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Bergen County Players presents "The Play That Goes Wrong"

originally published: 01/27/2023

(ORADELL, NJ) -- Bergen County Players (BCP), one of America’s longest-running little theater companies, will continue its 90th season with the hilarious Tony Award-winning hit Broadway comedy The Play That Goes Wrong. In this play, the ‘Cornley University Drama Society’ is putting on a production of 'The Murder at Haversham Manor' and, like the title suggests, a myriad of things go wrong. Performances run from Saturday, February 18 through Saturday, March 11 at the Little Firehouse Theatre in Oradell.

This riotous ‘play-within-a-play’ whodunnit has everything you never wanted in a show—an unconscious leading lady, a corpse that can’t play dead, and actors who trip over everything (including their lines). Audiences can just sit back and bust a gut at all the misplaced props, banged heads, missed cues, pratfalls, door slams, broken fingers and mispronounced words as the show literally falls apart at the seams. Nevertheless, the accident-prone thespians battle against all odds to make it through to their final curtain call, with hilarious consequences!

Co-written by Mischief company members Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields, The Play That Goes Wrong was the winner of the 2015 Olivier Award for Best New Comedy, “one of the most laugh-filled works that has ever jollied a stage” (NY Stage Review). Ben Brantley of The New York Times called The Play That Goes Wrong “A gut-busting hit.”

The Broadway production of The Play That Goes Wrong opened at the Lyceum Theatre on April 2, 2017, and by its closing on January 6, 2019, the production played 27 previews and 745 performances, making it the 2nd longest running show in the history of the Lyceum Theatre. Not yet done with New York, The Play That Goes Wrong officially opened Off-Broadway on February 20, 2019, at New World Stages – Stage 4. The Play That Goes Wrong received a Tony Award for Best Set Design, Broadway.com’s Audience Choice Award for Best Play and the Theater Fans Choice Award for Best Play.

Performances take place Friday and Saturday evenings at 8:00pm and Sunday afternoons at 2:00pm. Tickets are priced at $24 on Fridays and Saturdays, and $21 on Sundays, can be purchased online at www.bcplayers.org, by calling 201-261-4200 or by visiting the box office at 298 Kinderkamack Road in Oradell during regular box office hours.

 

Advertise with New Jersey Stage for $50-$100 per month, click here for info

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The talented cast of The Play That Goes Wrong features Angelina Aragona of Township of Washington, Sean Buckley of Secaucus, Eric Holzer of Montclair, Wes Laga of Wood-Ridge, Nyasia Legra of Rockaway, Dan Loverro of Parsippany, Josh Switala of Allendale, and Craig Woodward of Little Falls.

Angelina (Sandra) appeared in this season’s BCP opener, Ragtime: The Musical, as well as in Pippin. At Ramapo College she appeared in The Library, Urinetown, Extremities and others, prior to receiving her master’s degree Summa Cum Laude. Sean (Chris) appeared in The Lion in Winter and Cymbeline at BCP. His stage credits at other area theaters include The Ghost Train, Love’s Labour’s Lost, Dial M for Murder, and Wm & Jas - A Ghost Story. Eric (Dennis) has pulled double duty at BCP handling publicity, as well as appearing in Moon Over Buffalo, Clue, and Ragtime: The Musical. Other BCP credits include Veronica’s Room, 33 Variations, Pippin, and The Lion in Winter, for which he received a Perry Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor. Wes (Trevor) teaches drama to students in grades 6 through 11 in Manhattan, and he is the co-founder and vice president of “Full Circle Theatre Collective” based in New Jersey.

Nyasia (Annie) is making her BCP debut in this production. Her prior credits at other theaters include Pride and Prejudice, Much Ado About Nothing, Twelfth Night, and Almost, Maine. Dan (Jonathan) most recently appeared on the BCP stage in Ragtime: The Musical. Previous BCP credits include Spamalot, Pippin, It’s Only a Play, The Mystery of Edwin Drood and The Lion in Winter. Performances on other stages include Matilda the Musical and Avenue Q. Josh (Max), a recent graduate of Ramapo College of New Jersey, where he was part of the Alph Psi Omega theater honor society, is excited to make his BCP debut. Some of his previous credits include The Old Library Theater’s It Shoulda Been You, Ramapo College’s Urinetown, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Of Mice and Men. Craig (Robert) last appeared on the BCP stage in The Drowsy Chaperone. His performances on other stages include Fiddler on the Roof, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Beauty and the Beast, Falsettos and Moon Over Buffalo.

A Life Member of BCP, director Alyson Cohn has been active with the Players for over 35 years. Her long list of directorial credits includes God of Carnage (Perry Award for Best Director of a Play), Art, The Laramie Project, Glengarry Glen Ross, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, The Heidi Chronicles, Six Degrees of Separation, Proposals, True West, and Proof (Perry Award for Best Production of a Play), among others. She has appeared on the BCP stage in many productions, including Lend Me A Tenor, A Year with Frog and Toad, Into the Woods, The Full Monty, and Little Shop of Horrors (Best Actress Perry Award). Alyson is the founder and Director of Music Together of Northern NJ, an acclaimed music and movement program for pre-schoolers. Regarding her directorial choices on The Play That Goes Wrong, Alyson states, "Everything needs to be precisely timed in this show. There’s no room for actors to do something a little different each night as you might in a drama.” She continues, “The nice thing is they’re supposed to be bad actors in a poorly directed show, so finally I have the freedom to create all this terrible staging. I get to break all the director rules! I’m like, yes, make it look ugly! That’s kind of freeing and exciting and creative."

The production team is comprised of Alyson Cohn (Director), David Luke (Producer), Debbie Zika (Assistant to the Director and Crew Chief), Michele Roth (Assistant to the Director and Stage Manager), Josh Robinson (Set Design), Jim Lesko (Set Construction), Lauren Zenreich (Décor), Rob DeScherer (Sound Design), Allan Seward (Lighting Design), Kathleen Ruland (Lighting Operation), Barry Reed (Sound Operation), Karen Markle (Costumes), Teri Noel (Properties, Running Crew), Joellen Tierney, Laura Dinoia and Terry Cannon (Properties), Paul Aiello (Running Crew), Richard Field (Running Crew and Member-at-Large), Michael Serpe (Stunt Coordinator), Marci K. Weinstein (Program Notes), and Alan Zenreich and Richard Frant (Photography).

Bergen County Players strongly encourages its patrons to be vaccinated for Covid-19 but will not require proof of vaccination to enter the building. The use of face coverings/masks is also very strongly recommended. Reminders of that recommendation will be visible throughout the facility and stated by our Front-of-House staff before each event.

BCP's popular Questions & Artists talkback session with cast and crew will be held following the performance on Friday, February 24th.

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

Advance discount tickets for students aged 25 and under with proper ID are available for $18 by phone or walk-up at every performance, pending seat availability. Not available online. There is a limit of one discount ticket per student ID. Student Rush tickets priced at $5 are available to students aged 25 and under with ID starting 30 minutes before curtain time. Only cash payment will be accepted, and the offer is limited to one ticket per student. 

A new program is now available for qualified non-profit organizations to use one performance of each production as a fundraising event.  The group will book all 200 seats at a deeply discounted 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.

Parking is free for their patrons at the Park Avenue municipal lot, across the street, one-half block north of the theater, as well as street parking on Kinderkamack Road and various side streets, all within easy walking distance.

 

Advertise with New Jersey Stage for $50-$100 per month, click here for info

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The Bergen County Players, Inc. is a non-Equity, non-profit community theater company dedicated to presenting quality productions for the enrichment of the community.