ORANGE PARK – Almost 40 years after the film “Saturday Night Fever” first appeared on movie screens, the stage production is carrying on the tradition of 1970’s fashion, dance moves and music.

The classic production featuring main character Tony Manero will be featured at the Thrasher-Horne Center for the Arts at 283 College Dr. Mar. 7-8 at 7:30 p.m.

“Fingers crossed, this appeals to a broad range of people,” said Matthew Baker, who plays Manero. “We usually have three types of audiences. There are the hard core musical theatre folks, those who remember the film and want to come see a stage version, and there are those who just remember the music of the period and think they’d like to see a concert. That’s what’s most attractive about the show. We haven’t failed to get people up and dancing at the end.”

Saturday Night Fever follows Brooklyn native Tony Manero, 19, who lives to dance at the local disco every Saturday night. Inside the club, he owns the dance floor with stylish moves, escaping from working a menial job at a paint store and fighting with his father. Things take a turn for the better after Manero meets Stephanie Mangano one night at the disco and the pair starts training for a dance competition at the club.

Britain-born Baker traveled to the Brooklyn neighborhood of Bay Ridge to immerse himself in Manero’s culture to prepare for the role.

“This is based on real life and a lot of people relate to what happened in the 70’s,” Baker said. “It’s pretty tough for someone born in the late 80’s to travel back in time. It’s like literally putting yourself in the dancing shoes of someone else. I read articles and stories and went to Bay Ridge to look around. There’s quite a lot of trademark places. The family house is still there and the dance studio and pizza place.”

Although the show is not entirely innocent due to a few sexual innuendo, Baker described the show as family-friendly.

“The language has been toned down,” he said. “I can’t say that it’s completely PG because there are sex references but purposely, it’s not shown. It’s more innuendo.”

The storyline does include issues from the 70’s still highlighted in today’s headlines.

“There is a wide array of emotion and types of genres,” Baker said. “Romance, death, racial issues, all these things are underlying. They’re not prominent but we don’t shy away from the obvious.”

Audiences should expect to wear their dancing shoes. Legendary hits from the Bee Gees are sprinkled throughout, including “Stayin’ Alive,” “Night Fever,” “Jive Talking,” “You Should Be Dancing,” and “How Deep is Your Love,” in addition to several new songs written for this production. The show has 26 cast members and five band members.

The costumes include John Travolta’s iconic white suit, chunky heels and skin-tight Lycra jumpsuits. Because cast member Katie Laduca is the understudy for all of the female characters, she often steps into many of the costumes, which include shiny fabrics, sparkly jumpsuits and high heels.

“The costumes are my favorite,” Laduca said. “There are a lot of jump suites and there’s this one pearl dress with feathers on the bottom. I was living my life in that dress.”

Baker said even though four decades have passed since Saturday Night Fever came out in theaters, not much has changed.

“Everyone is still living for Saturday night,” Baker said.

Ticket prices start at $43 and can be purchased online at thcenter.org or by calling (904)-276-6815.