Maplewood and South Orange residents take much pride in our rich arts and entertainment community. Many celebrities started here, including singers Lauryn Hill and Sza, as well as actors Zach Braff, Roy Scheider and Elizabeth and Andrew Shue. Many famous stage, screen, and television actors currently make these two towns their home, including Tony Award-winners Christine Ebersole and Norbert Leo Butz, Grammy Award-winner T.S. Monk, Emmy Award winner Andre Braugher.
The brand-new South Orange Performing Arts Center, a state-of-the-art facility that boasts a 415-seat theater, a cinema 5-plex and the Loft community space and the Burgdorff Cultural Center in Maplewood host over 100 events a year. Add in the 5-plex cinema in Maplewood and residents have an amazing choice of films. To complement our cultural venues, local theater companies like Interact Theatre and Midtown Direct Rep, offer residents the opportunity to sharpen their thespian skills. If that’s not enough to whet your theater appetite, the historic Paper Mill Playhouse, with its Broadway musical revivals and children’s shows, is in neighboring Millburn, and the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, one of the state’s leading performing arts venues, is just a short drive away. Want to see the latest Broadway production? Remember that South Orange/Maplewood is only a 29-minute NJT ride to Penn Station.
For the art lover, The Pierro Art Gallery of South Orange and 1978 Maplewood Arts Center are just two of the many galleries where artists can gather to learn, create, exhibit and sell unique works. Our annual Artists Studio Tour allows residents to visit the home studios and exhibition spaces of 50 local artists, while the nearby Newark Museum gives locals a chance to view world-class exhibits on a regular basis.
Music abounds in both towns. In Maplewood, the free summer concerts begin with Maplewoodstock, a two-day arts and entertainment festival. The Maplewood Arts & Culture website will connect you to a wealth of local arts events. South Orange is famous for its Giants of Jazz spectacular every October, Jazz at The Baird, and its high talent line-up at the outdoor summer concert series. Check out the line up at the town's Arts & Cultural Affairs page.
Two Towns, One Community: What a convenient way to enjoy the arts!