FILE - In this March 25, 2019 file photo, North Bergen High School's Xavier Perez, 16, the Alien, is covered in slime by his handlers Eddie Mantilla, 15, and Cassandra Klima, 16, as they work on the play "Alien," an adaptation of the Ridley Scott movie, in North Bergen, N.J. The New Jersey high school's stage production of "Alien" is coming back with help from the 1979 film's director, Ridley Scott, after his production company provided $5,000 so the school could put on an encore performance April 26. On Friday, April 26, 2019, Sigourney Weaver was at the school to watch the encore performance herself, telling the crowd before the curtain rose that “this is the night I’ve been waiting for.” (Amy Newman/The Record via AP)

Sigourney Weaver helps school celebrate 'Alien' production

By Associated Press AP

PUBLISHED 2:48 PM ET May. 09, 2019

NORTH BERGEN, N.J. (AP) — Sigourney Weaver helped make a New Jersey high school's encore stage production of "Alien" a special event.

"Alien: The Play" had drawn widespread praise after videos and images of the performances at North Bergen High School were posted online.

Among those applauding the show was Weaver, who played the character Ellen Ripley in the 1979 movie that spawned a franchise, and the film's director, Ridley Scott, who applauded the students' creativity and the show's elaborate sets and special effects.

Weaver had taped a YouTube video this year in which she called the production "incredible." But she was at the school Friday to watch the encore performance herself, telling the crowd before the curtain rose that "this is the night I've been waiting for."