Handel’s “Messiah” is a musical highlight of the holiday season, and the Monmouth County Park System will sponsor a bus trip to the New York Philharmonic’s performance of the beloved oratorio at Riverside Church in New York. The bus will board at Thompson Park, Newman Springs Road in Lincroft, at 4 p.m. and return at about 11:30 p.m. Dinner is on-your-own prior to the performance. The cost of the trip is $85 and includes transportation, concert seats and a park system leader. The deadline for signing up is Nov. 15. For more information, call (732) 842-4000.
The Monmouth Organ Society will present organist-entertainer Bill Horn at the fall fund-raiser dinner-concert on Sunday, Nov. 7, at 1 p.m. at the Jacques Reception Center on Palmer Avenue in North Middletown. The cost is $30. For more information call (732) 382-5631.
On Saturday, Oct. 30, at 8 p.m., the Pollak Theatre at Monmouth University, West Long Branch, will host “Edgar Allen Poe, Once Upon a Midnight.” Actor John Astin will take the audience through Poe’s life and his frequent battles with himself, revealing both the horror and the beauty of the demons which so profoundly influenced his work. Experience “The Raven,” “Annabel Lee,” “The Telltale Heart,” “The Fall of the House of Usher,” and many other Poe treasures. Tickets are $36 and can be purchased at the box office or by calling (732) 571-3483.
The Department of Music and Theatre at Monmouth University will present Bertoldt Brecht’s “The Good Woman of Setzuan” Nov. 10-20 at 8 p.m. at the Lauren K. Woods Theatre. In the play, Brecht attempts to find out what makes a good person, by following the struggle of Shen Te, the prostitute turned businesswoman who attempts to live by that code, seeking to make her fortune at the same time. For more information, call the box office at (732) 263-5730.
The Diversity Council and Political Science/History Club at Brookdale Community College in Lincroft invite the community to a special free showing of “Unprecedented: The 2000 Presidential Election” on Thursday, Oct. 21, at 7 p.m. in the NAS room 100. Parking is most convenient in lot 6. The riveting story is about the battle for the presidency in Florida, modern America’s most controversial political contest. What emerges is a disturbing picture of an election marred by suspicious irregularities, electoral injustices and voter purges. More information about the film is available at http://publicinterestpictures.org. For more information call (732) 224-2008 or e-mail: [email protected].
A Halloween evening concert featuring Finger Eleven with Lynam and Roots of Rebellion will take place at Collins Arena at Brookdale Community College in Lincroft, Oct. 31. The benefit concert will begin at 7 p.m. with doors opening at 6 p.m. Tickets are $20 and are available on-line at Ticketweb.com, by phone at (866) 468-7619, at the BCC Student Activities Desk (732) 224-2788 and at Jack’s Music in Red Bank. Parking is most convenient in lots 6 and 7. A portion of concert proceeds will support the Christina A. Walsh Breast Cancer Foundation and the Brookdale Foundation.
The International Center at Brookdale Community College in Lincroft will host a free screening of “The Official Story,” with discussion led by Spanish language instructor Alex Idavoy. The film will begin at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 22 in the NAS building, room 100. The 1985 film is about an Argentine teacher living in blissful ignorance of the evils perpetuated by her country’s government. Over time, her students’ rejection of the “official” versions of their history leads her to question things herself.
Brookdale Community College’s International Center invites the community to Haitian Coumbite 2004 at the Lincroft campus on Sunday, Oct. 24. The free event will be held from 3-5 p.m. in the Donald D. Warner Student Life Center. The afternoon program will feature Carole Barotte Joseph, discussing “The Other Side of Haiti.” Live music, folkloric dance and dramatic readings will celebrate Haitian art, history, and culture. An ongoing slide show will present “Inside Haiti.” Arts and crafts will be on display and for sale. Also offered will be a sampling of traditional Haitian cuisine. For more information, call Susan Rosenberg at (732) 224-2481 or e-mail: [email protected].