Jersey City Theater Center to Celebrate Pride With Documentary Screening and Developmental Reading

Jersey City Theater Center will present the Jersey City debut of the documentary Strength Through Visibility: 20 Years of Pride in Jersey City in partnership with Jersey City LGBTQ+ Pride Festival (Jersey City Pride). This documentary chronicles Jersey City Pride's history, it also provides a roadmap for people around the world who want to start Pride events in areas with little to no support. Strength Through Visibility: 20 Years of Pride in Jersey City is the winner of the 2023 Garden State Film Festival Homegrown Documentary award. 

 Strength Through Visibility: 20 Years of Pride in Jersey City will premiere at Jersey City Theater Center (165 Newark Ave, Jersey City, NJ 07302 / Entrance from Barrow St., Jersey City, NJ, 07302) on Saturday, June 24, 2023 at 2:00PM. This special LGBT Pride Month screening will be “Free of Charge,” but you must have a ticket to attend the event. Reservations are required and can be made at www.JCTCenter.org. 

LGTBQ+ groups started by hearing “no” from the city and now Jersey City is one of the most welcoming cities in the world for LGBTQ+ people. A small number of people can make a difference. This documentary will show you how it is done.

In 2021, JC Pride celebrated its twentieth anniversary, but with the changing political climate in the country can we count on celebrations to come? Will the progress Pride has made over the years prove to be too fragile to survive?

Following the performance there will be a Q & A with the founders of Jersey City Pride, the current co-producers of the festival and the film's director. An after party will follow at Six26 from 4:00PM-7:00PM, 128 Christopher Columbus Dr, Jersey City, NJ.

"Jersey City Theater Center is pleased to be a part of Jersey City's pride celebration,” said Olga Levina, Executive Director at JCTC.  “The vibrant threads of diverse cultures, constructing bridges that effortlessly transcend boundaries and forge connections between people, both within the LGTBQ+ community and beyond. JCTC's unyielding dedication to fostering a vibrant community becomes the catalyst for a future where the language of arts becomes the unifying force that brings us all together in harmony.”

In addition, Jersey City Theater Center will present a developmental reading of new musical entitled HEAVY HEAD. HEAVY HEAD: A Musical is a modern retelling of the Medusa Myth with a book by Patricia Cotter and music/lyrics by Sylvana Joyce and Stephanie Salzman. The reading will be directed by Portia-Krieger/">Portia Krieger and music directed by Benji Goldsmith. This project is supported by Jersey City Arts & Culture Fund.

This developmental reading will take place at Jersey City Theater Center (165 Newark Ave, Jersey City, NJ 07302 / Entrance from Barrow St., Jersey City, NJ, 07302) on Thursday, June 22, 2023; 6:30PM. Admission is free, but seating is limited and reservations are required. Please RSVP to heavyheadmusical@gmail.com to reserve your seat.

About Jersey City Theater Center

Jersey City Theater Center (JCTC) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) arts organization committed to inspiring conversations about important issues of our times through the arts. Co-founded by Executive Producer Olga Levina, an immigrant from Belarus, Jersey City Theater Center (JCTC) produces and presents universal yet locally relevant works, emphasizing social justice and human rights.  Since 2006, JCTC has provided a platform for all artistic voices to be heard in Jersey City, with the aim of sparking meaningful cross-cultural dialogue that helps build a greater understanding, mutual respect and better communities in New Jersey. 

Programming made possible by numerous supporters, including the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, the Hudson County Office of Cultural & Heritage Affairs/Tourism Development, Hudson County, the City of Jersey City, and the Office of Cultural Affairs. For those who are interested in attending any of the performances, sponsoring any of the upcoming productions, or purchasing tickets for large groups, please email info@jctcenter.org.   

ABOUT THE JERSEY CITY LGBTQ+ PRIDE FESTIVAL

The 22nd Anniversary Jersey City LGBTQ+ Pride Festival is 23 consecutive years strong celebrating the diversity of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transexual, queer, intersex, and asexual communities and allies of Hudson County and the New York City Metropolitan area. Last year the official estimate of attendance at the festival was 20,000 people. Check the “Pride 365” Events Calendar for events throughout the year!

The LGBTQ+ Pride Festival is recognized not only as a premier LGBTQ+ event in Hudson County, but also one of the largest pride festivals in the Northeast. The events of Pride season exemplify the strength and growth of our LGBTQ+ and allied community. More importantly, Jersey City Pride emphasizes the importance of diversity in our community, making it stronger and more accepting of all individuals and their contributions to our society

This year we will be celebrating our 22nd Anniversary with a month-long celebration throughout Jersey City leading up to our Pride Festival celebration on August 26th. The footprint of the festival will be one of the largest in Jersey City Pride history. We'll be on Newark Ave between Grove Street and Jersey Ave in the heart of historic downtown Jersey City as well as the Grove Street PATH Plaza. The festival is adjacent to major mass transportation: PATH Grove Street (two stops from Manhattan) and Bus.

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