JUNE IS LGBTQ+ PRIDE MONTH
and
CAPE MAY STAGE, EAST LYNNE THEATER COMPANY, AND GABLES
HAVE JOINED FORCES TO CELEBRATE by
PRESENTING STAGED READINGS OF TWO PLAYS
Following each reading will be a short talk-back with the cast and creative team.
Admission to both readings is donation-based:
50% will be shared between East Lynne Theater Company, Cape May Stage, and GABLES (all nonprofits); and
50% donated to the Gay Men’s Health Crisis (another nonprofit) to support its on-going work.
and
CAPE MAY STAGE, EAST LYNNE THEATER COMPANY, AND GABLES
HAVE JOINED FORCES TO CELEBRATE by
PRESENTING STAGED READINGS OF TWO PLAYS
Following each reading will be a short talk-back with the cast and creative team.
Admission to both readings is donation-based:
50% will be shared between East Lynne Theater Company, Cape May Stage, and GABLES (all nonprofits); and
50% donated to the Gay Men’s Health Crisis (another nonprofit) to support its on-going work.
Cape May Stage
Monday, June 8 at 7:00 PM at the Shackleton Playhouse: Two Henrys, a new play
Monday, June 8 at 7:00 PM at the Shackleton Playhouse: Two Henrys, a new play
Helen Menken and Basil Rathbone
in the original Broadway production
East Lynne Theater Company
Monday, June 29, 2020 at 8:00 PM at The First Presbyterian Church
The Captive, from 1926
The French play, "La Prisonnière" written by Edouard Bourder, was a hit when it opened at the Theatre Femina in Paris on Mach 6, 1926. Translated by Arthur Hornblow, Jr., with the new name The Captive, it opened at the Empire Theatre in New York on September 29, 1926. It was presented by Charles Frohman, directed by Gilbert Miller, and starred Helen Menken and Basil Rathbone. It's about a woman in love with another woman, who marries a man whom she loves as a friend. She does everything - almost everything she can - to make her husband happy. Even before it opened, word was out that the themes and characters were not suitable for presenting on the stage. Those who attended on opening night expecting something sensational, were treated to beautifully written, uncompromising, thought provoking drama. The Captive drew appreciative crowds and received many kudos, but was still shrouded in controversy.
On February 9, 1927, the cast was arrested. Rathbone described the event in his autobiography: "As we walked out onto the stage to await our first entrances we were stopped by a plainclothes policeman who showed his badge and said, 'Please don't let it disturb your performance tonight but consider yourself under arrest!' ... At the close of the play the cast were all ordered to dress and stand by to be escorted in police cars to a night court."
The actors in Mae West's "Sex" were arrested on the same night.
Max Reinhardt directed "La Prisonnière" in Vienna and Berlin, where it broke attendance records. It was then produced in the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Belgium with great success.
Monday, June 29, 2020 at 8:00 PM at The First Presbyterian Church
The Captive, from 1926
The French play, "La Prisonnière" written by Edouard Bourder, was a hit when it opened at the Theatre Femina in Paris on Mach 6, 1926. Translated by Arthur Hornblow, Jr., with the new name The Captive, it opened at the Empire Theatre in New York on September 29, 1926. It was presented by Charles Frohman, directed by Gilbert Miller, and starred Helen Menken and Basil Rathbone. It's about a woman in love with another woman, who marries a man whom she loves as a friend. She does everything - almost everything she can - to make her husband happy. Even before it opened, word was out that the themes and characters were not suitable for presenting on the stage. Those who attended on opening night expecting something sensational, were treated to beautifully written, uncompromising, thought provoking drama. The Captive drew appreciative crowds and received many kudos, but was still shrouded in controversy.
On February 9, 1927, the cast was arrested. Rathbone described the event in his autobiography: "As we walked out onto the stage to await our first entrances we were stopped by a plainclothes policeman who showed his badge and said, 'Please don't let it disturb your performance tonight but consider yourself under arrest!' ... At the close of the play the cast were all ordered to dress and stand by to be escorted in police cars to a night court."
The actors in Mae West's "Sex" were arrested on the same night.
Max Reinhardt directed "La Prisonnière" in Vienna and Berlin, where it broke attendance records. It was then produced in the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Belgium with great success.
