(ORADELL, NJ) -- Bergen County Players, one of America's longest-running little theater companies, presents The Lion in Winter by James Goldman from February 15th through March 7th. Nothing is more tantalizing than Royals scheming and fighting amongst themselves, especially when the prize is the throne itself. It's Christmas 1183, and King Henry II is planning to announce his successor to the throne.

Perhaps best known for the film version starring Katherine Hepburn, Anthony Hopkins and Peter O'Toole. Eleanor of Aquitaine herself might explain it best: "Well, what family doesn't have its ups and downs?" 

Performances will take place at the Little Firehouse Theatre, 298 Kinderkamack Road in Oradell with curtain at 8:00pm on Fridays and Saturdays, and 2:00pm on Sundays. Tickets may be purchased online, by calling 201-261-4200 or by visiting the box office during regular box office hours.

Carol Fisher (Director) is a life member of Bergen County Players and has directed numerous productions including Church and State, The Last Night of Ballyhoo and Sordid Lives. She also appeared here as Bertha in Pippin at the beginning of this season. Fisher, who lives in Teaneck, played Eleanor in The Lion in Winter 14 years ago. She has described the play as a grand, sweeping story of royal dysfunction.

The cast includes Mic McCormack (Henry) of Tenafly, Marian McCabe (Eleanor) of Tappan, NY, Sean Buckley (Richard) of Secaucus, Dan Loverro (Geoffrey) of Paterson, Ross Pohling (John) of Westwood, Elisabeth Erdmann (Alais) of East Hanover and Eric Holzer (Philip) of Montclair.

In addition to Carol Fisher, the production team includes Christine Francois (Assistant to Director), Rhea Smith (Producer), Debbie Zika (Stage Manager), Michael Smith (SetDesign/Construction/Photography), Allan Seward (Lighting Designer), Tim Larsen (Sound Designer), Cliff Dreispan (Sound Operation), Sandra Conklin (Publicity), Maureen Mulvihill (Costumes), Jill Hendrickson (Light Operation), Rhea Smith (Program Notes/Bios), Ellyn Essig (Décor), Barbra Murtha (Props), Kimberly Olson Bunker (Makeup), Ken Slezak (Crew), Darlene Slezak (Crew) Rich Ciero (Crew/Props), Karen Markle (Props/Crew), Elaine Thoman (Props/Crew) and James Lugo (Member-at-Large).

Bergen County Players offers seating to accommodate patrons who are mobility impaired who can transfer from a wheelchair. These seats can be purchased by calling the box office at 201-261-4200. These seats will be released for public sale two weeks prior to performance.

Advance discount tickets for students age 25 and under with proper ID are available for $14 by phone or at the box office for every performance. Student rush seats can be purchased for $5 (cash only) starting 30 minutes before curtain at every performance, pending availability. There is a limit of one discount ticket per student ID.

A new program is now available for qualified nonprofit organizations to use one performance of each production as a fundraising event. The group will book all 200 seats at a deeply discount price and then resell the tickets at a price of their choosing with the difference in price kept by the group. The available date is the Thursday of each show's final weekend. Interested groups can email fundraising@bcplayers.org for more information.

There is free street parking on Kinderkamack and side streets as well as at the Park Avenue municipal lot, one-half block north of the theater.

Bergen County Players has grown tremendously from its roots as a small community theater when it was founded in 1932. Today, nearly 300 volunteer members, working on and off stage, make possible the nine productions presented each season. 

Photo courtesy of Michael Smith. The Cast of Lion in Winter (L-R top row) Sean Buckley, Dan Lovero, Ross Pohling (L-R middle row) Marian McCabe, Mic McCormack, Elisabeth Erdmann (Seated) Eric Holzer