Out of Context on NJN’s State of the Arts
On NJN1 Thursday, November 19 at 8:00 pm
On NJN2 November 20 through November 26 at 5:00 pm and 11:00 pm

STATEWIDE –The blues played by a suburban white teenager, a book about Orson Welles turned into a movie starring Zac Efron, and the real woman behind D.H. Lawrence’s “Lady Chatterley’s Lover.” It’s Out of Context, on this episode of State of the Arts.

Me and Orson Welles
Most people under 30 have no idea who Orson Welles is –but they do know who Zac Efron is.  Efron, the heartthrob star of High School Musical, is the lead in a new movie by Richard Linklater based on a book by New Jersey author Robert Kaplow.  Both the book and the movie of Me and Orson Welles plunge the reader into the world of a teenager enthralled with 1937’s musical theater. 

Robert Kaplow struggled for years to find a publisher for Me and Orson Welles.     Kaplow tells State of the Arts Producer Susan Wallner how the book not only found a publisher but was then optioned by Linklater, considered one of the leading directors of our day (School of Rock, Fast Food Nation, Dazed and Confused). The story is set in the time and place when Kaplow’s own father – a lover of musical theater – was a teenager.  Meticulously researched, the book is also a fast paced adventure and romance story.  Kaplow takes Wallner on a tour of the real life locations featured in the book, including his character Richard Samuel’s house and high school in Westfield, where Kaplow himself grew up.  The State of the Arts story also features clips from the movie, to be released in the United States on November 25, 2009.

Robert Kaplow, now a Metuchen, New Jersey resident, is a teacher and writer who has composed satirical songs and sketches for National Public Radio’s Morning Edition, where he created “Moe Moskowitz and the Punsters.” His acclaimed young adult novels include Alessandra in Love and Alex Icicle: A Romance in Ten Torrid Chapters.  He teaches AP English, creative writing, and film studies at Summit High School.

Jay Gaunt, Blues Harmonica
At 15, Jay Gaunt from Mahwah, New Jersey is already a master of the harmonica. When he was 12, Gaunt saw the movie, The Blues Brothers, and became fascinated with the instrument.  State of the Arts Producer Eric Schultz visits Jay at home, at school --  where is vice president of the student body and an accomplished runner on the track team – as well as performing at the renowned Cape May Jazz Festival (November 6-8, 2009). 

Jay has shared the stage with, among others, the James Cotton Blues Band, Tab Benoit, Jason Ricci & New Blood, Bob Margolin, Zac Harmon, Eric McFadden, Jimmy Hall, Mark Hummel, Jon Paris, The Hudson River Rats, Michael Powers, Richie Canata, and Mike Zito. He has played at such venues as B.B. King’s in New York and Memphis, Terra Blues, Ground Zero Blues Club, Biscuits & Blues, and The Cutting Room.  He has also played The Greeley Blues Fest (2008 & 2009) and Blues from the Top (2008 & 2009), in Colorado.
In the spring of 2008, Jay recorded Blown Away with producer and musician Ed Ivey in San Francisco.  The CD featured some of the Bay Area’s finest musicians such as Eric McFadden on guitar and Nelson Lunding on piano. Blown Away was released last year.

A Moon to Dance By
“A Moon to Dance By,” George Street Playhouse, Nov 17 - Dec 13, 2009
Tony Award, Emmy Award winner and Academy Award nominee Jane Alexander talks to State of the Arts producer Christopher Benincasa about her role as Frieda Weekley, the often-scandalous widow of D.H. Lawrence and inspiration for his most controversial works including Lady Chatterley’s Lover and Women in Love.  Alexander stars with Robert Cuccioli (GSP’s The Seafarer) and Gareth Saxe (Broadway’s The Homecoming) in this beautiful, lyrical new play about life with Lawrence, told from the woman’s point of view.

Tony Award-nominee and Emmy Award winner Edwin Sherin, long-time producer of television’s Law & Order and director of Broadway’s landmark Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning production of The Great White Hope (starring Miss Alexander), directs this new play by Thom Thomas.
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State of the Arts, the 29 time Emmy award-winning, half-hour arts magazine, airs in high-definition every Thursday at 8:00 pm on NJN1, followed by encore presentations Fridays through Thursdays at 5:00 pm and 11 pm on NJN2.  The current episode of State of the Arts can be viewed online at www.njn.net.  Photo images are available in the episode’s the press room. Individual stories are available to view following their broadcast by visiting the program online at State of the Arts. Selected State of the Arts stories can also be seen on YouTube (look for NJN’s Arts & Culture Channel). 

Funding for State of the Arts is provided by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation.  The series producer is Susan Wallner and the executive producer is Nila Aronow.

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