Bergen Performing Arts Center Presents FANCY NANCY THE MUSICAL, 2/17

Fancy Nancy is a 2005 children's picture book written by Jane O'Connor and illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser. The book spent nearly 100 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list, launching a series that now numbers 50 books, selling 20 million volumes. Fancy Nancy has been on Publishers Weekly's bestseller list for picture books, was a Children's Book-of-the-Month Club selection and a Junior Library Guild Selection. It also won a "Borders 2006 Original Voices" award and has been translated into 18 languages, including Hungarian and Hebrew. In April 2012, Nancy was featured in her first chapter book, Nancy Clancy: Super Sleuth. Books in the Fancy Nancy series have now spent almost 300 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list, and in the fall of 2012, Fancy Nancy became a musical, produced by the Vital Theatre in New York City.

Fancy Nancy is a young girl with a larger than life personality, who adores all things fancy. She always dresses extravagantly, wearing boas, tutus, Ruby Slippers, fairy wings, and fuzzy slippers. Nancy loves using big fancy words such as "iridescent", "ecstatic", and "extraordinary" and anything in French. She has redecorated her bedroom with everyday items, such as feather boas, Christmas lights, paper flowers, and hats. Her favorite doll is named Marabelle Lavinia Chandelier. Nancy captures hearts by nearly getting caught up in the glitter, but, in the end, always discovering what's truly important.

In Nancy's opinion, her family is ordinary and dresses rather plainly, so Nancy decides to hold a class in the art of fanciness for her family. They oblige, and Nancy helps to dress them in bows, ornaments, top hats, and gaudy scarves. "Ooo-la-la!" Nancy cries in delight. "My family is posh! That's a fancy word for fancy."

Fancy Nancy and her friends, Bree, Rhonda, Wanda, and Lionel are going to be performing in their very first show, "Deep Sea Dances." Nancy is positive, that's fancy for 100 percent sure, that she and Bree will be picked to be mermaids. When another girl wins the coveted role of the mermaid, Nancy is stuck playing a dreary, dull tree. Can Nancy bring fancy flair to her role, even though it isn't the one she wanted?

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