Little Firehouse Theater Goes to the 'Fools' in Upcoming Performances

As part of its 80th season celebration, Bergen County Players (BCP) will present Neil Simon’s FOOLS, a light, frothy, fairy tale for adults featuring Simon’s brilliant use of vaudeville, slapstick, puns and wordplay.

Under the direction of Iris Weinhouse, FOOLS will be performed at the Little Firehouse Theatre in Oradell from Oct. 20 through Nov. 10. 

FOOLS opened on Broadway at the Eugene O’Neil Theatre on April 6, 1981. Neil Simon described his play as a “comic fable” – it is a lighthearted simple show making it a wonderful family treat. “It’s a hilarious show but there are very telling insights into people and communities underneath the laughter,” explains Director Iris Weinhouse. “I was in the play about 15-20 years ago and the audiences just loved it.”

FOOLS take place in 1891 in a simple, remote Ukrainian village. The young and eager Leon Tolchinsky (Matthew Rofofsky of Fort Lee) arrives at Kulyenchikov to answer an ad for a new schoolteacher. To his surprise he learns that the village suffers from a 200 year old curse of stupidity. To break the curse, Leon must educate Sophia (Kelly Camp-Force of Wayne) , the lovely daughter of Dr. Zubritsky (James Lesko of Englewood) and his wife, Lenya (Michele Blum of Oakland).

If Leon cannot educate her within 24 hours of his arrival, he too will fall victim to the curse. Come meet all the colorful town characters: Snetsky, the Shepherd (Bob Rizzotti of Waldwick); The Magistrate (Peter Caust of Glen Rock); Slovitch, The Butcher (John Villa of Franklin Lakes); Mishkin, The Mailman (Harry Bates of New Milford); Yenchna, The Vendor (Andrea Pieper of New Milford); and Count Gregor Yousekevitch (Seth Kaplan of River Vale).

TICKET AND SCHEDULE INFORMATION:

Shows will be on Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 2pm from Oct. 20 through Nov. 10. Tickets may 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. Tickets are $20 on Friday and Saturday and $16 on Sunday.

BCP will continue to offer a “Questions & Artists” (Q & A) discussion following select performances. FOOLS Q & A will take place immediately following the October 26th performance. Admission is included in the ticket price.