Sigourney Weaver surprises Alien: The Play's high school cast for encore performance

Sigourney Weaver turned the encore performance of Alien: The Play, the viral sensation from North Bergen High School in New Jersey, into an unforgettable experience for its teen cast.

The star of the Alien movies as sci-fi heroine Ripley made a surprise appearance after franchise filmmaker Ridley Scott heard about the production and decided to partially fund another performance of the initial two-night show.

The actress first met with the cast and crew backstage to pose for photos and sign autographs, as shown in the videos below. She then emerged onto the stage to the delight of the audience to introduce the play.

Alien: The Play is the brain child of North Bergen’s drama teacher Perfecto Cuervo, following a rendition of Night of the Living Dead he and his students put on the prior season. Art teacher Steven Defendini spearheaded the set and costume creation, including the black DIY Xenomorph suit that grabbed headlines in March, while music teacher Brian Bonacci helped with the stage lighting.

The play earned the attention of Scott, Weaver, and 20th Century Fox (the studio behind the Alien franchise that’s now a part of Disney) after photos and video made the rounds online. “I just want to say it looked incredible,” Weaver said in a video message to the cast and crew shared online in March. “You put so much heart and soul into that. And the alien, I must say, looked very real to me.”

The play was only supposed to run on March 19 and March 22, but all the attention changed the game. Scott pledged his Scott Free Productions would “advance some financial help to fund an encore performance.”

Fox also seemed to support the creative initiative of the teachers and students, and they backed the encore performance and Weaver’s surprise appearance in celebration of Alien Day, which this year celebrates the 40th anniversary of the 1979 film.

Related content:

• Inside Alien: The Play, the high school production going viral for its scene-stealing Xenomorph
• After high school’s Alien: The Play, Ridley Scott stans a Gladiator adaptation
• Ron Perlman almost ruined Sigourney Weaver’s half-court shot in Alien: Resurrection