UPDATE: Sigourney Weaver Surprises Student Cast at the 'Alien' Play's Encore Performance
“This is the night I’ve been waiting for.”
UPDATE: After the success of its stage adaptation of Alien and subsequently going viral on the internet, the North Bergen High School in New Jersey has performed an encore show in celebration of Alien Day, funded by the original film’s director Ridley Scott himself.
To the surprise of the cast, Sigourney Weaver came to watch the play and show her support for the students. She greeted the cast in the school hallway and then made an appearance on stage congratulating the cast: “I am not the star tonight. The stars are waiting in the wings. How exciting is it to be here tonight? I am so thrilled. This is the night I’ve been waiting for.” Praising the students and their instructors for being “extraordinary,” Weaver added that “I’ve only been here a couple of hours, but I can already tell that this is a very special place in a very special town.”
Soon after the play, the town’s mayor Nick Sacco announced that all the students that participated in the play would receive a $1,000 USD scholarship for the New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts’ summer program, while each Senior would receive a $10,000 USD college scholarship.
ORIGINAL STORY (March 25 2019): The North Bergen High School in New Jersey has recreated Ridley Scott’s 1979 sci-fi horror Alien for its latest school play, making the school a viral sensation overnight.
Drama teacher Perfecto Cuervo and his team spent eight months planning Alien: The Play, producing every iconic element from the cult film. From the Xenomorph to the Facehugger, North Bergen’s drama department pulled out all the stops for this dramatic rendition, which showed to parents and locals.
A Reddit thread details the extent to which the drama department went to on its adaptation, showing full-body Alien suits and the extensive set production. One redditor explained how the drama department followed the film scene-for-scene, and that in its spare time, the Alien walked around the audience to “kill time.”
Cuervo told Entertainment Weekly that he loved the movie, and that the school’s art instructor Steven Defendini said that recreating the classic film made for a collaboration of three teachers and 16 students, adding “we’re a real small drama program, so we’re used to doing small plays for the local community.”
The Xenomorph was a particular highlight in the adaptation, with Defendini saying “we shaved down the foam and bought a plastic skeleton head at Target on clearance and painted it black.” Noting its success, the Alien franchise’s official Twitter page went on to praise the NJ high school themselves.
Take a look at the trailer the school put together above and let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
In other unlikely performances, Jordan Peele revealed he cameoed in his hit film Us.
A parent filmed the facehugger scene. pic.twitter.com/oamxaxikM2
— Paul Owens (@oh_pollo) March 23, 2019
We are impressed! 40 years and still going strong… https://t.co/NJGJIZj2oq
— Alien (@AlienAnthology) March 23, 2019
