Jeremy Lanuti appears in Westchester Broadway Theatre’s production of ‘Ragtime’

MONROE — An 11-year-old Monroe boy has role in the Westchester Broadway Theatre’s production of “Ragtime.”

Jeremy Lanuti, a fifth-grader at North Main Elementary, is part of the cast in this musical story of three seemingly unconnected families in early 20th Century America and how they wind their way through upper-middle class New Rochelle to Harlem and Tin Pan Alley, eventually to the immigrant melting pot of the East Side.

Jeremy, who plays “Little Boy” and who is also in the ensemble, said he became interested in the theater after spending time role-playing with his cousins.

He became involved in summer theater and summer theater workshop enrichment programs offered through the Monroe-Woodbury School District.

“Eventually, we found a theater in Newburgh and that’s pretty much how I started to do it and work alongside professionals,” said Jeremy. “Last year, I did ‘Oliver!’ at Westchester Broadway Theatre and that’s where I met all the people.”

In addition to "Oliver!," his previous credits include appearing as “Jojo” in “Seussical the Musical” at both the Y Arts Theatre Co. in Wyckoff, N.J., and with Just Off Broadway (JOB) Inc. in Newburgh. He appeared in the opera “Amahl and The Night Visitors” at JOB, Inc.

Jeremy most recently appeared as Willy Wonka with his friends at North Main Elementary School and studies tap, ballet, and hip-hop at M’Lanie Hunter Dance, and takes voice lessons with Jody Weatherstone.

Shared the roles with two others

Jeremy shares the role of “Little Boy” with two other boys so he appears according to a schedule. Other times, he remains on-call to appear in case one of the other two is unavailable.

Jeremy admitted he was a bit anxious prior to his particular opening night.

“I was nervous, I never really went up on stage, because they triple cast it,” he said. “Only one person gets to do rehearsal and I was only there to take notes so it was a lot of pressure. But I’m not an understudy, I have my own performances.”

Sometimes, his performances are scheduled during a weekday, so Jeremy knows he must take great care to focus on his school work.

“When it comes to my family, both my parents are teachers so school comes first,” he said. “I always do my homework right when I get home because at night I’m so busy. I finish it and then I start thinking about this (acting).”

Role model: Hans Solo and Indy

Jeremy’s role model is Harrison Ford and he aspires to become a full-time actor as an adult.

“I think that would be great and that would be very exciting for me,” he said. “With acting, what I love is that you don’t have to be yourself, you can be someone else and have different personalities and be a different person for a day. When you get home, you’re back to yourself. It’s a chance to show what you’re feeling in a different way.”

'Acting builds confidence'
And like any actor, Jeremy appreciates the audience’s gratitude.

“When I perform and I hear the applause at the end, I feel excited,” he said. “I’m the one who told these people this story; I’m one of the people that they enjoyed. Their applause is because everyone is great and I feel like that’s including me.”

More importantly, Jeremy said, he thinks it’s important for people to do what they love.

“I think it’s important because when you‘re doing what you love, it makes your life happy, you’re full of energy and excited about things,” he added. “Acting has helped me build confidence. I’m meeting a bunch of great people doing this. People always come up to me and ask for my autograph. It makes me feel great.”

Essential information
Performances which include Jeremy are:

The March 30 dinner show
The April 6 dinner show

The April 10 matinee
The April 17 dinner show

The April 24 matinee
The May 1 dinner show.

To learn more or to purchase tickets, visit: http://www.ragtimemusical.com/.

- Nancy Kriz