By Mary Ann Bourbeau
RED BANK – Ninety-nine years ago, on Nov. 11, 1926, a movie theater opened its doors at 99 Monmouth St. Over the decades, it has served as a beacon of entertainment for Red Bank and the greater Monmouth County community. In the lead-up to its 100th anniversary, the theater, now known as the Count Basie Center for the Arts, has planned a year-long celebration with plenty of exciting events.
“Our 99th anniversary is a moment to celebrate the history that made the Count Basie Center an anchor for arts and culture in New Jersey,” said Jeremy Grunin, chairman of the board of trustees for the Count Basie Center for the Arts. “As we enter our centennial year, we are thinking about our future and ensuring the Basie Center remains a home for creativity, education and community.”
Comedian and area resident Jon Stewart narrated a Centennial Celebration video, taking viewers on a journey from the theater’s humble beginnings as Reade’s Carlton Theatre to its present-day incarnation.
“It began with a vision,” said Stewart as the video began. “Nov. 11, 1926, a new theater opened its doors on Monmouth Street. A place where stories would be told and a community would gather. It was called Reade’s Carlton. Over the years, the name changed. Curtains rose and fell. History was made… 99 Monmouth Street became a beacon for artists, students and, of course, audiences. 100 years later, the Count Basie Center for the Arts is more than just a theater. It’s a shining reminder of the power of the arts. If these walls could talk, they would tell stories of legends, applause, laughter and standing ovations, of talent discovered and dreams come true.”
The Basie Center welcomes more than 300,000 patrons to nearly 500 shows each year in its original Spanish Deco-inspired theater and the newer, more intimate room, The Vogel. The Grunin Arts and Education Center Building houses the Turner Academy of the Arts, the organization’s classical music conservatory. In 2020, the center acquired a nearby movie theater and reopened it as Basie Center Cinemas. Arts education programs, which include classes, camps, workshops and in-school programs, reach more than 20,000 students each year. In the last 10 months, more than 400 scholarships have been awarded to students in an effort to make arts education accessible to all.
The Basie Center kicked off a 16-month Centennial Celebration this summer. The inaugural Walk of Fame induction ceremony saw sidewalk plaques placed outside the theater’s main entrance honoring famed jazz musician and Red Bank native William “Count” Basie and rock legend Jon Bon Jovi, area artists whose early performances on the historic stage grew to worldwide fame and recognition.
The Basie has formed community partnerships with businesses, including Newark’s Brix City Brewing, which produced a new Basie Center CentenniALE. The Coffee Platoon in Manasquan created Bridging the Gap’s Basie Center Centennial Swing coffee, sales of which will benefit the Basie Center as well as veterans’ services and support groups. Stamped Stories, an initiative with Monmouth Arts, is a 12-month postcard set celebrating the Basie Center by decade. The Century Club is an opportunity for donors and community members to invest in the Basie Center and help propel the organization into its next decades of service.
“As we mark 99 years at our historic home on Monmouth Street, we recognize the generations of community members, artists, educators, and supporters who have helped the Basie Center grow and thrive,” said Adam Philipson, president and CEO of the Count Basie Center for the Arts. “This milestone is a celebration of our past and a moment to look forward to our next chapter and our continued efforts to expand access to arts education, deepen community partnerships and welcome audiences to experiences that awaken our shared humanity.”
Mark Your Calendars
Many exciting events are planned for the coming months. “100 Years of Soul, Sounds and Stories” is a project to collect and share personal histories of community members’ experiences, ranging from its early days as Reade’s Carlton to the present-day Basie Center.
“We’re excited for all of the moments the community will experience during our Centennial Celebration,” said Philipson. “This 16-month effort will celebrate and recapture our legacy by inviting the community to not only share their experiences here over the last century but also to be part of commemorating that heritage.”
On Feb. 28, the Basie will host one of its signature events, a 2026 Roast of New Jersey, where eight to 10 top comedians will pepper the audience with Jersey-deprecating jokes.
“We’re going to have a lot of great artists taking a poke at New Jersey,” said Philipson.
On tap for next summer is a collaboration with Monmouth County Tourism. ParkStage will be a large-scale, open-air performance venue built at the East Freehold Park Fairgrounds. Programming at the 4,500-seat facility will feature national and international headliners across music, comedy and more. The opening performance is set for June 3 with shows running through September. Artists will be announced in the coming months.
“As we mark 100 years of the Basie Center, ParkStage represents our continuing investment in this community,” said Grunin. “This venue will provide new opportunities for performers, attract visitors to our region and create shared experiences that strengthen the cultural and economic fabric of Monmouth County and beyond.”
William “Count” Basie, born in Red Bank in 1904, was honored with a statue in August 2023 at the William and Catherine Basie Arts Plaza. 
The Walk of Fame induction of musician Jon Bon Jovi, the second honoree after William “Count” Basie, in September. 
Michelle Williams, center, was the guest speaker at a past Community Conversation program at the theater.
The Basie’s Rich History
All these new and exciting projects stem from humble beginnings. Opening night Nov. 11, 1926, included vaudeville acts and the silent film “The Quarterback.” Nearly 4,000 people attended the two shows that evening, with crowds gathering two hours before the first performance. The New Jersey Register called the new theatre “a marvel of beauty, convenience and comfort. Outside and inside, it is a veritable and architectural triumph.” The theater even billed itself as “the most beautiful theatre in the state.”
For more than 40 years, Reade’s Carlton hosted everything from vaudeville to films, local theater and touring productions, concerts and more. In 1961, just weeks after performing at President John F. Kennedy’s inauguration, Count Basie returned for a homecoming show, drawing more than 1,700 fans.
But by the mid-1960s, like so many treasured architectural wonders of the past, the theater fell into disrepair, forgotten against the rise of cineplexes and television.
“A lot of beautiful theaters met the wrecking ball in the ’60s,” Philipson said. “Some were in utter disrepair.”
All that changed for the Basie in the early 1970s when funding from the Junior League of Monmouth County and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts helped create the Monmouth County Arts Council, focusing on preserving the Carlton. In 1973, an anonymous donation allowed the Arts Council to purchase the theater for $96,665 with the stipulation that it be renovated into an attractive and functional arts center for the entire county. Along with the donation came a new name: the Monmouth Arts Center.
Count Basie returned in 1974 for a concert held in honor of his 70th birthday, and he took to the stage again in 1979 at a benefit for Shrewsbury’s A.M.E. Zion Church. He made his final appearance there in 1983, less than a year before he died of cancer. In 1984, the Monmouth Arts Center was renamed the Count Basie Theatre in honor of Red Bank’s most famous son. Grammy Award winner Ray Charles was on the bill for the memorial concert.
In 2008, a monumental interior restoration was completed, funded in part by a performance from Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. In the years since, the Basie established itself as a nonprofit, providing a broad spectrum of entertainment and education options to serve the diverse community and changed its name to the Count Basie Center for the Arts. It has hosted scores of the biggest names in show business – John Legend, Ringo Starr, Marcel Marceau, Brandi Carlile, Sheryl Crow, James Brown, Diana Ross, Ariana Grande, George Carlin, Aretha Franklin, and Olivia Newton-John. Art Garfunkel once said, “This hall is to a singer what Steinway is to a pianist.” Tony Bennett referred to the venue as “my favorite place.”
‘Throwback’ Finale
In November 2026, to celebrate its milestone, the Basie will host a three-day “throwback” finale, featuring prices, fashion and other bits of 1926 pop culture, including a screening of the film shown on opening night – the silent comedy, “The Quarterback” – with live accompaniment by an organist. The film tells the story of Elmer Stone, quarterback of the 1899 Colton College Football team, who vows to remain a student until Colton beats its biggest rival, State University. Twenty-seven years later, Elmer is still in school and on the football team alongside his son, Jack.
“This movie hasn’t been shown to the public in almost 100 years,” said Philipson. “It’s really quite funny.”
In addition to its myriad entertainment options, the Basie also offers student productions, music and arts education classes, workshops and residencies, internships, workforce development and community celebrations.
“What I love most about the Basie is that there is truly something for everybody,” said Philipson.
Learn more and see the Jon Stewart video at thebasie.org/centennial/.
The article originally appeared in the November 13 – 19, 2025 print edition of The Two River Times.
