A Century Of Shows

Red Bank’s Count Basie Center for the Arts is pulling out the stops to celebrate its 100th birthday this year

In 1926, a vaudeville theater named Reade’s Carlton opened its doors in Red Bank. It hosted musicians, comedy shows and local theater and touring productions alike, in addition to silent movies—complete with an organ to provide the soundtrack, of course. It seated 1,568 people. Inside, the theater was ornate, with an elaborate, domed ceiling that bespoke 1920s glamour. One performer who took to that stage was another Red Bank legend: William James “Count” Basie, a celebrated jazz pianist and a pioneer of American music, who is said to have taught himself his craft partly by watching silent-movie organists play.

One hundred years later, that theater is still there—and it bears Basie’s name. The Count Basie Center for the Arts celebrates its centennial Nov. 11.

“In the 1980s, Basie gifted his name to the theater,” says Adam Philipson, who currently serves as the Basie’s chief executive officer and president. “And the name was officially changed in 1984, right after he died.”

For many years, it was the Count Basie Theater. In 2018, after a $26 million expansion that added an extra, smaller stage (named the Vogel) in addition to classroom and office spaces, the facility was rebranded as the Count Basie Center for the Arts, and it has only been expanding since. Nearly 500 shows each year are seen on those stages, along with youth classes, educational programs and community events. The original theater (now called Hackensack Meridian Health Theatre) is listed on the National Register of Historic Places in America. That stage has hosted local legends like Basie and Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, and also such giants of show biz as Tony Bennett, Ringo Starr, Lyle Lovett and Art Garfunkel. Reportedly, Bennett once called the Basie his favorite place, and Garfunkel said of the stage: “This hall is to a singer what a Steinway is to a pianist.” It’s the beating heart of Red Bank’s thriving arts scene.

“And we’re a community resource,” says Philipson. “That’s something I feel people don’t know. We’re a nonprofit. We give scholarships to 400 kids for our academy programs and bus in over 10,000 students a year to see performances on our stages. We really try to make a positive impact on our communities, as an ally and a platform.”

One person who knows that well is Samantha Giustiniani, the Basie’s senior vice president of education and social impact. She calls herself “blessed” to have been able to grow with the center; she joined the staff in 2010 as a teaching artist, instructing young children in music and theater, and has seen the way the center touches those who pass through its doors on all levels up close.

“We have students come in, and sometimes it’s the first time they’re seeing a live performance,” she says. “They walk into the big theater, look up and they see that dome—and they’re all audibly gasping. It’s really beautiful, and it shows what just being in a space with other people while hearing a story, watching a performance or absorbing art can do for a young person.”

That power of gathering, Philipson believes, is at the center of everything the Basie does. “Now more than ever, people are craving the opportunity to come together, be together and experience something together,” he says. “That’s what we provide here.”

Of course, 100 years don’t come easy, and the Basie has had its share of challenges. The building fell into disrepair in the mid-1960s and required a serious upgrade. And funding was elusive, even with the newly created Monmouth County Arts Council (MCAC) focusing most of its energy on the center in 1971. It took until 1973, when an anonymous donation allowed the MCAC to purchase the space and give it new life.

More recently, says Philipson, COVID hit the whole industry hard—but he’s also proud of how his team weathered that era. “We’ve proved to be exceptionally nimble, despite our size,” he says. “As soon as we could, we started putting on programming again. When every other venue was closed, we figured out ways to stay open.” The Basie Center created pop-up venues, socially distant shows (including ones where youth performed, all of them distant from each other on stage and masked) and specialized programming centered on what patrons seemed to need the most.

“We realized how important it was for people to feel like they were together, even if they weren’t physically together,” Giustiniani explains. “It was painfully obvious that people were looking for something to bring them together, be creative and express themselves during that time. And we were able to accommodate that for them. We didn’t take a pause.”

And seeing it through to the other side was its reward. “I’ll always remember our first show with a filled theater post-COVID,” Giustiniani says. “The lights went down, and the whole audience screamed in joy. I started crying. That is what we’d all missed so much.”

In many ways, the lessons learned during lockdown have steered one of the Basie’s most consistent new directions: community health programs that bring together wellness and the arts. Says Philipson: “Participating in and viewing the arts creates community. Being able to feel and understand your emotions, and to connect with those around you when you do so—that’s where wellness happens, so it can happen here.”

Adds Giustiniani: “We hold ‘community conversation’ events to talk about difficult topics and connect people with resources, and we hosted one with [singer and author] Michelle Williams in June of 2025 about mental health. During the Q&A portion, one member of the audience stood up and spoke really vulnerably about her struggles with keeping her older teen with bipolar disorder safe. We had partner organizations there who literally walked over to her and connected her with help. And I realized that we can do a lot when we create this kind of safe space where people can share.”

The Basie has been celebrating its centennial for a full year, unveiling a special “Walk of Fame” to celebrate New Jersey’s best (already featured on it are Jon Bon Jovi, Darlene Love and Count Basie himself, among others), in addition to ParkStage, an open-air concert and performance venue at the East Freehold Park Showgrounds that hosted concerts throughout the summer. The legendary Count Basie Orchestra, which stops by once a year to celebrate its namesake’s birthday, did an extended three-day residency that included a free show and a master class for young local jazz musicians. The staff completed 100 hours of community service. In June, it hosted its centennial gala with a show by Josh Groban and Jennifer Hudson, “and it was magical,” says Giustiniani. “Absolute goosebumps. There was a moment when the music dropped out and it was just the singing with nothing behind it, and you could hear a pin drop. Everything was silent and still in the face of that voice.”

Philipson, meanwhile, is most excited for an event to be held Nov. 14. “We found the first movie ever shown here, back when it was Reade’s Carlton,” he says. “It’s a silent film called The Quarterback, and it hasn’t been screened in 100 years. We’re going to take our historic stage back in time so people can really see what coming here in 1926 would have been like, in addition to screening the film with a live organist.” Considering that the Count himself perfected his craft by watching silent movie organists, that seems a fitting tribute.