(ORADELL, NJ) -- Bergen County Players (BCP), one of America's longest running theater companies, showcases a perfect balancing act of drama, comedy and catharsis in its production of Rabbit Hole, which won playwright David Lindsay-Abaire a Pulitzer Prize in 2007. The show opens Saturday, February 8 and runs weekends through March 1, 2025 at the Little Firehouse Theatre in Oradell.

Known for farcical plays, such as Kimberly Akimbo and Fuddy Meers, Rabbit Hole is a departure for Lindsay-Abaire in its brutal naturalism. The gut-wrenching play explores what happens to a young couple after an accident kills their young son.

“This anatomy of grief doesn’t so much jerk tears as tap them from a reservoir of feelings common to anyone who has experienced the landscape-shifting vacuum left by a death in the family,” wrote Ben Brantley in The New York Times after the play’s Broadway debut in 2006.  “But you never feel as if you have been mauled by a sentimental brute who keeps telling you to go ahead and cry…there’s too much honesty, accuracy and humor in the details.”

Director Dottie Fischer of Tenafly, a Life Member of BCP, is a director of more than a dozen shows on the BCP stage, including Guys and Dolls, August: Osage County, Beehive, Anything Goes, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, They're Playing Our Song, Honk!,  Seussical, the Musical,  Other Desert Cities and It Shoulda Been You.  She has also choreographed several shows and is currently co-chair of the Workshop Committee to encourage new directors at BCP.

“Rabbit Hole is a brilliantly written play that explores how people in the same family experience grief differently,” Fischer says. “It’s important to me that the performance is not sadder and more sentimental than it needs to be. To do that, the cast is on a never-ending balance beam, and I expect audience members to hold their breath.”

In addition to the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Rabbit Hole also received five Tony nominations, a Spirit of American Award, and was later adapted to film, starring Nicole Kidman. David Lindsay-Abaire's additional theater credits include the multiple award-winning Shrek the Musical, which was nominated for eight Tony Awards, four Olivier Awards and a Grammy; Fuddy Meers; Kimberly Akimbo; Wonder of the World; and A Devil Inside.

Ironically, the "rabbit hole," an idiom for becoming absorbed, lost and/or distracted, becomes an infinite lifeline of possibilities for the family who continue to mourn eight months after the child’s sudden death. The talented cast of the play includes BCP veterans Lauren Muraski of Parsippany and Stavros Adamides of Spring Valley in the roles of the young, bereaved parents. Becca and Howie drift perilously apart as they use nearly opposite mechanisms to cope with the loss of their four-year-old son. Marissa Gore of Englewood, who recently graced the stage in POTUS, plays Izzy, a frequent thorn in her sister Becca’s side. Newcomer Laura Tewksbury of Jersey City is Becca’s mom, Nat, who tiptoes around her words because she is afraid of being scolded by her daughter. Rounding out the cast is Owen Goldberg of Dumont who makes his debut at BCP as high school student Jason, consumed with guilt for driving the car that killed the child, but also providing some light to help everyone emerge from their tunnel of tragedy.

In addition to Fischer, the production team is made up of Sharla Herbert (Producer), Geri Berhain (Assistant to the Director and Stage Manager), Gerard Bourcier (Set Design/Construction), Lynne Lupfer, Marci Weinstein, Jessica Lohsen and Lisa Zhang  (Décor), Allan Seward (Lighting Design), Howard Kerner and Michele Roth (Lighting Operation), Tim Larsen (Sound Design), Lisa Dahlborg and Anthony Valle (Sound Operation), Laura Dinoia (Properties), Olga Garey (Costumes), Alondra Uriarte (Make-up), Richard Frant (Photography), Michael Smith (Video Publicity), Christopher Nelson and Marci K. Weinstein (Programs),  and Janica Carpenter (Member-at-Large).

The show opens Saturday, February 8 and runs through March 1 at the Little Firehouse Theatre in Oradell. Show times are Friday and Saturday nights at 8:00pm and Sundays at 2:00pm. Tickets 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.

TICKET AND SCHEDULE INFORMATION

• All performances take place at The Little Firehouse Theatre at 298 Kinderkamack Road in Oradell, home to the Bergen County Players since 1949. 


• Tickets for Rabbit Hole are $28 on Fridays and Saturdays and $26 on Sundays. Tickets can be purchased online at www.bcplayers.org, by calling 201-261-4200 or by visiting the box office during regular box office hours. Visa, Master Card, and American Express are accepted.


• Those interested in Group Sales or benefit theater parties can call (201) 261-4200 (option #6)


• 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.


• BCP’s popular Questions & Artists talkback session with cast and crew will be held following the performance on Friday, February 14.


• Advance discount tickets for students aged 25 and under with proper ID are available for $19 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.


• “Rush” discount tickets for students aged 25 and under with proper ID are available for $10 at the box office window, starting 30 minutes prior to curtain. There is a limit of one Rush ticket per student ID and cash is the only payment method accepted.


• 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 highly 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.

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

PHOTOS BY RICHARD FRANT