Little Firehouse Theatre
298 Kinderkamack Road
Oradell, NJ 07649

  PRESS RELEASE

BERGEN COUNTY PLAYERS ANNOUNCES ITS 2010-11 SEASON

BCP to open its 78th Season with the
Tony Award-Winning Sondheim Musical Company

Oradell, NJ, June 30, 2010

Long considered one of America’s foremost community theater groups, Bergen County Players (BCP) is proud to announce for 2010-11 another ambitious, passionate and playful year of audience-pleasing musicals and innovative plays for its 78th consecutive season. From toe-tapping musicals to hilarious comedies to intense dramas and mysteries, BCP has garnered a reputation for outstanding quality productions at affordable prices. The new season kicks off in celebration of Stephen Sondheim’s 80^th birthday with Company, a delightfully entertaining yet thoughtful musical nominated for a record 14 Tony Awards – and winner of Best Musical of 1971.

Tickets for Company and the rest of the 2010-11 season are available online starting July 8^th at www.bcplayers.org. Phone messages left at 201-261-4200 will be returned on a regular basis until the box office, located at the Little Firehouse Theatre, 298 Kinderkamack Road in Oradell, NJ, opens on August 19^th for walk up sales. Discounts are available for groups and students throughout the season, with a special Group Sales Hotline at 201-262-0515 monitored on a continual basis.

With something for everyone, BCP is bringing the best of Broadway to their neighborhood by offering the works of critically acclaimed playwrights such as A.R. Gurney, Douglas Carter Beane and David Mamet. With a ticket price that’s about the same as for a movie, popcorn, and a soda, BCP continues to be committed to the belief that everyone should have the opportunity to experience the artistry and excitement of live theater. It’s no wonder that “Meet Me at BCP!” has become the rallying cry for theatergoers in Bergen County and beyond over the past 77 years.

ON THE MAINSTAGE

Company - September 11 – October 9, 2010
Lyrics and Music by Stephen Sondheim, Book by George Furth, Directed by Ray Yucis
Tickets are $21 (all performances)
In celebration of Stephen Sondheim’s 80th birthday, a truly groundbreaking musical opens our 78th season. Single man Bobby is surrounded by his “good and crazy people, my married friends”, who want nothing more than for him to settle down and enjoy the same “domestic bliss” they suffer through on a daily basis. The winner of six Tony Awards features a recognizable score (“Another Hundred People”, “The Ladies Who Lunch”, “Being Alive”) and ushered in a new era of musical theatre in America which cemented Sondheim’s reputation as the most important Broadway composer/lyricist of the latter half of the 20th century.

The Haunting of Hill House - October 23 – November 13, 2010
Written by F. Andrew Leslie, based on the novel by Shirley Jackson, Directed by Jerry Hurley
Tickets are $19 Friday and Saturday/ $16 Sunday
Based on a novel from the author of “The Lottery”, one of literature’s most shocking short stories, comes a psychological thriller that was the source for the 1963 film The Haunting. Shirley Jackson spins a first-class ghost story – a chilling and mystifying study in mounting terror that brings a group of “psychically receptive” individuals to a brooding Victorian mansion known as a place of evil. Supernatural phenomena abound in this spellbinding mystery.

Honk! - November 27 – December 19, 2010
Music by George Stiles, Book & Lyrics by Anthony Drewe, Directed by Dottie Fischer
Tickets are $13 (all performances)
Winner of the 2000 Olivier Award for London’s Best New Musical (beating out both Mama Mia and The Lion King), this warm and funny retelling of the classic Hans Christian Anderson story “The Ugly Duckling” will be embraced by all the generations in your family. Great music and fantastic lyrics about acceptance, love and the challenges of being different will entertain your young ones and keep them thinking long after the curtain falls.

The Cocktail Hour - January 15 – February 5, 2011
Written by A.R. Gurney, Directed by Iris Weinhouse
Tickets are $19 Friday and Saturday/ $16 Sunday
At a time when many families rarely even have dinner together, the significance of the daily cocktail hour may be difficult to understand. Still, everything surrounding Gurney’s typical WASP family is on the “up and up”...as in “upper crust”, “upper class” and “stiff-upper-lip”. Or is it? Gurney’s crisis-in-family comic plot is all about the family’s tics, as well as what makes them tick.

The Little Dog Laughed - February 19 – March 12, 2011
Written by Douglas Carter Beane, Directed by Steve Bell
Tickets are $19 Friday and Saturday/ $16 Sunday
Mitchell Green is a movie star in the making...talented, semi-intelligent and oh so easy-on-the-eyes. But he has one little problem...he doesn’t want to stay in the closet any longer. His abrasive agent, who describes Mitchell as “someone who suffers from a slight recurring case of homosexuality”, tries to help him navigate Hollywood’s choppy waters. But it’s all she can do just to keep him away from the cute little “rent boy” with whom he’s fallen in love. Nominated for Best Play of 2007, Douglas Carter Beane offers a sharp satire on our celebrity-fixated society.  Contains mature themes, language and nudity.

Glengarry Glen Ross - March 26 – April 16, 2011
Written by David Mamet, Directed by Alyson Cohn
Tickets are $19 Friday and Saturday/ $16 Sunday
This hard-hitting portrait of cutthroat office politics represents BCP’s first foray into the world of David Mamet, who is at the absolute zenith of his career with this winner of the 1984 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Offering a powerful assault on a society where salesmanship has become a form of licensed criminality, this instant classic features sharp dialogue, compelling characters and strong social commentary. Contains mature themes and language.

Sordid Lives - May 7 – June 5, 2011
Written by Del Shores, Directed by Carol Fisher
Tickets are $19 Friday and Saturday/ $16 Sunday
As every Texan will proudly tell you, everything is bigger in Texas. Especially the hairdos. And the off-beat personalities. Not to mention the scandals. And how about those Texas-sized laughs? When the matriarch of a south Texas family dies under extremely humiliating circumstances, her entire clan is afraid that all the family skeletons will come flying out of the closet at once. And that’s just a prelude to what may be one of the most embarrassing and hilarious funerals ever seen on stage. There’s no doubt that this black comedy about white trash will have you doubled over and laughing all the way from here to the Lone Star State. Contains mature themes and language.

ON THE SECOND STAGE

From Screen to Stage - November 6 – 7, 2010
Directed by Jacqueline McElroy Poquette
Tickets are $10 (Only 2 performances)
Watch some of your favorite movie scenes from our American cinematic history come to life on the BCP stage as they are reenacted in front of you. Don’t miss classic moments from films such as Adam’s Rib, When Harry Met Sally, Born Yesterday, All About Eve, The Maltese Falcon, The Turning Point, Saturday Night Fever and Double Indemnity. A very different type of show that will be sure to bring back fond memories!

The Tiger - May 14 – 15, 2011
Written by Murray Schisgal, Directed by Jerry Pettinati
Tickets are $10 (Only 2 performances)
A frustrated mail carrier named Ben kidnaps a woman and brings her to his lair to do dastardly deeds. Much to his surprise, he finds his victim hates the world almost as much as he does, and the “Stockholm Syndrome” kicks in as they bond. Native New Yorker Murray Schisgal was awarded the 1963 Drama Desk Award for this effort, and later went on to write the Tony-nominated Luv. His career culminated with an Oscar nomination as co-author of the screenplay for Tootsie.

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. All tickets for the musical, Company, are $21.00. All tickets for the December holiday show, Honk!, are $13.00. All other tickets are $19.00 on Friday and Saturdays and $16.00 on Sundays. Second Stage tickets are $10.00.
• As it has for the past few seasons, the Players will continue to offer a Q & A (“Questions & Artists”) discussion following select performances.  These popular “talk-backs” will take place on the first Friday evening of each Mainstage show.  Admission is included in the cost of the ticket.
• Those interested in schedules, discount offers and making reservations for the 2010-11 season, can log onto BCP’s website at: www.bcplayers.org, visit the box office at 298 Kinderkamack Road in Oradell or call (201) 261-4200.  Visa, Master Card, and American Express accepted.
• Those interested in Group Sales or benefit theater parties can call (201) 262-0515.
• Student Rush tickets are available for $5 for students age 25 and under with valid ID, 30 minutes prior to curtain. One ticket per ID. Cash only. Students can also guarantee their seats in advance through the box office for the special student price of just $14.00. Student Rush tickets are not available for the December holiday show.
• Parking is free for our patrons at the Park Avenue municipal lot, across the street, one-half block north of the theater.

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