Disney. Derby. Wynton. Wildman.
There is no shortage of colorful and fascinating activities with which to occupy yourself in Greater Morristown this weekend.
From Grammy winning musicians (Shawn Colvin) to Pulitzer-winning plays (Talley’s Folly), from preservation protests to Zen dudes… scroll down for all this and more.
And don’t forget to check our handy calendar for additional adventures.
THURSDAY, APRIL 9, 2015:
Why can’t conservatives and liberals get along? The Rev. Dr. Wesley Wildman, professor and theologian from Boston University, will share approaches to conflict resolution gleaned from his neuroscience research, as keynote speaker at Drew University’s Clergy Health Day on April 9, 2015. His talk, Conflict and the Brain, starts at 9 am at Drew’s Ehinger Center, at 36 Madison Ave., Madison. The program runs from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and is open to the public. Tickets are $10, and free for Drew students with valid ID. Continuing Education credits are available; those tickets are $17.50 each. Registration details are here.
The North Jersey American Revolution Round Table meets at 7:14 pm, and features Christian M. McBurney, author of Kidnapping the Enemy: The Special Operations to Capture Generals Charles Lee & Richard Prescott. Admission: Free. At Washington’s Headquarters Museum Great Hall, 30 Washington Place, Morristown.
Talley’s Folly, the Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Lanford Wilson, comes to the Bickford Theatre at 7:30 pm, and will run for a dozen performances through April 26, 2015. Set at the end of World War II, it’s described as a “funny, sweet and heart-warming play is about finding love when you’ve nearly given up looking.” Tickets are $45 general public/ $40 seniors, museum & Theatre Guild members/ $33 groups (10 or more)/ $20 students (under 18 or w/valid college ID). At 6 Normandy Heights Road, Morris Township. Call 973-971-3706 for more.
Grammy-winning trumpeter Wynton Marsalis leads the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, “15 of today’s finest jazz soloists and ensemble players, who perform the music of the great jazz composers” and original works, at 8 pm at the Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown. Tickets:$59-$109. At 100 South St. Call 973-539-8008 for more.
FRIDAY, APRIL 10:
A wine-tasting and silent auction at Cambridge Wines will benefit research into Beckwith-Wiedeman Syndrome, a rare overgrowth condition that predominantly affects children conceived through in-vitro fetilization. The event runs from 6 pm to 8:30 pm, at 10 Lafayette Ave. in Morristown.
Jeffrey Brillhart gives a free organ recital at 7 pm, at the Presbyterian Church in Morristown, at 57 E. Park Place. This will be followed at 10 am on Saturday with a master class. This is the man who taught Josh Stafford, the talented organist at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, at Yale. For more details, contact Matthew Webb, music director at the Presbyterian Church,973-538-1776.
Disney’s Beauty and the Beast — the musical– comes to the Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown at 7 pm. Tickets:$49-$79. At 100 South St. Call973-539-8008 for more.
Emotions Anonymous meets from 7 pm to 8:15 pm in the second-floor Vestry Room of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Morristown. Enter through the red doors at 70 Maple Ave.
Starting at 7 pm, watch for a peculiar new species of nocturnal wildlife to begin emerging from their… cars?! That’s right, the Morris County Park Commission will welcome adults and kids ages 5 and older explore darkened trails during the annual Night Hike Adventure at the Great Swamp Outdoor Education Center in Chatham Township. Naturalists will guide groups of visitors every 15 minutes to observe creatures of the night. Register for a time slot between 7 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. by calling 973.635.6629. Easy walks over flat trails and boardwalks last about an hour, and cost $6 per person. Bring a flashlight!
Where does creativity come from? How about emptiness? That’s the premise of Moving from Emptiness, The Life and Art of a Zen Dude, a documentary that will be screened at 7:30 pm at the Center for Spiritual Living Morristown. Spiritual shorts roll at 7 pm. Admission is free, goodwill donations gratefully accepted. At 331 Mount Kemble Ave., Harding.
At 8 pm The Minstrel in Morris Township features Joe Crookston, with opener Owen Danoff. Singer-songwriter Crookston brings “a sense of poetry and spirituality to his lyrics, and some pretty credible guitar chops and vocal power,” according to The Minstrel. Danoff is a rising young performer from Washington DC who offers “artfully crafted snapshots of situations and people with some depth and thought behind the emotion.” At the Morristown Unitarian Fellowship, 21 Normandy Heights Road. Admission: $9, plus what you think the show is really worth. Children 12 and under, free.
Grammy-winner Shawn Colvin (Sunny Came Home) returns to the Sanctuary concert series in Chatham at 8 pm, with opener Rebecca Pronsky. Tickets: $30. At the Presbyterian Church, 240 Southern Boulevard. (Correction: Initially we had this for Saturday; sorry!)
Shawn Colvin comes to the Sanctuary series on Saturday.
Skate the night away with DJ Earl at the Mennen Sports Arena in Morris Township. Hear new hits and old favorites, under psychedelic lights, from 8 pm to 10 pm. Admission: $7, skate rental $3.50. At 161 Hanover Ave., Morris Township. Call 973-326-7651 for more.
SATURDAY, APRIL 11:
Disney’s Beauty and the Beast — the musical — takes the stage at Morristown’s Mayo Performing Arts Center at 1 pm and 7 pm. Please see Friday entry for details.
The Jerzey Derby Brigade is back with another season of rock ’em sock ’em ladies roller derby. The home team’s Corporal Punishers take on the Brandywine Brawlers at InLine Morristown at 7 pm; the doors open at 6 o’clock. Admission is $12 at the door, and $10 in advance at www.brownpapertickets.com (search “Corporal Punishers”). Children 12 and under are FREE, and military discounts are available. Seating is limited, so bring a chair. At 38 Dumont Place, Morristown.
Rolling Stone says the singer-songwriter era started in 1965 with Tom Rush, who has mentored James Taylor, Jackson Browne, and Joni Mitchell, among others. You can see how far Tom has come at 8 pm, at the Sanctuary concert series in Chatham. The always delightful Loretta Hagen will open. Tickets: $35. At the Presbyterian Church, 240 Southern Boulevard.
SUNDAY, APRIL 12:
Disney’s Beauty and the Beast — the musical — takes the stage at Morristown’s Mayo Performing Arts Center at 11 am and 4:30 pm. Please see Friday entry for details.
Preserve Greystone has scheduled a noon rally outside the historic Kirkbride Building to protest its impending demolition by the state. Dating to 1876, this enormous structure once was the centerpiece of a vast psychiatric complex straddling the border of Parsippany and Morris Plains.
