UPCOMING
EVENTS
FALL/WINTER
SPOTLIGHT
SERIES
Westfield has a rich and storied connection to creativity—World-renowned actors, poets, screenwriters, painters, illustrators, architects, business leaders, and more have called Westfield home. Now, these creative luminaries are coming to the Rialto for our Spotlight Series.
Each month, we’re bringing a different guest speaker into the spotlight to tell their story, dive deeper into their connection to Westfield, and reflect on the new vision of the Rialto. Throughout the 90-minute conversation and Q&A, they’ll discuss the importance of creative community spaces and share stories of how their artistic expression was cultivated during their time in Westfield.
There is something for everyone in the Spotlight Series, from movie buffs, history enthusiasts, Broadway fans, voracious readers, photography fans, and more. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to connect with the legends of Westfield in the place that brought them to where they are today.
Spotlight Series events are held in the lobby of the Rialto on a Thursday each month from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. In-person attendance is capped at 50 people due to space constraints. Tickets must be purchased to attend in person and will be available to purchase on each event’s page on this website.
The live event is just one way to experience the Spotlight Series—Everyone is encouraged to participate remotely. We invite the community to submit questions for our luminaries on social media by following us on Instagram and Facebook and tagging us with your questions for a chance to have them asked during the event. Get in on the inspiring conversations by watching the event recordings on our YouTube channel.
Looking ahead, confirmed guests for 2026 include rock and roll photographer Jay Blakesberg, Tony-nominated Broadway composer Matthew Sklar, writer and publisher Wendy Loggia, playwright and novelist Marc Acito, and artist, producer and performer DJ_Dave.
We are thrilled that our community is enjoying the Spotlight Series. Given the high demand and limited seating, we encourage people who have already attended an event to enjoy upcoming ones virtually and allow others to experience the Spotlight Series live and learn about the future of the Rialto. Please limit ticket purchases to a maximum of four seats.
If you are a local business and would like to sponsor our Spotlight Series, please reach out to jillv@rialtowestfield.org to learn more about our tiered options. We look forward to partnering with you in bringing these creative conversations to the community.
MEET THE MODERATORS
We’re thrilled to have two Westfield residents moderating our Spotlight Series events, both with incredible careers in media and communications. Each event will feature one of our moderators who will bring their unique voice, perspective, and expertise to the conversation.
Meaghan B. Murphy is a magazine editor, author, podcaster, and on-air TV personality. She’s known for sharing her high-energy lifestyle and “daily dose of yay” as a guest on the Today Show and the host of the Emmy- and Telly Award-winning reality series My Perfect Day on Very Local. Formerly the executive editor of Good Housekeeping, she is now editor-in-chief of Woman’s Day and the author of Your Fully Charged Life, which Oprah Daily praised as “a read that’ll make you feel good at the turn of every page.” A New Jersey native, Meaghan lives in Westfield with her husband Patrick, their three kids, and new puppy Darby.
Photo credit: Casey Martinez Private Editorial
Garrett Vogel is a media professional with a passion for storytelling across radio and television. Best known for his work on Elvis Duran and the Morning Show, Garrett has built a career blending creativity, humor, and authenticity to connect with millions of listeners. His behind-the-scenes production skills and on-air personality make him a versatile presence in broadcasting, while his experience in television has further expanded his reach. Beyond the studio, Garrett is proud to call Westfield, New Jersey home, where he finds balance, community, and inspiration. Dedicated to both his craft and his town, Garrett continues to bridge national media influence with local connection, proving that great storytelling begins with authenticity.
UPCOMING EVENTS
WRITING, PERFORMING, REPORTING, OH MY!: MARC ACITO
This month, Westfield-native playwright Marc Acito is coming to the Rialto to perform selections from his acclaimed novel-turned-musical, How I Paid for College, based right here in our town.
Marc Acito has a decades-long creative career as a journalist, playwright, novelist, and humorist. Readers, radio listeners, and theater fans will be familiar with his writing in The New York Times, broadcast on NPR's All Things Considered, and award-winning books, plays, and musicals.
Marc Acito wrote the bestselling novel How I Paid for College, based on his misspent youth in Westfield. Selected as a New York Times “Editor’s Choice,” the book won the Ken Kesey Award for Fiction, was translated into five languages Acito doesn’t speak, and got his picture in People magazine right before his 20th high school reunion. Acito was also a commentator on NPR’s All Things Considered and wrote the libretto of the Broadway musical Allegiance. Check out his website at MarcAcito.NYC.
Join February’s Spotlight Series to learn about how he transformed his storied life, career, and connection into performance art.
THE FACE BEHIND ROCK AND ROLL’S MOST ICONIC IMAGES: JAY BLAKESBERG
This month, we’re bringing Jay Blakesberg to the Rialto, where he’ll share his experience falling in love with photography while growing up in Clark and how that passion evolved into capturing the most impactful musical artists of our time.
Jay Blakesberg is a photographer, filmmaker, and public speaker. He has worked with many legendary artists, including the Grateful Dead, Neil Young, Carlos Santana, Tom Waits, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and the Flaming Lips, among others. His work has been published in thousands of magazines worldwide, countless books, hundreds of CD packages, and many documentary films. He has published 17 coffee-table books of his work, 14 of which are under his self-publishing imprint, Rock Out Books. Jay’s third solo museum exhibition, RetroBlakesberg: The Music Never Stopped, opened November 15, 2024, at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles. Explore his website at www.blakesberg.com
Come to this month’s Spotlight Series to hear firsthand how Blakesberg went from using his father’s Pentax at local New Jersey concerts to joining the Grateful Dead on tour and becoming a prolific rock photographer.
NOTICE OF FILMING & PHOTOGRAPHY
By entering the Rialto Center for Creativity, you are entering an area where photography, audio, and video recording may occur.
Your entry and presence on the premises constitute your consent to be photographed, filmed, and/or otherwise recorded and to the release, publication, exhibition, or reproduction of any and all recorded media of your appearance, voice, and name for any purpose in connection with the Rialto Center for Creativity and its programs, including (but not limited to) use on websites, social media, livestreams, promotional materials, and other organizational communications.
By entering, you waive and release any claims you may have related to the use of recorded media of you at the Rialto Center for Creativity, including any rights of inspection, approval, or compensation.
If you do not wish to be subject to the foregoing, please refrain from entering areas where filming and photography are taking place.
We thank you for your cooperation and support of the Rialto Center for Creativity.
PEEK INSIDE THE STAGE DOOR: MATTHEW SKLAR
Join this month’s Spotlight Series to learn from Westfield native Matthew Sklar about the ins and outs of creating award-winning Broadway music.
Matthew Sklar is a Tony and Emmy Award-nominated composer whose Broadway credits include The Prom (seven Tony nominations including Best Musical and Best Original Score; winner of the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical), Elf the Musical, a beloved holiday tradition with multiple record runs on Broadway and the West End, and The Wedding Singer (five Tony nominations including Best Musical and Best Original Score). The Netflix film of The Prom, starring Meryl Streep, earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy, while NBC’s Elf: Buddy’s Musical Christmas earned Sklar a Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Music Direction. Honors include the Dramatists Guild Frederick Loewe Award, ASCAP Richard Rodgers New Horizons Award, and Jonathan Larson Award.
Catch Sklar’s conversation in this month’s Spotlight Series to hear about the impact of Westfield’s musical theater program and why performance art matters.
A NEW DIGITIZED BEAT: DJ_DAVE
Attend this month’s Spotlight Series to hear from DJ_Dave, WHS Class of 2016, about an unlikely creative pairing that combines creativity, technology, artistry, and feminism.
DJ_Dave is an experimental electropop artist, producer, and performer who makes and performs her music using code. She got her start in 2019 when she discovered that all electronic music is built on patterns that can be translated, manipulated, and then performed using code. This realization enabled her to bypass traditional music production software and instruments, using live-coded processes in ways never before achieved. Notably, DJ_Dave has brought her live-coded performances to The Whitney Museum, Grimes’ Met Gala Afterparty, Coachella, and more. DJ_Dave has supported artists including JPEGMAFIA and Hannah Diamond on tour, and has made live-coded remixes for Tove Lo, Channel Tres, and Westfield-raised artist Maddy Davis.
Watch this month’s event to hear from one of the first artists in America to make algorave music mainstream.
PUBLISHING PROSE AND POP BIOGRAPHIES: WENDY LOGGIA
This month, we’re bringing Wendy Loggia, a Westfield resident, Penguin Random House editor, and author of young adult books, to the Rialto to talk about what goes into making worldwide bestsellers.
Wendy Loggia is VP and Publisher of Delacorte Press, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, where she leads a team shaping literature for young readers. Delacorte publishes acclaimed and bestselling middle-grade and YA fiction, including Newbery and Printz winners and major screen adaptations. Wendy also oversees Delacorte Romance and Joy Revolution. A veteran editor, she’s worked on 20+ New York Times bestsellers, including The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and The Sun Is Also a Star. She's also the author of 40+ books, including the #1 NYT bestseller Taylor Swift: A Little Golden Book Biography.
Join this month’s event to hear Loggia’s perspective on the importance of creativity, storytelling, and human connection to create a meaningful experience for young readers.
BREAKING NEWS COMES TO THE RIALTO: MIKE EMANUEL
Journalism is an unsung hero of creativity—critical thinking, novel storytelling, imaginative questions, on-the-spot problem solving is what separates a good journalist from a great one. Few know this better than Chief Washington Correspondent and former White House Correspondents' Association journalist for Fox News, Mike Emanuel, who joins us for this month’s Spotlight Series.
Emanuel has worked for Fox News Channel since July 1997. You’ll find him hosting Fox News Live on Sundays at 1 p.m. EDT or filling in on Special Report, Fox News @ Night, Fox News Sunday, America's Newsroom, America Reports, and Fox Report. Before joining Fox, Emanuel reported for local stations around the country, from Texas to California.
PHOTO CREDIT: FOX NEWS MEDIA
KEEPING TIME WITH A DRUMMING SENSATION: LUCY RITTER
Our last Spotlight Series of 2025 brings Lucy Ritter, a professional drummer known for her work on Broadway’s Jagged Little Pill’s touring company and Chappell Roan’s Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess tour, back to the Rialto.
Westfield native Lucy began drumming at 9 and landed her first professional gig by 14. After gigging through high school, she studied at Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music before leaving to tour with An Officer and a Gentleman and later the Grammy-winning Jagged Little Pill. In 2023, she moved to LA and joined Chappell Roan’s band within a week. From NPR Tiny Desk to SNL, Coachella, and the Grammys, Lucy has toured extensively across the US, UK, and Europe. She’s also performed with Mannequin Pussy and The Two Lips. When not touring, she creates and teaches in LA.
Check out Ritter’s Spotlight Series to hear how her Westfield upbringing fed her musical pursuits and what she thinks a creative center can offer aspiring musicians in the area.
TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE NOW.
PHOTO CREDIT: Josh Kim
CELEBRATING LOCAL HARLEM RENAISSANCE ARTISTS: TANYA BIRL-TORRES & MONICA L. MILLER
This month, we’re joined by two esteemed guests working at the intersection of Black history and creativity. Tanya Birl-Torres and Monica L. Miller are continuing the stories and impact of Westfield’s Harlem Renaissance icons Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes, who worked together in Westfield to write Mule Bone, a groundbreaking play that was the first to depict Black Americans in a non-stereotypical way.
Monica L. Miller is Chair and Professor of Africana Studies at Barnard College, Columbia University. A specialist in contemporary African American and Afro-diasporic literature and cultural studies, she is the author of the book Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity, which inspired Superfine: Tailoring Black Style, the 2025 Costume Institute exhibition at The Met. At Barnard, she is the resident Zora Neale Hurston scholar and is leading the college’s Hurston Centennial, 2025-2028. A frequent commentator in the media and arts worlds, she teaches and writes about Black literature, art, and performance, fashion cultures, and contemporary Black European culture and politics.
Tanya Birl-Torres is a NYC-based creative director, choreographer, movement director, and systems change facilitator. After a decade on Broadway, she choreographed productions at Goodman Theater, The Public Theater, Signature Theater, and Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Through her company SoHumanity, she brings embodied practices to social innovation, working with National Arts Strategies, Illuminate Network, and Systems Sanctuary to bridge conversations across differences. Birl-Torres is the Artistic Director of the Washington Heights Womanist Arts Festival. Recent honors include the 2024 MAP Fund Grant and the 2023 NewYorker 4 NewYork Award. She currently serves as Social Practice Artist in Residence at The Shed for "The Zora Project," honoring the legacy of Zora Neale Hurston.
Join November’s Spotlight Series to learn about Westfield’s historical connection to the Harlem Renaissance and modern Black culture.
PHOTO CREDIT: Laura Yost
FROM WESTFIELD TO HOLLYWOOD… AND BACK AGAIN: WILL & AARON EISENBERG
Aaron and Will Eisenberg are a WGA Award-nominated screenwriting team from Westfield, NJ. In 2024, they sold two original films to Amazon Studios: An R-rated vacation comedy, SPORKINFEESTEN, with Bobby Farrelly attached to direct, and an untitled, animated family movie. In 2023, the Eisenbergs released their chart-topping college admissions comedy series, BIG ENVELOPES, as an Audible Original, starring Abbi Jacobson and Susie Essman. Their star-studded 2022 comedy, CURSED FRIENDS, is available to stream on Paramount+, and their 2020 Blumhouse horror-comedy, GOOD BOY, can be found on Hulu. Among other credits, Aaron and Will served as staff writers on Guillermo Del Toro's Netflix series 3BELOW: TALES OF ARCADIA, and created Nickelodeon's first-ever animated original TV movie, ALBERT.
Join the Spotlight Series to be a part of a creative exchange with the award-nominated Eisenbergs.
PHOTO CREDIT: Mac Fisken
TICKETING INFORMATION
Purchasing Tickets
Tickets may be purchased online at www.rialtowestfield.org. We accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover cards. All tickets must be paid for at the time of order – we are unable to hold tickets without payment.
Ticket Delivery
Upon purchase, tickets will be sent by email and presented on your mobile device upon arrival at the Rialto.
Ticket Exchanges and Returns
All sales are final, and no refunds are offered.
Photography and Video
Taking photographs or video recording during a performance is strictly prohibited.
Consent
By entering the facility, patrons consent to the use of their voice and likeness without compensation in film, videotape, photography and/or sound recording at any events, and agree to release Rialto Center for Creativity from any liability on account of such use.
SIDEWALK GALLERIES AT THE RIALTO
Since we purchased the building, we’ve used the space to interact with local groups and showcase creativity through Sidewalk Galleries covering a wide range of topics, including visual art, film, and poetry.
The Sidewalk Galleries are generously supported by
This program is made possible in part by a 2025 HEART (History, Education, Arts Reaching Thousands) Grant from the Union County Board of County Commissioners.
ACCESSIBILITY, VISITOR INFO, AND PARKING
Currently, the Rialto is not open to visitors, except for our Board of Trustees meetings and the ticketed monthly Spotlight Series.
The Rialto will be fully ADA-compliant once built. Inclusion is a key value of the Rialto, and we’re striving to make creative programming available for all visitors regardless of backgrounds, physical abilities, sensory experiences, and more.