Three Bergen County theater groups combine for a super-show

You've heard of Cream. You've heard of Three Tenors. You've heard of Buena Vista Social Club.

Supergroups all — of different genres. What they are to music, "Theatrical Tapestry" is to community theater.

On July 20, three top North Jersey theater groups will combine their talents to create something greater than the sum of its parts. The Cream — as it were — of local theater.

The Old Library Theatre and the Roundtable Theater Company , both of Fair Lawn, will team up with The Players Guild of Leonia to create an evening of songs and entertainment featuring 40-plus performers and a three-piece musical combo. Stephen Sondheim, Jerry Herman, and Rodgers and Hammerstein are all on the bill — along with a lot of surprises.

"This event is giving me the chance to work with wonderfully talented people I might not otherwise have the opportunity to collaborate with," said Marc Leland of the Players Guild, who is co-producing the event with The Guild's Diane Arabella. The curtain goes up 8 p.m. at the Barrymore Film Center in Fort Lee .

Most of these performers, as Leland points out, don't usually work with others outside their circle. "This is about breaking down walls, so that people will be more willing to share," he said.

Joining forces

In more normal times, the 80-plus community theaters in New Jersey have — not an adversarial relationship, exactly, but in some ways a competitive one.

There are only so many ticket sales the market will bear. For that matter, only so many talented non-Equity sopranos and tenors to go around. So theaters have to compete, not just for an audience, but also for talent. Some actors, designers, tech people wander between companies, but more typically they tend to be loyal to a particular group. "There are cliques," Leland said "Five or 10 years ago, it was a little contentious. 'This is my toy. You can't play in my sandbox.' "

What happened? Well, for one thing, COVID happened. The harrowing experience of shutting down completely, and then the joy of being in front of crowds again, has led to a new generosity of spirit, Leland believes. "We're just so happy to be able to perform again," he said. "And theater is a giving art form."

Then, too, this is a contentious time. Cooperation is out of style. But community theaters specialize in revivals — from "Oklahoma!" to "The Full Monty." Why can't they revive civility?

"We want to create this ecosystem of camaraderie, and of shared creativity, among the groups," Leland said. "We're stronger together. If we need to borrow a piece of furniture that we don't have in our storage area, maybe we could borrow it from another theater group."

In that spirit, the July 20 event is an extramural exercise. It was the late Guild member Jeff McCartney who suggested Fort Lee's new 260-seat Barrymore Film Center as a suitably roomy place, where audiences of all three theater groups could find accommodation.

Because "Theatrical Tapestry" is not just about sharing talent. It's about sharing customers.

"This is about expanding our audiences," Leland said. "We all have our core audiences. But we're promoting this within these three groups, and we all have data bases of as many as a thousand people. So we can share the audience. We can share the talent."

Go...

"Theatrical Tapestry": July 20, 8 p.m. Barrymore Film Center, 153 Main St, Fort Lee. $35, $30 for Film Centers. For tickets, visit barrymorefilmcenter.com

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Three Bergen County theater groups combine for a super-show