POE BY CANDLELIGHT
Suzanne Dawson, James Rana, Lee O'Connor, and Gayle Stahlhuth
read their favorite stories by the master of the macabre,
Edgar Allan Poe.
NOTE: Since we can't perform inside, we've moved our performance outside and changed the time!
New Location: Behind West Cape May Borough Hall, 732 Broadway, West Cape May, NJ 08204,
where the Farmer's Market is during the summer.
There is plenty of parking.
We ask our guests to please wear masks and sit in pre-arranged socially distanced seats.
Show Date/Time: Sat., October 24 from 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm
Tickets must be purchased online in advance. No tickets will be sold night of the performance.
Tickets: $12; Ages 12 and under free
$2 from every ticket sold will go to support the 2021 West Cape May Christmas Parade
read their favorite stories by the master of the macabre,
Edgar Allan Poe.
NOTE: Since we can't perform inside, we've moved our performance outside and changed the time!
New Location: Behind West Cape May Borough Hall, 732 Broadway, West Cape May, NJ 08204,
where the Farmer's Market is during the summer.
There is plenty of parking.
We ask our guests to please wear masks and sit in pre-arranged socially distanced seats.
Show Date/Time: Sat., October 24 from 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm
Tickets must be purchased online in advance. No tickets will be sold night of the performance.
Tickets: $12; Ages 12 and under free
$2 from every ticket sold will go to support the 2021 West Cape May Christmas Parade
Gayle Stahlhuth performing in POE BY CANDLELIGHT, with Lee O'Connor, seated, ready to go next.
POE BY CANDLELIGHT is usually the final "Tales of the Victorians," and usually, we perform in The Cape May Presbyterian Church, and offer light refreshments, but this year, we'll be outside, and unable to provide tasty treats.
The performers this year are Suzanne Dawson, James Rana, Lee O'Connor and Gayle Stahlhuth .
James Rana, actor/playwright, has performed with theaters throughout the country, including ELTC, and in film and television. In 2017, he performed in Off-Broadway's THE GOVERNMENT INSPECTOR starring Michael Urie. In the fall of 2017, he began rehearsals for Broadway’s THE BAND’S VISIT, and performed several times in the role of the Band's Leader, originally performed by Tony Shalhoub, and other roles. When this Tony Award winning show closed on Broadway in April 2018, he began performing in The National Tour. When the tour had to close due to the pandemic, James moved to Cape May, NJ, where he's been living with Gayle and Lee. From October 14 - November 21, he can be seen on ELTC's YouTube Channel portraying Ambrose Bierce in NOTHING MATTERS.
Suzanne Dawson has been performing with ELTC since 2008, most recently on the mainstage as Abby Brewster in ARSENIC AND OLD OLD LACE. This season, she's been one of the performers for ELTC's TALES OF THE VICTORIANS - In the Backyard,. presenting the works of Dorothy Parker and Ruth Draper. Suzanne has performed Off-Broadway and in national tours and regional theaters, including Paper Mill Playhouse, Florida Studio Theater, and The Alliance in Atlanta.
Lee O'Connor, ELTC's Technical Director and Stage Manager, is also a popular performer for ELTC's TALES OF THE VICTORIANS. For most of ELTC's radio-style Sherlock Holmes' radio-style adventures, he's portrayed Holmes.
Gayle Stahlhuth has performed Off-Broadway, in regional theaters, and in film and television. Since 1999 she has been Artistic Director of ELTC, producing over 100 different plays and musicals for this company, and directed most of them. Her work has been praised in “The New York Times,” “The Wall Street Journal,” and “The Philadelphia Inquirer.” She directed, and portrayed Martha Brewster in ELTC's ARSENIC AND OLD LACE, and directed and played a small role in ELTC's NOTHING MATTERS that is available on YouTube this fall.
The performers this year are Suzanne Dawson, James Rana, Lee O'Connor and Gayle Stahlhuth .
James Rana, actor/playwright, has performed with theaters throughout the country, including ELTC, and in film and television. In 2017, he performed in Off-Broadway's THE GOVERNMENT INSPECTOR starring Michael Urie. In the fall of 2017, he began rehearsals for Broadway’s THE BAND’S VISIT, and performed several times in the role of the Band's Leader, originally performed by Tony Shalhoub, and other roles. When this Tony Award winning show closed on Broadway in April 2018, he began performing in The National Tour. When the tour had to close due to the pandemic, James moved to Cape May, NJ, where he's been living with Gayle and Lee. From October 14 - November 21, he can be seen on ELTC's YouTube Channel portraying Ambrose Bierce in NOTHING MATTERS.
Suzanne Dawson has been performing with ELTC since 2008, most recently on the mainstage as Abby Brewster in ARSENIC AND OLD OLD LACE. This season, she's been one of the performers for ELTC's TALES OF THE VICTORIANS - In the Backyard,. presenting the works of Dorothy Parker and Ruth Draper. Suzanne has performed Off-Broadway and in national tours and regional theaters, including Paper Mill Playhouse, Florida Studio Theater, and The Alliance in Atlanta.
Lee O'Connor, ELTC's Technical Director and Stage Manager, is also a popular performer for ELTC's TALES OF THE VICTORIANS. For most of ELTC's radio-style Sherlock Holmes' radio-style adventures, he's portrayed Holmes.
Gayle Stahlhuth has performed Off-Broadway, in regional theaters, and in film and television. Since 1999 she has been Artistic Director of ELTC, producing over 100 different plays and musicals for this company, and directed most of them. Her work has been praised in “The New York Times,” “The Wall Street Journal,” and “The Philadelphia Inquirer.” She directed, and portrayed Martha Brewster in ELTC's ARSENIC AND OLD LACE, and directed and played a small role in ELTC's NOTHING MATTERS that is available on YouTube this fall.
Photo left is from ELTC's world premiere The Poe Mysteries with Shelly McPherson, Mark Edward Lang, James Rana, Grace Wright, Fred Velde and Thomas Raniszewski. It was adapted by James Rana from three stories by A. E. Poe.
Edgar Allan Poe (1809 -1849) – the name alone conjures up mysteries, murder, madmen, and mayhem. He is considered the creator of the modern detective story, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle credits him with influencing his own Sherlock Holmes creation. His works, in print since 1827, include poetry, stories, a novel, essays, and book reviews. His idol was Lord Byron, and by age thirteen, Poe had written enough poetry to publish a book. His teacher and guardian prevented such a publication.
Born in Boston, Poe was the second of three children. His parents, both actors, were dead by the time he was three. The siblings were sent to different homes, with Poe ending up with John Allan, a wealthy tobacco merchant, and his wife, Frances, in Richmond, Virginia.
In 1826, Poe attended the University of Virginia, even though Allan didn’t give him enough money to cover expenses. He was an excellent student, but turned to gambling to pay for his needs. During his first term, he burned his furniture to keep warm. Poe returned to Richmond to seek financial help from Allan. Not only did he not receive it, but he also learned his fiancée Elmira Royster, was engaged to another man. Eighteen years old, poor and broken-hearted, he was determined to make his own way in the world. He then published his first volume of poetry, Tamerlane, and joined the army.
When Poe was twenty-one, he returned to Richmond upon learning that Frances Allan was dying of tuberculosis. By the time he arrived, the only mother he had really ever known was already in her grave. Although the relationship between Poe and Allan was strained, Allan helped him to get into the United States Military Academy of West Point. Soon after, Allan remarried, and Poe wasn’t invited to the wedding. Once more feeling betrayed, Poe wrote a letter outlining all of Allan’s wrong-doings towards him, and threatened to get himself expelled from West Point. Eight months later, he was expelled.
Fortunately, an aunt, Maria Clemm, and her young daughter, Virginia, invited him in to their Baltimore home. One of his short stories won a contest and he became an editor at the Southern Literary Messenger. Within a year Poe was gaining a reputation as a book critic, which helped to make the Messenger the most popular magazine in the south. Poe married Virginia, who was not yet fourteen.
Meanwhile, Allan died, leaving Poe out of his will. He did, however, provide for an illegitimate child whom Allan had never met. The Allan’s had never legally adopted Poe.
In 1837, believing he had outgrown the Messenger, Poe, Virginia and Maria moved to New York City, but it was difficult to find work at a magazine. Here he wrote his only novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym. The family moved to Philadelphia a year later where he wrote and edited for several different magazines, and was building a reputation. Still, it was difficult for him to make a living. His only “payment” for the publication of Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque, was twenty-five free copies of his book. In 1842, Virginia contracted tuberculosis, the disease that had killed his mother, brother, and Frances Allan.
The family moved back to New York City in 1844, where he became an editor for The Evening Mirror. When this magazine published “The Raven” a year later, finally, Poe received the fame he’d been seeking. He could now demand more pay for his work and his lectures became exceedingly popular. Two more books were published and finally he was running his own magazine, the Broadway Journal. By 1846, the magazine proved unsuccessful, Virginia was very ill, and rumors spread about Poe having a relationship with a married woman. He moved his family to a small cottage outside the city. Here, in the winter of 1847, at only twenty-four years of age, Virginia died. Poe was devastated and couldn’t write for months.
For the next two years, he traveled from one city to another, giving lectures and seeking backers for another magazine, The Stylus. He met several women along the way. Nancy Richmond in Massachusetts inspired some of his greatest poetry, including “For Annie.” He was engaged to the poet Sarah Helen Whitman in Providence, for a few months. He courted Elmira Royster Shelton when he learned she was a widow, and the two became engaged before he left Richmond for Philadelphia.
Poe stopped in Baltimore on his way to Philadelphia, and disappeared for five days. He was discovered in the bar room of a public house that was being used as a polling station for a local election. Joseph Snodgrass, a magazine editor, had Poe taken to a hospital where he died on October 7, 1849. He never regained consciousness and the cause of his death remains a mystery. Neither Poe’s mother-in-law nor his fiancée knew what had become of him until they read about it in the newspapers.
Edgar Allan Poe (1809 -1849) – the name alone conjures up mysteries, murder, madmen, and mayhem. He is considered the creator of the modern detective story, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle credits him with influencing his own Sherlock Holmes creation. His works, in print since 1827, include poetry, stories, a novel, essays, and book reviews. His idol was Lord Byron, and by age thirteen, Poe had written enough poetry to publish a book. His teacher and guardian prevented such a publication.
Born in Boston, Poe was the second of three children. His parents, both actors, were dead by the time he was three. The siblings were sent to different homes, with Poe ending up with John Allan, a wealthy tobacco merchant, and his wife, Frances, in Richmond, Virginia.
In 1826, Poe attended the University of Virginia, even though Allan didn’t give him enough money to cover expenses. He was an excellent student, but turned to gambling to pay for his needs. During his first term, he burned his furniture to keep warm. Poe returned to Richmond to seek financial help from Allan. Not only did he not receive it, but he also learned his fiancée Elmira Royster, was engaged to another man. Eighteen years old, poor and broken-hearted, he was determined to make his own way in the world. He then published his first volume of poetry, Tamerlane, and joined the army.
When Poe was twenty-one, he returned to Richmond upon learning that Frances Allan was dying of tuberculosis. By the time he arrived, the only mother he had really ever known was already in her grave. Although the relationship between Poe and Allan was strained, Allan helped him to get into the United States Military Academy of West Point. Soon after, Allan remarried, and Poe wasn’t invited to the wedding. Once more feeling betrayed, Poe wrote a letter outlining all of Allan’s wrong-doings towards him, and threatened to get himself expelled from West Point. Eight months later, he was expelled.
Fortunately, an aunt, Maria Clemm, and her young daughter, Virginia, invited him in to their Baltimore home. One of his short stories won a contest and he became an editor at the Southern Literary Messenger. Within a year Poe was gaining a reputation as a book critic, which helped to make the Messenger the most popular magazine in the south. Poe married Virginia, who was not yet fourteen.
Meanwhile, Allan died, leaving Poe out of his will. He did, however, provide for an illegitimate child whom Allan had never met. The Allan’s had never legally adopted Poe.
In 1837, believing he had outgrown the Messenger, Poe, Virginia and Maria moved to New York City, but it was difficult to find work at a magazine. Here he wrote his only novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym. The family moved to Philadelphia a year later where he wrote and edited for several different magazines, and was building a reputation. Still, it was difficult for him to make a living. His only “payment” for the publication of Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque, was twenty-five free copies of his book. In 1842, Virginia contracted tuberculosis, the disease that had killed his mother, brother, and Frances Allan.
The family moved back to New York City in 1844, where he became an editor for The Evening Mirror. When this magazine published “The Raven” a year later, finally, Poe received the fame he’d been seeking. He could now demand more pay for his work and his lectures became exceedingly popular. Two more books were published and finally he was running his own magazine, the Broadway Journal. By 1846, the magazine proved unsuccessful, Virginia was very ill, and rumors spread about Poe having a relationship with a married woman. He moved his family to a small cottage outside the city. Here, in the winter of 1847, at only twenty-four years of age, Virginia died. Poe was devastated and couldn’t write for months.
For the next two years, he traveled from one city to another, giving lectures and seeking backers for another magazine, The Stylus. He met several women along the way. Nancy Richmond in Massachusetts inspired some of his greatest poetry, including “For Annie.” He was engaged to the poet Sarah Helen Whitman in Providence, for a few months. He courted Elmira Royster Shelton when he learned she was a widow, and the two became engaged before he left Richmond for Philadelphia.
Poe stopped in Baltimore on his way to Philadelphia, and disappeared for five days. He was discovered in the bar room of a public house that was being used as a polling station for a local election. Joseph Snodgrass, a magazine editor, had Poe taken to a hospital where he died on October 7, 1849. He never regained consciousness and the cause of his death remains a mystery. Neither Poe’s mother-in-law nor his fiancée knew what had become of him until they read about it in the newspapers.
