Entertainment

Latest news & movie, music, event and restaurant listings for Jersey

KIRA HORVATH/FOR THE STAR-LEDGERWill the show go on? Various events throughout the state have been either cancelled or postponed.

Tropical Storm Hanna is still hundreds of miles away from the New Jersey coast, but the storm is gaining steam and it's already starting to disrupt some large public events that were planned for Saturday.

As of early Friday afternoon, this was the status of various events throughout the Garden State:

EVENTS CANCELED

-- HARDING TOWNSHIP: Fall Festival at the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge

-- LINDEN: The Linden Street Festival Car and Cycle Show

-- WEST WINDSOR: West Windsor Arts Council summer concert series at the Nassau Park Pavilion.

EVENTS RESCHEDULED
-- EDISON: The 11th annual Neighborhood Block Party on Ferris Road has been moved to Sunday, 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.

-- HOBOKEN: The Hoboken Italian Festival. Some outdoor events have been moved to Sunday in Sinatra Park. For more information about events and the full schedule, visit hobokenitalianfestival.com.

The Filmmakers Symposium Fall 2008 Series is ready to run for 12 weeks at the AMC Loews Mountainside on Route 22 and the AMC Loews Monmouth Mall in Eatontown. Subscriptions are offered for six or 12 weeks at $171 and $309, respectively. Register by calling (800) 531-9416 or visiting PrivateScreenings.org. The full lineup of films under consideration is available on the website.

Also on tap is the New York Film Critics Series, slated to run at two locations for eight weeks starting Oct. 14. The participating theaters are the AMC Loews Garden State 16 at 1 Garden State Plaza in Paramus (Monday screenings), and the Headquarters Plaza Clearview Cinema at Headquarters Plaza Mall in Morristown (Wednesdays). The Paramus series kicks off on a Tuesday due to Columbus Day. An eight-week pass is $224 (plus $20 registration) and up to five people may register for one fee. Call (800) 934-5699 or (973) 539-8785 or visit nyfilmcritics.com. Stephen Whitty of The Star-Ledger is one of the critics scheduled to participate.

Davis Hall, who was to play the leading role in "Poetic License" at New Jersey Repertory Company in Long Branch, has withdrawn from the production because of a family emergency. John Little has replaced him as John Greer, the fictional Pulitzer Prize-winning poet. However, the sudden substitution means a change of plans for this weekend's performances.

Saturday night and Sunday afternoon, Little will be reading from the script as he learns his lines. The theater will offer those who attend this weekend's performances two free tickets to any subsequent performance of this play or any future production.

"Poetic License" plays through Oct. 5. Performances are Thursdays and Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 3 and 8 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets are $40. Call (732) 229-3166 or visit njrep.org.

Lea Delaria will host "One Night Only" for one night only.

"One Night Only," which takes its title from a song in "Dreamgirls," is a Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS benefit in Jersey City. Broadway hits, such as "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend," will be refitted with new orchestrations recalling the disco era. Twelve backup dancers will add the choreography, while such Broadway veterans as Andrew ("Beauty and the Beast") Keenan-Bolger, Kirsten ("Hairspray") Bracken and Heather ("A Chorus Line") Parcells perform.

The event is the brainchild of Marc Eardley, producing artistic director of 3S Theatre Collective, a new troupe. The name 3S represents the three states -- New Jersey, New York and Connecticut -- where Eardley hopes to do productions. He's also hoping the benefit will raise awareness for his company, which mounted a short run of "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" last month in Jersey City.

"One Night Only" plays Monday, Sept. 22 at 8 p.m. at the Loews Jersey Theatre, 54 Journal Square, Jersey City. Tickets are $20 and $25. Call (917) 628-0363 or visit 3stc.com.

JOAN MARCUSThe original Broadway cast of 'Rent."

NEW YORK -- "Five-hundred, twenty five thousand, six hundred minutes," chant the youngsters of "Rent" in "Seasons of Love." "How do you measure -- measure a year?"

How do you measure "Rent," which exits Broadway Sunday after 12 years and 5,140 performances?

Writer-composer Jonathan Larson's 1996 romantic rock musical about East Village artists and squatters was more than a big hit -- it was a phenomenon. Fueled by real-life tragedy and expressing contemporary themes, "Rent" especially appealed to younger viewers. Some saw the show dozens, even hundreds, of times.

Dan Ackroyd, center, leads a squad of professional paranormal investigators including Harold Ramis, left, and Bill Murray, right, in 'Ghostbusters'

Who ya gonna call? The AARP. Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and Ernie Hudson may reunite to once again battle slime-spewing spirits in a new "Ghostbusters" film, according to Variety.

For all the big audiences and celebrity collaborators, King has always kept the sound of his predecessors inside him. Back in 1961, the budding star paid tribute to a gutbucket tradition with "My Kind of Blues," still one of his best LPs. His new album -- "One Kind Favor," perhaps the peak of a mountainous discography -- pays homage to such blues pioneers as Blind Lemon Jefferson, Leroy Carr and the Mississippi Sheiks. Moreover, it's attuned to a classic, mostly live-in-the-studio way of making records. The feel is woody, the vibe a little voodoo.

DAVE HOGAN/GETTY IMAGESNoel Gallagher

Noel Gallagher of Oasis is always good for a colorful quote, and he doesn't disappoint while talking with Details about philanthropic rock stars:

"Every time there's a polar bear on his tiptoes on an ice cube in the middle of the Antarctic, you know whose fault that is? Rock stars'. That's their fault. Any time there's food running out somewhere -- 'Let's do a gig ... Let's fly everybody in from all over the world and pontificate to poor people about how they should be saving the planet.' Go ... kiss my a--. It's very easy to just say, 'We're going to become difficult now and challenge our audience.' I like my audience. They paid for my swimming pool. I'm not ... challenging anybody."

The predicted arrival of tropical storm Hanna in the state has prompted changes for the following outdoor events on Saturday:

-- The Linden Street Festival Car and Cycle Show, scheduled from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. in downtown Linden, has set a rain date for Sept. 27. Call (201) 998-1144.

From canolli eating and grape stomping contests to live music and fireworks the Italian Fest in Hoboken generally attracts between 50,000 to 70,000 people. Tonight's new addition to the 82nd annual festival is "Motown Night" where a Vegas style band will perform.

See why you should bust out your umbrella and attend the festival this weekend in today's Jersey Journal.