NJPAC - January/February/March 2020

greetings, friends!
Shine Studio Portrait 2018
John Schreiber
President & CEO
Performances of the classics of the great American
Songbook have always been a vital part of each
season here at the Arts Center.
Over the years, interpreters as varied as Tony Bennett,
Barbara Cook, John Pizzarelli, Christine Ebersole,
Kristen Chenoweth, Audra McDonald and more
have thrilled NJPAC audiences, in spaces as large
as Prudential Hall or as intimate as our Chase Room
cabaret.
This timeless music has always been a special
favorite of mine. I’m especially looking forward to
two Prudential Hall performances in mid-March:
Michael Feinstein at 3PM on March 14, and
Johnny Mathis at 8PM on March 20. I have fond
memories of each of these remarkable artists.
The first time I heard Michael was in 1986, when he
made his New York debut at the acclaimed Oak
Room at the Algonquin Hotel. In those days, Bobby
Short was holding court at the Cafe Carlyle, and
great singers like Mabel Mercer and Sylvia Sims were
performing at the St. Regis Room and Downstairs at
the Upstairs. It wasn’t unusual for Tony Bennett to sit in
with virtuoso pianist Ellis Larkins at the Carnegie Café.
Into that milieu came this fresh-faced singer-pianist
who knew the words to every Gershwin song ever
written — as well he should have, since he was Ira
Gershwin’s assistant for six years, charged with
archiving the lyricist’s papers. On first hearing him,
I immediately understood that Michael’s was a
talent for the ages, and he has borne out that first
impression. He not only is a wonderful musician but
he’s also this genre’s preeminent historian: He created
the Great American Songbook Foundation and
donated his collection of sheet music and musical
memorabilia — one of the largest in the world — to
The Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel, Indiana,
where he serves as Artistic Director.
Johnny Mathis has been a star for as long as many of
us have been alive. His recording career goes back to
the late 1950s, when he — an athlete of some repute —
skipped the Olympic track trials to cut his first album.
“It’s Not for Me to Say” came out in 1956, and his
career hasn’t stopped since.
FOR A FULL SCHEDULE OF EVENTS, VISIT NJPAC.ORG OR CALL 1.888.GO.NJPAC