Sigourney Weaver, Ridley Scott Praise North Bergen High's 'Alien'

NORTH BERGEN, NJ — The highest praise for the North Bergen High School drama club has now come from very top: Sigourney Weaver and Ridley Scott.

Yes, the original Ripley praised the eight students at North Bergen High School for their production of "Alien" last weekend. The sci-fi horror classic is hardly the usual choice for a high school play.

"Hey, guys. I saw bit of your production of 'Alien' and I just wanted to say it looked incredible," said Weaver in a YouTube message to the students. "You put so much heart and soul into that. And the alien, I must say, looked very uh, real to me. And I just wanted to send our compliments. Not only from me, but from James Cameron and the original screenwriter, Walter Hill. We all say bravo, well done! And I just wanted to say: The alien might still be around. So when you're opening your locker, just do it very slowly."

Ridley Scott, the movie's director, also sent the high school students a letter, part of which read:

“My hat comes off to all of you for your creativity, imagination and determination to produce such an ambitious show,” he said, adding, “Thanks for doing ‘Alien,’ I felt very complimented.”

You probably missed your chance to see "Alien," which was performed March 19 and 22 at the high school. A third encore performance date has still not been announced from North Bergen High School.

And it's not just Sigourney Weaver: Gov. Phil Murphy, actress Rosario Dawson, Elijah Wood and Adam Savage, host of the popular show"Myth Busters," all chimed in on social media praising it. "The Avengers" director Joss Whedon reportedly like a tweet about the performance.

North Bergen art teacher Steve Defendini, who helped direct the show, seemed a little overwhelmed by all the attention.

"It's been a crazy past three days," Defendini told Patch. "It's funny because our two performances were attended by mostly family and friends of the students. The usual group. But somehow word got out. The students are thrilled that they are being recognized for their hard work. To have people like Mark Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker, liking this on social media is just amazing for them."

"We're really trying to put on a third production, but right now it's all still up on in the air," he said. "It's really been crazy."

Once those new show dates are announced, it will be posted on the school's website and social media pages. The original tickets were $5. It was, after all, a high school play.

While none of these celebs have actually seen a performance, they appear to be complimenting the uniqueness of the selection. It's not unusual for Defendini and English teacher Perfecto Cuervo to do out-of-the-box plays. Last year, Cuervo and Defendini helped the students put on an adaptation of George Romero's "Night of the Living Dead."

This year, Cuervo spent several months over the winter writing the script for "Alien," Defendini said.

The entire production cost just $3,500 to put on, also. The set design was done using recycled materials and egg crates to make the background look like a spaceship.

There are only eight students in the small cast. Sophomore Xavier Perez plays the alien. Sigourney Weaver's iconic role of Ripley was given to Gabriella Delacruz, a senior at the school, who said she was thrilled to carry on the strong feminist tradition.

"She's a female character who's really portrayed as the hero at the end," Delacruz told the New York Times. "She isn't the damsel in distress. She got to be a badass, if I'm allowed to say that."

"We're mostly just happy about how much attention this has raised for the arts and for literature and drama programs," Defendini told Patch. "I think people are talking about this because it's a scrappy bunch of kids who just pulled this amazing thing off. Kind of like 'Bad News Bears' meets 'School of Rock.""

Check North Bergen High School's website for a third show date. Here's a YouTube promo Cuervo made for the show:

Related: North Bergen High School's 'Alien' Gets Nat'l Praise, Celeb Fans