Join Ballet for Young Audiences as they present another year of this Grunin Center holiday tradition. This child-friendly production of The Nutcracker tells the story of Clara, the favorite godchild of Herr Drosselmeyer, a mysterious clockmaker who helps to transport Clara and her Nutcracker Prince to a special realm. This condensed version of the ballet is narrated to help young ballet enthusiasts enjoy the performance.
Please note that it is the Grunin Center Policy for all Family Shows that all attendees, regardless of age, require a ticket.
Ballet for Young Audiences: The Nutcracker
Broadway for the Holidays 5
It’s another year of the rousing review that celebrates the most wonderful time of the year: Broadway for the Holidays 5! Returning by popular demand, this festive extravaganza brings the magic of Broadway to the holiday season like never before. Join OCC students and community members for a journey through the beloved songs and timeless classics that capture the spirit of the holidays. From heartwarming ballads to toe-tapping showstoppers, Broadway for the Holidays 5 promises an unforgettable musical experience for the whole family.
Performances
Friday, December 12, 2025 7:30 PM
Saturday, December 13, 2025 2:00 PM
Saturday, December 13, 2025 7:30 PM
Sunday, December 14, 2025 2:00 PM
Friday, December 19, 2025 7:30 PM
Saturday, December 20, 2025 2:00 PM
Saturday, December 20, 2025 7:30 PM
Sunday, December 21, 2025 2:00 PM
Cast
Check back soon
Production Crew
Check back soon
About the OCC Repertory Theater Company
Under the direction of Performing Arts Program Chair Paul Chalakani, the mission of the OCC/REP is to create opportunities for college and community participation in various rich and diverse theatrical experiences. The Company seeks to engage, entertain, inspire, and educate to enhance the cultural life of Ocean County College and the surrounding communities. The OCC/REP provides OCC students, faculty, staff, and residents of neighboring communities the opportunity to attend and/or participate in quality performances of theatrical works – musicals and plays, classical and modern, traditional and experimental, through a well-balanced theatrical season. Additionally, the OCC/REP provides an environment for students of our performing arts program to apply what they are learning in a collaborative and encouraging format. The OCC/REP celebrates the power of the theatre to illuminate and mirror the human experience.
The OCC Repertory Theatre Company is funded, in part, by the Ocean County College Foundation.
OCC Concert Band: The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
Come along for an unforgettable evening of music, cheer, and holiday spirit as the OCC Concert Band presents The Most Wonderful Time of the Year. This festive concert brings together a dazzling collection of your favorite seasonal tunes performed by the talented members of the OCC Concert Band. From classic carols to contemporary arrangements, plus a visit from Santa, the concert will fill the air with warmth, joy, and celebration.
Chris Botti
Since 1965, the OCC Foundation has proudly served the Ocean County College community, supporting thousands of deserving students. Over the past 60 years, we’ve awarded over $22 million in scholarships and special program funding. Your generosity continues to make a lasting impact, supporting initiatives like the Helping Hands Food Pantry, the Blauvelt Speaker Series, the Global Travel Experience, select programming at the Grunin Center for the Arts, the Robert J. Novins Planetarium, and the Veteran & Military Resource Center (VMRC), resources for Athletic programs, and support for many other college and student-led programs.
About Chris Botti
GRAMMY-winning trumpeter Chris Botti has been one of the most popular instrumentalists in the world for nearly three decades; he’s collaborated with some of the biggest superstars on the planet, including Sting, Paul Simon, Barbra Streisand, Lady Gaga, Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, Aretha Franklin, Bette Midler, Joni Mitchell, Steven Tyler, Andrea Bocelli, Herbie Hancock, Yo-Yo Ma, and others; he’s topped the jazz charts with numerous albums, earned multiple Gold and Platinum records, performed with symphony orchestras and on prestigious stages from Carnegie Hall to the Hollywood Bowl to the Sydney Opera House.
In short, Chris Botti really needs no introduction. Yet with his Blue Note Records debut, he’s offering one anyway. Vol.1 is in many ways a fresh start for the trumpeter. Having successfully crossed over from jazz renown to pop stardom, Botti’s first album in more than a decade finds him crossing back, with a small group project focused on acoustic jazz and classic standards.
“I turned 60 in 2022, at a time that seemed like a restart for so many things in the world,” Botti says. “I wanted to strip away all the orchestral arrangements and special guests and focus more on my playing, the playing of my band, and these jazz classics that we always love playing on stage.”
While Botti could boast of the major names with whom he’s shared stages, this project allows him to share his enthusiasm for the jazz greats past and present that excite him – his conversation is peppered with references to everyone from Miles Davis to Keith Jarrett to Pat Metheny to Brad Mehldau. He points to landmark albums like Davis’ Kind of Blue, John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman, or Metheny’s duo outing with Charlie Haden, Beyond the Missouri Sky as models for the kind of “lifestyle” music he set out to make – music that is exquisite on its own but can also set the scene for a coffee shop or hotel lounge, instantly generating a sophisticated mood.
Of course, Botti couldn’t have found a more ideal home for this artistic rebirth. Blue Note has been a standard-bearer of jazz throughout its storied history, and the trumpeter found a receptive partner in label president Don Was. “Anyone that’s lucky enough to say they’re on Blue Note Records should be pinching themselves,” Botti says. “It’s a fantastic honor. I had great runs on Verve and Columbia, so it’s amazing to now arrive on the most famous traditional jazz record label.”
Sponsors
Event sponsorships are available through the OCC Foundation.
The World Famous Glenn Miller Orchestra
The first Glenn Miller Orchestra did not make it at all. It was a total and absolute economic failure. But Glenn knew what he wanted, held to that dedication, and relentlessly worked to succeed. He launched his second band – the one that lives on today – in March of 1938. The Glenn Miller Orchestra has been a “hit” ever since.
The legendary Glenn Miller was one of the most successful of all dance bandleaders back in the Swing Era of the 1930s and ’40s. A matchless string of hit records, the constant impact of radio broadcasts, and the drawing power at theatres, hotels, and dance pavilion, built and sustained the momentum of popularity.
Glenn disbanded his musical organization in 1942 at the height of its popularity to volunteer for the Army. There, he organized and led the famous Glenn Miller Army Air Force Band. It went to Europe to entertain servicemen performing numerous live and radio shows. On December 15, 1944, Major Miller took off in a single-engine plane from Europe to precede his band to France, disappearing over the English Channel, never to be seen again. The army declared him officially dead a year later.
With the release of the major motion movie The Glenn Miller Story featuring Jimmy Stewart and June Allyson in 1954, interest and popular demand led the Miller Estate to authorize the formation of the present Glenn Miller Orchestra. On June 6, 1956, and under the direction of drummer Ray McKinley who had become the unofficial leader of the Army Air Force Band after Glenn’s disappearance, the reformed Glenn Miller Orchestra performed its first concert and has been on the road ever since. Other leaders have followed Ray including clarinetists Buddy DeFranco and Peanuts Hucko, trombonists Buddy Morrow, Jimmy Henderson, Larry O’Brien, and Gary Tole, and tenor saxophonist Dick Gerhart. Since January 2012, vocalist Nick Hilscher leads the band.
Today, the 18 member ensemble continues to play many of the original Miller arrangements both from the civilian band and the AAFB libraries. Additionally, it also plays some more modern selections arranged and performed in the Miller style and sound. Just as it was in Glenn’s day, the Glenn Miller Orchestra today is still the most sought-after big band in the world.
Radliff-Niessen, violin & piano
Join Duo Radliff-Niessen, consisting of the renowned violinist Robert Radliff and Dutch pianist Sharon Niessen, for an extraordinary performance at the Grunin Center for the Arts, with masterpieces of Beethoven and Brahms. Radliff, a celebrated performer with orchestras such as the New Jersey Symphony, the New England Symphonic Ensemble at Carnegie Hall, and the Curtis Institute Orchestra, brings his extensive experience and passionate playing to the stage.
Radliff’s performances have captivated audiences across the United States and worldwide, and has collaborated with some of the most celebrated classical artists such as Yo Yo Ma, Jamie Laredo, and Itzhak Perlman.
Niessen, praised for her expressive playing and virtuosity, captivates audiences with her interpretations, having performed internationally with orchestras like the Philips Symphony Orchestra and Youth Orchestra of the Netherlands, and collaborated with renowned musicians such as world champion whistler Geert Chatrou and recording artist Dutch flutist Ilonka Kolthof.
As a duo, Radliff and Niesssen blend their dynamic artistry. With their international career spanning prestigious venues from Carnegie Hall to the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, this concert is sure to be one of the highlights of the season.
This event is funded by the Ocean County College Foundation.
Without Arrows Film Screening
After 13 years living in Philadelphia, Delwin Fiddler Jr., a champion grass dancer, embraces indigenous culture by returning to his ancestral home on the Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota. Leaving his big city life behind, Delwin aims to protect his centuries-old Lakota heritage and heal from family tragedy through his passion for dance.
Join us for a film screening with a post-show talk with Delwin Fiddler, Jr.
This film screening is made possible through generous funding from the Ocean County Cultural & Heritage Commission and the Mid-Atlantic Tours program of Mid-Atlantic Arts with support from the National Endowment for the Arts.
So Good! The Neil Diamond Experience starring Robert Neary
Broadway, television, and film star Robert Neary creates an unforgettable tribute to one of the greatest recording artists in history. Two hours packed with 24 classic hit songs, nostalgia, multimedia, stories, trivia, and a finale that is pure Broadway caliber, this is a true immersion into Neil Diamond’s life and career. Critical praise all across the internet and social media has called this show “the most authentic and professional tribute to Neil Diamond and delivers nothing short of a true Neil Diamond concert experience.”
With over 40 years in the entertainment business, Robert has 3 Broadway leads and over 60 major guest-starring television and film roles to his credit. He created this incredible show in 2019 and perfected it during the pandemic along with NY’s premier band, The Mystic. Now in its fifth year, “So Good! The Neil Diamond Experience” is selling out venues all over the US, and there is no end in sight!
Magic Rocks: Illusionist Leon Etienne
You’ve seen him on America’s Got Talent, Jimmy Fallon, Masters of Illusion, and Penn & Teller: Fool Us! Illusionist Leon Etienne’s jaw-dropping, critically acclaimed hit show Magic Rocks! is not to be missed. Witness this family-friendly spectacular featuring the world’s best illusions, award-winning sleight of hand, and hilarious comedy. This show is an immersive experience that brings joy, laughter, and wonder when the world needs it most!
About Leon Etienne
From Radio City Music Hall to Planet Hollywood Casino and from Studio City Casino in Macau to his very own theater on the beautiful island waters of Saipan, the unique performance style of Illusionist Leon Etienne attracts entertainment producers to book him all over the world. He’s rocked stages from coast to coast in the USA and in dozens of countries, including England, Ireland, France, China, and Australia. His performances frequently leave celebrities like Jimmy Fallon, Howard Stern, and Heidi Klum speechless.
Hailed by critics as “America’s Rock Illusionist,” Leon is a worldwide hit with audiences, critics, and producers. Etienne is recognized for his on stage charisma, a fast paced, high energy, rock n’ roll edge performance style, and his no nonsense approach to magic. He has appeared on the world’s biggest TV shows, trended worldwide on social media, and performs live at entertainment hotspots around the world.
Leon’s original creations, a passion for sleight-of-hand magic, and the best jaw-dropping grand illusions in the world explode on stage in his critically acclaimed hit show, “Magic Rocks!®“
Basil Camu
If livestream viewing is interrupted due to technical difficulties, a recording of the event will be emailed to Livestream registrants within two business days following the event, and will be viewable for 48 hours once received.
About Basil Camu
When you ask Basil what he thinks about himself, he’ll tell you he is incredibly lucky. He
has family he loves dearly, friends and colleagues who inspire him, and every day he gets to care for trees, soil, and flowers. He pursues his purpose and passions as the co-founder of Leaf & Limb, a tree care company in Raleigh, NC, and Project Pando, a non-profit that aims to connect people to trees. He is a Treecologist, ISA Board Certified Master Arborist, Duke graduate, Wizard of Things, and author of the book From Wasteland to Wonder – Easy Ways We Can Help Heal Earth in the Sub/Urban Landscape. His work has been featured in the New York Times, Seattle Times, Forbes, Gardenista, The Joe Gardener Show, and a number of other publications and podcasts. When he’s not having fun at work, he likes to pull invasive plants from his pocket forests, contemplate on his front porch, and go hiking with his family.
The sponsors of the Blauvelt Speaker Series have generously underwritten the cost of tickets for this program. The Blauvelt Speaker Series is funded in part by the generosity of the late Bradford Thomas & Eleanor G. Blauvelt and the Wintrode Family Foundation.
Dracula
This new adaptation restores the suspense and seduction of Bram Stoker’s classic novel to the stage. As Count Dracula begins to exert his will upon the residents of London, they try to piece together the clues of his appearances—in a valiant attempt to save themselves from a hideous fate. Rich with both humor and horror, this play paints a wickedly theatrical picture of Stoker’s famous vampire.
Performances
Friday, October 17, 2025 7:30 PM
Saturday, October 18, 2025 2:00 PM
Saturday, October 18, 2025 7:30 PM
Sunday, October 19, 2025 2:00 PM
Friday, October 24, 2025 7:30 PM
Saturday, October 25, 2025 2:00 PM
Saturday, October 25, 2025 7:30 PM
Sunday, October 26, 2025 2:00 PM
Cast
Check back soon
Production Crew
Check back soon
About the OCC Repertory Theater Company
Under the direction of Performing Arts Program Chair Paul Chalakani, the mission of the OCC/REP is to create opportunities for college and community participation in various rich and diverse theatrical experiences. The Company seeks to engage, entertain, inspire, and educate to enhance the cultural life of Ocean County College and the surrounding communities. The OCC/REP provides OCC students, faculty, staff, and residents of neighboring communities the opportunity to attend and/or participate in quality performances of theatrical works – musicals and plays, classical and modern, traditional and experimental, through a well-balanced theatrical season. Additionally, the OCC/REP provides an environment for students of our performing arts program to apply what they are learning in a collaborative and encouraging format. The OCC/REP celebrates the power of the theatre to illuminate and mirror the human experience.
The OCC Repertory Theatre Company is funded, in part, by the Ocean County College Foundation.
Dracula
This new adaptation restores the suspense and seduction of Bram Stoker’s classic novel to the stage. As Count Dracula begins to exert his will upon the residents of London, they try to piece together the clues of his appearances—in a valiant attempt to save themselves from a hideous fate. Rich with both humor and horror, this play paints a wickedly theatrical picture of Stoker’s famous vampire.
Performances
Friday, October 17, 2025 7:30 PM
Saturday, October 18, 2025 2:00 PM
Saturday, October 18, 2025 7:30 PM
Sunday, October 19, 2025 2:00 PM
Friday, October 24, 2025 7:30 PM
Saturday, October 25, 2025 2:00 PM
Saturday, October 25, 2025 7:30 PM
Sunday, October 26, 2025 2:00 PM
Cast
Check back soon
Production Crew
Check back soon
About the OCC Repertory Theater Company
Under the direction of Performing Arts Program Chair Paul Chalakani, the mission of the OCC/REP is to create opportunities for college and community participation in various rich and diverse theatrical experiences. The Company seeks to engage, entertain, inspire, and educate to enhance the cultural life of Ocean County College and the surrounding communities. The OCC/REP provides OCC students, faculty, staff, and residents of neighboring communities the opportunity to attend and/or participate in quality performances of theatrical works – musicals and plays, classical and modern, traditional and experimental, through a well-balanced theatrical season. Additionally, the OCC/REP provides an environment for students of our performing arts program to apply what they are learning in a collaborative and encouraging format. The OCC/REP celebrates the power of the theatre to illuminate and mirror the human experience.
The OCC Repertory Theatre Company is funded, in part, by the Ocean County College Foundation.
Dracula
This new adaptation restores the suspense and seduction of Bram Stoker’s classic novel to the stage. As Count Dracula begins to exert his will upon the residents of London, they try to piece together the clues of his appearances—in a valiant attempt to save themselves from a hideous fate. Rich with both humor and horror, this play paints a wickedly theatrical picture of Stoker’s famous vampire.
Performances
Friday, October 17, 2025 7:30 PM
Saturday, October 18, 2025 2:00 PM
Saturday, October 18, 2025 7:30 PM
Sunday, October 19, 2025 2:00 PM
Friday, October 24, 2025 7:30 PM
Saturday, October 25, 2025 2:00 PM
Saturday, October 25, 2025 7:30 PM
Sunday, October 26, 2025 2:00 PM
Cast
Check back soon
Production Crew
Check back soon
About the OCC Repertory Theater Company
Under the direction of Performing Arts Program Chair Paul Chalakani, the mission of the OCC/REP is to create opportunities for college and community participation in various rich and diverse theatrical experiences. The Company seeks to engage, entertain, inspire, and educate to enhance the cultural life of Ocean County College and the surrounding communities. The OCC/REP provides OCC students, faculty, staff, and residents of neighboring communities the opportunity to attend and/or participate in quality performances of theatrical works – musicals and plays, classical and modern, traditional and experimental, through a well-balanced theatrical season. Additionally, the OCC/REP provides an environment for students of our performing arts program to apply what they are learning in a collaborative and encouraging format. The OCC/REP celebrates the power of the theatre to illuminate and mirror the human experience.
The OCC Repertory Theatre Company is funded, in part, by the Ocean County College Foundation.
April May Webb Trio
Musician, Songwriter, Vocalist, and Educator April May Webb hails from Newton, Kansas. April May’s musical approach is diversely influenced but is rooted in jazz. April May is the first African American female to graduate from The William Paterson University Jazz Education program, where she honed her craft under the guidance of the late great pianist Mulgrew Miller.
April May is the WINNER of the 13th Annual Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition. Her captivating voice has graced nationally syndicated televised specials like “Sounds of Summer” and “An American Christmas” alongside The Boardwalk Jazz Band. She was a lead vocalist in the acclaimed play “Sounding Board” by internationally renowned artist Tschabalala Self.
April May’s commitment to excellence in jazz earned her recognition as a recipient of Chamber Music America’s performance plus grant with her jazz ensemble “Sounds of A&R,” she continues to make waves as a Spring 2023 Jazz Road Touring Grant awardee. April May was chosen as a 2023 Woodshed Network recipient, an initiative by the legendary jazz vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater. Additionally, her achievements were celebrated with induction into her hometown’s Newton Music Hall of Fame.
As a co-founder of the jazz ensemble Sounds of A&R, also known as S.O.A.R., April May has played a pivotal role in its success. In 2019, the group received the esteemed “Best Group” title at the NYC Reader’s Jazz Awards, presented by Hot House Jazz Magazine and Jazzmobile. Their single “Horizon” charted in the top 20 on Billboard’s Contemporary Jazz Charts, and in 2021, SOAR released their third studio album, “Questions Left Unanswered,” which soared to #12 on The National Jazz Week Charts. The group’s influence continues to grow as they were selected to represent the United States as U.S. Cultural Ambassadors, embarking on a transformative tour across two South Pacific countries in 2023.
Jazz on a Sunday Afternoon is made possible through funding from the Wintrode Family Foundation, the Ocean County College Foundation, and support from the New Jersey Jazz Society.
Dracula
This new adaptation restores the suspense and seduction of Bram Stoker’s classic novel to the stage. As Count Dracula begins to exert his will upon the residents of London, they try to piece together the clues of his appearances—in a valiant attempt to save themselves from a hideous fate. Rich with both humor and horror, this play paints a wickedly theatrical picture of Stoker’s famous vampire.
Performances
Friday, October 17, 2025 7:30 PM
Saturday, October 18, 2025 2:00 PM
Saturday, October 18, 2025 7:30 PM
Sunday, October 19, 2025 2:00 PM
Friday, October 24, 2025 7:30 PM
Saturday, October 25, 2025 2:00 PM
Saturday, October 25, 2025 7:30 PM
Sunday, October 26, 2025 2:00 PM
Cast
Check back soon
Production Crew
Check back soon
About the OCC Repertory Theater Company
Under the direction of Performing Arts Program Chair Paul Chalakani, the mission of the OCC/REP is to create opportunities for college and community participation in various rich and diverse theatrical experiences. The Company seeks to engage, entertain, inspire, and educate to enhance the cultural life of Ocean County College and the surrounding communities. The OCC/REP provides OCC students, faculty, staff, and residents of neighboring communities the opportunity to attend and/or participate in quality performances of theatrical works – musicals and plays, classical and modern, traditional and experimental, through a well-balanced theatrical season. Additionally, the OCC/REP provides an environment for students of our performing arts program to apply what they are learning in a collaborative and encouraging format. The OCC/REP celebrates the power of the theatre to illuminate and mirror the human experience.
The OCC Repertory Theatre Company is funded, in part, by the Ocean County College Foundation.
Cécilia
Traditional music that causes a wonderful stir and fills to overflowing at every venue – that is Cécilia! Widely recognized as three of Canada’s finest musicians, it is a pleasure to see how much enjoyment Timi Turmel, Erin Leahy, and Louis Schryer find in playing together. While honoring their heritage as Cécilia, their music-making has an undeniably fresh and high-spirited sound.
They bring together the best of many musical worlds in their explorations of traditional, Celtic, and Québécois music. Every one of their pieces is skillfully arranged and highlighted with influences from contemporary, classical, jazz, and swing styles. Cécilia’s recent debut album Accent is an impressive offering full of vibrant rhythms and melodies, all resonating with a unique warmth and richness of expression.
Each performance by Cécilia is a call to come out and share, not only in the joy of three dedicated musicians making music together, but also in creating a unique and memorable musical experience with Timi, Erin, and Louis. You’ll find yourself with a smile that lasts long after the final notes of Cécilia’s accordion, piano, and violin have melted away.
Dracula
This new adaptation restores the suspense and seduction of Bram Stoker’s classic novel to the stage. As Count Dracula begins to exert his will upon the residents of London, they try to piece together the clues of his appearances—in a valiant attempt to save themselves from a hideous fate. Rich with both humor and horror, this play paints a wickedly theatrical picture of Stoker’s famous vampire.
Performances
Friday, October 17, 2025 7:30 PM
Saturday, October 18, 2025 2:00 PM
Saturday, October 18, 2025 7:30 PM
Sunday, October 19, 2025 2:00 PM
Friday, October 24, 2025 7:30 PM
Saturday, October 25, 2025 2:00 PM
Saturday, October 25, 2025 7:30 PM
Sunday, October 26, 2025 2:00 PM
Cast
Check back soon
Production Crew
Check back soon
About the OCC Repertory Theater Company
Under the direction of Performing Arts Program Chair Paul Chalakani, the mission of the OCC/REP is to create opportunities for college and community participation in various rich and diverse theatrical experiences. The Company seeks to engage, entertain, inspire, and educate to enhance the cultural life of Ocean County College and the surrounding communities. The OCC/REP provides OCC students, faculty, staff, and residents of neighboring communities the opportunity to attend and/or participate in quality performances of theatrical works – musicals and plays, classical and modern, traditional and experimental, through a well-balanced theatrical season. Additionally, the OCC/REP provides an environment for students of our performing arts program to apply what they are learning in a collaborative and encouraging format. The OCC/REP celebrates the power of the theatre to illuminate and mirror the human experience.
The OCC Repertory Theatre Company is funded, in part, by the Ocean County College Foundation.
Dracula
This new adaptation restores the suspense and seduction of Bram Stoker’s classic novel to the stage. As Count Dracula begins to exert his will upon the residents of London, they try to piece together the clues of his appearances—in a valiant attempt to save themselves from a hideous fate. Rich with both humor and horror, this play paints a wickedly theatrical picture of Stoker’s famous vampire.
Performances
Friday, October 17, 2025 7:30 PM
Saturday, October 18, 2025 2:00 PM
Saturday, October 18, 2025 7:30 PM
Sunday, October 19, 2025 2:00 PM
Friday, October 24, 2025 7:30 PM
Saturday, October 25, 2025 2:00 PM
Saturday, October 25, 2025 7:30 PM
Sunday, October 26, 2025 2:00 PM
Cast
Check back soon
Production Crew
Check back soon
About the OCC Repertory Theater Company
Under the direction of Performing Arts Program Chair Paul Chalakani, the mission of the OCC/REP is to create opportunities for college and community participation in various rich and diverse theatrical experiences. The Company seeks to engage, entertain, inspire, and educate to enhance the cultural life of Ocean County College and the surrounding communities. The OCC/REP provides OCC students, faculty, staff, and residents of neighboring communities the opportunity to attend and/or participate in quality performances of theatrical works – musicals and plays, classical and modern, traditional and experimental, through a well-balanced theatrical season. Additionally, the OCC/REP provides an environment for students of our performing arts program to apply what they are learning in a collaborative and encouraging format. The OCC/REP celebrates the power of the theatre to illuminate and mirror the human experience.
The OCC Repertory Theatre Company is funded, in part, by the Ocean County College Foundation.
Calpulli Mexican Dance Company
Using both folk and classical music and dance, Calpulli Mexican Dance Company’s Dia de los Muertos explores a love story that spans the boundary between the living and the departed. A loving couple falls victim to treachery and is separated, seemingly forever. The young woman enters Mictlán- the underworld of Aztec mythology- where the mesmerizing Catrina reigns as queen.
The original concept for Dia de los Muertos was a show by Calpulli premiered in 2004 at Queens Theatre in the Park named “Tiempo de Cempazuchitl/ Time of the Marigold.” Then Artistic Director Noemy Hernandez created Calpulli’s first story-based production of “Dia de los Muertos” in 2012 premiered at the Schimmel Center for the Arts at Pace University. The final production of story was premiered at Queens Theatre in 2016 under the Artistic Direction of Alberto Lopez Herrera, Dramaturg and co-story writer Roberto Lara, with Music Direction by George Saenz.
The Ocean Blue
Getting their start as teenagers in the late 1980s in Hershey, PA, The Ocean Blue released their self-titled debut on the famed Sire Records, which launched many of their heroes in the U.S., including the Smiths, the Pretenders, the English Beat, and Echo & the Bunnymen. Embraced by college radio and MTV, the band quickly made their mark with early singles “Between Something And Nothing”, “Drifting, Falling” and “Ballerina Out of Control” which notched them Top Ten hits on Modern Rock Radio. Early success set in motion a run of four successful major label albums, including Cerulean (1991), Beneath the Rhythm and Sound (1993), and See The Ocean Blue (1996), followed by a string of beloved independent releases, Davy Jones Locker (2000), Waterworks (2003), Ultramarine (2013) and Kings and Queens/Knaves and Thieves (2019). With eight albums and several EPs under their belt, the band continues to perform and record, with work underway on a new album.
The Ocean Blue is David Schelzel (vocals, guitar), Oed Ronne (guitar), Bobby Mittan (bass) and Peter Anderson (drums).
Liana Paniyeva, piano
Hailed by the New York Concert Review as “a wonderful pianist”, and one with “tender regard for the music, a captivating inwardness” by Fanfare Magazine, Liana Paniyeva has won prizes in numerous competitions internationally and has performed at festivals in Norway, Hungary, Austria, Canada, England, Italy, Syria, South Africa, Spain and Israel. Her recitals have taken her to Carnegie Hall, Worcester’s Mechanics Hall, the Myra Hess Concert Series in Chicago, Merkin Hall in NYC to note highlights. In this program, Liana will perform works by Schumann and Brahms.
This event is funded by the Ocean County College Foundation.
Admiral James Stavridis
If livestream viewing is interrupted due to technical difficulties, a recording of the event will be emailed to Livestream registrants within two business days following the event, and will be viewable for 48 hours once received.
About Admiral James Stavridis
A Florida native, Jim Stavridis attended the US Naval Academy at Annapolis, and spent 37 years in the Navy, rising to the rank of 4-star Admiral. Among his many commands were four years as the 16th Supreme Allied Commander at NATO, where he oversaw operations in Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, the Balkans, and counter piracy off the coast of Africa. He also commanded US Southern Command in Miami, charged with military operations through Latin America for nearly three years. He was the longest-serving Combatant Commander in recent US history. Following his military career, he served for five years as the 12th Dean of The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.
In the course of his career in the Navy, he served as senior military assistant to the Secretary of the Navy and the Secretary of Defense. He led the Navy’s premier operational think tank for innovation, Deep Blue, immediately after the 9/11 attacks. Admiral Stavridis was promoted directly from 1-star rank to 3- star rank in 2004.
He won the Battenberg Cup for commanding the top ship in the Atlantic Fleet and the Navy League John Paul Jones Award for Inspirational leadership, along with more than 50 US and international medals and decorations, including 28 from foreign nations. He also commanded a Destroyer Squadron and a Carrier Strike Group, both in combat.
In 2016, he was vetted for Vice President by Secretary Hillary Clinton, and subsequently invited to Trump Tower to discuss a cabinet position with President Donald Trump.
He earned a PhD from The Fletcher School at Tufts, winning the Gullion prize as outstanding student in his class in 1983, as well as academic honors from the National and Naval War Colleges as a distinguished student. He speaks Spanish and French.
Admiral Stavridis has published thirteen books on leadership, character, risk, the oceans, maritime affairs, and Latin America, as well as hundreds of articles in leading journals. An active user of social networks, he has tens of thousands of connections. His TED talk on 21st century security in 2012 has close to one million views. He tweeted the end of combat operations in the Libyan NATO intervention. Two of his most popular books are the novel 2034: A Novel of the Next World War which was a New York Times bestseller and is being published in 22 languages; and To Risk It All: Nine Conflicts and The Crucible of Decision. His most recent book, The Admiral’s Bookshelf, highlights twenty-five essential leadership lessons drawn from classic works of literature.
Admiral Stavridis is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist and Chief International Security Analyst for NBC News.
He is happily married to Laura, and they have two daughters – one working at Google and the other a Nurse Practitioner and former naval officer, both married to physicians.
The sponsors of the Blauvelt Speaker Series have generously underwritten the cost of tickets for this program. The Blauvelt Speaker Series is funded in part by the generosity of the late Bradford Thomas & Eleanor G. Blauvelt and the Wintrode Family Foundation.
Back To School Catechism
It is that time of year again, and Sister is preparing her classroom for another long year of Catechism. You are in store for another hysterical lesson with “Back To School Catechism: The Holy Ghost and Other Terrifying Tales.” In this session, we discover the Church’s take on all the familiar Halloween tales of Ghosts and Goblins. Full of Sister’s signature class participation, you may get hands-on experience in how to build a Catholic appropriate Halloween costume.
Presented by Entertainment Events
Events marked as “Rental Presenter” are presented by a Rental Presenter – an individual and/or organization renting our theater. The presenter determines ticket prices, program content, and other event details.
Julie Fowlis
Acclaimed nature writer Robert Macfarlane proclaimed that ”if snow could sing, it would sing like Julie Fowlis.” Hailing from the Outer Hebrides and now based in the Highlands, Julie Fowlis is a multi-award winning singer whose music is deeply influenced by the Hebridean islands where she grew up and by the Highland landscapes where she now resides. Voted Musician of the Year at the Scots Trad Music Awards 2023, and with a career spanning several studio albums and numerous high profile collaborations, her ‘crystalline’ and ‘intoxicating’ vocals have enchanted audiences around the world.
She will forever be recognized for singing the theme songs to Brave, Disney Pixar’s Oscar, Golden Globe and BAFTA winning animated film, set in the ancient highlands of Scotland. One of these songs was long-listed for an Oscar. A winner of ‘Folk Singer of the Year’ at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, Julie has graced stages around the world, from village halls in the Highlands to Carnegie Hall in New York, the Mozart Concert Hall in Vienna, The Philharmonie de Paris, Shakespeare’s Globe in London and the World Festival of Sacred Music in Fez, Morocco. She has collaborated with the BBC Concert Orchestra in the Royal Albert Hall for the Proms, sang live at the closing ceremony of the Ryder Cup in Chicago in 2012 to a TV audience of 500 million, an event that was only eclipsed by singing live at the opening ceremony of the Glasgow XX Commonwealth Games in 2014, to a TV audience of over 1 billion. Her voice has been streamed on Spotify alone over 200 million times, and has been heard in space on an official NASA astronaut playlist. She even has a lily flower named after her.
She was vocal coach for the Eric Whitacre Singers on the Dreamworks Animation How To Train Your Dragon 3: The New World (Cressida Cowell, score by John Powell) in Abbey Road Studios, London in 2018. She is also an artist with a genuine curiosity and ability for cross-over, and regularly sings and records in other languages. She currently performs and records with the folk ‘supergroup’ Spell Songs. A natural collaborator, she has performed with artists such as James Taylor, KT Tunstall, Chris Thile, Graham Coxon, Bill Whelan (Riverdance), electronica duo Valtos, Tommy Smith and the Scottish Jazz Orchestra, Nicola Benedetti, the Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Mary Chapin Carpenter. On June 5th 2024 she closed the official D-Day 80 Commemorations in Portsmouth, England with a live BBC TV performance of The Parting Glass with full orchestra and spectacular drone light show.
A regular TV and radio presenter, she is also a sought after voice artist, recently involved with the Penguin Audiobook release for The Lost Spells, the hypnotic film Upstream (Robert Macfarlane, Rob Petit and oscar-nominated composer Hauska) and worked on the best-selling video game Assassins Creed Valhalla, with renowned Norwegian composer Einar Selvik.
She was Scotland’s inaugural ‘Tosgaire na Gàidhlig’ (National Gaelic Ambassador), an honor bestowed on her by the Scottish Government, and in addition to her BA and Masters degrees she holds an honorary Doctorate of Music from Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen. In 2023 she was the recipient of ‘The Sàr Ghàidheal Fellowship’, an award which recognizes outstanding contribution to Gaelic culture at Scotland’s National Gaelic college, Sabhal Mòr Ostaig.
Julie is the voice of Scottish Gaelic for the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights Project, which aims to record the declaration in every language in the world. From Abkhaz to Zulu, the declaration has been recorded in 529 languages to date.
The Bronx Wanderers
What comes to mind when a father, his two sons, and their two high school classmates get together and create a show? For starters, you can say a diverse recipe of hilarious personal stories, a vast repertoire of songs through multiple decades and genres, and one family’s journey together through life and music. The Bronx Wanderers pride themselves on being one of the only shows able to entertain grandparents, their children, and the grandchildren all in one sweeping musical tour de force. How do they accomplish this? Well, the generation gap between the band members (30+ years) forces them to satisfy themselves musically, which satisfies every audience they’ve encountered. The chemistry and energy they exert show after show proves they are still having the best time together on stage, and you can tell they perform each show like it’s their first or last.
The show’s founder and patriarch, Yo’ Vinny, takes you on a musical journey through his illustrious career in the record business while working for Lifesong and Columbia Records since he was 17 years old. He’s worked with too many artists to mention, but in the show, “each song you hear tonight is someone I’ve either had the pleasure to produce, sing backup for, or worked with in the record industry during my 30-year career.” For instance, you’ll hear songs by Dion and The Belmonts, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, Billy Joel, The Animals, Queen, and even an artist or two from today’s generation. As they say in the band and in countless reviews, regardless of how old you are, coming to the show, everyone leaves feeling like they’re 20 years old.
The Bronx Wanderers have been going strong for over 16 years and have amassed many accolades such as touring the entire country headlining festivals, PACs, and casinos, securing a permanent residency in Las Vegas from 2016 to the present, filling in for Frankie Valli in Dubai, being the first and only act to have opened for Tony Orlando and Danny Aiello, backing Dean Martin’s daughter, Deana, for multiple shows, performing the national anthem for the NY Rangers at Madison Square Garden and the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, and still managing to have time to volunteer and do charity benefits for the Win-Win Charity Organization, St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, and multiple Veteran’s and Armed Forces charities and galas.
His two sons are no strangers to their levels of success. His younger son, Nick, had the opportunity to drum and perform for Frankie Valli with the Chicago Jersey Boys cast and was even offered a role in Blue Man Group (but his father and brother just couldn’t let him go.) The older son, Vin A., the music director and producer for the group, is an accomplished songwriter and arranger who recently got to open for Bon Jovi at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas in front of 18,000 people with his original music.
Swingadelic
Opera fans might remember “The Three Tenors,” but in the jazz world, there are “The Three Louies”—Armstrong, Jordan, and Prima! On September 21, longtime Jazz on a Sunday Afternoon favorites Swingadelic will return to pay tribute to these three legendary artists with a program guaranteed to put attendees in a good mood. The afternoon will also feature the sensational vocals of Vanessa Perea, who will inhabit the role of Louis Prima’s wives, Keely Smith and Gia Maione.
Swingadelic is a jazz/blues ensemble founded in 1998 by bandleader and bassist Dave Post in Hoboken, NJ. Initially, the band played jump blues in the style of Louis Jordan, Big Joe Turner, and Louis Prima to ride the neo-swing craze, but by 2002, the band was maintaining a residency as an eleven-piece “little big band” at Maxwell’s in Hoboken. As the dance craze waned, the band kept busy with concerts, corporate and casual engagements, and recording. The band now holds down Monday nights at Swing 46 on New York City’s Restaurant Row in the theatre district and has performed at festivals from Maine to Atlanta, including Bele Chere in Asheville, MusikFest in Bethlehem, and Lincoln Center’s Mid-Summer Night Swing.
A few words from the bandleader: “Some years ago, Frank Mulvaney, ex-officio president of the New Jersey Jazz Society, called and asked if we could do a tribute to Louis Prima for the 2012 JazzFest. Since Louis Armstrong and Louis Jordan were major influences on Prima, we gave it a bit of thought and got back to Frank saying why not include Armstrong and Jordan, and call it A Tribute to the Three Louie’s due to the current popularity of The Three Tenors. Popular is a key word here. Unlike many of today’s jazz artists, these three great performers produced much of the popular music of their day, and their hits were routinely charted in Billboard. We had a great time learning some of these tunes that were not in our repertoire, and we are sure that for those of a certain age, there will be an enjoyable nostalgia factor.”
Jazz on a Sunday Afternoon is made possible through funding from the Wintrode Family Foundation, the Ocean County College Foundation, and support from the New Jersey Jazz Society.
Garrison Keillor Tonight
Garrison Keillor Tonight is an evening of stand-up, storytelling, audience song, and poetry. One man, one microphone. There are sung sonnets, limericks and musical jokes, and the thread that runs through it is the beauty of growing old. Despite the inconvenience, old age brings the contentment of LESS IS MORE. Your mistakes and big ambitions are behind you, nothing left to prove, and small things give you great pleasure because that’s what’s left.
“I was unhappy in college because it was a requirement for an intellectual, but then I went into show business and discovered that people won’t pay to be made unhappy, their kids will do it for free.”
There is the News from Lake Wobegon, a town booming with new entrepreneurs, makers of artisanal firewood and gourmet meatloaf, breeders of composting worms, and dogs trained to do childcare. But some things endure, such as the formation of the Living Flag on Main Street, citizens in tight formation wearing red, white or blue caps, and Mr. Keillor among them, standing close to old neighbors, Myrtle Krebsbach (“Truckstop”) and Julie Christensen (“Bruno, The Fishing Dog”) and Clint Bunsen. And an a cappella sing-along with the audience singing from memory an odd medley of patriotic songs, pop standards, hymns, and ending with the national anthem.
Maureen Dowd
If livestream viewing is interrupted due to technical difficulties, a recording of the event will be emailed to Livestream registrants within two business days following the event, and will be viewable for 48 hours once received.
About Maureen Dowd
Maureen Dowd is a columnist for The New York Times Opinion Pages and a feature writer for The Times’s Styles and Arts & Leisure sections. Ms. Dowd won the Pulitzer Prize in 1999, in the commentary category, for her “unsparing columns on the hypocrisies involved in the Lewinsky affair and the effort to impeach President Clinton.” Ms. Dowd was appointed a columnist for the Op-Ed page of The New York Times in January 1995 and has covered ten presidential campaigns. She served as White House correspondent during the first Bush and the Clinton administrations, gaining a wide following of admirers and imitators for her witty, incisive, and acerbic portraits of the powerful.
Ms. Dowd joined The Times as a metropolitan reporter in October 1983. She began her career in 1974 as an editorial assistant for The Washington Star, later becoming a sports columnist, metropolitan reporter, and feature writer. When The Star closed in 1981, she went to Time magazine.
A 1992 Pulitzer Prize finalist in national reporting for her coverage of the Clarence Thomas-Anita Hill hearings, Ms. Dowd received the Breakthrough Award from Women, Men and Media at Columbia University in 1991 and a Matrix Award from New York Women in Communications in 1994. She was named one of Glamour’s Women of the Year for 1996 and won the Damon Runyon Award in 2000 for outstanding contributions to journalism. In 2017, she received the Ernie Pyle Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. In 2024, she received the Excellence in Journalism Award from the American News Women’s Club. She has written three best-selling books — Bushworld, Are Men Necessary? and most recently The Year of Voting Dangerously — plus Good Cop, a short story about her dad, a police officer in the U.S. Senate. Her latest book, Notorious, a captivating collection of her most compelling celebrity profiles, was released in March 2025.
Born in Washington, D.C., she received a B.A. degree in English literature from Catholic University in Washington, D.C. in 1973 and honorary doctorates from Manhattanville College in Purchase, N.Y., and the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan. In 2012, she received an honorary doctorate from National University of Ireland, Galway. She received her master’s degree in English literature from Columbia University in 2023.
The sponsors of the Blauvelt Speaker Series have generously underwritten the cost of tickets for this program. The Blauvelt Speaker Series is funded in part by the generosity of the late Bradford Thomas & Eleanor G. Blauvelt and the Wintrode Family Foundation.
CeCe Teneal’s Divas of Soul
Take a ride on the “Midnight Train to Georgia” over “River Deep, Mountain High” while award-winning vocalist CeCe Teneal delivers you the “R-E-S-P-E-C-T” you deserve in DIVAS OF SOUL, a one-of-a-kind concert event! This spectacular celebration of thirty years of chart-topping music from artists like Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight, Chaka Khan, Tina Turner, Whitney Houston, and more has wowed audiences worldwide, featuring hits from the Disco Era (“Ring My Bell,” “Best of My Love”) to Broadway (“And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going”) and Pop (“What’s Love Got to Do with It,” “I’m Every Woman”).
An award-winning songstress in her own right, Ms. Teneal has been nominated for four Independent Music Awards and claimed the title for 2011 Best Gospel Song (“I Heard You Prayin’”) and 2011 Best R&B Album (Train from Osteen), as well as 2018 Best Soul/Funk/Fusion Song (“Danger”). She was chosen as the halftime headliner for the 2019 Citrus Bowl, and in 2022, Mayor Buddy Dyer and Mayor Jerry Demmings proclaimed September 17th as Annual Cece Teneal Day in Orlando and Orange County, respectively, to celebrate her twenty years of arts and entertainment contributions. “[CeCe Teneal] forces you to feel and connect with emotions you didn’t know you had.” – Presenter, Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, Orlando FL
Alexa Stier, piano
This program explores the connection between bird calls, nature, and the supernatural. Rameau’s Tendres Plaintes evokes sighing, melancholic gestures, while Le Rappel des Oiseaux explores birdsong through elaborate ornamentations, idiosyncratic to the French baroque keyboard style. In Olivier Messiaen’s Petites Esquisses d’Oiseaux, robins, blackbirds, thrushes, and skylarks emerge in vivid, crystalline textures.
Schumann’s Waldszenen transports the listener to a forest, where nature is imbued with both beauty and mystery. Among these poetic vignettes, Vogel als Prophet stands out as an enigmatic prophecy delivered through the voice of a bird. The program concludes with Prokofiev’s Piano Sonata No. 2, a work that embodies what the pianist and scholar Boris Berman refers to as polypersonalia —a paradoxical blend of soaring lyricism, aggressive brutality, cabaret-like parody, and mechanical precision. The third movement draws upon the rich tradition of skazki, or Russian mystical fairy tales, reminiscent of the music of Prokofiev’s older Russian contemporaries, such as Rimsky-Korsakov and Medtner. Through these selections of works, the program traverses a vast landscape of nature’s wonders, supernatural whispers, and human imagination.
This event is funded by the Ocean County College Foundation.
