RED BANK – The Count Basie Theatre has announced the first recipients of its inaugural Vanguard awards, honoring lifelong devotion to the arts in New Jersey.
E-Street Band guitarist Steven Van Zandt and his wife Maureen Van Zandt, Monmouth County Freeholder Lillian Burry, and Monmouth County Arts Council Executive Director Mary Eileen Fouratt will be the first to be recognized as Vanguards, and will be honored at the Basie on Friday, Aug. 22.
Also that evening, Rockit! at the Basie (www.rockitlive.org) will present “A Tribute to Woodstock & The Age of Aquarius.” Money raised from the concert will go toward future Rockit! scholarships. Rockit offers area students a low-cost option to experience the theater’s cultural programming, and provides professional development sessions associated with Van Zandt’s Rock and Roll: An American Story program.
Rock and Roll: An American Story is a social studies curriculum that teaches history within the context of rock and roll music. It’s an online educational resource presented by Van Zandt’s Rock and Roll Forever Foundation and is free-of-charge to educators and individuals. Elements of the curriculum will be integrated into the Rockit! performance, while the program as a whole will launch this fall at Middletown High School South, Van Zandt’s old school.
Additional information about the program can be found at http://www.teachrock.org.
“Any time I can bring attention to music education I try to do it, Steven Van Zandt said. “ It is my honor to endorse the fine work of the Count Basie Theatre’s educational programs.”
Honoree Maureen Van Zandt adds, “Picasso said, ‘Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.’ It does! Whether you are a performer, a craftsman, a writer, a patron, or an audience member, participation in the arts enhances your existence in ways nothing else can.”
Steven Van Zandt is an acclaimed musician, arranger, producer, actor, writer, director, human rights activist, and international radio DJ. The actor played Silvio Dante in HBO’s award-winning series, “The Sopranos.” In 1985, Van Zandt formed Artists United Against Apartheid and wrote “Sun City,” an anthemic rock/hip hop/R&B song protesting apartheid as symbolized by the South African resort. He’s been honored by the United Nations for “Sun City” and his involvement with International Peace Day. He established the Solidarity Foundation to promote the sovereignty of indigenous peoples and to foster economic development in harmony with the earth. “Little Steven’s Underground Garage,” his internationally syndicated radio show, was launched in 2001 and he created Sirius-XM Radio’s first two channels of original content. In 2006, Van Zandt launched his own record label, Wicked Cool Records. He currently stars in, scores, co-writes, directs and is an executive producer of “Lillyhammer” on Netflix.
Maureen Van Zandt is a native of Newark where she danced with the Garden State Ballet. She appeared in the Broadway musical “Hair” and continued her dance career with the Met Opera Ballet until sidelined by an injury. She then started her own theater company in New York City, where she acted in and produced the critically acclaimed “Golden Boy.” She is the director/ choreographer of the Garage Girls A Go-Go dance group, and recently served as dance supervisor for the David Chase film, “Not Fade Away.” She played mob wife Gabriella Dante for six seasons on “The Sopranos.” Her most recent acting job was in “Ferite A Morte,” which was performed at the United Nations on the National Day to End Violence Against Women. Last year, she co-produced “The Rascals: Once Upon A Dream” on Broadway and is currently directing “Wild Children,” an Off-Broadway play.
Burry is a longtime public servant, elected first as a member of the Matawan Borough Council, and later as a member of the Township Committee in Colts Neck, where she also served as mayor. Her work as a historic preservationist helped revitalize both towns, and since her election to the Board of Freeholders in 2005, she has been the board’s director three times and is liaison to the parks and library and public services divisions. She is a member of the Monmouth County Planning Board’s Master Plan Arts, Cultural & Historic Resources working group. A longtime proponent of local arts and the Basie, she has been a three-time presenter at the annual Basie awards, and in 2014 was the Monmouth County Arts Council’s 2014 Community Champion of the Arts.
Fouratt is executive director of the Monmouth County Arts Council. Her almost two decades with the organization has included her leadership of the award-winning Monmouth County Arts Plan, “Envision, Imagine, Create.” The arts council annually brings more than 2,500 high-quality, inexpensive or free concerts, films, dance and theater productions, musicals, creative writing programs, art exhibitions, and arts education programs to more than 700,000 children and adults throughout the region.
Tickets to the Basie’s Vanguard Awards, priced at $20, are on sale now through Countbasietheatre.org, phone charge at 732-842-9000, and the theater box office at 99 Monmouth St.. A limited number of VIP packages, including an intermission reception and meet and greet/photo opportunity with the Van Zandts, is available.
