2024 SEASON: A NEW DIRECTION
A Note from Artistic Director Craig Fols
When I took over East Lynne last year, my purpose was simple: to keep the company alive. After the pandemic, and other upheavals, our survival was by no means assured. Happily, we can now look back on a successful 2023 Season.
More than that, East Lynne is expanding. In partnership with the City of Cape May, East Lynne is building a new home. Significant funds have already been raised to construct a new, state-of-the-art theater inside what was once the Allen AME Church on Franklin Street.
What will this new theater be for? By creating a new, dedicated arts district in what was once the center of Black life in Cape May, the city is honoring its significant African American History. East Lynne is proud to be a part of that. Through programming and other efforts, which are already underway, our mission has changed to reflect the stewardship of our new home.
Okay, next question. Who will this new theater be for? That answer is easy: Everyone. Thinking about that has caused me to further reconsider the mission of East Lynne.
East Lynne has traditionally been a theater of the past. What if it didn’t have to be? What if, in addition to doing revivals of classics and obscure plays that pre-date the 1960’s, East Lynne mixed it up a little? Wouldn’t that better serve audiences today?
We’re not going crazy. We’re starting the season with TEA FOR THREE: LADY BIRD, PAT & BETTY by Eric H. Weinberger and Elaine Bromka,, a show about three First Ladies. American History has always been East Lynne territory.
We’re following that with Jeffrey Hatcher’s exciting new adaptation of Frederick Knott’s DIAL M FOR MURDER. That, to me, is the best of both worlds—a new take on an old play that has been a staple of the American Theater for decades.
And then we’re breaking the mold. We’re doing Samuel D. Hunter’s brilliant and moving A CASE FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD, a play about two very different young men each struggling to be a good father in America today.
We’ll always be an American theater company. We’ll always be informed by our history. But maybe, moving forward, we don’t have to be defined by it.
Let’s make room for the plays—and people---of America today.
See you at the theater,
Craig Fols
Artistic Director
More than that, East Lynne is expanding. In partnership with the City of Cape May, East Lynne is building a new home. Significant funds have already been raised to construct a new, state-of-the-art theater inside what was once the Allen AME Church on Franklin Street.
What will this new theater be for? By creating a new, dedicated arts district in what was once the center of Black life in Cape May, the city is honoring its significant African American History. East Lynne is proud to be a part of that. Through programming and other efforts, which are already underway, our mission has changed to reflect the stewardship of our new home.
Okay, next question. Who will this new theater be for? That answer is easy: Everyone. Thinking about that has caused me to further reconsider the mission of East Lynne.
East Lynne has traditionally been a theater of the past. What if it didn’t have to be? What if, in addition to doing revivals of classics and obscure plays that pre-date the 1960’s, East Lynne mixed it up a little? Wouldn’t that better serve audiences today?
We’re not going crazy. We’re starting the season with TEA FOR THREE: LADY BIRD, PAT & BETTY by Eric H. Weinberger and Elaine Bromka,, a show about three First Ladies. American History has always been East Lynne territory.
We’re following that with Jeffrey Hatcher’s exciting new adaptation of Frederick Knott’s DIAL M FOR MURDER. That, to me, is the best of both worlds—a new take on an old play that has been a staple of the American Theater for decades.
And then we’re breaking the mold. We’re doing Samuel D. Hunter’s brilliant and moving A CASE FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD, a play about two very different young men each struggling to be a good father in America today.
We’ll always be an American theater company. We’ll always be informed by our history. But maybe, moving forward, we don’t have to be defined by it.
Let’s make room for the plays—and people---of America today.
See you at the theater,
Craig Fols
Artistic Director
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A FEW WORDS FROM THE CRITICS
"Neatly adapted…brisk direction… endearing performances.”
- Michael Sommers for The New York Times
“East Lynne’s trademark: polished professional acting.” - Howard Shapiro for WHYY
Selected as one of the top four theaters in New Jersey
– New Jersey Monthly Magazine readership poll
One of the top 75 theaters offering summer productions in North America – The New York Times
"Neatly adapted…brisk direction… endearing performances.”
- Michael Sommers for The New York Times
“East Lynne’s trademark: polished professional acting.” - Howard Shapiro for WHYY
Selected as one of the top four theaters in New Jersey
– New Jersey Monthly Magazine readership poll
One of the top 75 theaters offering summer productions in North America – The New York Times
