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Monday, February 18, 2019

Bergen County Players (BCP) continues its 86th season with “Veronica’s Room”

Veronica’s Room
written by Ira Levin
directed by Ellyn Essig

WHEN:  February 16th through March 9th, with curtain at 8 pm on Fridays and Saturdays, and 2 pm on Sundays.
WHERE:
Little Firehouse Theatre, 298 Kinderkamack Road in Oradell.
TICKETS: $21 on Fridays and Saturdays and $17 on Sundays
Tickets may be purchased online at www.bcplayers.org, by calling 201-261-4200 or by visiting the box office during regular box office hours.
Those interested in Group Sales of 20 or more tickets can email groups@bcplayers.org or call the main number and press #6.
Row K, Seats #1 and #2 are held to accommodate people with disabilities. They can be purchased by calling the box office at 201-261-4200. These seats will be released for public sale two weeks prior to performance.
Parking is free at the Park Avenue municipal lot, across the street, one-half block north of the theater.

NOTE: This show contains Adult Language and Situations

In typical Ira Levin fashion, (Rosemary’s Baby, Deathtrap, The Stepford Wives, The Boys from Brazil) the plot features numerous twists and turns encircled by a sensation of supernatural mystery.

Audiences will leave wishing the theatre provided seat-belts to keep them strapped in for this whirlwind frenzy of events. "The question is where does the sanity end, and the insanity begin," asks director Ellyn Essig of Cliffside Park. Growing up in Bergenfield, Ellyn recalls some of her fondest memories watching Chiller Theater and The Twilight Zone during Friday night sleepovers.

As much as this is a horror tale, it is also a reflection of conditions far more sinister from which we invent stories to navigate our own trauma, and the trauma handed down to us through our family line.? Ellyn worked with her actors to co-write a history of precipitating events that would anchor the characters into a shared reality. Ellyn encourages her actors to find the truth behind the mask and the psychological issues behind the motivations. “Horror is really difficult to pull off. It requires a commitment to honesty every step of the way.” Such precise attention to authenticity earned Ellyn’s most recent production of Steel Magnolias the Perry Award for Outstanding Production of a Play (BCP) in 2018.

The cast includes Joanne Guarnaccia of Englewood Cliffs (Woman), Elizabeth Erdmann of East Hanover (Girl), Glenn Woertz of Alpine (Man), and Eric Holzer of Montclair (Young Man). "You're going to LOVE hating us," offers actor Glenn Woertz, flashing an eerie smile.

The crew of Veronica’s Room includes Ellyn Essig (Director), Kathleen Ruland (Producer), Katie Lupfer (Stage Manager), Matthew Blum (Assistant to Director), Michael Smith (Set Design and Construction, Photography), Jody Laufer (Set Construction), Gerard Bourcier (Lighting Design), Robert DeScherer (Sound Design), Rick Essig (Sound Design), Lynne Lupfer (Decor-Design), Maureen Mulvihill (Costumes/Makeup), Peter Simpson (Lighting Operator), Teri Noel (Sound Operator, Rhea Smith (Program Notes/Workday Photos), Rachel Alt (Props), Mic McCormack (Assistant to Decor), Darlene Slezak (Crew), Ken Slezak (Crew), Ron Siclari (Member at Large) and Alison Miller (Publicity).