'America's Got Talent' to film at NJPAC in Newark

americas-got-talent-njpac.JPGPiers Morgan, left, co-stars as a judge with Sharon Osborne, center, and Howie Mandel on NBC's "America's Got Talent" in 2008. Morgan will be replaced by Howard Stern, who agreed to work on the show if it was filmed in the New York-New Jersey metro area. This season, the show will film at NJPAC in Newark with Stern, Mandel and Osbourne.

NEWARK — The popular NBC series "America's Got Talent" will make its home this summer at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, where it will broadcast two nights a week beginning in July, NJPAC officials told The Star-Ledger.

The move from a Burbank, Calif., studio to Newark’s 2,200-seat Prudential Hall is a concession to the schedule of new judge Howard Stern, who agreed to join the show if it originated from the New York-New Jersey metro area, according to NJPAC CEO John Schreiber.

Stern, Howie Mandel and Sharon Osbourne will judge the seventh season, which kicks off with two two-hour episodes May 14 and May 15 at 8 p.m. The production comes to Newark in July for the final 10 weeks.

Its selection as host venue of a major network series is a groundbreaking opportunity for the 14-year-old arts center and for the city of Newark. Schreiber said both will benefit from the exposure "America’s Got Talent" will generate and the economic activity it will spark. The contract, signed Friday, is also a big score for Schreiber, who took the reins at NJPAC last summer with the charge to increase the center’s profile by increasing its activity.

"It’s a great opportunity to introduce the arts center and Newark to millions of people," Schreiber said. "To have a program like this that will be broadcast 20 times over the course of the summer and all of the of the seats are free. I bet you a majority of the people who come will not have been in downtown Newark, not been in the arts center before.

"It makes a lot of new friends for us, and will interest other broadcasters to be here as well," he said.

Schreiber said staff from FremantleMedia North America contacted the arts center last fall, when they were negotiating with Stern. The show is produced by Freemantle and Simon Cowell’s SYCO Television.

When a group of producers visited in December, they were "blown away" by the hall, Schreiber said. "One of the first comments was ‘I don’t know if we can do it here. This place is too beautiful,’" he laughed.

The show appeals to all kinds of arts lovers, and has led to big careers for several performers. One of them, Jackie Evancho — the pint-size vocalist who came in second two years ago — will appear at NJPAC June 8.

The producers at FreemantleMedia and NBC say the move to Newark creates an opportunity for new fans to attend the live shows.

howard-stern-americas-got-talent-njpac.JPGHoward Stern, pictured with his wife, Beth Ostrosky in 2010, was the driving force behind "America's Got Talent" moving from Burbank, Calif. to NJPAC in Newark.

"We’re excited fans of ‘America’s Got Talent’ who live on the East Coast will finally get a chance to see the show live from the beautiful New Jersey Performing Arts Center, a first-class venue with a history of showcasing the world’s top talent," FremantleMedia CEO Cecile Frot-Coutaz said in a statement released by NJPAC.

Paul Telegdy, president of alternative and late night programming at NBC, said the move to Newark will give the show a "new attitude" and "bring an enhanced vitality and energy" to the show.

After its premiere, "America’s Got Talent" will air Monday at 8 and Tuesdays at 9 starting May 21. Ticket information for the live shows is available at nbc.com/agt.

The show’s summer broadcast schedule was perfect for NJPAC, which traditionally slows down from June through September, when it focuses on its outdoor "Sounds of the City" series. In addition, the production will expand the arts center’s programming reach, a priority of Schreiber when he took over as president and CEO last summer.

"We want to take our programming outside these four walls," he said.

To increase this kind of activity, Schreiber hired executive producer/vice president David Rodriguez, who produced "Showtime at the Apollo" while serving as executive director of the Apollo Theatre in Harlem. Schreiber also credited the founders of NJPAC, which built a state-of-the art venue that could handle the technological requirements of this kind of production.

Schreiber wouldn’t disclose the details of the contract, but he said it was "a financial positive" for the institution.

"It doesn’t change the world for us financially, but it is an unexpected amount of activity in the summer," he said. "There’s an option in the contract for them to return, and our hope is they will return."

The production’s benefits will extend beyond the arts center’s bottom line. Some 75 people will be transplanted from California to Newark for the summer, and that will mean thousands of hotel nights, and food, drink and parking, Schreiber said.

"It shines a light on Newark. It’s an unexpected windfall for all of us," he said. "This is a wonderful opportunity for the city to put our best foot forward."

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