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Saturday, November 16, 2019

LAST WEEKEND TO SEE “FUDDY MEERS” IN ENGLEWOOD

FUDDY MEERS
by David Lindsay-Abaire
Directed by MATT OKIN

WHEN: NOV 1-17; Thursdays-Sundays at 8pm
WHERE:
BLACK BOX PERFORMING ARTS CENTER, 49 East Palisade Avenue, Englewood
Tickets on sale now at BLACKBOXPAC.COM

Featuring: SHARI COHEN, MICHAEL GARDINER, CASSANDRA GUGLIELMO, DANIELLE MACMATH, MIKE MARCOU, ELLEN REVESZ and LAURENCE WALLACE

With two weekends of performances under their belt, the Black Box Performing Arts Center will wrap its production of Fuddy Meers, by David Lindsay-Abaire, this Sunday evening. With shows such as Lynn Nottage’s Sweat, Sarah Ruhl’s How to Transcend a Happy Marriage, and the NJ premiere of Joshua Harmon’s Significant Other, the Black Box Performing Arts Center made a name for itself in Teaneck as the area’s premiere destination for immersive and cutting-edge plays. BBPAC is now located on Palisade Ave in downtown Englewood!

Fuddy Meers—presented in special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc.—tells the story of Claire, who has a rare form of psychogenic amnesia that erases her memory whenever she goes to sleep. This morning, like all mornings, she wakes up a blank slate. Her chipper husband explains her condition, hands her a book filled with all sorts of essential information, and disappears into the shower. A limping, lisping, half-blind, half-deaf man in a ski mask pops out from under her bed and claims to be her brother, there to save her. Claire's info book is quickly discarded, and she's hustled off to the country-house of her mother, a recent stroke victim whose speech has been reduced to gibberish. Claire's journey gets even more complicated when a dimwitted thug with a foul-mouthed hand puppet pops up at a window, and her driven husband and perpetually stoned son show up with a claustrophobic lady-cop that they've kidnapped. Every twist and turn in this funhouse plot bring Claire closer to revealing her past life and everything she thought she'd forgotten. It's one harrowing and hilarious turn after another on this roller coaster ride through the day of an amnesiac trying to decipher her fractured life. This poignant and brutal new comedy traces one woman's attempt to regain her memory while surrounded by a curio-cabinet of alarmingly bizarre characters.

BBPAC’s production is directed by Matt Okin, Stage Managed by Anthony Altavilla, and features the talents of Shari Cohen, Michael Gardiner, Cassandra Guglielmo, Danielle MacMath, Mike Marcou, Ellen Revesz, and Laurence Wallace. Fuddy Meers is sponsored in part by Fairleigh Dickinson University, Dance Art Creative Center, Bauer Printing, and Mike Pessolano of Friedburg Properties.

The Black Box Performing Arts Center (home of the performing arts school Black Box Studios, est. 2007) continues to emerge as the Tri-State area’s premiere destination for both cutting-edge professional theater and collaborative performing arts education — now located in Englewood, NJ— just a quick ride over the George Washington Bridge. Black Box was the recipient of the 2017 Teaneck Chamber of Commerce’s Cultural Arts Award, and currently serves on the Chamber Board as the Chair of the Cultural Arts Committee. In addition to main stage productions, Black Box PAC will present shows for kids, original material, and special events including Open Mic Nights, Comedy Nights, and staged readings.

BBPAC will be holding an open house in its new space on Sunday, November 17th, from 1:00-5:00 PM, before the final performance of Fuddy Meers. Come swing by and check out the new space, including the lobby, performance space, second floor rehearsal studio, and more. Watch a preview class (feel free to join in) or chat with some of the company members and valued people who work at BBPAC. We hope to see you there!