Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi and a tribute to Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne in ‘Jersey 4 Jersey’ benefit

What would Bruce do?

That question loomed on Wednesday night as Bruce Springsteen — known for his three-hour-plus concerts — was about to perform on Jersey 4 Jersey, a show to raise money for the New Jersey Pandemic Relief Fund. He was only one of a cavalcade of Garden State stars who performed, and the televised show would last only one hour.

Along with Springsteen, the other socially distanced acts squeezed into the broadcast included Jon Bon Jovi, Tony Bennett, and pop stars SZA, Halsey, and Charlie Puth.

Power pop band Fountains of Wayne played with singer and bassist Sharon Van Etten taking the place of songwriter Adam Schlesinger, who died of the coronavirus on April 1. Their aptly chosen, typically witty Schlesinger-penned selection: “Hackensack.”

“This is for Adam, his parents, his children, and New Jersey,” singer Chris Collingwood said.

The WWBD question was partly answered when Springsteen and his wife, Patti Scialfa, appeared with acoustic guitars in hand at the start of the show. “We want to dedicate this to our health-care workers and all of those who have lost loved ones and are suffering and dying right here in our beloved state," Springsteen said.

With that, the two went into “Land of Hope and Dreams,” his sturdy anthem that takes the measure of the American experiment and holds hope that in the long run, the “dream will not be thwarted, faith will be rewarded.”

Jon Stewart took over from there, serving as one of several Jersey-connected hosts, including Whoopi Goldberg, Danny DeVito, Chelsea Handler (who fashioned a bra into a face mask and compared herself to Thomas Edison and Albert Einstein), Kelly Ripa, Stephen Colbert, and Chris Rock. All urged that donations be made at NJPRF.org. (New Jersey: A lot of talented people come from there.)

Stewart introduced Jon Bon Jovi, who answered a fan’s challenge by writing a song about the coronavirus pandemic called “Do What We Can,” which was a neat piece of work.

“I saw a red cross on the Hudson / Another ambulance goes by / There but for the grace of God go I.” Bravo, Bon Jovi!

SZA, the alt-R&B singer, was a standout, singing “20 Something” from her 2017 debut album, CTRL.

Charlie Puth did the smart Jersey thing and performed from his bedroom in his parents’ house: He took to the piano and sang Springsteen’s “Growin’ Up.”

And Halsey — from Edison, Middlesex County — showed a grasp of the technological capabilities of Zoom by performing with three other musicians on a string-sweetened version of her hit “Finally // beautiful stranger.”

Bennett, looking fit (if in need of a shave) at 93, stood in front of his own paintings hanging on the wall and was accompanied by a pianist on Charles Chaplin’s “Smile,” the same song his friend Lady Gaga opened her One World: Together at Home concert with Saturday.

The show included tributes to front-line workers and COVID-19 survivors, including Dr. James Pruden, who said, “I guess you could say I did a dance with death.”

Taylor Thomson, a nurse who was diagnosed with the virus and has recovered, said: “I was a patient myself and now I’m back. I’m a Jersey girl and I don’t pump my own gas.”

Speaking of “Jersey Girl,” Springsteen and Scialfa showed up again at the end to do that Tom Waits song. It was as if the Boss had adjusted to the format in the interim. His performance was more lighthearted and relaxed, his vocals warm and soulful, as he sang of how “down the Shore everything’s all right, you and your baby on a Saturday night.”

And then Bon Jovi got a second chance to shine as well, ending the show, of course, with “Livin’ on a Prayer.” It was a stadium sing-along delivered from social isolation, with a promise — “take my hand, we’ll make it I swear” — that Jersey 4 Jersey viewers (it was seen on CBS10, NBC10, 6ABC and FOX29) needed to believe in.