ABOUT JIM & VAL

JIM RICE of New York City and Boston, is an accomplished and diverse conductor, music director, arranger, pianist, and singer. Abroad, Jim has been Conductor of the European tour of Ken Hill's Phantom of the Opera and nationally, Always Patsy Cline. He has been the Assistant Conductor for the international tour of Man of La Mancha and Camelot as well as the pianist for the Broadway production of Grease in Europe. Jim has performed in hundreds of theaters and concert halls throughout Europe and the United States and has performed in every state to date, except Hawaii.

 

He has worked with Tony award winners: Peggy Cass, Victoria Clark, Helen Gallagher, Joanna Gleason, Debbie Gravitte, and George Hearn. He has accompanied many accomplished Broadway and international singing sensations including Marilyn Mae, Billy Stritch, Rita Mareno, Lucy Arnaz, Liz Callaway, Anne Hampton Callaway, Randy Roberts, and The Broadway Tenors: Brent Barrett, Alan Campbell, David Burnham, John Cudia, Jeff Kready, Kyle Dean Massey.

Mr. Rice has been the creator, arranger, and music director for a number of tribute shows including the IRNE award winning Primavera: The Music of Louie Prima & Keely Smith starring Jim Porcella and Ida Zecco as well as Dear Miss Garland starring Boston’s Kathy St. George. His brand-new project he is currently touring is A Tribute to Steve Lawrence & Eydie Gorme which features himself as a singer/pianist alongside his longtime musical colleague Valerie Sneade-Roy.

His one-man singer/pianist shows have been performed at The Arctic Playhouse’s Cabaret Club in Providence, RI as well as The Red Barn in Key West, Florida.

He has played and accompanied and musically directed artists at Scullers Jazz Club, Ryles, Regattabar, Club Café, and Mechanics Hall; in NYC at The Metropolitan Room, Don’t Tell Mama’s, The Duplex, Danny’s Skylight Room; in PA at the Cosmopolitan Room; in Oguquit, ME he spent three seasons with Michael Holmes at The Front Porch and a variety of venues across Provincetown.

He has worked at a number of theatres such as Stoneham Theatre (MA), Foothills Theatre (MA), The American Stage Festival (NH), Olney (MD), North Shore Music Theatre (MA) Kansas City Starlight (MO); The Tennessee Williams Fine Art Center (FL); San Carlos Opera House (FL), Ogunquit Playhouse (ME) as well as The Westside Arts and Westbank Theatres (NYC). He is currently the resident music director of the Artic Playhouse’s monthly Cabaret Club and plays frequently at Club Café.

His arrangements have been described as "marvelous" and "sophisticated and richly-crafted”. His arrangements have been performed by many orchestras including The Key West Pops (FL), The Festival of the Atlantic (NJ), Thayer Symphony (MA), The Charlotte Symphony (FL), Las Vegas Philharmonic (CA) The Hartford Symphony (CT) Plymouth Symphony (MA) and the Albany Symphony (NY) and others.

 

VALERIE SNEADE-ROY is a native of Grafton, Massachusetts. Critics have raved about her “powerhouse vocals” and “beaming stage personality”. As a performer, Valerie is a formidable singer with a giant voice when she chooses to call upon it. She has an impressive vocal range and sings a wide range of material ranging from pop, rock, R&B, country, big band, show tunes and so much more. Her vocal is eclipsed ONLY by her amazing connection with an audience. It’s one of those things you must experience to understand ….

Valerie has performed nationally in a variety of concert venues and theatres in both a concert format and theatrical settings. Valerie has performed in close to 40 of the states. Some of the highlights of her career were singing at The Grand Ole Opry & Graceland. She has also been the opener for The Four Aces, Al Martino and a variety of Vegas and Broadway stars.

She is an IRNE and Donnie award-winning artist and singer who has a love for music, family, and friends. She feels that music and theatre make the world a better place. She has also worked extensively on the production/producer/presenter side of things and created, owned, and operated two successful production companies since the ‘90s: Valerie Sneade Productions out of MA and NYC and Turning Leaf Productions out of FL and NC.

With the advent of streaming and virtual platforms, Valerie is an advocate of the arts and has had a mission to “keep the music alive” and encourage people to attend live music and theatrical shows. While performing many of the shows herself, she has also proudly presented a number of international and nationally recognized artists in her sold-out production shows up and down the east coast.

Valerie was a member of AEA (Actor’s Equity Association) for several years. She also has been a featured soloist with a variety of symphonies and has three fully orchestrated symphonic shows, arranged by Jim Rice, available for bookings.

Valerie has worked alongside Jim Rice for nearly three decades. When seeing these two on stage, you will realize these two are the best of friends. Their energy and humor is infectious, inviting, and a good time for all. Their onstage rapport and interaction in their playful The Jim and Val Show is not only memorable but invigorating. Of the many shows they perform together, their most recent is The Music of Steve & Eydie which pays tribute to the youngest married entertainment duo of all time, Steve Lawrence & Eydie Gorme. Because of the close connection that Jim and Valerie share, people often mistakenly think of them as a married couple however they take that as a compliment because it means that people get how special their relationship really is. If you are looking for the “feel good show” where you can have more fun than you could possibly imagine, be sure to get your tickets to see them live and in person.

After years of being on stage, Valerie’s biggest claim to fame is marrying the love her life, Jason Tyler Roy, on 9/26/19 at The Dunkin’ Donuts, 990 Grafton Street, Worcester, Massachusetts where Jim Rice officiated the couple. Their love story ended up on the front cover of newspapers across the country and went viral on social media, internationally. Their romantic “second time around” love story caught the attention of Good Morning America where they were on a featured segment. Their relationship was compared to JLO and Ben Affleck, better known as “Bennifer”. Playing the wife of Jason and stepmom to his three beautiful children is Valerie’s favorite role to date.

About Club 321

Club 321 is a partnership between the Mechanics Hall Modern Mechanics Guild and WICN to present contemporary sounds for adult audiences.

Tickets are $20 purchased in advance; $23 at the door. Ticket holders must be at least 18 years old. Seating will be at cabaret-style tables in Mechanics Hall’s elegant Washburn Hall, with cash bar and light refreshments available for purchase. Mechanics Hall is located at 321 Main Street in Worcester. To learn more and purchase tickets, visit mechanicshall.org/club321.