Count Basie Center Centennial Celebration kickoff gets a little help from Jon Stewart

This Basie bash is a biggie.

The Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank has announced a 16-month long “Centennial Celebration” for its 100th anniversary on Nov. 11, 2026 with a video emceed by comedian Jon Stewart on Thursday, July 10. There will be multiple activations at the arts center over the next 16 months.

The marquee for the Hackensack Meridian Health Theatre at the Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank, pictured Oct. 26, 2018.

The Basie Center opened as the Reade’s Carlton Theater movie and vaudeville stage 1926.

“Ninety-nine Monmouth Street became a bastion for artists, student sand, of course, audiences,” says Stewart in the video, which you can see below. “If these walls could talk, they would tell stories of legends.”

Tony Bennett, Brian Wilson, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Ringo Starr, Connie Francis, Bon Jovi, Count Basie and many more have performed at the venue.

“We’re excited for all of the moments the community will experience during our Centennial Celebration,” said Adam Philipson, CEO and President, Count Basie Center for the Arts, in a statement. “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 -- from concerts, community gatherings and activations, plus partnerships with area businesses and fellow nonprofits.”

Centennial Celebration activations include:

• The installation of the Count Basie Center Walk of Fame, honoring area artists whose early performances on the historic Basie Center stage gave way to worldwide fame and recognition. The induction of the Walk’s first performing artists, Count Basie and a surprise performer, will take place Sept. 25.
• “100 Years of Soul, Sounds and Stories” will collect and share personal histories of community members’ experiences at the Count Basie Center, from the Reade’s Carlton era through present day.
• A 2026 Roast of New Jersey, celebrating the state’s rich comedy history by gathering comics for a hilarious, tongue-in-cheek night of state-deprecating humor.
• Collaborations with community businesses and partners, like Newark-based Brix City Brewing’s new Basie Center CentenniALE IPA and Bridging The Gap’s Basie Center Centennial Swing coffee, sales of which will benefit the Basie Center as well as support groups and services for veterans.
• Stamped Stories, an initiative with Monmouth Arts to commission designs for a commemorative, 12-month postcard set celebrating the Basie Center by decade. The first design, from Red Bank artist and muralist Michael White, depicts the present-day façade of the Basie Center’s historic marquee and main entrance.
• The Century Club, an opportunity for donors and members of the public to invest in the Basie Center over the next decade to help propel the organization into its next decades of service.
• A decade-by-decade celebration of film at Basie Center Cinemas, whose White Street exterior will also serve as the space for a new community mural commemorating the Basie Center’s centennial.
• A three-day “throwback” finale in Nov. 2026 to feature prices, fashion and other bits of 1926 pop culture, including a screening and live musical accompaniment of “The Quarterback,” originally shown on opening night at Reade’s Carlton Theater in 1926.

The Basie Center previously announced a collaboration with Monmouth County for the ParkStage at the East Freehold Park Fairgrounds in the summer of 2026. The summer series of concerts is designed to be part of the Basie Center's 100th anniversary and Monmouth County's celebration of the nation's 250th anniversary.

The theater was renamed for Red Bank native Count Basie in 1984. A 2020 expansion saw the addition of the Grunin Arts Education Building and The Vogel theater.

More than 300,000 annually attend events at the Basie Center while the organization’s arts education programs reach more than 20,000 students in the region every year.

Chris Jordan, a Jersey Shore native, covers entertainment and features for the USA Today Network New Jersey. Contact him at [email protected]

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Count Basie Center Centennial Celebration kickoff gets a little help from Jon Stewart