The Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank will present Diana Ross in a rare concert appearance Monday, April 9, at 8 p.m. In a career spanning more than 40 years, Ross has proven herself the consummate music artist as well as one of the most iconic female singers of all time, as lead singer of The Supremes and as a solo performer. Tickets are $125-$55 and may be purchased by calling the box office at (732) 842-9000 or online at www.countbasietheatre.org. The theater is located at 99 Monmouth St.
Over The Rainbow productions opens James Goldman’s “The Lion in Winter” Friday. Set at Christmas in 1183, the tale centers on Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, a long-estranged royal couple at odds over which of their three sons will succeed Henry to the throne. The family members scheme and plot, join together, then double-cross one another to achieve their goals. The show runs every Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. through April 28 (no show Easter Sunday) at the Eatontown Playhouse in the Tower Shopping Center, Route 35 north. Tickets are $22, and $17 for seniors and students. For information and reservations, call (732) 888-0339
Kathy Dorn Severini (above) was among the 17 local artists exhibiting works recently to benefit Diney’s Place, home of The Children’s Cultural Center, a branch of The Community YMCA of Red Bank. The “Community Photography Show” raised more than $4,000, a portion of which will go toward scholarships for the cultural center’s Strong Kids Campaign.or visit www.overtherainbow-productions.net.
Renegade Readers Theater, a staged reading series starring high school students, will present “Eat the Taste” written by Greg Kotis (“Urinetown”) and directed by Kate Cordaro, for one night only Saturday at 8:30 p.m. in the Marion Huber Theater at Two River Theater, 21 Bridge Ave., in Red Bank. The farce is set in 2008 during the final days of the second Bush administration. John Ashcroft, the de facto attorney general, is leaving politics to begin a second career – on Broadway! Following the reading there will be a talkback with the cast and the director. Tickets are $5 and reservations are required. Call the box office at (732) 345-1400.
The Two River Film Festival, in partnership with Monmouth University’s Global Understanding Project, will co-host the presentation of “Bling: A Planet Rock” at the Pollak Theatre April 10 at 7:15 p.m. Following the screening will be a question-and-answer session with the film’s co-director, Raquel Cepeda. The screening is free and open to the public. The documentary takes a hard-hitting look at how the flashy world of commercial hip-hop indirectly and ironically supported the diamond conflict in Sierra Leone. The 2007 Global Understanding Convention, “Global Solutions: Sharing Resources, Shaping Peace,” will take place April 9-14. For more information, call (732) 923-4751 or e-mail to: [email protected] More information on the festival is available at www.tworiverfilmfestival.com.
The Brookdale Visiting Writers Series will present two prize-winning authors Wednesday, April 11. The Spring 2007 lecture will feature readings by Kurt Brown and Laure-Anne Bosselaar in the Warner Student Life Center, Navesink III room beginning at 7 p.m. A question-and-answer session will follow. The suggested donation is $3 and will benefit the Creative Writing Club. For more information, e-mail Suzanne Parker, English instructor and chair of the Visiting Writers Series, at [email protected] or call (732) 224-2650.
The Performing Arts Series at Monmouth University will present Lura, one of the few female singer/songwriters in the world of Portuguese Creole music, Friday, April 13, at 8 p.m. at Pollak Theatre in West Long Branch. Lura sings of her Cape Verde ancestry, where African and European communities share a long history of peaceful coexistence. Born in Lisbon, Lura writes songs in authentic Creole language traditional to the isles. Tickets are $30. For more information or to purchase tickets, contact the box office at (732) 263-6889, or visit www.monmouth.edu/arts.