Lea DeLaria, photo by Tina Turnbow

(ORADELL, NJ) -- Bergen County Players (BCP) will host a special post-show talkback with actor, comedian, jazz musician, and author Lea DeLaria, on Saturday, November 16, 2024 at the Little Firehouse Theatre. DeLaria will answer audience questions on her characterization of POTUS' zany sister, Bernadette. She'll also update viewers on the unique trajectory of her career, as well as how being openly gay has shaped it.

Bergen County Players is presenting POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive weekends through November 23, 2024.  Remaining performances include Friday, November 15 at 8:00pm; Saturday, November 16 at 8:00pm; Sunday, November 17 at 2:00pm; Friday, November 22 at 8:00pm; and Saturday, November 23 at 8:00pm.

The play was written by Selina Fillinger and involves a four-letter word that is about to rock the White House. When the President unwittingly spins a PR nightmare into a global crisis, the seven brilliant and beleaguered women he relies upon most risk life, liberty, and the pursuit of sanity to keep the Commander-in-Chief out of trouble. The production is directed by Lynne Lupfer.

DeLaria bolted into stardom with her SAG-Award winning standout role, as Big Boo in the Netflix hit series Orange is the New Black. In fact, her multifaceted career has spanned decades. Among her many theatrical credits, she played Bernadette, the jailbird lesbian sister of POTUS, in the play's debut on Broadway. As the first openly gay comic on television in America, she dove into the role on Broadway remarking with her typical wit, “I love that they cast me as Bernadette. I don’t often get to play characters like her. It’s so against type.”

DeLaria has had countless film, theater and TV roles that highlight her wide range of talent. On stage, DeLaria was in Tennessee Williams' play, The Night of the Iguana, as well as in the gender-bending Broadway musical The Rocky Horror Show (Eddie/Dr. Scott) and the Public Theatre’s revival of On the Town (Hildy), for which she received Obie and Theater World Awards, and a Drama Desk nomination. Her film credits include the indie feature film Potato Dreams of America, the Indigo Girls jukebox feature film, Glitter & Doom, as well as Cars 3, Support the Girls, and First Wives Club.

In addition to Orange is the New Black, DeLaria’s TV credits include Girls5eva, Awkwafina is Nora from Queens, East New York, The Blacklist, Physical, Reprisal, Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts, Shameless, and Broad City.

Music has always played a key role in Lea’s life and career. She was the featured vocalist at the 50th Anniversary of the Newport Jazz Festival and has performed in some of the most prestigious houses in the world including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Chicago Symphony's Orchestra Hall at Symphony Center, Hollywood Bowl, The Royal Albert Hall and the Sydney Opera House. DeLaria has five records on the Warner Jazz and Classics label and her sixth record, House of David: delaria + bowie = jazz, was released to critical acclaim. Her book, Lea's Book of Rules for the World, is in its third printing at Bantam Doubleday and Dell.

The post-show talkback is included in the ticket price of $28.00. Showtime on November 16th is 8:00pm. Tickets to POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive are available for purchase online, by calling 201-261-4200 or by visiting the box office at 298 Kinderkamack Road in Oradell during regular box office hours.

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. They are one of America’s longest-running little theater companies.