In Brief

'Alien' Looks Glorious on Stage in This New Jersey High School Play

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A New Jersey high school production of "Alien" — the 1979 movie that launched a multi-film franchise — went viral over the weekend.

Pictures on Twitter show that the students at North Bergen High School went all out in the production, including spacesuits that looked convincingly real, a set with otherworldly terrain and structures, and, of course, an absolutely phenomenal "Alien" costume. The creative sets in large part were built from recycled materials, said senior Justin Pierson in an interview with NJ.com. "Just anything that was lying around, like cardboard and metal," he said.

Perfecto Cuervo, drama teacher at the school, said the students and art teacher Steven Defendini have been working on the production since September. Cuervo added that while people on social media have been asking for more shows, it's probably not in the budget.

"We fundraise for ourselves," he said to NJ.com. "The community doesn't have a lot of money. I don't think we can afford another production unless someone is willing to pick up the tab."

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Elizabeth Howell
Elizabeth Howell
Former Staff Writer, Spaceflight (July 2022-November 2024)

Elizabeth Howell (she/her), Ph.D., was a staff writer in the spaceflight channel between 2022 and 2024 specializing in Canadian space news. She was contributing writer for Space.com for 10 years from 2012 to 2024. Elizabeth's reporting includes multiple exclusives with the White House, leading world coverage about a lost-and-found space tomato on the International Space Station, witnessing five human spaceflight launches on two continents, flying parabolic, working inside a spacesuit, and participating in a simulated Mars mission. Her latest book, "Why Am I Taller?" (ECW Press, 2022) is co-written with astronaut Dave Williams.