity for closeness and forgiveness.
On the Town
Alexander Kasser Theater | $20.00Music by Leonard Bernstein
Book and Lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green
Directed by Ashley Rodbro
Three sailors on shore leave in New York City during World War II find romance and adventure in the first Broadway musical written by Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden, and Adolph Green, with legendary choreography by Jerome Robbins.
University Symphonic Band and University Campus Band
Alexander Kasser Theater | $20.00Thomas McCauley and Theodora Sotiropoulos, Conductors
Join us for a great evening of eclectic and entertaining music-making by both the Symphonic Band and the Campus Band. The program will include the music of composers O’Neal Douglas and Alfred Reed.
University Symphony Orchestra
Alexander Kasser Theater | $20.00Kyle Ritenauer, Conductor
Join conductor Kyle Ritenauer and the Symphony Orchestra as they present works from classical and contemporary repertoire.
Spring Dance 2023
Memorial Auditorium | $20.00Directed by Christian von Howard
Spring Dance 2023 features the choreographic works of Stefanie Batten Bland, Kathleen Kelley, Michelle Manzanales, Maxine Steinman, Christian von Howard, and other guest choreographers.
University Wind Symphony
Alexander Kasser Theater | $20.00Thomas McCauley, Conductor
The Wind Symphony will present their second world premiere of the year with composer Armando Bayolo’s A History of Violence a new concerto for piano and winds. The program also includes music by composers Stacy Garrop, Jennifer Jolly, Omar Thomas, and Andrew Blair.
University Singers and Vocal Accord with University Singers Alumni Choir—Spring Concert
Alexander Kasser Theater | $20.00Heather J. Buchanan, Conductor; Steven W. Ryan, Accompanist
Please join the University Singers, the Vocal Accord, and the University Singers Alumni Choir as we celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the choral program under the leadership of Dr. Heather J. Buchanan and her 17-year partnership with collaborative artist Steven W. Ryan.
University Jazz Ensemble
Alexander Kasser Theater | $20.00Oscar Perez, Director
Join director Oscar Perez and the Jazz Ensemble as they present an exciting concert of classic and contemporary jazz.
