July - September / 03

		Small Towns, Black Lives "Small Towns, Black Lives" is a photographic and multimedia documentary that tells extraordinary stories about ordinary people who have lived in rural communities in southern New Jersey. Using photography, Wendel White has spent the past 13 years documenting 12 African American communities, each with its own intriguing genesis and history. The images in this project include people, businesses, churches, homes, historic landmarks, front yards, main streets and cemeteries. Visit www.morrismuseum.org
		Ain't Misbehavin "Ain't Misbehavin", a celebration of Fats Waller's life and music, is true to his spirit and his musicianship. Visit www.papermill.org
		Wilderness of Mirrors An interview with playwright Charles Evered, a Rutherford, NJ native and Rutgers '87 and Yale Drama School ‘91 Graduate, whose new play "Wilderness of Mirrors" takes us into the secret world of spying. The story starts at Yale University in the 1940's, when professors covertly selected their best and brightest students for assignments with the Office of Strategic Services–which became the CIA. Visit www.georgestplayhouse.org
		Nilo Cruz Cuban-born playwright Nilo Cruz recently became the first Latino to win the Pulitzer Prize in Drama, for his play "Anna in the Tropics," a lyrical story of impossible love set in a Cuban cigar factory near Tampa, Florida, in 1929. Cruz has been a writer-in-residence at the McCarter Theater in Princeton, where "Anna in the Tropics" is having its New York-area premiere. Visit www.mccarter.org
		From the Top Behind the scenes at a taping of "From the Top", the hit public radio program that NBC's Today calls "classy reality programming" at the State Theatre in New Brunswick, with some of New Jersey's most talented young musicians. Visit www.fromthetop.org
		Robert Lobe Robert Lobe's Four Trees is an installation of four life-size, aluminum cast tree pieces on the grounds of the Montclair Art Museum, which will be on view through next fall. Lobe has used the motif of trees for more than 20 years. Working in nature, he wraps an aluminum skin around the exterior of trees and rocks to make "clumps of landscape" and isolated tree forms. Visit www.montclairartmuseum.org
		Antonio Jacobsen Marine Artist. Hoboken Historical Museum Marine Painter Antonio Jacobsen documented the transition from sail to steam meticulously detailed ship portraits, on view at the Hoboken Historical Museum. Visit www.hobokenmuseum.org
		Tom Chapin Tom Chapin is best known as a children's performer, but his literate songwriting appeals to adults as well. Visit www.surflight.org
		Atlantic City Film Festival More than 40 unusual films, from documentaries to features to animation, will be screened at the 7th annual Atlantic City Film Festival, August 9-16. And the screening venues are as unusual as the films. Visit www.atlanticcityfilmfestival.com
		Cajun band BeauSoleil The Stockton Performing Arts Center goes to the beach this summer with a series of free world music concerts in Atlantic City. First up this season is the Cajun band BeauSoleil, with its version of Mardi Gras on the Boardwalk. Visit intraweb.stockton.edu/pac/summerconcert.html
		Jersey City Museum Whether painted on the side of a teacup, on a bank note, or on a canvas, landscapes are central to the American identity. An exhibit at the Jersey City Museum explores how artists have reacted to the change in New Jersey's landscape from rural to industrial. Visit www.jerseycitymuseum.org
		Ocean City Pops Celebrating its 75th anniversary season, the Ocean City Pops Orchestra is much more eclectic than most pops orchestras.
		Glass Weekend Wheaton Village is one of the meccas of the world of glass art; the faithful converge there every two years for the spectacular Glass Weekend. Visit www.glassweekend.com