Please Welcome to the Stage, Rutgers University’s Singing Pollster
When Ashley Koning, director of the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling, takes the stage in Morristown, N.J., to sing in a talent show, politics will be her muse
Ashley Koning knows her way around the spotlight.
As director of the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling at Rutgers University-New Brunswick, many of her days are spent on camera, deciphering for the media the opinions of a deeply divided electorate.
But for much of her life, Koning has been equally enamored with a different kind of stage – one where curtains rise, orchestras swell and ovations linger. Here, when Koning isn’t talking politics, she might be singing about them.
Later this month, the assistant research professor and classically trained soprano will be among 14 musical and dance acts competing for $1,000 during the 19th annual Morristown ONSTAGE talent show, a community competition that raises funds for schools in Morristown and Morris Township, N.J.
For Koning, 39, the opportunity represents far more than a performance. It is a return to a lifelong passion that has shaped who she is, on stage and off.
As a child growing up in Martinsville, in central New Jersey, the living room was Koning’s first platform. She recalls putting on “concerts” for anyone willing to give her their attention.
Eventually, people paid to hear her sing. In elementary school, she starred as a Munchkin in The Wizard of Oz and played Glinda in the show as a junior in high school. During her senior year in high school, she earned a Paper Mill Playhouse “Rising Star” nomination, when she was Ruth in her school’s performance of The Pirates of Penzance.
Yet as much as she enjoyed acting, her love of politics was never far from the surface. Koning was a fierce debater, frequently taking the mic as a member of her school’s debate team.
I developed a real interest in politics by debating," Koning said. "Debates are a very theatrical type of performance. All politics is theater.
Together, these talents carried her to Franklin & Marshall College, where she trained in opera and musical theater and performed in competitions, recitals and productions. She double majored in government and music and wrote her senior thesis on the intersection of opera and politics.
“I’ve always been fascinated by the emotions that music can provoke and its power as a storytelling tool, sometimes even an act of defiance,” she said.
So passionate was she about both disciplines that her advisers assumed she would pursue a career in the other subject.
For the first two decades after school, it was her musical mentors whose predictions won out. Politics prevailed. After earning a master’s degree in political science at Columbia University, she completed her doctorate degree at Rutgers in 2016.
Music took a backseat. The reasons were familiar.
“Life rolls on and it seemed like there was never enough time,” she said. “I was getting a doctorate, getting married, having a child and then we found ourselves in a pandemic. It was just a combination of things.”
Eventually, though, as her son grew older – he’s now 5 1/2 – time and perspective returned. As he discovered his own passions, she was reminded of hers. A family health scare accelerated that realization.
“I always want to make my mom and dad proud, even as an adult,” Koning said. “They loved seeing me on stage.”
That longing became motivation, and eventually, action. She restarted voice lessons, serenaded her family, and on Dec. 13, 2025, stepped to the mic at center stage for her first audition in decades.
Koning kept her expectations low.
“I didn’t think anything would come of it,” she said. “The show is a huge fundraiser for the school district. It’s very well-known across the town. I didn’t think I had much of a chance.”
The result stunned her, she said.
I was awestruck. It’s an incredibly humbling feeling.
Ashley Koning
For her upcoming performance, Koning will sing “Maybe This Time” from Cabaret, a choice that reflects both her vocal style and her worldview.
“I’m drawn to songs that you don’t just hear but can also feel deep down in your soul,” she said. “‘Maybe This Time’ comes from one of the most politically and socially resonant musicals of all time, and its themes of hope, vulnerability and longing feel timeless.”
Koning added: “The song captures that moment of standing at a crossroads – wanting to believe that this time, things might finally turn out differently – which is something I think many of us can relate to.”
For Koning, the connection between music, politics and polling has always felt natural. Polling is “the choir of participatory acts,” where every section matters, she said. Music, too, has long been woven into political life – from revolutionary anthems to Broadway blockbusters such as Hamilton to contemporary protest songs that define moments in time.
“I see a natural connection between using your voice to sing and using your voice to express political opinions,” Koning said. “I just happen to do both.”
Morristown ONSTAGE will be held at the Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown, N.J., at 7 p.m. on Feb. 24. For tickets, visit https://www.mayoarts.org/shows/morristown-onstage-2026/
