The circus is coming, and more things to do this weekend at the Jersey Shore and beyond

If you’re ever tempted to run away and join the circus, one Shore woman surely can provide some tips.

Brick native Ashley Budinick is the performance director of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, which is coming to New Jersey for the first time since 2017. It’s at Prudential Center in Newark through Sunday.

The show is “re-imagined” and has no live animal acts. Producers promise an “immersive, live, family entertainment experience … unlike anything audiences have ever seen, filled with incredible feats that push the limits of human potential.”

It boasts “never-before-seen stunts” like the Triangular Highwire and Double Wheel of Destiny.

“My favorite thing about Ringling Bros. is, of course, the incredible talent from these artists that I am surrounded by each day,” said Budinick, a Brick Memorial High School grad.

She loves to watch audiences of all ages take in the spectacle, she said.

Remember when: Send us your memories and photos of Six Flags Great Adventure

Ashley Budinick, a Brick native, is performance director of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.

Budinick started dancing at 3 years old. After earning her bachelor’s degree in fine arts from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, she danced all over the world. Five years ago, she became a performance director with Feld Entertainment, working with “Sesame Street Live” along the way.

“It’s a very special moment when your family and friends get to see the joy your job is bringing so many,” she said. “I am thankful every day for the training and work ethic I gained from all of my mentors here in New Jersey.”

Go: Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 11 a.m., 3 and 7 p.m. Saturday, noon and 4 p.m. Sunday, Prudential Center, 5 Lafayette St., Newark, $40 to $165; ringling.com.

Here are other things to do at the Jersey Shore and beyond this weekend, including a classic rock opera in Middletown and the Princeton Singers in Toms River.

Center Playhouse, Freehold: Jokes and more

Randi Simon Lupo of Manalapan is taking part in Supersized Women of Comedy on Saturday in Freehold.

“Supersized Women of Comedy” at Center Playhouse is described as a blend of stand-up, feel-good songs and interactive characters by female comedians. The ups and downs of life and weight are explored in song, dance, improv and light-hearted audience interaction.

The show stars Mary Dimino, who has been seen on Comedy Central, NBC, and the off-Broadway one-woman show “Scared Skinny”; Carolann Valentino (“Last Comic Standing,” ABC, VH-1); and Manalapan’s own Randi Simon Lupo (Gotham, Cape May Aerodrome).

Men are welcome!

Go: “Supersized Women of Comedy,” 8 p.m. Saturday, Center Playhouse, 35 South St., Freehold, $25 ($20 online); patsplace4comedy.com.

Drag brunch at Roxy’s Bar and Grille

Looking for brunch and a show? Head to Roxy’s Bar and Grille in Toms River for the Porkroll, Egg & Queens Pop Diva Brunch Party, taking place Sunday. Tickets include a seat to the show and a glass of champagne, and brunch items will be available for purchase.

Please note, this brunch is for guests 21 and older. Go: Pork Roll, Egg, & Queens Pop Dive Brunch, 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Roxy’s Bar and Grille, 11 Kettle Creek Road, Toms River, $45; roxysnj.com.

Academy Award Shorts in Asbury Park, Loveladies, Spring Lake

David Oyelowo stars in director Misan Harriman’s “The After,” one of the Oscar-nominated short films showing at ShowRoom Cinema in Asbury Park. This and all of the Academy Awards shorts are also showing in Loveladies and Spring Lake.

Attention movie lovers! As the anticipation builds for the 96th Academy Awards, ShowRoom Cinema in Asbury Park — and the Lighthouse Film Society in Loveladies and Spring Lake — are presenting the Oscar-nominated short films in all three categories: Live Action, Animation, and Documentary.

Here’s the schedule:

Documentary: 7 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Sunday in Asbury Park. Among the films: “The ABCs of Book Banning,” directed by Sheila Nevins; and “The Barber of Little Rock,” directed by Christine Turner and John Hoffman. Also showing at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in Loveladies at the Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts and Sciences, 120 Long Beach Blvd., and 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Spring Lake Theatre, 300 Madison Ave. in Spring Lake.

Animation: 2:30 and 4:30 p.m. Saturday, and 2:15 p.m. Sunday in Asbury Park. Films include “Ninety-Five Senses,” a heartfelt depiction of a man facing his own mortality; and “I’m Hip,” with a self-absorbed cat, in a jazzy song and dance, proclaiming his hipness to the world. Showing at 1 p.m. Saturday in Loveladies.

Live action: 7:15 p.m. Friday, 2 and 5 p.m. Saturday in Asbury Park. Among the films are “The After,” starring Daniel Oyelowo. After losing a family member to a violent crime, a shattered rideshare driver picks up a passenger that forces him to confront his grief. Another live action short is “The Wonderful World of Henry Sugar”: A rich man learns about a guru who can see without using his eyes. Showing at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Loveladies, 1 p.m. Sunday in Spring Lake.

Go: Oscar-nominated shorts, ShowRoom Cinema, 707 Cookman Ave., Asbury Park, $15 per category; showroomcinemas.com. Also showing at Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts and Sciences, 120 Long Beach Blvd., Loveladies, $12 per category, $25 for all three if purchased online, $35 for all three categories at the door, and Spring Lake Theatre, 300 Madison Ave., Spring Lake, $12 for each category, $20 for both online, $25 for both at the door; https://lighthousefilmsociety.eventive.org/schedule.

‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ in Middletown

Chris Morrisy and the cast of “Jesus Christ Superstar,” presented by the MAC Players at Middletown Arts Center.

The MAC Players at the Middletown Arts Center presents the rock opera “Jesus Christ Superstar” from Friday to Sunday, and again from March 8 to 10. In addition to the title song, the musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice also features the hit song “I Don’t Know How To Love Him.”

Loosely based on the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, “Superstar” follows the last week of Jesus Christ’s life. Ticket prices range from $15 to $30, $15 to $25 for students and seniors with reserved seating.

Go: “Jesus Christ Superstar,” March 1 to 3, March 8 to 10, Middletown Arts Center, 36 Church St., $15 to $30; 732-706-4100, middletownarts.org.

Tuckerton Art Center: Meet the artists

“Bending” by Shelly Christine Ristow.

See the show and meet the artists from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday at Tuckerton Art Center. Works by Beverly Haber and Shelly Christine Ristow are on display through the end of March.

Haber, a retired business analyst, had her first forays into art through the lens of a camera on world travels. With retirement, she turned to painting and took classes at Pine Shores Art Association. Ristow has a degree in fine arts. According to a release, her work “has expanded from realism to embrace all mediums, delving into colorful expressionism and the incorporation of natural elements with paint and sculpture.”

Go: Art by Beverly Haber and Shelly Christine Ristow, through March, Tuckerton Art Center, 140 E. Main Street (Route 9), free parking behind the building (enter through driveway shared with Wells Fargo Bank); pineshoresartassociation.org.

‘Love is in the Air’ at Ocean County College

The Princeton Singers will perform Friday at Ocean County College’s Grunin Center.

The Princeton Singers celebrate 40 years of music-making this season with a performance Friday at the Grunin Center Main Stage at Ocean County College.

“Love is in the Air” begins at 7:30 p.m. Under the direction of conductor-composer Steven Sametz, the group has headlined festivals in China, Great Britain and the U.S. Their Christmas specials are a featured part of the holiday programming of the WWFM-Classical network.

Tickets are $25.

Go: Princeton Singers, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Grunin Center Main Stage, College Drive, Ocean County College, $25; 732-255-0500, grunincenter.org, princetonsingers.org.

Ocean County Library: Charlie Zahm performing on Monday

Charlie Zahm performs a free show Monday at the Toms River branch of the Ocean County Library.

As St. Patrick’s Day approaches, capture the warmth and spirit of the Emerald Isle with guitarist and singer Charlie Zahm at 6:30 p.m. Monday at the Toms River branch of the Ocean County Library.

A news release says the performance will “take you on a whirlwind musical tour of Ireland.”

When Zahm was old enough to sing, he developed an appreciation for the Celtic lilts, ballads and anthems of his Irish-Scottish roots that he first heard in his mother’s birthplace of Ontario, Canada. Since then, he has amassed hundreds of tunes, perennial favorites and rarities.

Register at http://tinyurl.com/OclTrZahm for this free program, sponsored by the Friends of the Ocean County Library – Toms River.

Go: Charlie Zahm, 6:30 p.m. Monday, Ocean County Library, 101 Washington St., Toms River, free; 732-349-6200, theoceancountylibrary.org/events.

Sarah Griesemer contributed to this story.

Have an event coming up at the Jersey Shore? Tell us about it. Email Bill Canacci at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: The circus is coming, and more things to do this weekend at the Jersey Shore and beyond