The audience had to be seated an hour before airtime, so there was plenty of time to check out the elaborate set, and the even more interesting audience. The group was a mix of ages and ethnicities and the mood was high energy. People were pumped to be there. (I had enjoyed a pre-show dinner at NJPAC’s Nico restaurant. At the bar before dinner, I chatted with a couple who had driven up from Camden—an hour away—and had to be back in South Jersey and ready to go to work by 3 am!) These were dedicated fans. The theater was not sold out, but there were only a speckling of empty seats.
As show time neared, members of the crew hustled about wearing headphones, clipboards in hand. Before long an emcee took the stage, booming instructions and jokes to warm up an already lively crowd. Enthusiastic whoop-whoops were hurled from several directions, as guests anticipated seeing their favorite acts live.
Wednesday was a “results” show, so to my disappointment, I saw mostly video of the prize-money contenders. If the audience reactions were any indication, all of the performers had strong followings. The show literally has an act for every taste. Take All-Beef Patty, no, not a burger-eating contestant, but a native New Jersey/New York drag queen with an over-the-top look (multicolored beehive, sequins and platforms). At the other end of the spectrum, were the Untouchables, a fresh-scrubbed troupe of 20 dancers (the youngest just 8 years old) who perform contemporary, hip-hop, jazz and ballet routines.
You would be hard pressed not to find a soft spot for at least one of these performances, and watching live, the infectious cheering electrifies the audience like “the Wave” rippling through spectators at sporting events.
NJPAC’s Prudential Hall performs a neat trick of its own, successfully lending itself to the glitz of TV, with flashing, rolling theatrical lights, a judges’ pit—where Sharon Osbourne, Howie Mandel and Howard Stern look on—and a stage that accommodates acts from the dancing teen and dog act (from Britain’s Got Talent) to a nerve-racking crossbow performance.
The transformation is just another notch for an arts center that, according to public affairs VP Jeffrey Norman, when it is not playing host to the New Jersey Symphony, the Dodge Poetry fest or an assortment of other award-winning programs, has been the backdrop for several movies. Scenes have been filmed at NJPAC for A Beautiful Mind, Birth, Stepford Wives, and Rear Window (directed by Christopher Reeve), as well as episodes of Law and Order, The Sopranos and Four Weddings.
A venue with something for everyone and a theater with something for everyone. Pretty cool.