Notes from Gayle Stahlhuth . . . .
So many people to thank from "boots on the ground" boxing up stuff in the house to giving us clothes and theater books to - the list does go on and on. Due to space, Flynn Altomare, the lovely writer of this article, couldn't include every mention made. Claire Juechter, John Murphy, and Frank Smith provided Lee with a bedroom and meals in Cape May in April so he could deal with the house, while I stayed in NYC to run ELTC - rehearsals and performances started in May for the 2018 season and there were still shows to cast. A fundraiser at Aleathea's Restaurant at The Inn of Cape May was pulled together by long-time friends headed up by East Lynne Theater Company's prior board president Frank Smith. Auction items were donated by many in the Cape May community and Equity professional theaters throughout New Jersey joined in by offering gift certificates. Thomas Raniszewski, current ELTC board president, got the word out that donations made directly to the nonprofit ELTC would, among other things, help pay for additional people to be hired to work for the company. My work week averages 60 hours during the height of the Cape May season, and 45 hours per week the rest of the year. Lee is right there, too, answering phones, putting playbills together, etc., along with his regular "tech" duties. Keeping ELTC running as smoothly as possible while dealing with the odd emotions that come with losing a home to fire, and then figuring out how to rebuild, and what to keep, what to toss, what to clean - it has been a surreal, odd, tough time to say the least. What got us through it all - and continues to help us with the process - is the extreme kindnesses shown to us by so many. Thank you. Drop in for a cup of coffee.
So many people to thank from "boots on the ground" boxing up stuff in the house to giving us clothes and theater books to - the list does go on and on. Due to space, Flynn Altomare, the lovely writer of this article, couldn't include every mention made. Claire Juechter, John Murphy, and Frank Smith provided Lee with a bedroom and meals in Cape May in April so he could deal with the house, while I stayed in NYC to run ELTC - rehearsals and performances started in May for the 2018 season and there were still shows to cast. A fundraiser at Aleathea's Restaurant at The Inn of Cape May was pulled together by long-time friends headed up by East Lynne Theater Company's prior board president Frank Smith. Auction items were donated by many in the Cape May community and Equity professional theaters throughout New Jersey joined in by offering gift certificates. Thomas Raniszewski, current ELTC board president, got the word out that donations made directly to the nonprofit ELTC would, among other things, help pay for additional people to be hired to work for the company. My work week averages 60 hours during the height of the Cape May season, and 45 hours per week the rest of the year. Lee is right there, too, answering phones, putting playbills together, etc., along with his regular "tech" duties. Keeping ELTC running as smoothly as possible while dealing with the odd emotions that come with losing a home to fire, and then figuring out how to rebuild, and what to keep, what to toss, what to clean - it has been a surreal, odd, tough time to say the least. What got us through it all - and continues to help us with the process - is the extreme kindnesses shown to us by so many. Thank you. Drop in for a cup of coffee.
