Pleasant Valley Productions Announces Season Lineup of Outdoor Performances
The season will feature Jelani Remy as Director and Choreographer of Smokey Joe's Cafe, plus much more!
By: Chloe Rabinowitz Mar. 25, 2021
Pleasant Valley Productions Artistic Director Camille DiLorenzo and Executive Director Laura Naranjo, the West Orange Recreation Department, and the many people involved in providing live outdoor entertainment to the community of West Orange have announced the season line up, with performances beginning May 22nd, 2021. The Oskar Schindler Performing Arts Center, located at 4 Boland Drive, in West Orange, New Jersey, is a beautiful outdoor amphitheater, perfect for a safe night out for the entire family.
Bill Kehoe of the West Orange Recreation department said, "We are looking forward to OSPAC 2021 with unbridled enthusiasm. The relationship between the West Orange Recreation Department and Pleasant Valley Productions has blossomed. This vibrant partnership is firmly based on cooperation and mutual admiration. Under the leadership of Camille Vecchio-DiLorenzo and the PVP team, the 2021 OSPAC schedule is chock full of great events that are sure to please the residents of West Orange."
This season has something for everyone. A brand new musical penned by Montclair resident David Maglione is a Theater for Young Audience experience, featuring dialogue, music, live musicians, and storytelling. This is Our Story is billed as "a coming out anthology", written by local playwrights and actors, celebrating and investigating the experience one faces while discovering their own identity. A night featuring comedians will provide necessary laughs for the entire audience. The Encore Orchestra returns to the OSPAC stage featuring Broadway's Bonita Hamilton of The Lion King, with your favorite songs from Broadway through the years. The middle of the summer brings Smokey Joe's Cafe, The Songs of Leiber and Stoller Words and Music by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. They will welcome Cedar Grove's Jelani Remy from Broadway's "Ain't Too Proud, the Life and Times of The Temptations" (last seen in "Motown for Our Town, Summer 2020") as Director and choreographer. Following the mainstage musical, the season concludes with three township events that will engage the community in many ways, even including the opportunity to get on stage yourself in West Orange Idol.
"Pleasant Valley Productions welcomes you to join us this summer at OSPAC for an exciting season of entertainment. While we work hard all year long to keep the admission costs very low, we encourage community participation and offer free admission to those eager to volunteer at our events. If you are interested in getting more involved, please visit our website for volunteer information." -Artistic Director Camille Vecchio-DiLorenzo.
Tickets for these events are all priced from $5-$10. You can purchase tickets in person, at the gate of OSPAC. Free Parking is available on site.
Strict COVID-19 Protocol is in place to ensure safety at all events. Masks and physical distancing will be required. This information will be made available prior to each event, as the status of these guidelines are constantly evolving. Please check their website prior to attending an event.
Additionally, they will welcome food trucks and other local merchandise and food vendors - contact@pleasantvalleyproductions.org
Pleasant Valley Productions @ OSPAC's 2021 Season:
The Most Incredible Thing
Book, Music, and Lyrics by David Maglione
Commissioned by the Mac-Haydn Theatre
Musically Directed by Bruce De La Cruz
Directed by John Saunders
May 22nd, 1pm and 4pm
Hans Christian Anderson's short story The Most Incredible Thing comes to life with this inspiring new musical telling. Rebeka, a young inventor, unearths something remarkable. With this new discovery, she must face her destiny and unite a divided land. Part Two of The Kingdom of Merideh Series is set to a shanty style score and reminds us all that "The spirit of art cannot be broken".
OSPAC Opening Night: Band and Brews
Presented by Pleasant Valley Productions
Featuring Local Bands and Vendors
June 5th, 7:30pm
Join them as they celebrate the opening night at OSPAC, featuring local bands and the unveiling of the new OSPAC Pavilion.
This is Our Story
Written by Nicholas J. Clarey and Tommy Jamerson
In Collaboration with interACT Productions
June 17th and 19th, 8:00 pm
"This is Our Story: A Coming Out Anthology'' examines and celebrates the experiences of LGBTQ+ people of diverse backgrounds before, during, and after coming out. Through the lens of real stories submitted by real people, playwrights Nicholas J. Clarey and Tommy Jamerson craft a series of vignettes, told through monologues, scenes, poems, and songs, to bring these stories, struggles, celebrations, and triumphs to life on the stage.
Comedy Under the Stars
Presented by West Orange Recreation Department and Pleasant Valley Productions
June 18th 7:30 pm
Comedians will provide necessary laughs for the entire audience! More information and guest artists to be announced soon!.
Broadway Under the Stars
The Encore Orchestra of New Jersey
Under the direction of Ilene Greenbaum
June 26th at 8:30pm
Featuring Bonita Hamilton from Broadway's "The Lion King", supported by a cast of exceptional singers from regional and touring productions. This evening will feature Broadway favorites, accompanied by a live orchestra. Under the direction of Maestra Ilene Greenbaum, this evening of showtunes is sure to be a highlight of your summer!
Smokey Joe's Cafe
The Songs of Leiber and Stoller
Words and Music by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller
Musically Directed by Joseph Christianson
Directed and Choreographed by Jelani Remy
July 16th-17th, 23rd-24th at 8:00
Leiber and Stoller songs provide the basis for an electrifying entertainment that illuminates a golden age of American culture. Featuring nearly 40 of the greatest songs ever recorded, Smokey Joe's Cafe isn't just great pop music - it's compelling musical theatre.
BEACH PARTY CONCERT- featuring THE DRIFTWOODS
Beach Boys Tribute Band
Presented by West Orange Recreation Department and Pleasant Valley Productions
July 30th @ 7:30pm
West Orange Idol
Presented by West Orange Downtown Alliance and Pleasant Valley Productions
August 8th 2:00 pm
Registration information coming soon
D.J Dance Party for the Uniquely Gifted
Sunday September 12 @ 2:00pm
More information coming soon!
The B-Street Band
Presented by West Orange Recreation Department and Pleasant Valley Productions
October 15th 7:30
A Tribute to Bruce Springsteen and still the Longest Running Tribute Band in the World!
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