Staff & Board Members
Just who are these people behind the scenes?
Lee O’Connor (Feb. 19, 1948-March 21, 2021; Technical Director from 1999 - 2020) When Lee's wife, Gayle Stahlhuth, was asked to be the Artistic Director in 1999, she asked him to be the Technical Director. In October 2019, he was diagnosed with cancer, and for awhile, it looked like he beat it. But then he lost the battle. Lee and Gayle brought over 100 different shows to the ELTC stage. His memorial service was filmed and is available at Spilker's Funeral Home. (Click Here) Shortly after his death, "The Lee O'Connor Memorial Fund" was created to build the dressing rooms for the AME Church that is slated to become a theater. To contribute to this fund, please makes checks out to East Lynne Theater Company, and put "Lee O'Connor Memorial Fund" on the memo line.
THE FOUNDER
Warren Kliewer (Founder and Producing Artistic Director from 1980-1998) was born in Mountain Lake, Minnesota in 1931. At age 6, he discovered the magic of theater in the form of a puppet show of Peter and the Wolf at Balzer's Lumber Yard. His life was informed by the traditions of his Mennonite upbringing, his joy in being part of or watching any live performance, and his fervent commitment to the life of the mind.
He graduated from the University of Minnesota, and received his MA in English at the University of Kansas. Between 1959-1969, he taught English and drama at Bethany College in Kansas and Earlham College in Indiana, and was associate professor of English and Theater at Wichita State University, where he created the playwriting program. From 1970-1973, he served as production director for the National Humanities Series, Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, in Princeton, NJ. His extensive acting work included the only New York production of Peter Weiss’s The Investigation, Tobacco Road (Fulton Opera House), and The Waltz of the Toreadors (New Jersey Shakespeare Festival).
His musical A Lean and Hungry Priest was produced in Los Angeles in 1973, and published in New Playwrights of Tomorrow. In 1976, he became a member of The New Dramatists in New York, where his plays The Booth Brothers and The Berserkers were produced in 1977 and 1978, respectively. In addition to dozens of original plays, his adaptations, which all premiered at ELTC, include Voice of the City, (based on O. Henry short stories), Ever So Humble (about John Howard Payne, early American actor-playwright), and Uncle Dan's Financial Tips, or Sunday Is Sunday, but the Other Six Days Is for Business (about Wall Street eccentric, Danial Drew in 1884). He also performed in the one-man show, Uncle Dan's Financial Tips, and a photo of him in this production is pictured here.
Even after being diagnosed with cancer and up to the day before he died, he was working on A Family of Actors, the first history of American actors and and acting to be written in 30 years.
Gayle Stahlhuth (Producing Artistic Director from Jan. 1999 - Dec. 20, 2022) has performed off-Broadway (Manhattan Theatre Club, etc.) in national tours (Cabaret, Fiddler, etc.), regional theater (Gateway Playhouse in Long Island, etc.), television (various soaps, etc.), radio (commercials and Voice of America), and on the Chautauqua Circuit. Her plays have been performed at such places as the NYC International Fringe Festival, The Samuel French One-Act Festival, Arvada Center in Denver, Pennsylvania Stage Company, the Phoenix Theater in Indianapolis, and at several universities.
For her writing and/or performing, she’s been awarded commissions from The Smithsonian Institution, the Missouri and Illinois Humanities Councils, Theatreworks/USA and other theaters, and grants from the NJ Humanities Council, the NYS Council on the Arts, and the Mid-Atlantic Foundation for the Arts. This has all led to interesting productions and venues, i.e., The National Portrait Gallery commissioned her to write a play about Dorothea Lynde Dix. Titled Not Above A Whisper, she and her husband, Lee O’Connor, then took the play to venues sponsored by various mental health associations throughout the country. Solo shows she's created and toured (many bookings through Arthur Shafman Management) include Lou: The Remarkable Miss Alcott, The Awakening adapted from the novel by Kate Chopin, and Eve's Diary based on the writings of Mark Twain. Since 2007, she has presented ELTC's Christmas productions, adapting and performing stories by Zona Gale, O. Henry, Mark Twain, Mary Wilkins Freeman, Louisa May Alcott, L. Frank Baum, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Edward Everett Hale, Bret Harte, and others, bringing to life thirty-plus characters in her memorized, unique storytelling style.
In the early 1980s, Gayle was a pioneer in the artist-in-residence (AIR) movement to put art back into public schools, and is on the AIR rosters for NY, NJ, UT, and WY. For her work, she was selected as one of only two hundred artists from all arts disciplines to be listed in THE DIRECTORY OF COMMUNITY ARTISTS published by the National Endowment for the Arts.
Throughout the years she has directed-stage managed-designed/set lights-designed/built sets-designed/built costumes for a variety of off-off Broadway shows, NYC cabarets, festivals and touring productions; started a dinner theater in Billings, MT; produced a Medieval Festival at The Walters Art Gallery in Baltimore; made and rebuilt elephant and llama blankets for Ringling Brothers Circus, and was an Emmy Awards’ judge in the field of broadcast news.
While still active as a performer, Gayle worked for the Sol Hurok Organization, setting up interviews and itineraries for artists such as Isaac Stern and members of the Bolshoi Ballet and Opera; was the accountant for Sha-Na-Na and other musicians; and worked undercover for white collar crime for a NYC detective agency.
She became ELTC’s Artistic Director in 1999, and A Year in the Trenches in the fall of 2017 marked her 100th production for ELTC. These shows include 24 world premieres and 11 NJ premieres, and she directed over half of them. Her directing and performing have been praised in “The Philadelphia Inquirer,” “The New York Times,” and “The Wall Street Journal,” as well as in local newspapers.
She served on the board of ELTC from 1987-1997, and at various times was President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer. From 1990-2002 she was a Council Member of The Episcopal Actors’ Guild, serving on the Membership Committee, and, at various times, was Chair of the Finance Committee, Secretary, and Treasurer. EAG, founded in 1923, was the first organization to help professional actors, and still continues to do so regardless of religious affiliations. Since 2004, she has served on the board of the New Jersey Theatre Alliance, serving on a variety of committees, but mostly with emerging professional theaters throughout the Garden State.
Gayle is an Active Member of the Dramatists Guild, SAG-AFTRA, Actors’ Equity Association, and the National League of Professional Women, who honored her in 2016 for her work as a theater professional. Gayle and East Lynne Theater Company are in the newest edition of THE CAMBRIDGE GUIDE TO AMERICAN THEATRE (2008).
She enjoys being in her homes in West Cape May, NJ and Manhattan.
For her writing and/or performing, she’s been awarded commissions from The Smithsonian Institution, the Missouri and Illinois Humanities Councils, Theatreworks/USA and other theaters, and grants from the NJ Humanities Council, the NYS Council on the Arts, and the Mid-Atlantic Foundation for the Arts. This has all led to interesting productions and venues, i.e., The National Portrait Gallery commissioned her to write a play about Dorothea Lynde Dix. Titled Not Above A Whisper, she and her husband, Lee O’Connor, then took the play to venues sponsored by various mental health associations throughout the country. Solo shows she's created and toured (many bookings through Arthur Shafman Management) include Lou: The Remarkable Miss Alcott, The Awakening adapted from the novel by Kate Chopin, and Eve's Diary based on the writings of Mark Twain. Since 2007, she has presented ELTC's Christmas productions, adapting and performing stories by Zona Gale, O. Henry, Mark Twain, Mary Wilkins Freeman, Louisa May Alcott, L. Frank Baum, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Edward Everett Hale, Bret Harte, and others, bringing to life thirty-plus characters in her memorized, unique storytelling style.
In the early 1980s, Gayle was a pioneer in the artist-in-residence (AIR) movement to put art back into public schools, and is on the AIR rosters for NY, NJ, UT, and WY. For her work, she was selected as one of only two hundred artists from all arts disciplines to be listed in THE DIRECTORY OF COMMUNITY ARTISTS published by the National Endowment for the Arts.
Throughout the years she has directed-stage managed-designed/set lights-designed/built sets-designed/built costumes for a variety of off-off Broadway shows, NYC cabarets, festivals and touring productions; started a dinner theater in Billings, MT; produced a Medieval Festival at The Walters Art Gallery in Baltimore; made and rebuilt elephant and llama blankets for Ringling Brothers Circus, and was an Emmy Awards’ judge in the field of broadcast news.
While still active as a performer, Gayle worked for the Sol Hurok Organization, setting up interviews and itineraries for artists such as Isaac Stern and members of the Bolshoi Ballet and Opera; was the accountant for Sha-Na-Na and other musicians; and worked undercover for white collar crime for a NYC detective agency.
She became ELTC’s Artistic Director in 1999, and A Year in the Trenches in the fall of 2017 marked her 100th production for ELTC. These shows include 24 world premieres and 11 NJ premieres, and she directed over half of them. Her directing and performing have been praised in “The Philadelphia Inquirer,” “The New York Times,” and “The Wall Street Journal,” as well as in local newspapers.
She served on the board of ELTC from 1987-1997, and at various times was President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer. From 1990-2002 she was a Council Member of The Episcopal Actors’ Guild, serving on the Membership Committee, and, at various times, was Chair of the Finance Committee, Secretary, and Treasurer. EAG, founded in 1923, was the first organization to help professional actors, and still continues to do so regardless of religious affiliations. Since 2004, she has served on the board of the New Jersey Theatre Alliance, serving on a variety of committees, but mostly with emerging professional theaters throughout the Garden State.
Gayle is an Active Member of the Dramatists Guild, SAG-AFTRA, Actors’ Equity Association, and the National League of Professional Women, who honored her in 2016 for her work as a theater professional. Gayle and East Lynne Theater Company are in the newest edition of THE CAMBRIDGE GUIDE TO AMERICAN THEATRE (2008).
She enjoys being in her homes in West Cape May, NJ and Manhattan.
William E. (Bill) Grau (Director of Planning and Development) worked for roughly 40 years as a marketing and communications executive for a number of financial services organizations. During this time, he also served as a board member and volunteer for several theaters including MCC Theatre (an off-Broadway company in which he served on its board and was chair of its marketing committee); The Actors Company Theatre (an off-Broadway company in which he served as a member of its advisory council); Paper Mill Playhouse and McCarter Theatre (both in NJ, where he volunteered as an usher). Upon retiring from the financial services industry, Bill accepted a position as director of Marketing and Development at The Actors Company Theatre, where he organized fundraising campaigns and events while also managing traditional and online marketing efforts. A graduate of the Continuing Education program at New York University with a professional certificate in Arts Administration, Bill also earned an MBA in Marketing from Rutgers University and a BA in Communications and English from Seton Hall University. He has also completed two programs offered by the Commercial Theater Institute: “Introduction to Commercial Producing” and “Marketing for the Commercial Theater.”
Mark Edward Lang (Graphic Designer), a director, actor, acting teacher, playwright and graphic/web designer based in New York City, has been involved with East Lynne Theater Company since 2001. Not only has he performed in ELTC productions including The Dictator, The New York Idea, Why Marry?, The Guardsman, Zorro!, Biography, Ah, Wilderness!, and Philip Barry’s You and I (Best Actor Jacoby Award, 2007), but he directed Eugene O’Neill’s Anna Christie.
In 2004, he began design work for ELTC, which includes creating logos, ads for all media, playbill covers and layout, newsletter layout, rack cards, invitations, posters, and help with the web site. The ELTC Season Posters may be viewed here. Other clients include Curran Investment Management, The Henry Sawyer Inn B&B, Deloitte & Touche, LLP, General Electric, La Mama, E.T.C., watercolor painter Patricia Rainey, and WNYC-TV NYC. Training (all in NYC) includes Future Media Concepts, Motion Over Time, Noble Desktop Training, School of Visual Arts, and The Career Center, where he occasionally attends classes to keep up with current trends. More information about his work may be found at TBEDesign.com.
Mark is a former company member and artistic associate of the Art & Work and Harbor Theatre companies in NYC. He’s performed Shakespeare, Molière and new works in NYC and on tour. He’s worked at Hilton Head Playhouse, Open Stage in Harrisburg, PA, and played Kosti in the three-person play Welcome Home Marian Anderson that premiered at the Passage Theater in Trenton, moved to Off-Broadway and then toured the country for several years. Directing credits include an off-off Broadway production of Othello in NYC. He wrote, produced and performed his two-person play Lunt and Fontanne: The Celestials of Broadway in NY (including FringeNYC 2016) and at the Classic Theatre of San Antonio. He premiered his newest two-person play, Zelda and Scott: Love Letters (and others), based on the Fitzgeralds’ correspondence, at East Lynne Theater Company in Cape May, and it has since been produced in NYC. He is a member of Actors’ Equity Association and SAG-AFTRA.
For over twenty years, he’s been a partner in Leadership Masters, founded by Scott Eck, which does corporate leadership training for Fortune 500 companies including GE, 3M, General Mills, State Farm, Boeing, Coca-Cola and Dell Computer. This work takes him all over the country and the world, to places like Istanbul, Malaysia, and Tanzania.
Mark is an honors graduate of Vassar College and was awarded its Kazan Prize for Excellence in the Dramatic Arts. In 2010, ELTC honored him for his design work at the New Jersey Theatre Alliance's annual Curtain Call event. Currently he is Vice-President and on the Marketing Committee for the Board of Trustees for ELTC.
In 2004, he began design work for ELTC, which includes creating logos, ads for all media, playbill covers and layout, newsletter layout, rack cards, invitations, posters, and help with the web site. The ELTC Season Posters may be viewed here. Other clients include Curran Investment Management, The Henry Sawyer Inn B&B, Deloitte & Touche, LLP, General Electric, La Mama, E.T.C., watercolor painter Patricia Rainey, and WNYC-TV NYC. Training (all in NYC) includes Future Media Concepts, Motion Over Time, Noble Desktop Training, School of Visual Arts, and The Career Center, where he occasionally attends classes to keep up with current trends. More information about his work may be found at TBEDesign.com.
Mark is a former company member and artistic associate of the Art & Work and Harbor Theatre companies in NYC. He’s performed Shakespeare, Molière and new works in NYC and on tour. He’s worked at Hilton Head Playhouse, Open Stage in Harrisburg, PA, and played Kosti in the three-person play Welcome Home Marian Anderson that premiered at the Passage Theater in Trenton, moved to Off-Broadway and then toured the country for several years. Directing credits include an off-off Broadway production of Othello in NYC. He wrote, produced and performed his two-person play Lunt and Fontanne: The Celestials of Broadway in NY (including FringeNYC 2016) and at the Classic Theatre of San Antonio. He premiered his newest two-person play, Zelda and Scott: Love Letters (and others), based on the Fitzgeralds’ correspondence, at East Lynne Theater Company in Cape May, and it has since been produced in NYC. He is a member of Actors’ Equity Association and SAG-AFTRA.
For over twenty years, he’s been a partner in Leadership Masters, founded by Scott Eck, which does corporate leadership training for Fortune 500 companies including GE, 3M, General Mills, State Farm, Boeing, Coca-Cola and Dell Computer. This work takes him all over the country and the world, to places like Istanbul, Malaysia, and Tanzania.
Mark is an honors graduate of Vassar College and was awarded its Kazan Prize for Excellence in the Dramatic Arts. In 2010, ELTC honored him for his design work at the New Jersey Theatre Alliance's annual Curtain Call event. Currently he is Vice-President and on the Marketing Committee for the Board of Trustees for ELTC.
Thomas Raniszewski (Manager of Social Media) served as President of ELTC's Board of Trustees from December 2016 - December 2019. He earned a BA in Music from Rowan University. He released three CDs, all in partnership with George Mesterhazy, who was the producer. His debut album of original compositions, A Midnight at a Time received the Stonewall Society 2004 Pride in the Arts Award as well as being nominated Outstanding New Recording 2004 by Outmusic Awards.
Not a stranger to the not-for profit world, in the mid '80s, Thomas served on Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts and Humanities’ (MAC) Performing Arts Committee, and worked part-time for MAC as a tour guide from 1985 until 2000. In 2003 his Christmas single "Through a Child's Eyes" was released in partnership with St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, with proceeds going to benefit this worthy cause. For several years, he helped organize GABLES' Diversity Weekends and Cabarets in Cape May.
At various times, Thomas owned and operated a B&B in Cape May, worked for Atlantic Books (when it was located at what is now Stewart's Root Beer), and currently works at the popular retail store, Bath Time. He was Entertainment Editor for Out in Jersey Magazine (2003-2006) and currently writes for Cape May Magazine (2006-).
Throughout the years, he’s worked off-and-on with various theaters, and since 2004, began performing with ELTC. Productions include Arsenic and Old Lace, Dracula, Huckleberry Finn, and Rain. Outside of Cape May, he produced two shows, in which he also performed. In 2011 and 2012, it was The Twentieth Century Way in Philadelphia and in 2016, the world premiere of Dying Like Ignacio in NYC. He is a member of the Actors' Equity Association.
Thomas was born and raised in Cape May County and raised his son, Andrew, who is a police officer.
Not a stranger to the not-for profit world, in the mid '80s, Thomas served on Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts and Humanities’ (MAC) Performing Arts Committee, and worked part-time for MAC as a tour guide from 1985 until 2000. In 2003 his Christmas single "Through a Child's Eyes" was released in partnership with St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, with proceeds going to benefit this worthy cause. For several years, he helped organize GABLES' Diversity Weekends and Cabarets in Cape May.
At various times, Thomas owned and operated a B&B in Cape May, worked for Atlantic Books (when it was located at what is now Stewart's Root Beer), and currently works at the popular retail store, Bath Time. He was Entertainment Editor for Out in Jersey Magazine (2003-2006) and currently writes for Cape May Magazine (2006-).
Throughout the years, he’s worked off-and-on with various theaters, and since 2004, began performing with ELTC. Productions include Arsenic and Old Lace, Dracula, Huckleberry Finn, and Rain. Outside of Cape May, he produced two shows, in which he also performed. In 2011 and 2012, it was The Twentieth Century Way in Philadelphia and in 2016, the world premiere of Dying Like Ignacio in NYC. He is a member of the Actors' Equity Association.
Thomas was born and raised in Cape May County and raised his son, Andrew, who is a police officer.
Frank Smith (Volunteer Liaison) schedules ELTC volunteers for house managing and ushering duties at performances, interacting with visitors at ELTC's booth at local fairs, distributing posters, and helping with fundraisers. He was a detective with the Philadelphia Police Department before he bought a house in Cape May and turned it into The White Dove Cottage Bed and Breakfast on Hughes Street. From 1990 until he sold it in 2002, he greeted guests at his B&B and even helped plan events such as family reunions and weddings. From 2003-2007, he was a travel consultant for the Cape May County Chamber of Commerce, and from 2007-2013, a host at Aleathea’s Restaurant at The Inn of Cape May. From 2014-2020, when the place was sold, he was the assistant manager of The Henry Sawyer Inn, where he also conducted Murder Mystery Weekends like he did when he ran The White Dove. Frank was a volunteer for Cape May MAC, portraying “Dr. Physick” from 1992-1997. He joined ELTC’s board in 1993 and served off-and-on as president from 1996-2016. He also was ELTC’s storyteller on “The Ghosts of Christmas Past Trolley Rides,” co-sponsored with MAC, from 2007-2017, and still sells tickets many nights at ELTC's box office on show nights.
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Susan Tischler (President) is the co-owner of two stores on the Washington Street Mall in Cape May, Kaleidoscope and Just for Laughs, and writes for Exit Zero. Her reminiscence of her father, Fred Brown, a coal miner from Pittsburgh, was included in the late Tim Russert’s book Wisdom of Our Fathers, published in 2006. Since 2013, she's co-produced, and portrayed Minnie Pearl in Barry's Christmas Opry, proceeds of which go to support the nonprofit West Cape May Christmas Parade.
She portrayed Enid Stonor in The Adventure of the Speckled Band, performed radio-style, for East Lynne Theater Company in 2018. Also for ELTC, she performed in The People of Cape May vs. Johan Van Buren, written by Dutch TV personality Judge Frank Visser, as part of the 400th Anniversary of the Founding of Cape May. She was commissioned by ELTC to write and perform Helpful Hints based on Mae Savell Croy's Putnam's Household Handbook (1916). Directed by Karen Case Cook it was performed at The Chalfonte, on ELTC's main stage, and on the road. From 2017-2019, she performed with SPQR Theatre in Calliope Rose, The Wreck of the Spanish Armada, and her own original works, Meet the Locals and Tao of Tisch. She was then selected to perform Tao of Tisch at The Women's Theatre Comedy Showcase in Parsippany, NJ.
Susan Tischler (President) is the co-owner of two stores on the Washington Street Mall in Cape May, Kaleidoscope and Just for Laughs, and writes for Exit Zero. Her reminiscence of her father, Fred Brown, a coal miner from Pittsburgh, was included in the late Tim Russert’s book Wisdom of Our Fathers, published in 2006. Since 2013, she's co-produced, and portrayed Minnie Pearl in Barry's Christmas Opry, proceeds of which go to support the nonprofit West Cape May Christmas Parade.
She portrayed Enid Stonor in The Adventure of the Speckled Band, performed radio-style, for East Lynne Theater Company in 2018. Also for ELTC, she performed in The People of Cape May vs. Johan Van Buren, written by Dutch TV personality Judge Frank Visser, as part of the 400th Anniversary of the Founding of Cape May. She was commissioned by ELTC to write and perform Helpful Hints based on Mae Savell Croy's Putnam's Household Handbook (1916). Directed by Karen Case Cook it was performed at The Chalfonte, on ELTC's main stage, and on the road. From 2017-2019, she performed with SPQR Theatre in Calliope Rose, The Wreck of the Spanish Armada, and her own original works, Meet the Locals and Tao of Tisch. She was then selected to perform Tao of Tisch at The Women's Theatre Comedy Showcase in Parsippany, NJ.
Mark Edward Lang (Vice President and graphic designer for East Lynne Theater Co.) (See above)
Cecilia M. Tyler (Treasurer) majored in Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania. After graduation, she remained in Philadelphia, earned a Master degree from Penn and spent the next 11 years teaching in the city. Her time there was divided between the public school system and 4 years as an instructor in the Psychoeducational Processes Department at Temple University. In 1979, Cecilia made a major career change when she joined New Jersey Bell. This change led to jobs in sales, technical support and finance in the rapidly changing telecom business. She was instrumental in establishing AT&T subsidiaries in Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil and Colombia. She retired 22 years later from her position as Senior Manager for Business Planning in the International Channel of AVAYA, Inc, to return to her first love, teaching. Cecilia retired from Hunterdon Central Regional High School in Flemington, NJ after 12 years in the Social Studies department teaching Advanced Placement Psychology. She continues to work with students at Central as a volunteer in the theater department and in the Model UN program.
Samuel Douglas Clark is passionate about theater and the people who make it happen. He spent his early career working in Australia and packed his bags and moved to New York in 2012. Since moving, Sam has found himself working for a range of companies in the theater industry, both as a producer and actor, not the least of which being ELTC, where he performed in The First Fifty Years, Huckleberry Finn, and Dracula. He loves Cape May and see it as his second home and can't wait to give back to the company that has given him so much. In 2018 he co-founded Broadway Crew, promotions and staffing business serving Broadway and off-Broadway.
Eliza Lotozo is the Chief Outreach Manager at Cape May MAC.
Daniel Magariel is an author from Kansas City. His first novel One of the Boys (Scribner 2017) was a New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice, Amazon Best Book of 2017, and a finalist for Lucien Barrière prize. The book was translated into eight languages and optioned for a film, with Daniel co-writing the script. His second novel is forthcoming from Bloomsbury (January 2023). He has a BA from Columbia University, as well as an MFA from Syracuse University, where he was a Cornelia Carhart Fellow. He teaches at Columbia University.
Bernadette J. Matthews worked in the computer field as a Systems Engineer and Consultant for many years with the IBM Corporation in Philadelphia. She’s taught computer systems, traveling throughout the US and Canada and had her own Technical Recruiting firm in Philadelphia. Bernadette moved to Cape May, NJ in 2005, to join the Cape May Jazz Festival as its Executive Director. She later became the Executive Director of the Center for Community Arts, retiring from that position to manage Cape Island Cleaning Service, LLC, a residential and commercial cleaning company. In her spare time, she is 2nd Vice President of the Greater Cape May Chamber of Commerce, Board of Directors for Family Promise, and a member of Cape May Lutheran Church and its choir. Having grown up in a Church choir, she has a passion for music and entertaining. Bernadette was lead singer with a few groups in Philadelphia and became a part of the music scene in Cape May with the Hootenanny group singing with the late George Mesterhazy, The Squares and many others. Currently, she's lead singer for the Capers, a notable ensemble playing in and around the Cape May area. What spare time is left, she’s an avid tennis lover playing at the William J. Moore Tennis Courts.
Alison J. Murphy is a New York and New Jersey-based actor who has experience working with students with special needs, and co-teaches acting workshops with her husband, Mark Edward Lang. She has appeared in New York productions of Lunt and Fontanne: The Celestials of Broadway (with Lang), Aurora Leigh, The Wound of Love, and ELTC’s Why Marry? at the historic Players Club. ELTC productions in Cape May include The Late Christopher Bean, The Dictator, The New York Idea, Voice of the City, Why Marry?, Four by Four, You and I, Dulcy, and The Guardsman. For Access to Art in Cape May, she was in As You Like It and Bound by Truth. She has also worked with American Stage Company and Shakespeare in the Garden, in productions of Cloud Nine, Elephant Man, Extremities, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Othello, The Tempest and Twelfth Night.
Emma Palzere-Rae (Chair of the Succession Committee), for ELTC, appeared as Essie Miller in O’Neill’s Ah, Wilderness! (2017) and as Harriet Beecher Stowe in Aunt Hattie’s House (2000). (Stowe continues to be offered for touring through ELTC.) Emma’s Be Well Productions also tours her original one-woman plays about Emily Dickinson, Victoria Woodhull and Gilda Radner throughout the country. She has appeared in regional and off-Broadway theaters and in film and television. Emma is also an experienced non-profit administrator having served as the Director of Development and Communications of Safe Futures (New London, CT), artistic director of NYC’s Plays for Living, and executive director of the Chorus of Westerly (Rhode Island). Emma is currently the Associate Director of Artreach, Inc., an organization that provides art classes and performing opportunities for adults who have suffered psychiatric disorders, and is the Regional Representaive for The Dramatists Guild of America. She also co-directs Mystic Seaport’s annual holiday production Lantern Light Tours. Member Actors Equity Association, Dramatists Guild and Association of Fundraising Professionals.
Jeff Sharkey (ADA Coordinator) has been involved in various performing arts scenes in South Jersey since 2002. He works for the New Jersey Department of Labor.
Keating Weinberger (Secretary) is a life-long Cape May resident who has worked as a CPA in the community for over 25 years. At Stockton University, he studied Accounting and Theater. His diverse theater experiences, when he was living in New York City, included stage managing in Central Park, and acting at the outdoor theater at Lincoln Center and Off Broadway at the Irish Arts Center. Now days, he enjoys ballroom dance with his wife and working on his farm. He appreciates the energy live theater brings to our community and hopes to help it thrive.
Eliza Lotozo is the Chief Outreach Manager at Cape May MAC.
Daniel Magariel is an author from Kansas City. His first novel One of the Boys (Scribner 2017) was a New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice, Amazon Best Book of 2017, and a finalist for Lucien Barrière prize. The book was translated into eight languages and optioned for a film, with Daniel co-writing the script. His second novel is forthcoming from Bloomsbury (January 2023). He has a BA from Columbia University, as well as an MFA from Syracuse University, where he was a Cornelia Carhart Fellow. He teaches at Columbia University.
Bernadette J. Matthews worked in the computer field as a Systems Engineer and Consultant for many years with the IBM Corporation in Philadelphia. She’s taught computer systems, traveling throughout the US and Canada and had her own Technical Recruiting firm in Philadelphia. Bernadette moved to Cape May, NJ in 2005, to join the Cape May Jazz Festival as its Executive Director. She later became the Executive Director of the Center for Community Arts, retiring from that position to manage Cape Island Cleaning Service, LLC, a residential and commercial cleaning company. In her spare time, she is 2nd Vice President of the Greater Cape May Chamber of Commerce, Board of Directors for Family Promise, and a member of Cape May Lutheran Church and its choir. Having grown up in a Church choir, she has a passion for music and entertaining. Bernadette was lead singer with a few groups in Philadelphia and became a part of the music scene in Cape May with the Hootenanny group singing with the late George Mesterhazy, The Squares and many others. Currently, she's lead singer for the Capers, a notable ensemble playing in and around the Cape May area. What spare time is left, she’s an avid tennis lover playing at the William J. Moore Tennis Courts.
Alison J. Murphy is a New York and New Jersey-based actor who has experience working with students with special needs, and co-teaches acting workshops with her husband, Mark Edward Lang. She has appeared in New York productions of Lunt and Fontanne: The Celestials of Broadway (with Lang), Aurora Leigh, The Wound of Love, and ELTC’s Why Marry? at the historic Players Club. ELTC productions in Cape May include The Late Christopher Bean, The Dictator, The New York Idea, Voice of the City, Why Marry?, Four by Four, You and I, Dulcy, and The Guardsman. For Access to Art in Cape May, she was in As You Like It and Bound by Truth. She has also worked with American Stage Company and Shakespeare in the Garden, in productions of Cloud Nine, Elephant Man, Extremities, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Othello, The Tempest and Twelfth Night.
Emma Palzere-Rae (Chair of the Succession Committee), for ELTC, appeared as Essie Miller in O’Neill’s Ah, Wilderness! (2017) and as Harriet Beecher Stowe in Aunt Hattie’s House (2000). (Stowe continues to be offered for touring through ELTC.) Emma’s Be Well Productions also tours her original one-woman plays about Emily Dickinson, Victoria Woodhull and Gilda Radner throughout the country. She has appeared in regional and off-Broadway theaters and in film and television. Emma is also an experienced non-profit administrator having served as the Director of Development and Communications of Safe Futures (New London, CT), artistic director of NYC’s Plays for Living, and executive director of the Chorus of Westerly (Rhode Island). Emma is currently the Associate Director of Artreach, Inc., an organization that provides art classes and performing opportunities for adults who have suffered psychiatric disorders, and is the Regional Representaive for The Dramatists Guild of America. She also co-directs Mystic Seaport’s annual holiday production Lantern Light Tours. Member Actors Equity Association, Dramatists Guild and Association of Fundraising Professionals.
Jeff Sharkey (ADA Coordinator) has been involved in various performing arts scenes in South Jersey since 2002. He works for the New Jersey Department of Labor.
Keating Weinberger (Secretary) is a life-long Cape May resident who has worked as a CPA in the community for over 25 years. At Stockton University, he studied Accounting and Theater. His diverse theater experiences, when he was living in New York City, included stage managing in Central Park, and acting at the outdoor theater at Lincoln Center and Off Broadway at the Irish Arts Center. Now days, he enjoys ballroom dance with his wife and working on his farm. He appreciates the energy live theater brings to our community and hopes to help it thrive.
THE BOARD OF ADVISORS
Peg Curran retired from the Board of ELTC in March 2018, after having served for 5 three-year terms. Originally from Pennsylvania, she and her husband Tom, consider Philadelphia and Cape May their homes. She's a retired teacher who has a love for history.
Stephanie Garrett worked as a Sociologist and Human Resources manager during her career in Federal Government. Upon early retirement, she received the Meritorious Service Award, the highest award given by the Department of Navy to a civilian employee. Stephanie is a member of the Greater Cape May Historical Society and served as President. She is also a storyteller, specializing in African-American tales.
Clare Juechter is currently the Museum Store Manager at Historic Cold Spring Village in Cape May County, and previously was a regional administrator with Federated Department Stores.
Michèle LaRue is an actress-manager, writer, and editor. She tours nationally with a repertoire of Tales Well Told, by American’s Gilded Age and Progressive Era authors. Several of these stories premiered on the porches and in the parlors of Cape May. A member of Actors’ Equity Association and SAG-AFTRA, Michèle was mentored by Warren Kliewer—founder and first producing artistic director of ELTC—to whom she was married for 27 years.
Sandra O. Sieber served only one term of three years on ELTC's Board, but in that time she and her husband hosted a fundraiser and held board meetings in their home, she gathered and categorized auction items for annual galas, revised the by-laws, pursued performing venues for ELTC, and is a true advocate for our theater and the arts.
Frank Smith retired from ELTC's Board of Trustees in December 2016, having served since 1994, mostly in the role of President. He's a retired Philadelphia Police Detective (1962-1990) and served on the Pennsylvania National Guard from 1975-1980. In 1990, he purchased The White Dove Cottage B&B in Cape May, which he owned for 12 years. In 2002, the Cape May County Chamber of Commerce presented him with an award for all of his good works that have helped to the positive growth of Cape May, NJ.
VOLUNTEERING & BOARD MEMBERSHIP
Should you wish to be a member of the Board of Trustees, let us know! We're always looking for people with new ideas! Meetings are held in Cape May, NJ at least four times a year. If you wish to help the company by volunteering to help with box office, ushering, marketing, etc., let us know that, too! See the "Get involved" page for details
For information regarding Board Membership, Donations, Activities, and Volunteers: Through e-mail at Eastlynneco@aol.com or by mail at PO Box 121, Cape May, NJ 08204 or by phone at 609-884-5898
Peg Curran retired from the Board of ELTC in March 2018, after having served for 5 three-year terms. Originally from Pennsylvania, she and her husband Tom, consider Philadelphia and Cape May their homes. She's a retired teacher who has a love for history.
Stephanie Garrett worked as a Sociologist and Human Resources manager during her career in Federal Government. Upon early retirement, she received the Meritorious Service Award, the highest award given by the Department of Navy to a civilian employee. Stephanie is a member of the Greater Cape May Historical Society and served as President. She is also a storyteller, specializing in African-American tales.
Clare Juechter is currently the Museum Store Manager at Historic Cold Spring Village in Cape May County, and previously was a regional administrator with Federated Department Stores.
Michèle LaRue is an actress-manager, writer, and editor. She tours nationally with a repertoire of Tales Well Told, by American’s Gilded Age and Progressive Era authors. Several of these stories premiered on the porches and in the parlors of Cape May. A member of Actors’ Equity Association and SAG-AFTRA, Michèle was mentored by Warren Kliewer—founder and first producing artistic director of ELTC—to whom she was married for 27 years.
Sandra O. Sieber served only one term of three years on ELTC's Board, but in that time she and her husband hosted a fundraiser and held board meetings in their home, she gathered and categorized auction items for annual galas, revised the by-laws, pursued performing venues for ELTC, and is a true advocate for our theater and the arts.
Frank Smith retired from ELTC's Board of Trustees in December 2016, having served since 1994, mostly in the role of President. He's a retired Philadelphia Police Detective (1962-1990) and served on the Pennsylvania National Guard from 1975-1980. In 1990, he purchased The White Dove Cottage B&B in Cape May, which he owned for 12 years. In 2002, the Cape May County Chamber of Commerce presented him with an award for all of his good works that have helped to the positive growth of Cape May, NJ.
VOLUNTEERING & BOARD MEMBERSHIP
Should you wish to be a member of the Board of Trustees, let us know! We're always looking for people with new ideas! Meetings are held in Cape May, NJ at least four times a year. If you wish to help the company by volunteering to help with box office, ushering, marketing, etc., let us know that, too! See the "Get involved" page for details
For information regarding Board Membership, Donations, Activities, and Volunteers: Through e-mail at Eastlynneco@aol.com or by mail at PO Box 121, Cape May, NJ 08204 or by phone at 609-884-5898
