Bergen County Players to present "Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors"

Published by New Jersey Stage
originally published: 10/06/2026

(ORADELL, NJ) -- Bergen County Players (BCP) opens its Halloween season with Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors, a fast-paced comic retelling of Bram Stoker’s classic by Gordon Greenberg and Steve Rosen. Directed by Perry Award-winner Ray Yucis, the show runs at the Little Firehouse Theatre in Oradell from October 24 through November 14, 2026.

This 90-minute Off-Broadway hit features five actors tackling over a dozen roles with quick changes, physical slapstick, witty wordplay, and inventive stagecraft. When Mina Harker falls ill with a mysterious blood disease, her sister Lucy and fiancé Jonathan enlist the famed vampire hunter Dr. Jean Van Helsing. The chase races from the English countryside to Transylvania without an intermission.

“It’s a wildly comic retelling—much more Mel Brooks than Bram Stoker,” said director Ray Yucis. “While set in the Victorian era, it has a fast, contemporary vibe with echoes of Burlesque, Monty Python, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Hopefully, our audiences can put down their phones, forget doomscrolling for a while, and just laugh.”

Yucis, a BCP Life Member, won a Perry Award for Best Direction of a Play for Time Stands Still and was nominated for Comic Potential. His extensive BCP directing credits include A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum, The Fantasticks, Brooklyn Boy, The Women, and Company, among others. As an actor, his credits include Pack of Lies, The Actor’s Nightmare, Tartuffe, and Take Me Out.

Performances take place Fridays & Saturdays at 8:00pm; Sundays at 2:00pm. Note: there is no performance Friday, October 30) and there is a special evening show on Sunday, November 1 at 7:00pm. Tickets are available for purchase online or by calling the Box Office at (201) 261-4200. The theater is located at 298 Kinderkamack Road, Oradell, NJ. Free parking behind Town Hall, Library on Church Street, and in the Park Avenue municipal lot. Content Note: Features flashing lights, stage fog, loud noises, and humorous sexual innuendo.

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Community Partnership: Save Lives at the Little Firehouse Theatre

In conjunction with the show, BCP is partnering with Vitalant—one of the nation's largest non-profit blood and biotherapies healthcare organizations—for a community blood drive on Saturday, October 17, from 10:00am to 2:00pm at the theater (298 Kinderkamack Road, Oradell).

Donor Perks: All donors receive a coupon for a free intermission snack and drink at any BCP show this season, plus automatic entry into Vitalant's raffle for one of two $10,000 gift cards.

Appointments: Donor appointments are strongly encouraged; register via the Vitalant Portal.

“As a volunteer-run organization that has called Bergen County home since 1932, supporting our neighbors goes far beyond the stage,” said BCP President Margie Druss Fodor. “Count Dracula might want blood for mischievous ends, but our donors will help save real lives in local hospitals.”

Dracula Cast & Creative Team

The cast includes: James Perlas (Dracula) of Cresskill, Zachary Conner (Jonathan Harker/Cavendish) of Bloomfield, Chris Caira (Dr. Westfeldt/Renfield) of Closter, Jillian Flynn (Lucy/Kitty) of Weehawken, and Lori Feiler-Fluger (Mina/Van Helsing) of River Edge.

The Creative Team includes: Sharla Herbert (Producer); Geri Berhain (Assistant Direction & Stage Management); Jody Laufer (Set Design and Construction); Allan Seward (Lighting Design); Victoria Deiorio (Sound Design) recreated by Rob DeScherer; Olga Garey (Costumes); Katie Lupfer (Hair & Wigs); Jennifer Bancks (Properties); Lynne Lupfer (Set Décor); Lisa Dahlborg (Sound Board Operation); Sandra Conklin and Randi Kestin (Lighting Board Operation); Karen Maikisch-Markle (Hair and Wig Assistance); Maryana Ivlev(Make-up Design); Erin Sabat (Intimacy Coaching; Adam Mahonchak, Larry Braverman, and Larry Greenwald (Backstage Crew); Richard Frant (Photographer); Kay Koch (Social Media), Marci K. Weinstein (Program Notes and Program Co-Editor); Chris Nelson (Program Co-Editor); and James Lugo (Member-at-Large).

Bergen County Players: Founded in 1932, BCP is one of America’s longest-running volunteer community theater organizations. BCP donates a portion of all 2026–2027 season proceeds to The Food Brigade of Paramus, NJ., an organization providing fresh and packaged groceries to families experiencing food insecurity across Bergen County.

Vitalant: A national non-profit blood and biotherapies healthcare organization supplying ~900 hospitals across the U.S. Vitalant relies on hundreds of thousands of generous volunteer donors each year to deliver life-saving blood, plasma, and specialized transfusion treatments to patients in need.