Bruce Springsteen rehearses Broadway show at Monmouth University

Broadway lights lit up the Jersey Shore, but you had to be invited to see it.

Bruce Springsteen performed his upcoming Broadway show in front of an invited audience at a closed Pollak Theatre, on the campus of Monmouth University in West Long Branch on Tuesday.

A spokesman for Monmouth University would neither confirm nor deny the show took place.

“Great show last nite at Monmouth,” posted Michael Scialfa, Springsteen’s brother-in-law. “It’s easy sometimes to forget what true genius is, until its right in front of you.”

MORE: Bruce Springsteen on Broadway: The good, the bad and the second onsale

“Springsteen on Broadway” will feature the Freehold native in a two-hour solo performance with spoken interludes at the 960-seat Walter Kerr Theatre. Previews begin on Oct. 3 and the show runs through February.

“I wanted to do some shows that were as personal and as intimate as possible. I chose Broadway for this project because it has the beautiful old theaters, which seemed like the right setting for what I have in mind,” said Springsteen previously in a statement.

The Pollak holds about 700. He performed for about 200 family and close friends on Tuesday. He was interviewed by Bob Santelli on the Pollak stage for “A Conversation with Bruce Springsteen” in January.

Monmouth University is the home to the newly formed Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music at Monmouth. As such, it’s the official repository of Springsteen’s written works, photographs, periodicals and artifacts. The new collaboration broadens the existing relationship between Springsteen and Monmouth, which has been the home of the Bruce Springsteen Special Collection since 2011.

The Boss previously performed at Monmouth in the ‘70s. The location is not far from the bungalow in the West End section of Long Branch where he wrote “Born to Run.”

The new Springsteen Archives promotes and preserves the legacy of the Boss as well as music icons like Woody Guthrie, Robert Johnson, Hank Williams and Frank Sinatra.

In other Springsteen news, a recording of the E Street Band's 1978 concert at the Summit in Houston is being released to benefit the MusiCares Hurricane Relief Fund. Proceeds will help those affected by the recent hurricanes in Texas and Florida.

The recording originally was issued as part of the 2010 "Darkness on the Edge of Town" box set. Visit live.brucespringsteen.net for more info or to purchase.

Chris Jordan: cjordan@app.com