Live On Stage

Broadway Belters Shuffle Off to Hoboken- Singers from ‘The Great White Way’ to Raise Money for Hurricane Relief

    By Riverview Observer Staff

 BROADWAY

New York’s Broadway Theater District is home to the most beautiful theaters in the world where audiences pay big bucks to see professional actors sing and dance in big, splashy Broadway musicals. As iconic as the Rockettes, the Broadway musical is a big money-maker and star-maker, too.  Stars like Hugh Jackman, Barbra Streisand, Jason Alexander — and so many more — got their first big break singing to the balcony in a great big Broadway show.

 Here in Hudson, many of us have a strong fondness for Broadway musicals. Some of Hudson’s residents attend shows regularly and lots of Broadway actors settle here and commute to and from New York for their 8 shows a week. So, it seems perfect sense that Chase Leyner, artistic director of Hoboken Children’s Theater, which puts on musicals in Hoboken, would invite friends from the Broadway musical community to put on a show in Hoboken for Hurricane Sandy relief.

On Sun, Jan 20 at 7 pm at the Monroe Theatrespace in Hoboken, Leyner hosts “Broadway in Hoboken,” an evening of musical performances by Broadway singers who have been featured in musicals on Broadway including Wicked, Les Miz, Mamma Mia, Phantom of the Opera, Jersey Boys, The Wedding Singer, Sunset Boulevard, Miss Saigon, Alter Boyz, All Shook Up, Brooklyn, and Jekyll and Hyde.

Performers scheduled to appear include Don Brewer (Mamma Mia!), Anne Brummel (Wicked), Lisa Capps (Miss Saigon), Cara Cooper (All Shook Up), Julie Hanson (Phantom of the Opera), Jesse Johnson (Altar Boyz), David Josefsberg (Wedding Singer), Kevin Kern (Les Miz), John Leone (Jersey Boys), Mayumi Miguel (South Pacific), Brian Noonan (Jekyll and Hyde), Katie O’Toole (Jersey Boys), Sara Schmidt (Brooklyn) and Catherine Vaughn (Sunset Boulevard).

Tickets are $100 and all proceeds go to “Rebuild Hoboken” to aid Hoboken residents affected by Hurricane Sandy. Your ticket is also tax deductible.

Monroe Theatrespace is located at 720 Monroe Street, Hoboken, at the 9th Street Hudson-Bergen Light Rail stop. There’s lots of parking behind the building, too. For tickets, go to www.brownpapertickets.com. For more info, call 646-339-8485.

 

 

 

 

Education

Bayonne’s Xueyuan Lin selected for ‘Who’s Who among Students in American Universities and Colleges’

Prepared Exclusively for  River View Observer

BRADFORD, PA (01/17/2013)(readMedia)– Xueyuan Lin, a(n) biology major from Bayonne, N.J., was one of 65 University of Pittsburgh at Bradford juniors and seniors named to the 2012-2013 edition of “Who’s Who among Students in American Universities and Colleges.”

Students were selected for this honor based upon a combination of the following criteria: leadership and participation in co-curricular activities; service to the college community; and academic achievement.

On the web: http://readabout.me/achievements/Xueyuan-Lin-selected-for-Who-s-Who-among-Students-in-American-Universities-and-Colleges/5364063.

General

3rd Annual Day of Community Service in Honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

All Saints Episcopal Day School, Stevens Cooperative School and Mustard Seed SchoolDr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Come Together to Celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with 3rd Annual Day of Community Service

 Photo source: Bing.com

Prepared by Mary Anne Sullivan for River View Observer

Hoboken & Jersey City, New Jersey – January 18th, 2013 – There may not be any classes on Monday, January 21, but over 200 students from All Saints Episcopal Day School, Mustard Seed School and Stevens Cooperative School will spend the day learning what Dr. King meant when he said, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is ‘What are you doing for others?’”  This “Day of Service” will include children from Kindergarten through 8th grade working alongside teachers and parents in a wide range of activities.

 “This is a ‘day on,’ not a ‘day off’” remarked one 8th grader.  “A friend from another school was surprised I would come to school when I didn’t have to.  But it’s the perfect way to spend MLK Day, and I told my friend I wouldn’t miss this.” Continue reading 3rd Annual Day of Community Service in Honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. →

Dining

Calling all Foodies! Hudson Restaurant Week and A Taste of Hoboken invite Foodies to Feast

 By Sally Deering

GP's Restaurant located in downtown Jersey City. One of the 35 restaurants participating in this year's Hudson Restaurant Week.
GP’s Restaurant located in downtown Jersey City. One of the 35 restaurants participating in this years Hudson Restaurant Week.

It’s January and the winter blahs are knocking on the door, but that doesn’t mean you have to sit home with another Lean Cuisine. Why not skip the frozen dinner, throw on your overcoat and head out for some yummy neighborhood dining during Hudson Restaurant Week and a night of yummy delights at A Taste of Hoboken. Both events are a terrific way to spice up these cold wintery days – and nights.

 On Tues, Jan. 22, A Taste of Hoboken, the Hoboken-North Hudson YMCA’s annual gala fundraiser celebrates its 22nd anniversary. It will be held at Stevens Institute of Technology’s Canavan Arena in Hoboken with 40 restaurants, bakeries and cafes participating. These eateries will be offering tasty bites from the dishes on their menus and some chef surprises, too.  And for the first time since A Taste of Hoboken started all those years ago guests will have the opportunity to sample beer and wine from all over the world.  Continue reading Calling all Foodies! Hudson Restaurant Week and A Taste of Hoboken invite Foodies to Feast →

General

City of Bayonne to Start Curbside Pick-Up of Certain Electronic Items January 14

 

            CITY OF BAYONNE SEALMayor Mark A. Smith announced that the Bayonne Department of Public Works will start curbside pick-up of certain electronic equipment (e-waste), effective Monday, January 14, 2013.  These items include computers, laptops, monitors, televisions, electronic tablets, electronic notebooks, and e-book readers.  Under federal and state regulations implemented a year ago, it has been illegal to dispose of e-waste with regular garbage.  In 2012, the City of Bayonne designated its recycling yard on Hook Road as the drop-off site for designated electronic items.  Mayor Smith said, “Although the City instituted longer hours of operation at our recycling yard to accommodate the drop-off of electronic items, I believe we can serve the public better by having our Department of Public Works pick up these e-waste items at curbside. The convenience of curbside pick-up will encourage more people to participate in the electronic recycling program.” Continue reading City of Bayonne to Start Curbside Pick-Up of Certain Electronic Items January 14 →

Hudson Then...Again

HUDSON THEN…AGAIN -An After Christmas Story-CHRISTMAS AT SNAKE HILL

 

by: Maureen Wlodarczyk

Snake Hill Assylum
Secaucus NJ’s famed Snake Hill Assylum

 In my last column, I wrote about Simon “King” Kelly, a fixture in Weehawken politics in the second half of the 1800s, and a person known for his charity, some of that evidenced by his visits to the Snake Hill Almshouse dressed as Santa Claus and bearing gifts for the young poorhouse inmates. That discovery was more than enough to rekindle my interest in the Snake Hill “community,” a societal island of lost and mostly forgotten souls comprised of the mentally ill, desperately poor, tuberculosis and smallpox patients and incarcerated criminals, and I got to wondering about the decades of Christmases spent there by thousands of Hudson County citizens.  

In the 1870s, the Snake Hill complex in Secaucus included the Almshouse, Penitentiary and “Lunatic Asylum.” Newspapers from those years reported politicians arranging for Christmas turkey and chicken dinners at Snake Hill accompanied by live music and even some dancing. The children of the Almshouse were treated to candy, fruit and cake and, according to the press, the convict population was permitted recreational time in the prison corridors, prompting some to break into song. Continue reading HUDSON THEN…AGAIN -An After Christmas Story-CHRISTMAS AT SNAKE HILL →

Cover Story, General

Hoboken’s New Reality Stars – A&E’ “Storage Wars: New York” stars Chris Morelli and Tad Eaton of The Frayed Knot

By Sally Deering    

Photo of Tad Eaton and Chris Morelli in front of  The Frayed Knot by Sally Deering

Tad Eaton and Chris Morelli in front of thier furniture and bric-a-brac emporium in Hoboken, NJ
Tad Eaton and Chris Morelli in front of thier furniture and bric-a-brac emporium in Hoboken, NJ

Move over “Cake Boss”! Chris Morelli and Tad Eaton, owners of The Frayed Knot, a vintage furniture and brick-a-brack emporium in Hoboken are fast becoming the new darlings of reality TV. Friends and business partners, Morelli and Eaton star in “Storage Wars: New York” an A&E TV reality show that follows an eclectic group of ‘treasure hunters’ from the Metropolitan area who search for hidden bounty in repossessed storage units. It’s like a twist on that old game show “Let’s Make a Deal”. You get to see what’s behind Door No. 1 but you don’t know the true value of your deal until you rip open the boxes and pick through the spoils.

 

The cast of Storage Wars: New York
The cast of Storage Wars: New York

Photo Courtesy of A & E TV

Making its January 2013 debut with six episodes, “Storage Wars: New York” is a spin-off of the “Storage Wars” franchise which also includes “Storage Wars: Texas.”  The New York cast features Joe Pauletich of Queens, Candy Olsen and Courtney Wagner of Brooklyn, Mike Braiotta of the Bronx and Morelli and Eaton of Hoboken. Auctioneer is New Yorker John Luke. 

In the debut episode, “Beg, Borough and Steal” several cast members including Morelli and Eaton bid on and buy goodies inside three separate storage units. The girls unearth several pairs of high-heeled shoes and possibly a pole dancer’s costume; Joe ‘P’ discovers some interesting art and photography; and Morelli and Eaton excavate a brand new gas grill and two French chests called commodes they bring back to their shop, paint bright red and put out for sale in one of The Frayed Knot’s splashy showrooms. Continue reading Hoboken’s New Reality Stars – A&E’ “Storage Wars: New York” stars Chris Morelli and Tad Eaton of The Frayed Knot →

General

Former Hudson County Resident Russel Kirk Dedicates Latest Album- To Journal Square, to the Journal Square Community

Russell Kirk's second album
New album by Russel Kirk dedicated to Journal Square community in Jersey City

Baltimore native and Jazz Saxophonist Russell Kirk compose a suite in four parts titled The Path Suite, referencing New Jersey’s train system, featured on his latest album, one he dedicated to the Journal Square community.  The album, Kirk’s second is titled To Journal Square and the name of his band – The Path, the pedigree ensemble that joins Kirk on this musical journey adds lyrical balance to each track, and Kirk unselfishly allows them to shine.   Among them are Grammy Award-winning jazz drummer/composer Terri Lyne Carrington, fusion guitarist Wayne Krantz, concert & film composer Jacob Yoffee on tenor Saxophone, the extraordinary Dontae Winslow on trumpet/vocals and Cuban export, award-winning keyboardist Aruán Ortiz.

 Kirk, who studied at Townson Unviersity and the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, Maryland left his home town immediately after graduating and began touring – he traveled with the USO and Indie pop rock singer/songwriter Jenny Boyle playing in a number of European countries, Africa and the Middle East and joined Gary Thomas, founder of jazz studies at Peabody, on tour in  Japan, before returning to work on his Masters at NYU.  While at NYU he met and played in essembles with John Scofield, Chris Potter, Kenny Werner and Lenny Pickett.  He was an adjunct faculty member in the Steinhardt Music School at NYU and headed a music outreach program for inner city youth in Harlem and the east Village.  It would begin his passion for bringing music to underserved communities which he continues to do through the OrchKids initiative in Baltimore.

Russell eventually moved from New York to Jersey City’s Journal Square Community and it was there during a difficult period in his career that he began to construct this current album. The vibrancy, diversity and hub nature of the community gave him inspiration.  He locked in on the rhythm of the community, captured the musicality in the energy that it gave off.  The album has a mashable construct, similar to the construct of the community he has dedicated it to. Continue reading Former Hudson County Resident Russel Kirk Dedicates Latest Album- To Journal Square, to the Journal Square Community →

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