Newark’s commitment to the arts is reflected in the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, the city’s largest cultural center. This 12-acre site, on the Newark riverfront between Military Park and McCarter Highway, offers an intimate 514-seat theater and a 2,750-seat hall where international celebrities and New Jersey’s finest performers shine. NJPAC has gained national attention, serving as a model for its programming, audience, diversity and education leadership. It has also played an integral role in returning nightlife to the state’s largest city.
NJPAC provides a certain uniqueness that no other performing arts center has offered. Diversity of its audience members and performers is evident at the center. One in four of all ticketholders represents minority communities, including 17 percent African American. NJPAC thrives as a different kind of cultural center that integrates both traditional and nontraditional audiences.
As for NJPAC’s artists, diversity is also prevalent. Notable performers at NJPAC, who have been praised by critics from the New York Times, range from Itzhak Perlman to ‘NSync, the Vienna Choir Boys to Lauryn Hill, and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam to the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.
NJPAC receives credit for contributing to the revitalization of the city of Newark. With developers and tenants recognizing Newark as an attractive municipality, the return of the Newark Bears at their new stadium, the anticipated construction of the Devils’ arena and new restaurants and small businesses opening, Newark is a force to be reckoned with.
In addition to NJPAC’s success in reviving Newark, the performing arts center and the Star- Ledger are active in recognizing students’ involvement in the arts. A June 2004 article in the Star-Ledger, “Star-Ledger Performing Arts Scholars Take the Stage at NJPAC,” described the annual recital for the winners of the Star-Ledger Scholarship for the Performing Arts:
“It was also a night for the new 2004 winners to demonstrate why judges selected them for the scholarship program. And it was a night to see some of Newark’s most talented young people share their love of the performing arts on stage. Jorge Gavidia, the $40,000 scholarship winner for 2004, performed ‘Leyenda’ by Isaac Albeniz at the recital. Gavidia, a classical guitarist, relaxed the audience with the soothing Spanish piece. Gavidia said he plans to study guitar at the Mannes College of Music in New York in the fall. Finally, Tyshawn Sorey, the 1999 top winner, performed his own composition on piano, an avant-garde jazz piece titled ‘For Elvin Jones.’ He said he wrote the piece on the day Jones, a drummer, died. Jones, called by Life magazine ‘the world’s greatest rhythmic drummer,’ died in Englewood on May 18.”
Further evidence of NJPAC’s involvement with the communities around it can be found on its website, www.njpac.org. There, NJPAC describes its “Artist-in-Residence Programs,” which give New Jersey students in public and private schools opportunities to work closely with professional artists.
History of NJPAC
NJPAC adds a new layer to the history of the performing arts in Newark. The Newark Symphony Hall on Broad Street, in the downtown district of Newark, is a piece of the cultural history of New Jersey. Built during the “Roaring Twenties,” this monument to a particularly optimistic era in American history has served as a stage to many of this century’s greatest musical artists. Since the development of NJPAC, the Newark Symphony Hall struggles to compete, but its supporters still treasure the historical landmark.
NJPAC was built in large part through public subsidies in conjunction with private funds. In 1987, Thomas H. Kean, then New Jersey governor, commissioned the consulting firm of C.W. Shaver & Company, Inc., to study the needs of New Jersey’s performing arts organizations. The purpose of the study was to determine the type, size and location of the facilities required by the state’s performing companies. Coincidentally, Newark’s recently elected mayor, Sharpe James, established the Mayor’s Performing Arts Center Task Force, whose purpose was to act as an advocate for New Jersey’s oldest and largest city.
The consultants and members of the mayor’s task force agreed that the most likely location for a performing arts center was downtown Newark. The location was ideal because an estimated 4.5 million people live within a 25-mile radius of that area. This site would be easily accessible to those considering private or public transportation. Cars can reach the area via the Garden State Parkway, the New Jersey Turnpike and Routes 280 and 78. For those without vehicles, NJPAC can be reached by public transportation via Newark’s Penn Station, which is served by New Jersey Transit, Amtrak and PATH.
After a decade of planning and a $187 million capital campaign, NJPAC held its world premiere on Oct. 18, 1997. It debuted to great fanfare and acclaim. Since then, residents of New Jersey and people from all over the world continue to visit the performing arts center. In its first season, 500,000 patrons visited NJPAC. Former President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore visited NJPAC. Former New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman held her inauguration at NJPAC, the first gubernatorial inauguration to be held outside of Trenton since 1932. Jayson Williams, former New Jersey Nets basketball player, made a cameo appearance in the Harlem Nutcracker during its December engagement in Prudential Hall.
NJPAC Today
Andrew, a resident of South Orange, N.J., watched many performances at the Newark Symphony Hall. When NJPAC was built, he promised himself that one day he would check it out. Andrew later attended a performance at NJPAC, Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, in October 2003. Andrew enjoyed his visit to the performing arts center. “NJPAC, in comparison to the Newark Symphony Hall, is definitely bigger and newer. However, the Newark Symphony Hall has that historical feel to it, that can never be replaced.”
At NJPAC, Andrew was overwhelmed by the hospitality he received from the staff. He walked into the lobby with his girlfriend and was quickly greeted by an usher. “She was nice enough to escort us to our seat, and she was friendly.”
“Overall, I loved the play,” said Andrew. “The costumes were great and the performers were great.” Andrew has not seen another show since then because he currently attends school full-time. However, he plans to be an avid theatergoer once he graduates from college.
Andrew is one of the many people from all walks of life who have flocked to NJPAC since its opening. With its diverse audience and its programs to help aspiring artists improve their craft, this performing arts center follows its mission statement: “This Arts Center is meant to serve everyone. It has been built by everyone.”
Lovet Obakpolor is a journalism and media studies major at Rutgers-Newark.
