Woodbridge Man to Star in Pleasant Valley Productions' "Ragtime"

Woodbridge resident A.J. Meeker stars as Henry Ford in an upcoming production of Ragtime as entrepreneur and innovator Henry Ford. 

Community theatre company, Pleasant Valley Productions will present the epic historical musical February 8-15 at The Theatre at Roosevelt Middle School in West Orange. Performances are Saturday, Feb. 8 at 7 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 9 at 2 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 13, Friday, Feb. 14, and Saturday, Feb. 15 at 7 p.m.. 

As part of Black History Month and the NJ 350 celebration, a special educational talkback will follow the February 9th performance discussing the show’s themes and historic elements. The production is directed by Camille Vecchio-DiLorenzo, with music direction by Ilene Greenbaum and choreography by Marcel Coleman, with Howie Tilkin serving as producer.

Ragtime is an epic musical that paints a nostalgic and powerful portrait of life in turn of the century America. Based on the 1975 E.L. Doctorow novel, and enhanced by a beautiful and lush score by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty and a compelling book by Terrence McNally, Ragtime is a modern classic of American musical theatre.

Three distinct stories intertwine to depict life in the early 1900’s for three drastically different classes of Americans – the new immigrants from Italy and Eastern Europe, the African-American working class of Harlem and the already established and affluent Anglo-Americans. The memorable score combines the haunting music of the European immigrants with the exciting Ragtime music of the Harlem jazz clubs to result in an award-winning score that delights audiences.

Performances of Ragtime will be held at Roosevelt Middle School, located at 36 Gilbert Place in West Orange. For tickets and more information, please visit www.PleasantValleyProductions.org or call 1-800-838-3006.

-Pleasant Valley Productions