By Mary Ann Bourbeau
HOLMDEL – Bell Theater, a 285-seat venue in the iconic Bell Works complex in Holmdel, is Central Jersey’s newest home for arts and entertainment. The theater, which opened in May, has something for everyone including professional Broadway musicals and plays, concerts, comedy, jazz and family entertainment.
“East Carson Street,” a new musical by Pittsburgh rocker Joe Grushecky starring Broadway’s Constantine Maroulis (“Rock of Ages”) and Teal Wicks (“Wicked”), kicked off the venue’s opening last month. Coming up from July 19-28 is “Million Dollar Quartet,” directed by original Broadway cast member Hunter Foster. There will also be monthly stand-up comedy nights with New York City-based comedians and a Broadway series featuring SiriusXM host Seth Rudetsky with special guests Sierra Boggess (“Phantom of the Opera”), Adam Pascal (“Rent”) and J. Harrison Ghee (“Some Like It Hot”).
Up next on June 29 is “Back to the Garden 1969: The Woodstock Experience,” followed by an evening of jazz with Guy Mintus July 10. Additional performances include John Lloyd Young from Broadway’s “Jersey Boys” in August and a double bill with Andrea McArdle and Lorna Luft in September, Mel and Ella Swing starring Gabrielle Stravelli and Billy Stritch in October and Pat Guadagno and Friends celebrate the songs of Leonard Cohen in November.
“Our creative team is curating unique programs unlike anywhere else in the state,” said executive artistic director Andrew DePrisco.
Bell Theater is a collaboration between the Axelrod Performing Arts Center and Bell Works. Since 2021, the Axelrod has housed two major programs in the building: the Axelrod Performing Arts Academy and the Axelrod Contemporary Ballet Theater. The nonprofit Axelrod PAC began presenting outdoor concerts at Bar Bella, the rooftop bar at Bell Works, during the pandemic. One night, a concert featuring the Doo Wop Project was moved into the building’s lower level lecture hall due to rain.
“There were no theatrical lights or sound equipment, but the audience responded well, and the acoustics were terrific,” said DePrisco.
Thanks to the generous support of Monmouth County philanthropist Sheldon Vogel and a $250,000 grant from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts Historical Fund, that simple lecture hall has undergone a complete renovation. It now has an expanded stage, professional lighting, a new sound system, curtains and dressing rooms.
“While a larger theater can present bigger acts, Bell Theater offers an opportunity to be closer to the artist,” said DePrisco. “The sound system is fantastic and there are no bad sightlines. There isn’t really another professional theater in the Holmdel/Middletown area that offers concerts, musicals, plays and a speaker series. We’ve become a well-known producer of musicals. Now we can use those connections in the Broadway realm to invite artists to perform in this intimate space.”
Among the theater’s many amenities are comfortable seats, wide aisles, a full bar and plenty of parking, along with wheelchair accessibility and assisted listening devices.
Ralph Zucker of Inspired by Somerset Development, LLC, is the man behind the reimagination of Bell Works, the former historic Bell Labs building and the birthplace for many leading technological innovations of the 20th century. The building itself is an architectural marvel, built in 1962 by Eero Saarinen, the man credited for the Gateway Arch in St. Louis and JFK Airport’s TWA Flight Center. Nobel Prize winners spearheaded significant breakthroughs there in radio astronomy, the transistor, lasers and physics. Today, the 2-million-square foot, glass-encased building is a one-of-a-kind destination for business and culture with traditional offices, retail, dining and hospitality.
For tickets or more information, visit BellTheater.org or call the box office at 732-531-9106, ext. 14. Bell Theater is located at 101 Crawfords Corner Road in Holmdel.
The article originally appeared in the June 20 – 26, 2024 print edition of The Two River Times.
