Basking Ridge Rising Senior's Theater Group To Perform At RVCC

BASKING RIDGE, NJ — Ridge High School rising senior Max Rodriguez's theater group, New Jersey Youth Actors, will be performing their third main stage production at Raritan Valley Community College on Aug. 1.

Rodriguez, who has a passion for theater, formed the group in 2017 when he was in 8th grade. The group, made up of students, previously performed Mary Poppins in 2018 and Into the Woods in 2019.

"What's unique about the group is essentially the idea of creating a final product and putting it on stage with just a group of students," said Rodriguez.

This year, the group will be performing The Secret Garden at the RVCC Nash Theater at 118 Lamington Road in Branchburg on Aug. 1 at 5 p.m.

"The Secret Garden" follows newly orphaned Mary Lennox, having lost her parents and everyone else she knows to the cholera epidemic and is sent to live with her reclusive Uncle Archibald in his gloomy Yorkshire manor. Mary discovers a hidden garden, locked shut and overgrown with vines, she is determined to revive the beauty.

The cast is comprised mostly of current students or recent graduates of Ridge High School and Bernards High School. Mary Lennox is played by a recent graduate of Oak Street Elementary.

Cast members include: Patrick Jotz, Alex Prejean, Oscar Grob, Gabe Subervi, Jonah Kartush, Rachel Vanek, F. Hunter Trstensky, Annika Helgeson, Nathan Schwed, Jack Hicks, Eve Armstrong, Nick Casey, Annabel DelGiorno, Morgan Beatty, Katherine White, Gabby Hairston, McLain Ward, Sydney Kiessling, Morgan Connell, and Shruti Ram.

To get tickets visit NewJerseyYouthActors.com for tickets. There is no charge for the show, aside from the theater’s ticket processing fee. Tickets will not be available for purchase on the day of the show.

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