Avenel Performing Arts Center — Attraction in Woodbridge Township

My teen son and I went to see a 2 part Japanese cultural-themed show at the Avenel Performing Arts Center. The first part consisted several Japanese folk dances with fans and parasols as props. The second part was a Japanese opera-pre Kabuki-style called, “Murasaki’s Moon” about Lady Murasaki who lived in 11th Century Japan. She was an atypical woman for her time in that she wasn’t focussed on makeup, hairdos and fancy clothing like other women at the Japanese Royal Court. Rather, she could read and write and is said to have written a novel on the romantic life of Prince Genji, a narcissistic Japanese “Casanova” or “Don Juan” at the Japanese Royal Court. As it turns out, the opera is a romance of sorts between Lady Murasaki and the fictitious character, Prince Genji, that she created through her writing of stories about his romances to entertain other ladies at the Japanese Royal Court.

Thanks for this interesting...

For a community that has been building a world class music scene with the Music on Main Street series I don’t know what went wrong here. The theater looks nice from the outside but if all they offer are acts like “Well Strung” complete with ads featuring shirtless violin players unfortunately my wife and I will never be setting foot inside this new “arts” center. It’s not just one act but virtually all of the shows appear to be something akin to a low-brow schlockfest. I totally understand there is a place for everything but so far I only see one brand of entertainment here. I had high hopes that this Arts Center would be a continuation of the EXCELLENT music series that the Mayor puts on at Parker Press Park. Please, diversify your entertainment offerings, I do not enjoy leaving poor reviews but felt the need for a reality check in addition to the reviews put...

I was excited to finally see a show that I liked and fun for the family... Santa Circus. It was expensive, but looked like a great show. My family and extended family all booked tickets. Approximately 1-1/2 hours before the show I tried calling Curtains to book a reservation, but nobody was picking up. I called the box office and they told me the show was cancelled due to an electrical fire. I understand that it was out of their control, but shouldnt they have called ME?!?! I had people already driving from out of town and had to break the bad news. Doesnt seem like its run professionally. A lot of people I speak with around town want to support the center, but the shows are less than impressive. They really need to step up their game before it...