Theater kids know that everyone loves sci-fi, so a drama club and a couple of teachers transformed Alien into a play.
Theater trends are perpetually growing and changing. Flashbacks to your high school theater days probably remind you of a lot of late-night rehearsals, layers of stage makeup, and attempting to craft immaculate costumes and set designs on a finite budget. Oh, and reenacting the same five plays that your older siblings did before you (shout out to our guardians for watching the same plays on repeat). However, a New Jersey high school transformed their theater into an extraterrestrial event fight with Xenomorphs and powerful women leads, and it’s safe to say we’re obsessed with this creative and wholesome high school extracurricular.
According to the New York Times, the drama students at North Bergen High School constructed a performance of Alien: The Play that would make Ripley and Jonesy, the two survivors of USCSS Nostromo, proud. We have proof, because the Alien Twitter account approved of this horrifyingly captivating production:
We are impressed! 40 years and still going strong... https://t.co/NJGJIZj2oq
— Alien (@AlienAnthology) March 23, 2019
As USA Today notes, both English teacher and drama club moderator Perfecto Cuervo, who directed the play, and art teacher Steven Defendini gave the fit-for-film production a more theatrical rendition. Alien is a creepy space sci-fi saga on its own, but the costume designs, lighting, and acting arguably make this play a uniquely fun rendition.
Seriously, just look at that reflective blue lighting on the Xenomorph suit, which Defendini tells Entertainment Weekly is a modified “standard morph suit.” It’s like we’re living in a spaceship while a rampant, acid-blooded Xenomorph is galavanting in front of us. In other words: We’re petrified by the oddly beautiful and terrifying scenes.
Did we mention that the students didn’t just create their own Xenomorph suit, they also recreated the iconic facehugger scene?
The ominous mist, glowing egg, and the use of props really amplify this production. It also gives us a new reason to appreciate that scene where the Ovomorph attacks Kane aboard that long since abandoned spaceship. If the students’ trailer for their play (and the performance itself) wasn’t enough proof that they understand what makes a good Alien production, Defendini tells NYT some of his creative processes:
"Some of the walls are covered in egg crates, not because it was the cheapest solution but because it was the most authentic."
Judging by the extra layer of tension in the movie-turned-play scene where the Xenomorph soldier skulks through the Nostromo cabin, Alien: The Play knows exactly what makes the pacing of the original film so frightening. With the Alien 40th anniversary events underway, it seems only fitting that the high school would pay homage to the franchise.
While we’re ready for these high school students to take on the rest of the Alien franchise and the create their own Alien short film for the LV-426-themed anniversary this year, this gives us some renewed faith in the creativity and prowess behind high school theater and drama clubs. In fact, we have some suggestions on other movies we’d love to see transformed into plays:
- Star Wars: We’re going to get polarizing reactions to this, but we’re game for any Star Wars film.
- To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before: Okay, this one would technically be a book-turned-movie-turned-play, but it would be a cute production.
- Jurassic Park: Inflatable T-rex suits, anyone? (It’s another option that was originally a novel, but it still counts, okay?)
- Mean Girls: We can already envision a family-friendly interpretation.
Honestly, there are a lot more films we’d love to see adapted into plays, but we’re more than ready to see how this high school will use their creativity and direction in the future.