THE GUYS to Open at Bergen County Players in November

As September 11 rapidly passes from living memory into recorded history-with well over a third of Americans today knowing that tragic day only through history books-Bergen County Players is inviting the community to meaningfully "never forget" with a special, limited-run Second Stage presentation of Anne Nelson's The Guys.

Performing for two shows only on Saturday, November 7 at 2:00 PM and Sunday, November 8 at 7:00 PM at the Little Firehouse Theatre in Oradell, tickets are available now.

Based on real events, the play takes us back to the days immediately following September 11, before the attacks became history-when the losses were still personal, immediate, and raw. Nick, a grieving fire captain, must prepare eulogies for the men his company lost that day. Joan, a writer, is asked to help him find the words. Their meeting takes us beyond our benumbed abstraction of the enormity of that day to the specificity of individual lives, relationships, and stories.

The Guys premiered at the Flea Theater in Lower Manhattan on December 4, 2001, just twelve weeks after the attacks. Located only blocks from the World Trade Center, the theater itself was part of a neighborhood still struggling with the immediate aftermath of September 11. In recounting the origins of the play, Nelson later wrote that she believed the real-life fire captain understood from the beginning that the work "might serve as a memorial of words, both to those who had died and to those who were trying to find a way to go on."

The Guys is directed by BCP Life Member Glenn Woertz of Alpine, who last directed The Game's Afoot at BCP and has acted and directed at both BCP and neighboring community theaters. In addition to The Game's Afoot, Woertz directed BCP's Second Stage productions of Love Letters, The Realistic Joneses, and Adaptation. "The enormity of 9/11 can numb our ability to truly comprehend and grieve the individual lives lost," notes Woertz. "The Guys brings that loss back to a human scale. We need a chance to meet the guys to know who they were when they were still among us."

Post-Performance Talkbacks & Community Engagement

Following each performance, audience members are invited to remain for a special talkback session with the cast and director. All those who experienced 9/11 first-hand at the Towers or Ground Zero are warmly invited to attend and participate in these meaningful community conversations.

Cast & Creative Team

The two-person cast features BCP veteran Leslie Darcy of Oakland as Joan, an outsider to the firefighters' world who listens as Nick struggles to capture not simply how his men died, but who they were. Darcy last appeared earlier this year as Nancy in BCP's Perry-nominated production of Seascape. She is a two-time Perry award nominee for Outstanding Lead Actress in Time Stands Still (Sarah) and Female Odd Couple (Olive) and has appeared in other BCP productions including Things My Mother Taught Me (Lydia), Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Judy), Sylvia (Sylvia), Church and State Alex), and Brooklyn Boy (Nina).

John Klemek of Ringwood plays Nick, a fire captain unaccustomed to putting such profound loss into words who turns to Joan for help. Klemek recently appeared as Tim in BCP's production of The Cake, a performance that earned him a Perry Award nomination. Favorite roles include Eddie in A View From The Bridge, Dickens/Scrooge in A Christmas Carol, El Gallo in The Fantasticks, Starbuck in The Rainmaker, Ned Weeks in The Normal Heart, and Cheyenne in Tooth Of Crime.

More on The Little Firehouse Theatre

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