From the National Society of Arts and Letters, NJ Chapter
The National Society of Arts and Letters, NJ Chapter, is very excited to announce that musician Steve Kirchuk will be the speaker on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025, at 1:30 pm at the Morristown and Morris Township Library, One Miller Road, Morristown.
He will be demonstrating his unique 7-string hybrid guitar, and will be playing some cover songs as well as original music.
Steve Kirchuk has made a significant impact in the music scene by collaborating with a variety of bands, such as Jam-Bone and Steel Gravy. His exceptional guitar and bass playing, coupled with his heartfelt vocals, truly enliven his music in a way that sets him apart from many others.
Steve’s original compositions showcase a remarkable diversity and originality, reflecting his artistic vision. He is particularly recognized for his skillful use of custom 7-string guitars, including a Charlie Hunter-style hybrid guitar.
Since 2014, Steve has released five CDs featuring his original music, along with two anthologies and several singles, demonstrating his prolific creativity. Additionally, he has contributed to the success of other artists by producing two CDs for Carl Scimeca and Kevin Defeo, further highlighting his commitment to fostering talent in the music community.
Steve often performs at music festivals and clubs in Warren County, NJ. His main instrument is the unique 7-string Charlie Hunter guitar, which features both bass and guitar strings on the same instrument. Videos are here.
This program is presented by the New Jersey Chapter of the National Society of Arts and Letters (NSAL-NJ), and is open to the public. Founded in 1944, NSAL has 15 chapters throughout the United States. Its mission is to support young artists in the performing, visual and literary arts through scholarships, competitions and mentoring. Visit www.arts-nsal.org.
This weekend has something for everyone in Greater Morristown!
Scroll down for details. Check our handy calendar for even more activities–and add your own events, too.
THURSDAY, FEB. 27, 2025:
Free yoga continues at 10 am to the Morristown & Township Library. At One Miller Road, Morristown.
The Morristown & Township Library concludes its celebration of Jane Austen’s 250th birthday with a free screening of The Jane Austen Book Club (2007), at 6:45 pm. At One Miller Road, Morristown.
Also at the Morristown & Township Library, at 7 pm, Pioneer Productions presents live readings of three new short plays. Free. At One Miller Road, Morristown.
The Mayo Performing Arts Center presents Bilal at 7:30 pm. Tickets: $36-$58. At 100 South St., Morristown, 973-539-8008.
Drew University in Madison presents the play Mr. Burns at 7:30 pm. Admission: $5-$15. At the Kean Black Box Theatre, Lancaster Road.
FRIDAY, FEB. 28:
The Presbyterian Church in Morristown hosts a Chili Cook-Off and Silent Auction fundraiser at 6 pm. Tickets: $10. Register here. At the Parish House, 65 South St.
St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Morristown hosts a SweetSwingSoiréefrom 7 pm to 10 pm. (Re-scheduled from Feb. 15.) Tickets: $35. Featuring the Bottle Hill Big Band. At 70 Maple Ave.
At 7:30 pm, the Folk Project’s Troubadour series presents Celtic supergroup Steve Gibb’s Jolly Beggars with opener Rachel Clemente. Admission: $15-$20; children 12 and under, free. Livestream: $10. At 21 Normandy Heights Road, Morris Township.
Steve Gibb and the Jolly Beggars.
The Longo Planetarium at the County College of Morris in Randolph presents two shows: One Sky: Sky Stories from Around the Globe at 7:30 pm, recommended for ages 6 and up, and Mars: The Ultimate Voyage at 9 pm, recommended for ages 8 and up. Admission: $10. Call 973-328-5076 for more. At 214 Center Grove Road.
Drew University in Madison presents the play Mr. Burns at 7:30 pm. See Thursday entry.
SATURDAY, MARCH 1:
The Morristown & Township Library hosts Indoor Qigong at 9:30 am. Free. No experience or registration required. Upstairs in the F.M. Kirby Gallery, at One Miller Road, Morristown.
Drew University in Madison presents the play Mr. Burns at 2 pm. See Thursday entry.
The Longo Planetarium at the County College of Morris in Randolph presents Mars: The Ultimate Voyage at 3:30 pm, recommended for ages 8 and up. Admission: $10. Call 973-328-5076 for more. At 214 Center Grove Road.
At 4:30 pm, the Madison Community Arts Center presents the Film Society of Summit: Oscar Nominated Documentary Shorts.Tickets: $15. At 10 Kings Road.
Then at 7:30 pm, the Madison Community Arts Center presents the Film Society of Summit: Oscar Nominated Documentary Shorts. Tickets: $15. At 10 Kings Road.
The Harmonium Choral Society presents Sing Me to Heaven at 7:30 pm at the Morristown United Methodist Church. Tickets: $25-$30. (Sunday encore at 3 pm.) At 50 South Park Place, 973-538-6969.
The Mayo Performing Arts Center presents RAIN – A Tribute to the Beatles at 8 pm. Tickets: $47-$109. At 100 South St., Morristown, 973-539-8008.
SUNDAY, MARCH 2:
The Morris Winter Market at Convent Station commences at 9:30 am, and will return virtually every Sunday through April 27, 2025, from 9:30 am until 1 pm. Presented by Grow It Green Morristown.
The Bernardsville Cinema hosts a free 2 pm screening of the documentary American River, about efforts to reclaim the Passaic River. A Q&A with director Scott Morris will follow. At 5 Mine Brook Road. Reserve seats here.
The Harmonium Choral Society presents Sing Me to Heaven at 3 pm at the Morristown United Methodist Church. See Saturday entry for more.
The Madison Community Arts Center presents Jersey Jazz LIVE! Champian Fulton Trioat 3 pm. Tickets: $10-$15. At 10 Kings Road.
Celebrate Mardi Gras with Thaddeus Exposé, at 5 pm at the Morris Museum in Morris Township. Tickets: $23-$28. At 6 Normandy Heights Road, (973) 971-3700.
Al Franken had a near-capacity audience howling Monday with tales from Saturday Night Live and the United States Senate. But he could find no humor in Washington right now.
Hang tough, speak out often…and hope President Trump screws up, he advised fellow Democrats.
“Believe me, Trump will make lots of mistakes… he’s going to run into trouble,” the former Senator predicted at Morristown’s Mayo Performing Arts Center, as a speaker in the Drew Forum series.
Trump is flooding the zone with executive orders to make resistance difficult, if not futile, said Franken, 73. He voiced amazement that former Fox News host Pete Hegseth got confirmed as Secretary of Defense, and labeled Elon Musk’s drive to shutter the humanitarian United States Agency for International Development (USAID) “obscene.”
Al Franken, left, and moderator Charles Stile, a veteran New Jersey political reporter, at MPAC for the Drew Forum, Feb. 3, 2025. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
“We have the richest man in the world (who) did this, cut off funding USAID. I can’t think of anything more ironic than that,” he said.
Some might see irony in a disgraced ex-senator on the lecture circuit.
Franken resigned from the Senate in 2018 amidst allegations by eight women of unwanted kissing, touching, and advances. He denied any lascivious intent but apologized for his behavior and asked to testify before the Senate Ethics Committee. Before he could do so, fellow Democrats insisted he step down.
Nobody got to hear his side on Monday; the scandal never was broached.
Franken has told interviewers he has not ruled out another run for office. Onstage at MPAC, he was asked about the Senate, where he served for about a decade.
“I miss it terribly,” he said.
These days he’s working to bypass the “stupid” electoral college, which awarded the White House to Trump in 2016 and to George W. Bush in 2000 despite both men losing the popular vote.
The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact is forging agreements among member states to pledge all their electoral college votes to the popular winner. So far, Franken said, 17 states with a combined 207 electoral votes have signed on; 270 votes are needed for victory.
SIDEBAR: THE 800-POUND GORILLA IN THE DREW FORUM: WHAT AL FRANKEN DIDN’T SAY, AND WASN’T ASKED
The evening was moderated by Charles Stile, a veteran New Jersey political reporter.
After describing post-election despair among Democrats, Stile looked apologetically at the audience. “Not to depress everybody…”
“That’s our goal,” Franken deadpanned. “To not have you leaving smiling.”
HORNY VS. SEXY
Spectators spilling onto South Street 80 minutes later looked amused by the inside baseball they had heard. A quick note here about Franken’s anecdotes:
You had to be there.
If a friend attended Monday’s talk, ask her to share the funniest bits. We can’t.
This is a family publication. (Whose family, we’re not sure.) Suffice it to say, there were some colorful moments as Franken dished about his dual lives.
Ask your friend about the the coup de grace Franken delivered in a joke-off with Ted Cruz, about whom he once famously said: “I like Ted Cruz more than most of my other colleagues like Ted Cruz. And I hate Ted Cruz.”
Al Franken and moderator Charles Stile at MPAC for the Drew Forum, Feb. 3, 2025. Photo by Kevin CoughlinFeb. 3, 2025. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
Maybe your friend will share Franken’s clash with NBC over “horny” vs “sexy.” And then there is the “Placenta Helper” sketch that never made it onto SNL. (Censors have no sense of humor.)
Growing up Jewish in Minnesota yielded more comedic fodder. Franken admitted to toddling in Little Falls, but that doesn’t count.
Never shy about showcasing provocative figures over its three decades, the Drew Forum has presented past and future presidents; Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists and historians; comedian John Oliver and Trump critic Liz Cheney; and Gen. John Kelly, Trump’s former chief of staff.
Franken’s resume includes five Emmys, four NY Times best-sellers, two Grammys, a Harvard shingle, a progressive podcast, and a meteoric rise and thunderous fall in the Senate. Nobody else can riff about Capitol Hill giants like the late Sen. Harry Reid…and shift gears to cocaine buddy John Belushi and the legendary first season of SNL.
That show will mark its 50th anniversary with a star-studded TV special this month. About the fictional movie Saturday Night, Franken was succint. “They took liberties,” said the former writer, producer and cast member.
His favorite SNL skit was Dan Aykroyd playing TV chef Julia Child inflicting a mortal wound in the kitchen. Tom Davis, Franken’s script-writing partner, hid behind a counter “pumping fake blood with an insecticide sprayer.”
Hard-pressed to name his favorite cast member, Franken said it was no contest for least-favorite host. Steven Seagal was humorless, he said. Finishing a distant second: A patronizing Jeremy Irons. “He was a jerk.”
‘DON’T BE FUNNY!’
Franken said he is proud of casting the crucial 60th vote for the Affordable Care Act, and for passing a law helping foster children. Responding to a spectator’s written question about who would make an ideal president, Franken touted the late Senator and Vice President Hubert Humphrey, a fellow Minnesotan and early champion of civil rights.
“It was a tragedy that instead we got (Richard) Nixon” in 1968, Franken said.
Al Franken at MPAC for the Drew Forum, Feb. 3, 2025. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
Franken’s shift from comedy to politics was spurred by the late Minnesota Sen. Paul Wellstone, whose vote against the Iraq War inspired him.
When Wellstone and his family died in a plane crash in 2003, Republican Norm Coleman won — and promptly boasted to a reporter that he was a “99 percent improvement” over his deceased predecessor.
“It was a disgrace…and I clobbered him,” Franken said. “By 312 votes.”
That was 2008. Recounts and court rulings took six months. When Franken finally settled into his Senate office, he needed reminding of his staff’s stern warnings: Don’t be funny!!!
One of Sen. Franken’s first official acts — from which his team ultimately dissuaded him– was sending congratulations to a 110-year-old constituent.
“Dear Ruth,” he wrote, “you have a bright future.”
Drew University’s Drew Forum is sponsored by the Blanche & Irving Laurie Foundation. On April 28, 2025, the Forum will present comedian/author Andy Borowitz, with journalist Paula Zahn as narrator. Tickets are $47-$89.
On Monday in Morristown, a large and enthusiastic Drew Forum crowd heard hilarious stories from Al Franken about Saturday Night Live and the U.S. Senate, and serious observations about Trump 2.0.
One thing patrons did not hear was Franken’s side of the sexual misconduct allegations that led to his resignation from the Senate in 2018.
People in the entertainment world say it’s not unusual for guest speakers to declare certain topics as taboo when they sign contracts for appearances. Yet such caveats aren’t always disclosed to patrons, who may think they are buying tickets to a free-wheeling talk by a celebrity.
When asked if Franken stipulated his resignation was off-limits, Drew University, which has presented the Drew Forum for three decades, issued a statement through spokesman Stuart Dezenhall.
“The general topics for the evening were determined based on the interests of questions submitted by the audience and the breadth of Franken’s long career,” he said.
Al Franken, left, and moderator Charles Stile, a veteran New Jersey political reporter, at MPAC for the Drew Forum, Feb. 3, 2025. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
The talk was moderated by Charles Stile, a veteran New Jersey political reporter.
“I sought to ask a question regarding his resignation but this was their show and I followed their ground rules,” Stile said. “This was the first time I served in a role as a moderator with a celebrity. It was an eye-opening experience.”
Questions from ticket buyers were solicited up to three weeks in advance by the Mayo Performing Arts Center, where the talk was given, and forwarded to the university for review, said theater Chief Operating Officer Ed Kirchdoerffer.
“That was part of the contract, and is pretty standard in the industry. Drew University handled that aspect of the booking and program…we collect the questions, we send everything along to Drew who sends them to the artist management,” Kirchdoerffer said.
Franken’s press team did not respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.
Review: ‘Don’t be funny!’ Al Franken ignores old advice, in Morristown
ALLEGATIONS
Many Democrats, including then-Sen. Kamala Harris, pressed Franken to step down in 2018 after eight women raised allegations of inappropriate kissing, touching, and advances.
Franken apologized for his behavior, and quit before he could testify before the Senate Ethics Committee. An exhaustive investigation by The New Yorker cited seven lawmakers who said they regretted calling for Franken’s resignation without fully vetting the accusations.
In interviews, Franken, 73, has not ruled out another run for public office.
“I miss it terribly,” he said of the Senate, before nearly 1,300 people Monday who paid up to $89 for a seat.
Stile’s roundabout attempt to draw out Franken consisted of a remark about the irony of Democrats punishing “their people over allegations that haven’t been vetted or investigated,” while Republicans send a convicted felon to the White House.
Franken didn’t take the bait, pivoting to his disbelief over the confirmation of former Fox News host Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Drew’s promotion of the event on MPAC’s website promised wide-ranging, insightful, humorous political commentary.
It highlighted Franken’s 15 years with Saturday Night Live, numerous awards, his Senate advocacy for important issues, and his grilling of Jeff Sessions during confirmation hearings that resulted in Sessions’ recusal from, and Robert Mueller’s appointment to, the Russia investigation.
The lone reference to Franken’s departure from Capitol Hill made no mention of the circumstances: “As Franken said when he left the Senate, ‘I may be giving up my seat, but not my voice.’”
Morristown Green asked the university whether it has had to weigh topic-prohibition clauses from other Drew Forum speakers, who have included past and future presidents, Pulitzer Prize winners, and comedians. Drew did not respond.
New Jersey event promoter Don Jay Smith, who was not involved with Franken’s talk, said promoters and venues encounter these dilemmas from time to time. Usually, he said, it’s a bottom line decision.
“Basically it comes down to, ‘Are we going to make money, or is this going to be something that’s a loss leader?’ And if it’s a loser, then they’re not going to do it,” he said.
For transparency’s sake, Smith said, audiences should be informed in advance when a speaker places topics out of bounds. He suspects most people will “go to see him anyway.”
Not long ago, audience Q & A’s offered patrons an opportunity to ask tough questions without screening. Microphones have given way to written submissions — partly for of a dearth of tough questions, according to Kirchdoerffer, from MPAC.
“I think there are lots of times when you give audiences microphones, they go off on their own tangents and it’s often hard to pull them off the mic,” he said.
He recounted the late comedian Jerry Lewis begging a cavalcade of adoring fans to skip “I love you, Jerry!” and ask him questions.
Written submissions eliminate those situations. Many speakers want to be prepared, so they can think their answers through, Kirchdoerffer said.
“I’d say for the bigger name speakers this is almost standard operating procedure. They feel they are not there to discuss more controversial aspects of their lives.”
The Tempest has struck The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey. Or is it climate change?
Citing “extreme heat and rain,” theater Artistic Director Brian B. Crowe said Wednesday there will be no Outdoor Stage performances this summer. These productions under the stars at the Greek Amphitheatre of St. Elizabeth University have been popular attractions since 2002.
“We’re heartbroken to have to lose the Outdoor Stage this season, but it is a sad necessity,” Crowe said in a message announcing the Shakespeare Theatre’s 2025 lineup.
“In the last two seasons alone, we lost over a quarter of our performances due to extreme heat and rain. The reduced income did not, however, reduce our expenses. The combined increase in expenses and challenging weather conditions has made the program untenable at this time.”
Crowe said the Shakespeare Theatre in Madison is “eternally grateful” for its partnership with the university, which brought classic plays to thousands of families. An amusing perk of those shows was seeing Shakespearean actors improvise as jets cruised overhead en route to Morristown Airport.
The director said he is exploring alternate schedules and funding that may enable a future return to the Outdoor Stage.
Pre-show picnicking will continue outside the F.M Kirby Theatre in July for The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) [revised] [again], Crowe said, along with a free tickets for kids program.
This year’s roster:
Oscar Wilde’sThe Importance of Being Earnest (May), The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (etc.) (July), Romeo & Juliet(September), Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (October), and It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play (December).
Superimposed on a black background, a glittery message in all caps screams: “I matter.”
Newark artist Serron Green said his piece explores the invisibility of Black people.
Spectators take a closer look at the words embedded in the artwork of Meclina Gomes, Feb. 5, 2025. Photo by Ellen Wilkowe
It’s on display in Black Joy, the fourth annual Art in the Atrium Inc. exhibit at the Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown.
The show, which runs through March 1, 2025, showcases Black artists Radisha James, Kwesi Kwarteng, Therez Fleetwood,Meclina Gomes, and Green.
“I wanted to bring together artists that a lot of people have not heard of…and give them the opportunity to show a number of pieces of work, as opposed to one or two,” exhibit curator Wanda Croudy said at a reception on Wednesday.
She doubled as a model for the evening, wearing a newsprint-patterned wraparound skirt, top hat and gloves. Designer outfits were courtesy of Arlinda McIntosh, owner of Sofistafunk, a skirt company in Montclair.
Fashion designer Arlinda McIntosh of Sofistafunk, The Skirt Company, provided colorful outfits, Feb. 5, 2025. Photo by Ellen Wilkowe
“Everybody’s got a little funk in them,” McIntosh said.
Black Joy features themes of empowerment and visibility. Atlanta artist Therez Fleetwood pays tribute to artists of the Harlem Renaissance through mixed media, textile and fashion.
“The artists of the Harlem Renaissance, they’re the ones that paved the way for a lot of Black artists today,” said Fleetwood, a Newark native. “They went through the struggles to get seen.”
Romare Bearden, Elizabeth Catlett and Jacob Lawrence were among Harlem’s artistic trailblazers.
MAGNIFYING GLASSES, ANYONE?
Green, the artist behind I Matter, tapped themes of Black invisibility and hyper-visibility — as in being seen in a negative manner.
Artists Serron Green and Meclina Gomes chat at reception for Art in the Atrium’s Black Joy exhibit at MPAC. Feb. 5, 2025. Photo by Ellen Wilkowe
A lifelong Newarker, Green traces his artistic roots to the graffiti movement. He likes to incorporate spray paint into his work, and symbolism.
“I often use black butterflies as a symbol of rebirth of the Black American,” he said. “Because of the trauma, we die and are reborn every day.”
His Invisible Tribe artwork displays different hair styles, a tribute to his parents who owned hair salons.
I Matter resonated with Vanetta Solomon of Morristown. “I tell my students that every day,” said Solomon, a counselor in the Plainfield School District.
She also was intrigued by the language embedded in a series of paintings by artist Meclina Gomes of Massachusetts.
Wanda Croudy, curator of ‘Black Joy’ for Art in the Atrium, wears an outfit designed by Arlinda McIntosh, Feb. 5, 2025. Photo by Ellen Wilkowe
Her medium is micrography, an art form using tiny letters. Gomes uses the power of the word to convey messages of social justice and empowerment in her paintings:
Enlightened. Sunshine. You bring me peace and joy. You just have to look closely.
“This is a reminder of our own light and our own wisdom,” Gomes said. At her mother’s urging, she even provided magnifying glasses to help spectators get the message.
Speaking in the Starlight Room, Croudy, the curator, explained her personal mission.
MPAC trustee Simone Craig delivers remarks on behalf of her parents, founders of Art in the Atrium, Feb. 5, 2025. Photo by Ellen Wilkowe
“One of the things that I stand firm on is that there is fabulous art from fabulous people all over the world. But African Americans do not have the same opportunity to get exposure to show in different galleries to be purchased by museums. I do my best to make a difference there,” she said.
MPAC trustee Simone Craig honored her late mother, Viki, and her father Charles, for providing exposure via of Art in the Atrium, which they founded 33 years ago.
Craig emphasized the nonprofit’s commitment to celebrating Black culture through visual arts.
“Now more than ever,” she said, “it is not just important that we come together and commune with one in another while enjoying art, it is now essential.”
Art in the Atrium Inc. presents “Black Joy,” through March 1, 2025, at the Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown. Artworks on display are available for purchase. The galleries are open prior to MPAC events, Tuesdays from noon to 2 pm, and by appointment. Private group tours also are available. To make an appointment, call 973-539-0345, ext. 6587. At 100 South St.
There is no excuse for missing The Cher Show this weekend.
You have three performances to choose from. And none of them interfere with **The Big Game** on Sunday!
Scroll down for more fun in Greater Morristown. Check our handy calendar for even more activities–and add your own events, too.
FRIDAY: FEB. 7, 2025:
At 7:30 pm, the Folk Project’s Troubadour series gets a jump on Valentines Day with its annual Extravaganza. Admission: $12; children 12 and under, free. Also livestreamed. At 21 Normandy Heights Road, Morris Township.
The Mayo Performing Arts Center presents The Cher Show at 8 pm. Tickets: $79-$119. Two encore shows on Saturday. At 100 South St., Morristown, 973-539-8008.
SATURDAY: FEB. 8:
The Morristown & Township Library hosts Indoor Qigong at 9:30 am. Free. No experience or registration required. Upstairs in the F.M. Kirby Gallery, at One Miller Road, Morristown.
The 17th annual Cupid’s Chase 5K run starts at 10 am at the Daily Plan It at 150 Speedwell Ave. in Morristown. (Check-in begins at 8 am.) Proceeds benefit persons with disabilities. See website for pricing.
The Mayo Performing Arts Center presents The Cher Show at 2 pm and 8 pm. See Friday entry for more.
The Morristown & Township Library‘s Science Fiction Book Club discusses An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon, at 2 pm. Free. At One Miller Road, Morristown.
SUNDAY: FEB. 9:
The Morris Winter Market at Convent Station commences at 9:30 am, and will return virtually every Sunday through April 27, 2025, from 9:30 am until 1 pm. Presented by Grow It Green Morristown.
Miles Schmidt of Morris Plains is no stranger to the stage. He has played Chip from Beauty and the Beast, Gomez from The Addams Family Jr., and most recently, as “Little Boy” on the national tour of Elf.
Now, he wants to be cast as the winner of Morristown Onstage. He will compete against 15 other amateur acts vying for cash prizes at the Mayo Performing Arts Center (MPAC) on March 4, 2025. It’s the Morris Educational Foundation’s 18th annual fundraiser for the Morris School District.
Morristown Onstage 2025 finalist Miles Schmidt. Photo by David Okada
Schmidt, 13, will perform Giants in the Sky from Into the Woods.
“It’s a song that can make you feel like you can do anything,” he said.
For the Morris Township teen, “anything” included securing his spot as a Morristown Onstage finalist, instead of just watching from the audience. “I felt ecstatic because when I saw the show last year, I really wanted to be a part of it,” he said.
So, how did this stage-hopping Frelinghuysen Middle School 7th grader wind up on the national tour of Elf ?
Passion.
Schmidt credits the smash musical Hamilton with igniting his fervor for the stage. Specifically, the performances of Jonathan Groff and Lin-Manuel-Miranda. “I watched it and it sparked something,” he said. “Their take on history was stunning, and I enjoyed the music. I still sing those songs years after I heard them.”
He traces his original musical inclination to early childhood, when his mom enrolled him in group music classes when he was just weeks old.
During the pandemic, he was living in El Paso and started taking piano lessons on Zoom.
“I was just 8 years old,” he said. “I spent a lot of time performing—acting and singing—while on the keyboard. So my mom and teacher recognized that maybe voice and performance lessons were a better fit for me.”
Morristown Onstage 2025 finalist Miles Schmidt and his mom, Lacey, at Media Day in January 2025. Photo by David Okada
His family relocated to Morris Plains in 2021 and he immersed himself in the local playhouse scene, including the Children’s Theatre on Tour through the Paper Mill Play House in Millburn, and Annie’s Playhouse in Mendham. He also appeared in several productions with the A.P.P.L.A.U.S.E Theater Company.
The MPAC stage is familiar territory, too. Schmidt has appeared in spring productions of Matilda and Beauty and the Beast.
His most recent role as “Little Boy” in Elf—as well as an understudy for the character Michael, took him on the road for two-and-a-half months. He relied on Zoom for schooling.
“The school district was very supportive,” said his mother, Lacey.
In addition to Morristown Onstage, Schmidt is preparing for Frelinghuysen’s spring production of Shrek, where he will perform the role of Lord Farquaad.
Should he win Morristown Onstage, he plans on putting the money toward dance lessons.
Longterm, Schmidt has set his sights on Broadway and a career in the performing arts.
Sixteen top amateur acts from Greater Morristown will compete at the Mayo Performing Arts Center on March 4, 2025 for cash prizes at the 18th annual Morristown Onstage. Presented by the Morris Educational Foundation, the show benefits programs in the Morris School District. Tickets are $43-$95, available online or at MPAC, 100 South St., 973-539-8008.
Haniyah Iman Hill, a 7th grader at the Frelinghuysen Middle School, is back for her second appearance at Morristown Onstage.
Looking a little taller and sporting a new hair style, Hill is ready to try her luck again when she sings I’m Here from the show The Color Purple at the Mayo Performing Arts Center on March 4, 2025.
“My style is still the same, but my skills have gotten better since last year,” says Hill. Normally soft spoken, her voice shifts dramatically into a big, bold emotional mode during the song.
Hill is among 16 amateur acts competing for cash prizes and local fame in the 18th annual edition of the Morris Educational Foundation’s contest to benefit programs in the Morris School District.
Morristown Onstage 2025 finalist Haniyah Hill with her dad, Rex Hill, a former MoS finalist. Photo by Marion Filler
Her parents, vocalist Nailah Taylor-Hill and Rex Hill, a professional musician, competed in Morristown Onstage years ago.
“We did it twice. We didn’t win, but we did well,” says Rex Hill. “I accompanied Nailah and I’m doing the same thing for Haniyah. I’m pretty much like a music coach.”
Speaking of his daughter, he adds with a smile: “She’s not that quiet. When she gets comfortable around people, she’s loud.”
Over the last year, Haniyah has matured as a singer, according to her father. “That means her approach to the music and the song is more mature, her breathing technique is a whole lot better and she takes the time to really dissect the song.”
As a finalist last year, Haniyah Hill sang the Whitney Houston hit, The Greatest Love of All.
I’m Here is performed at the climax of The Color Purple, and symbolizes the triumph of self-love over adversity. As one critic said, “The song is not meant to be sung, but roared. It’s not meant to be heard but felt.”
Hill intends to make it happen.
“My mom chose this song when her sister passed years ago, and I wanted to memorialize and recognize her. It’s not a sad song, it’s inspirational,” she says.
She also is inspired by Fantasia Barrino. As the first American Idol winner to sing on Broadway, his version of I’m Here routinely brought the house down.
As the youngest of nine children, Hill is surrounded by a musical family. Her grandfather sings, and her dad’s side of the family are all musicians. “They sing and play everything except woodwinds,” her mom told Morristown Green in 2024.
With of plenty of support and enthusiasm to guide her, Hill is motivated to be a success.
Is singing a big part of her life?
“Yes, very!”
Does she plan to continue and get really famous?
“Yes, I do!”
The Morris Educational Foundation presents the 18th annual Morristown Onstage on Tuesday, March 4, 2025, at the Mayo Performing Arts Center. Sixteen amateur acts from Greater Morristown will compete for $2,500 in prizes, in a benefit for the Morris School District. Tickets are $43-$95, available online or at MPAC, 100 South St., 973-539-8008.
Who would’ve guessed that in addition to its historic significance, lovely parks and good schools, Morristown also would be a hotbed of talented performers?
Morristown Onstage has known it for 18 years — ever since it first showcased local, non-professional musicians, dancers and vocalists to compete for $2,500 in prizes while raising funds the Morris School District.
This year, Integracion America, a small band of five guys with a very big sound, takes the stage along with 15 other acts on March 4, 2025, at the Mayo Performing Art Center.
The Integracion Band. L-R: Left to Right: Hernan Sinche, Nelson Perez, Hector Chiqui, Yefer Blancas, Javier Sinche. Photo by Marion Filler
“It’s South American folklore,” said drummer Hector Chiqui, an alumnus of Morristown High School, describing the band’s repertoire. “It’s mostly traditional music from within all of South America, basically we play a mix of everything.”
“This group started two years ago,” at St. Margaret Church in Morristown, recalled fellow Ecuadorian native Hernan Sinche.
“The Morris School District invited us for a program at the Sussex Avenue School, and eventually invited us to perform at Morristown High School. We played here two times.”
Sinche plays the quena, the traditional flute of the Andes, that has a distinct timbre and piercing sound. The instrument is approximately 20 inches long and is engraved with his name.
The quena comes brilliantly to the fore in El Condor Pasa, one of two numbers Integracion will perform in the competition. Written in 1913 in Lima, Peru, the song became well known to American audiences in 1970 via Simon & Garfunkel’s Bridge Over Troubled Water album.
Paul Simon based the English lyrics on the original Spanish, and called the song If I Could. No matter in what language, its universal message of longing for freedom to control one’s destiny was embraced around the world:
I’d rather be a sparrow than a snail . Yes, I would , if I could, I surely would I’d rather be a hammer than a nail . Yes, I would, if I only could , I surely would
Integracion’s version is strictly instrumental, but its profoundly beautiful sound is more than enough to transport the audience above the mountains, to feel the wind, and fly as high as its imagination will allow.
Hernan Sinche and his quena. Photo by Marion Filler
Nelson Perez, originally from Guatemala, is on bass. Javier Sinche, who is from Ecuador, plays guitar, and Yefer Blancas, a Peruvian, is on the electric keyboard.
“The keyboard lets us add a lot of instruments to expand the sound — which I do,” Blancas noted with a smile. It allows him to bring in additional guitars, trumpets and whatever else he thinks is appropriate.
That happens more often in the band’s second number, Zapanteando, a lively, toe-tapping song that couldn’t be more different from its haunting predecessor.
“You’ve probably never heard of it,” acknowledged Chiqui, “but it’s basically an Ecuadorian song that has spread throughout South America over the last 10 years. It’s made for dancing, a little stamping and clapping, but no, we won’t be dancing,” he chuckled.
Well, maybe some people will want to, joked Blancas, as the rest of the group laughed and nodded in agreement.
It certainly will be hard to resist.
Sixteen top amateur acts from Greater Morristown will compete at the Mayo Performing Arts Center on March 4, 2025 for cash prizes at the 18th annual Morristown Onstage. Presented by the Morris Educational Foundation, the show benefits programs in the Morris School District. Tickets are $43-$95, available online or at MPAC, 100 South St., 973-539-8008.
