The recently-opened New Jersey Performing Arts Center will play host to the national touring companies of three musicals: West Side Story, Jan. 20-25; Grease!, April 28-May 3; and Annie, June 9-14.
The arts center, a $180 million glass-shelled structure, opened in Newark, NJ, on Oct. 18 to cheers and standing ovations from a black tie audience.
West Side Story, Grease!, and Annie will be presented in the center's 2,750-seat Prudential Hall.
The center's smaller performing space, the Victoria Theater, which seats 514, opened in October with Canada's premier puppet troupe, Theatre Sans Fil, in a work called The Dream Catchers. Theatre Sans Fil will return to NJPAC on Feb. 6 and 8 with another work, the Scottish epic The Crown of Destiny.
December events at NJPAC include David Copperfield's Dreams and Nightmares, Dec. 10 and 11; a seasonal work, Gould and Stearns: Simple Gifts,, Dec. 14; and Rob Becker's Defending the Caveman, Dec. 30-Jan. 4. For ticket and other information, call (888) 466-5722.
--By Rebecca Paller