DRACULA: A COMEDY OF TERRORS to Open at Bergen County Players

Bergen County Players will open 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.

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 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM 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

Cast: 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.