Entertainment

Latest news & movie, music, event and restaurant listings for Jersey

PHOTOS BY ERIC LIEBOWITZ Adrien Brody is label owner Leonard Chess, and Jeffrey Wright is Muddy Waters in "Cadillac Records."

Cadillac Records (R) TriStar (109 min.) Directed by Darnell Martin. With Adrien Brody, Jeffrey Wright, Beyonce Knowles. Opens Friday at theaters in New Jersey. TWO AND A HALF STARS

No other popular music comes as directly, painfully from the soul.

Rock'n' roll has the adrenaline rush of parties and rebellion. Jazz is all intellect and quicksilver creativity. But the blues? The blues are messy. The blues are raw. The blues are pain.

RALPH NELSONFrank Langella stars as president Richard Nixon, left, and Michael Sheen, portrays TV personality David Frost in "Frost/Nixon."

Frost/Nixon( R) Universal (122 min.) Directed by Ron Howard. With Frank Langella, Michael Sheen. Opens Friday at theaters in New York. THREE AND A HALF STARS

When an absolute leader falls, he falls absolutely.

And there is a ritual. The self-righteous, late-night address to the people who don't deserve him anyway. The emotional, morning-after goodbyes to a tearful retinue of faithful servants. And then, the private helicopter, the unrepentant wave -- and the flight to wealthy exile in a palace by the sea.

A detail from a Sean Scully illustration for a 1992 Limited Edition Club printing of Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness."

Inspired by Literature: Art and Fine Books. Where: Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Museum, 71 Hamilton St., New Brunswick. When: Through July 5. 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays; noon-5 p.m. Saturdays-Sundays. Howmuch: Adults $3. Call (732) 932-7237 or visit zimmerlimuseum.rutgers.edu/

In the mezzanine-like David and Ruth Robinson Eisenberg gallery, tucked away in a corner of the Zimmerli Museum, there is a new exhibition of artists' books that features a truly remarkable roster of both writers and artists.

NOAH K. MURRAY/THE STAR-LEDGERKatherine Pecevich in "Scrooge in Rouge."

Scrooge in Rouge. Where: ReVision Theatre, 710 Lake Ave., Asbury Park. When: Through Dec. 28. Thursdays-Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 7 p.m. How much: $25-$35. Children under 12, $12.50-$17.50. Call (732) 455-3059 or visit revisiontheatre.org.

For the last few years, actress Katherine Pecevich has been traveling from sea to shining sea in "Annie," the musical whose last scene takes place at Christmas. Now Pecevich gets to play a show that's entirely set at Yuletide, as well as one of its iconic characters: Ebenezer Scrooge.

"Not in 'A Christmas Carol' per se, though," she says. "The name of our show is 'Scrooge in Rouge.'"

GETTY IMAGESRapper Lil Wayne is nominated for eight Grammys

It's catch-up time for the Grammys.

Lil Wayne, a major rap artist for almost a decade, can win his first Grammys in February. And Radiohead, arguably the most important rock band of its generation, can win its first major one, as "In Rainbows" was nominated for album of the year. (Radiohead's previous two wins were in alternative-rock categories.)

Following Lil Wayne, who is up for eight Grammys, Coldplay has the most nominations, with seven, and Jay-Z, Ne-Yo and Kanye West have six each. Nominees in some of the most important categories were announced Wednesday as part of an hour-long prime-time special on CBS -- an attempt to publicize the show in a way that a simple press conference couldn't.

Ronald K. Brown/Evidence. Where: New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Victoria Theater, 1 Center St., Newark. When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday. Howmuch: $39. Call (888) 466-5722 or visit njpac.org.

When he was still a kid, choreographer Ronald K. Brown says he carried a briefcase and steeled himself to assume adult responsibilities.

Only recently, as he prepared his newest dance, "Two-Year-Old Gentlemen," which will receive its premiere at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center on Saturday, did the renowned 42-year-old dancemaker permit himself to embrace his inner child.

CHARLEY GALLAY/GETTY IMAGESJennifer Aniston

Jennifer Aniston shares the hopes and dreams of her uterus with concerned readers of Entertainment Weekly this week. The "Marley & Me" star says she wanted to play a mother in the film because "I feel like that's in my future and I'm on the verge of it in some way - or it's something I long for. So it was great to sort of dip your toe in it."