THE GAME'S AFOOT: OR HOLMES FOR THE HOLIDAYS Will Be Performed By Bergen County Players

Bergen County Players will continue its 93rd season with Tony Award-winning playwright Ken Ludwig's uproarious whodunnit The Game's Afoot: Or Holmes for the Holidays. The limited run, directed by Glenn Woertz of Alpine, opens October 25 and runs through November 15 at the Little Firehouse Theatre in Oradell. Showtimes are Friday and Saturday nights at 8 PM and Sundays at 2 PM. Tickets are $30 on Fridays and Saturdays, and $28 on Sundays. They can be purchased online at www.bcplayers.org, by calling 201-261-4200, or by visiting the box office at 298 Kinderkamack Road in Oradell during regular box office hours.

It is Christmas Eve 1936 and Broadway star William Gillette, admired the world over for his leading role in the play Sherlock Holmes, invites his fellow Broadway cast members to his lavish Connecticut mansion for an elegant weekend of revelry. When one of the guests is mysteriously stabbed to death, the festivities in the isolated house quickly turn dangerous. Trapped in the isolated, gadget-filled house, Gillette must channel his inner Holmes to find the killer before another victim falls. Will Gillette uncover the secrets his guests are hiding? Will his guests ever be able to drink eggnog again?

Tony Award winner Ken Ludwig is an internationally acclaimed playwright whose many hits on Broadway, in London's West End and throughout the world have made his name synonymous with modern comedy. Named Best Play at the 2012 Mystery Writers of America Edgar Allen Poe Awards, The Game's Afoot was inspired by Ludwig's extended vacation with his family in London. "I chose to write a play about William Gillette in part because he is iconically American," says Ludwig. "In a way, Gillette provides us with a unique, prismatic view of American theater at the beginning of the twentieth century, and as such, I thought he could form an exciting nucleus for a tale of American mystery and adventure."

As a special tie-in to the play's inspiration, all ticket holders will be entered to win four passes for a tour of the actual Gillette Castle in East Haddam, Connecticut. The real William Gillette, a prolific star of the American stage, built the 14,000-square-foot castle with the royalties he earned, entertaining his theatrical friends within its stone walls.

For this farcical thriller, director Glenn Woertz has assembled a talented cast of BCP favorites. Rob Eigenbrod of Bergenfield leads the cast as the good-humored, strikingly handsome Broadway star, William Gillette. Playing Gillette's dotty, elegant mother, Martha, is Cynthia Barry of Fair Lawn. Rounding out the cast is Ian Kenny of Parsippany as Felix Geisel, the company's histrionic character actor who has given his life to the stage, playing opposite Rachelle Rennagel of Montclair portraying the wry and outspoken Madge Geisel, who like her husband has devoted her life to the theater. Joshua Switala of Allendale will portray Simon Bright, the enthusiastic, handsome young man of the company, eager to please, while Kati Fortune of South Orange plays Aggie Wheeler, the bright-eyed and bushy-tailed ingénue of the company. Felicia Benson-Kraft of Maywood co-stars as Inspector Goring, the eccentric, completely one-of-a kind English detective who by turns is witty and incisive, then suddenly lost and dim. Margaret Summer of Ramsey will play the glamorous Daria Chase, the theatre critic we all love to hate.

Glenn Woertz of Alpine directed BCP's Second Stage productions of Love Letters, The Realistic Joneses, and Adaptation. This Life Member has also performed on stage at the Little Firehouse Theatre in Veronica's Room, Moonlight & Magnolias, Table Manners, Central Park West, and 45 Seconds From Broadway, to name a few. Woertz is thrilled to be bringing The Game's Afoot to the BCP stage, "This show is packed with laugh-out-loud moments and a twist ending that will have even the most seasoned mystery fans guessing," said Woertz. "The cast's energy, combined with Ken Ludwig's brilliant writing, creates a real roller-coaster ride for the audience."

The production team of The Game's Afoot is comprised of Kathleen Ruland (Producer), Joellen Tierney (Assistant to the Director), Michele Roth (Stage Manager), Michael Smith (Set Design and Construction), Jody Laufer (Set Construction), Lynne Lupfer (Decor), Gerard Bourcier (Lighting Designer), Tim Larsen (Sound Designer), Olga Garey (Costumes), Fergus and Melina Halpin (Properties), Jill Hendrickson (Lighting Operator), Lisa Dahlborg (Sound Operator), Joanne Misha (Makeup), Alan Zenreich (Video Designer), David Luke (Crew Chief), Darlene and Ken Slezak, and Richard Field (Stagehands), Marci Weinstein (Program Notes), Michael Smith (Photography) and James Lugo (Member-At-Large).