Compiled by Kevin Coughlin
Greater Morristown’s cup runneth over this weekend.
Morristown High School presents its spring musical, which happens to be Seussical, for three shows.
Morris Arts celebrates stars of today and tomorrow, with an awards night followed by a student art show.
Bike & Walk Morristown also goes back to back, with a monthly ride followed by bands and brews.
And bargain-hunters will be agog at the annual rummage sale over at the Morristown United Methodist Church.
There is more–much more–as you will discover by scrolling further.
And check our handy calendar for even more entertainment choices!
THURSDAY, MARCH 27, 2014:
Aging gracefully: Licensed clinical social worker Renee Jacobs concludes her two-part series on aging by discussing emotional and psychological health, at 10:30 am at the Morristown Jewish Center, 177 Speedwell Ave. Admission is free.
Celebrate the Arts honors outstanding individuals and organizations from the local art scene. It’s hosted by Morris Arts, from 5 pm to 7:30 pm at the Morris Museum in Morris Township. This year’s winners include John Pietrowski’s Playwrights Theatre as Outstanding Arts Organization. The MetLife Foundation is Outstanding Corporation. Jim Gallagher and the Lauren & Emily Failla Foundation have been chosen Outstanding Arts Advocates. The Outstanding Arts Educator is teaching artist Joanna Pang Atkins. Eileen Murray, director of the Matheny Arts Access Program, is Outstanding Professional in the Arts. Special Recognition goes to the Zufall Health Center in Dover. Scholarship winners also will be announced and the Lakeland Youth Symphony will perform. The event is free; register here or call (973) 285-5115. The Museum is at 6 Normandy Heights Road.
New Brunswick is famous for Rutgers and the first college football game. A few years before that first grid war with Princeton, however, sons of the Raritan were distinguishing themselves on Civil War battlefields. Union County Clerk Joan Hamilton Rajoppi will discuss her book, The Brunswick Boys in the Great Rebellion, at the North Jersey Civil War Round Table. The meeting starts at 7:14 pm in Morris Township, at the Haggerty Education Center of the Frelinghuysen Arboretum, 353 E. Hanover Ave. (opposite the Morris County Library). Admission is $5. First time guests and students get in free.
Grammy winner Keb’ Mo’ brings his mesmerizing fusion of blues, pop, rock, folk and jazz to the Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown at 8 pm. Tickets are $39 to $59. The theater is at 100 South St. Call 973-539-8008 for more.
FRIDAY, MARCH 28:
Every spring Morris County’s young artists flex their creative muscles. See for yourself from 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm at Morristown’s Atrium Gallery, site of the 26th annual Blackwell Street Juried Student Exhibit. Organized in cooperation with Morris Arts, this free reception will give you a chance to meet many of the students. The gallery fills the Morris County Administration and Records Building at 10 Court St. Park free in the garage below the building (enter on Schuyler Place opposite the public garage).
The end-of-the-month Critical Mass bike ride, a happening in Morristown since 2007, rolls from Town Hall at 6:30 pm for a leisurely three-and-a-half mile loop. See Bike & Walk Morristown for more details.
March across the Planet of Who in the Battle of Butter, follow your hunch through the Jungle of Nool, or even take a dive in McElligott’s pool! It’s Seussical the Musical, at Morristown High Skool! Performances at 7:30 pm on Friday and Saturday, and 2 pm on Sunday. Tickets are $11 for adults, and $6 for students and seniors and can be purchased here. The school is at 50 Early St.
There’s No Place Like Home. You’ve heard that a million times, but it always rings true for nonprofit Homeless Solutions Inc., which holds its 14th Annual Dream Builders’ Bash at the Westin Governor Morris in Morris Township from 6:30 pm to 10:30 pm. Dorothy, the Scarecrow and all the Oz gang will stroll down Homeless Solutions’ yellow brick road to help the homeless, in a fundraising evening that will include dinner, dancing, silent and live auctions, a wine pull, and jewelry raffle. Helen and Grant Parr of Morristown also will be honored for 30 years of support.
The Minstrel in Morris Township presents Orrin Star, a champion flatpicking guitarist and mandolin virtuoso, whose repertoire ranges from bluegrass and Celtic classics to swing tunes and novelty songs, with some originals thrown in for good measure. Opener Robin Greenstein was a finalist at the prestigious Kerrville Songwriters’ Festival. Admission is $8; children 12 and under, free. At the Morristown Unitarian Fellowship, 21 Normandy Heights Road.
Tao: Phoenix Rising puts a modern spin on traditional Japanese drumming, at the Mayo Performing Arts Center at 8 pm. Tickets: $19-$39. At 100 South St., Morristown. Call 973-539-8008 for more.
Singers usually aren’t asked to bring mouth guards. But on Karaoke Night with the Jerzey Derby Brigade, anything can happen! Join the ladies’ roller derby team at 10 pm in Tiffany’s, at 231 Speedwell Ave. in Morris Plains.
SATURDAY, MARCH 29:
Treasure-hunters of all ages won’t want to miss the annual Rummage Sale at the Morristown United Methodist Church. From 9 am to 2 pm, they will find everything from TVs, books and children’s toys to jewelry and furniture. Proceeds benefit youth mission trips; more than $100,000 has been raised over the last 19 years. This summer church youths will travel to West Virginia to lend a hand to needy families. Customers of the sale have taken advantage of rock-bottom prices to buy quality items for people in Ukraine, Africa, Philippines, Columbia, and NJ inner city missions. The church is at 50 South Park Place.
Bike & Walk Morristown’s annual Bike Bands Beer bash runs from 5 pm to 9 pm at Sona Thirteen and features not one, not two, not three, but four local bands: Hidden Cabins, Eyeswan, Disseriph and Lifeguard Nights. And then there is the brew, Morris County’s own Ramstein Beer. You get all this for $15, plus a one-year membership in Bike & Walk Morristown. Tickets are available at The Grapeful Palate, Marty’s Reliable Cycle on Speedwell Avenue 
in Morristown and online at Brown Paper Tickets. Sona Thirteen is at 13 South St. in Morristown.
Morristown High School presents Seussical the Musical at 7:30 pm. See Friday entry for details.
The Sanctuary concert series in Chatham features Grammy-winner Shawn Mullins, known for Number One hits Lullabye, Beautiful Wreck and Light You Up as well as All In My Head (from the television show Scrubs) and Shimmer (Dawson’s Creek soundtrack) and the Number One country hit Toes for the Zac Brown Band. Opener Jerron “Blind Boy” Paxton plays classic blues, ragtime, hokum and jazz. “He just won’t play any music written after 1934.” Showtime is 8 pm at the Presbyterian Church on 240 Southern Boulevard. Tickets are $25.
Second City alum Jim Belushi (TV’s According to Jim) leads his comedy improv sketch show– based on audience suggestions and featuring members of the Chicago Board of Comedy–to the Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown at 8 pm. Language, mature themes. Tickets are $39-$69. At 100 South St. Call 973-539-8008 for more.
SUNDAY, MARCH 30:
The Macculloch Hall Historical Museum in Morristown hosts author Cynthia B. Martin, who will sign and sell copies of her book, Summit Historic Homes, to museum visitors during touring hours, from 1 pm to 4 pm. The book describes Summit’s evolution from “a bucolic rural spot in 1836 to a fully established suburb by 1940.” Admission: Adults $8; seniors and students $6; children 6-12 $4; members and children under 5 are free. The museum is at 45 Macculloch Ave. Call 973-538-2404.
New Jersey is the Rodney Dangerfield of states. Like the late comic, it just don’t get no respect. Michael Aaron Rockland– Morristown resident, Rutgers professor, and author of 12 books including Looking for America on the New Jersey Turnpike–will try to change that with a 2 pm talk at the Morristown & Township Library. The presentation starts at 2 pm, it’s free and refreshments will be served. The library is at One Miller Road in Morristown.
Morristown High School presents Seussical the Musical at 2 pm. See Friday entry for details.
The Bravo Alliance of Performing Artists present An Irish Journey, featuring familiar and new songs sung by “an authentic tenor of Irish American descent,” at 2 pm in the Morris Museum’s Bickford Theatre in Morris Township. Tickets are $25 for the general public; $20 for members, seniors and students (18 and under or with valid college ID). At 6 Normandy Heights Road. Call 973-971-3706 for more.
Rediscover the Broadway genius of George M. Cohan, George and Ira Gershwin and Cole Porter with the Guinness Collection staff at the Morris Museum in Morris Township, for an hour starting at 6:30 pm. Admission: $7 for members, $9 for non-members. Limited to 15 participants. At 6 Normandy Heights Road. Call 973-971-3706 to register.
