Bergen County Players presents "The Guys" this weekend

Published by New Jersey Stage
originally published: 11/02/2026

(ORADELL, NJ) -- As September 11 rapidly passes from living memory into recorded history—with well over a third of Americans today knowing that tragic day only through history books—Bergen County Players (BCP) invites the community to meaningfully "never forget" with a special, limited-run Second Stage presentation of Anne Nelson's The Guys.

Based on real events, the play takes us back to the days immediately following September 11, before the attacks became history—when the losses were still personal, immediate, and raw. Nick, a grieving fire captain, must prepare eulogies for the men his company lost that day. Joan, a writer, is asked to help him find the words. Their meeting takes us beyond our benumbed abstraction of the enormity of that day to the specificity of individual lives, relationships, and stories.

Performing for two shows only on Saturday, November 7 at 2:00pm and Sunday, November 8 at 7:00pm at the Little Firehouse Theatre in Oradell, tickets are available for purchase online, by phone at 201-261-4200, or at the box office (298 Kinderkamack Road, Oradell). First Responder Discount: To honor local heroes, BCP is extending a special discount of $10 off the ticket price to all community first-responders. Use promo code FIRSTRESP at checkout. First Responder ID required at the door.

The Guys is directed by BCP Life Member Glenn Woertz of Alpine, who last directed The Game's Afoot at BCP and has acted and directed at both BCP and neighboring community theaters. In addition to The Game's Afoot, Woertz directed BCP's Second Stage productions of Love Letters, The Realistic Joneses, and Adaptation. "The enormity of 9/11 can numb our ability to truly comprehend and grieve the individual lives lost," notes Woertz. "The Guys brings that loss back to a human scale. We need a chance to meet the guys to know who they were when they were still among us."

Post-Performance Talkbacks & Community Engagement - Following each performance, audience members are invited to remain for a special talkback session with the cast and director. All those who experienced 9/11 first-hand at the Towers or Ground Zero are warmly invited to attend and participate in these meaningful community conversations.

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Cast & Creative Team - The two-person cast features BCP veteran Leslie Darcy of Oakland as Joan, an outsider to the firefighters' world who listens as Nick struggles to capture not simply how his men died, but who they were. Darcy last appeared earlier this year as Nancy in BCP's Perry-nominated production of Seascape. She is a two-time Perry award nominee for Outstanding Lead Actress in Time Stands Still (Sarah) and Female Odd Couple (Olive) and has appeared in other BCP productions including Things My Mother Taught Me (Lydia), Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Judy), Sylvia (Sylvia), Church and State (Alex), and Brooklyn Boy (Nina).

John Klemek of Ringwood plays Nick, a fire captain unaccustomed to putting such profound loss into words who turns to Joan for help. Klemek recently appeared as Tim in BCP's production of The Cake, a performance that earned him a Perry Award nomination. Favorite roles include Eddie in A View From The Bridge, Dickens/Scrooge in A Christmas Carol, El Gallo in The Fantasticks, Starbuck in The Rainmaker, Ned Weeks in The Normal Heart, and Cheyenne in Tooth Of Crime.

The production team includes Felicia Benson-Kraft (Producer, Costume Designer), Howard Kerner (Assistant Director), Michele Roth (Stage Manager), Allan Seward (Lighting Designer), Kathleen Ruland (Lighting Board Operator), Jim Lupfer (Sound Designer and Board Operator), Lynne Lupfer (Set Décor), Jennifer Bancks (Property Designer and Backstage Crew), Jill Hendrickson (Backstage Crew), Kay Koch (Social Media), Publicity (Owen Sheridan), Programs (Michael Smith), Choreography (Dominique Alvarado) and Janica Carpenter (Member-at-Large).

Community Support - Continuing its commitment to local community support, BCP will donate a portion of all proceeds from the 2026-2027 season to The Food Brigade of Paramus, NJ, an organization providing fresh and packaged groceries to families experiencing food insecurity across Bergen County.

The Guys premiered at the Flea Theater in Lower Manhattan on December 4, 2001, just twelve weeks after the attacks. Located only blocks from the World Trade Center, the theater itself was part of a neighborhood still struggling with the immediate aftermath of September 11. In recounting the origins of the play, Nelson later wrote that she believed the real-life fire captain understood from the beginning that the work "might serve as a memorial of words, both to those who had died and to those who were trying to find a way to go on."

Bergen County Players, Inc. is a non-profit, volunteer theater company dedicated to presenting high-quality theatrical productions to the community at affordable prices. Founded in 1932, BCP is one of America's longest-running community theater organizations.