TOURING PRODUCTIONS
Covering 100 Years of American History from 1850-1950!
"I'm always impressed that East Lynne Theater productions run education and entertainment side by side. Their shows consistently enlighten and amuse - a rare combination that results in an uplifting experience."
–Tom Sims for Exit Zero
HOLMES AND CARTER RADIO-STYLE MYSTERIES
Before television, families huddled around the radio to listen to comedies and dramas. Since 2005, ELTC has been delighting audiences with Sherlock Holmes adventures performed in the style of the 1930’s NBC radio series, complete with live sound effects and commercials. Originally created to coincide with Cape May MAC's Sherlock Holmes Weekend in Cape May, requests were made to take them on the road. Adventures that have been offered are The Copper Beeches, The Speckled Band, The Blue Carbuncle, and The Norwood Builder. In 2013, a Nick Carter mystery was added to the Holmes adventure on the same night. These Carter mysteries started the Carter series in April 1943: The Strange Case of Dr. Devolo and The Voice of Crime.
From March 2020 through November 2021, ELTC is offering Sherlock Holmes Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle as the touring show. Click Here for More Information.
In October, 1930, the Sherlock Holmes radio series began with The Speckled Band, adapted by Edith Meiser, who proposed the Holmes radio series to NBC. At first NBC passed on the idea for lack of a sponsor, so Meiser found one: G. Washington Coffee. Actors who played Holmes include Clive Brook, Richard Gordon, and Basil Rathbone. The Sherlock Holmes radio series continued through 1950. The scripts used by ELTC were written by Craig Wichman and Gayle Stahlhuth.
Nick Carter first appeared in The Old Detective’s Pupil or The Mysterious Crime of Madison Square, written by John Russell Coryell, which was published in Street and Smith’s New York Weekly in 1886 – a year before Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Holmes’ first caper, A Study in Scarlet. Coryell wrote a total of three serialized Carter novels, keeping the series going through 1889. The series became so popular that in 1915, Nick Carter Weekly became Street and Smith’s detective story magazine. The books continued, written by a variety of people, from 1933-1990, with Carter changing with the times. In 1964, the series was known as Nick Carter-Killmaster to compete with James Bond. In April, 1943, the Nick Carter radio series was launched with The Strange Case of Dr. Devolo, and lasted through 1955 with only one actor playing Carter: Lon Clark. The scripts used by ELTC are the original scripts, used with permission by Conde Nast.
"Thank you for the magnificent performance of The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle. The feedback that I got from the residents was amazing and they loved the performance! Thank you for bringing it to the Home." - Jordan Strohl, Administrator, The Lillian Booth Actors Home, Englewood, NJ
“This excellent group brings Holmes to life!” - Ocean City Sentinel (NJ)
"This is live theater done right!" - Sherry Hoffman, New Jersey LifeStyle Magazine
Before television, families huddled around the radio to listen to comedies and dramas. Since 2005, ELTC has been delighting audiences with Sherlock Holmes adventures performed in the style of the 1930’s NBC radio series, complete with live sound effects and commercials. Originally created to coincide with Cape May MAC's Sherlock Holmes Weekend in Cape May, requests were made to take them on the road. Adventures that have been offered are The Copper Beeches, The Speckled Band, The Blue Carbuncle, and The Norwood Builder. In 2013, a Nick Carter mystery was added to the Holmes adventure on the same night. These Carter mysteries started the Carter series in April 1943: The Strange Case of Dr. Devolo and The Voice of Crime.
From March 2020 through November 2021, ELTC is offering Sherlock Holmes Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle as the touring show. Click Here for More Information.
In October, 1930, the Sherlock Holmes radio series began with The Speckled Band, adapted by Edith Meiser, who proposed the Holmes radio series to NBC. At first NBC passed on the idea for lack of a sponsor, so Meiser found one: G. Washington Coffee. Actors who played Holmes include Clive Brook, Richard Gordon, and Basil Rathbone. The Sherlock Holmes radio series continued through 1950. The scripts used by ELTC were written by Craig Wichman and Gayle Stahlhuth.
Nick Carter first appeared in The Old Detective’s Pupil or The Mysterious Crime of Madison Square, written by John Russell Coryell, which was published in Street and Smith’s New York Weekly in 1886 – a year before Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Holmes’ first caper, A Study in Scarlet. Coryell wrote a total of three serialized Carter novels, keeping the series going through 1889. The series became so popular that in 1915, Nick Carter Weekly became Street and Smith’s detective story magazine. The books continued, written by a variety of people, from 1933-1990, with Carter changing with the times. In 1964, the series was known as Nick Carter-Killmaster to compete with James Bond. In April, 1943, the Nick Carter radio series was launched with The Strange Case of Dr. Devolo, and lasted through 1955 with only one actor playing Carter: Lon Clark. The scripts used by ELTC are the original scripts, used with permission by Conde Nast.
"Thank you for the magnificent performance of The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle. The feedback that I got from the residents was amazing and they loved the performance! Thank you for bringing it to the Home." - Jordan Strohl, Administrator, The Lillian Booth Actors Home, Englewood, NJ
“This excellent group brings Holmes to life!” - Ocean City Sentinel (NJ)
"This is live theater done right!" - Sherry Hoffman, New Jersey LifeStyle Magazine
PAUL ROBESON THROUGH HIS WORDS AND MUSIC
Written by Gayle Stahlhuth, and performed by Derrick McQueen, Paul Robeson Through His Words and Music is an interweaving of two dozen songs that were sung by Robeson, with a narrative of his life as an actor, singer, activist, and humanitarian. Venues where this has been performed include Crossroads Theater in New Brunswick, NJ, at the Wildwood Convention Center for an NAACP Fundraising event, The Puffin Foundation in Teaneck, NJ, North Carolina Stage Company in Asheville, and the Newark PAC. First performed in Cape May in 2006, it returned as an ELTC mainstage production in 2010 due to popular demand.
Paul Robeson (1898-1976) was born to a former slave, the Rev. William Robeson. At Rutgers University he was a twelve-letter athlete, and graduated valedictorian in 1919. While in NYC attending Columbia University, he came in contact with people in the theater, which led to leads in plays written by Eugene O’Neill and an international career on stage and in film. Robeson believed in the universality of music and that by performing African-American spirituals and other cultures’ folk songs, he could promote intercultural understanding.
Derrick McQueen, due to a Dodge Foundation Grant, was the Playwright in Residence at South Jersey Regional Theatre, where his play I Have Been Said to Possess was produced. He's acted with the New York Theatre Workshop, Mabou Mines, Totem Pole Playhouse, and sung at the Cape May Jazz Festival. The characterizations and concerts that he has created based on historical African-Americans, include the journalist Alfred P. Smith, Congressman George White, and abolitionist Frederick Douglass. Derrick took part in the NYC's Culture Project's X-Impact on the Gulf production of Voices of the Storm, life stories from the Mississippi Delta and Louisiana from those impacted by hurricane Katrina. A graduate of Union Theological Seminary, Rev. Derrick McQueen, Ph.D., is Pastor at St. James Presbyterian Church in Harlem. He is also the Associate Director of Community Partnerships for the Center on African American Research, Sexual Politics and Social Justice (CARSS) at Columbia University. All in all, Derrick is a man with many passions, joys, academic interests and a love of humankind.
“Derrick's presentation of Paul Robeson was a great success. Attendees were truly appreciative of Derrick's gifts and energy. Many people were shocked to learn of the viciousness of Robeson's treatment by his own government and perhaps even more shocked that they hadn't ever heard of Paul Robeson when they thought of themselves as well educated people -- and they are!” - D'Etta Leach, Volunteer for Homeward Bound; this performance at North Carolina Stage Company in Asheville was a fundraiser for this cause
"Thank you for sharing your special talents at the Puffin Cultural Forum. Your presence here has helped to deepen our experience of the arts and culture, reflecting the premise of the Foundation's motto: continuing the dialogue between art and the lives of ordinary people." - Perry Rosenstein, President, The Puffin Foundation Ltd.
Written by Gayle Stahlhuth, and performed by Derrick McQueen, Paul Robeson Through His Words and Music is an interweaving of two dozen songs that were sung by Robeson, with a narrative of his life as an actor, singer, activist, and humanitarian. Venues where this has been performed include Crossroads Theater in New Brunswick, NJ, at the Wildwood Convention Center for an NAACP Fundraising event, The Puffin Foundation in Teaneck, NJ, North Carolina Stage Company in Asheville, and the Newark PAC. First performed in Cape May in 2006, it returned as an ELTC mainstage production in 2010 due to popular demand.
Paul Robeson (1898-1976) was born to a former slave, the Rev. William Robeson. At Rutgers University he was a twelve-letter athlete, and graduated valedictorian in 1919. While in NYC attending Columbia University, he came in contact with people in the theater, which led to leads in plays written by Eugene O’Neill and an international career on stage and in film. Robeson believed in the universality of music and that by performing African-American spirituals and other cultures’ folk songs, he could promote intercultural understanding.
Derrick McQueen, due to a Dodge Foundation Grant, was the Playwright in Residence at South Jersey Regional Theatre, where his play I Have Been Said to Possess was produced. He's acted with the New York Theatre Workshop, Mabou Mines, Totem Pole Playhouse, and sung at the Cape May Jazz Festival. The characterizations and concerts that he has created based on historical African-Americans, include the journalist Alfred P. Smith, Congressman George White, and abolitionist Frederick Douglass. Derrick took part in the NYC's Culture Project's X-Impact on the Gulf production of Voices of the Storm, life stories from the Mississippi Delta and Louisiana from those impacted by hurricane Katrina. A graduate of Union Theological Seminary, Rev. Derrick McQueen, Ph.D., is Pastor at St. James Presbyterian Church in Harlem. He is also the Associate Director of Community Partnerships for the Center on African American Research, Sexual Politics and Social Justice (CARSS) at Columbia University. All in all, Derrick is a man with many passions, joys, academic interests and a love of humankind.
“Derrick's presentation of Paul Robeson was a great success. Attendees were truly appreciative of Derrick's gifts and energy. Many people were shocked to learn of the viciousness of Robeson's treatment by his own government and perhaps even more shocked that they hadn't ever heard of Paul Robeson when they thought of themselves as well educated people -- and they are!” - D'Etta Leach, Volunteer for Homeward Bound; this performance at North Carolina Stage Company in Asheville was a fundraiser for this cause
"Thank you for sharing your special talents at the Puffin Cultural Forum. Your presence here has helped to deepen our experience of the arts and culture, reflecting the premise of the Foundation's motto: continuing the dialogue between art and the lives of ordinary people." - Perry Rosenstein, President, The Puffin Foundation Ltd.
FABULOUS FERBER
Written and Performed by Gayle Stahlhuth. It's 1938 and Edna Ferber's publisher has asked her to write an autobiography. As she recalls her life, from the balcony of her NYC apartment, she discovers, and so does the audience, that her life is well worth recording. The Pulitzer Prize-winning author (So Big) and Broadway playwright (The Royal Family and Dinner at Eight with George S. Kaufman, etc.), was also a journalist, short-story writer, and a member of the Algonquin Round Table. Jerome Kern adapted her novel Show Boat into the famous musical, and she numbered Helen Hayes, Katherine Hepburn, and Moss Hart among her friends. Originally commissioned by the Illinois and Missouri Humanities Councils for the Heartland Chautauqua Circuit, Stahlhuth was even asked to perform it as part of the Edna Ferber new-stamp issue ceremony at Appleton, WI. Length: 35 minutes to a full-two act.
“Fabulous Ferber fabulous!” - Ocean City Sentinel (NJ)
Written and Performed by Gayle Stahlhuth. It's 1938 and Edna Ferber's publisher has asked her to write an autobiography. As she recalls her life, from the balcony of her NYC apartment, she discovers, and so does the audience, that her life is well worth recording. The Pulitzer Prize-winning author (So Big) and Broadway playwright (The Royal Family and Dinner at Eight with George S. Kaufman, etc.), was also a journalist, short-story writer, and a member of the Algonquin Round Table. Jerome Kern adapted her novel Show Boat into the famous musical, and she numbered Helen Hayes, Katherine Hepburn, and Moss Hart among her friends. Originally commissioned by the Illinois and Missouri Humanities Councils for the Heartland Chautauqua Circuit, Stahlhuth was even asked to perform it as part of the Edna Ferber new-stamp issue ceremony at Appleton, WI. Length: 35 minutes to a full-two act.
“Fabulous Ferber fabulous!” - Ocean City Sentinel (NJ)
VICTORIAN MAGIC
Magic shows, a popular act on the vaudeville circuit, is still popular today. Actor/magician Robert Aberdeen delights audiences of all ages with his sleight-of-hand. Performances include selections from The Oldest Illusion in the History of Magic: "The Cups and Balls" and The Second Oldest Illusion: "The Mystery of the Silver Rings." Robert has performed his show throughout the country.
Robert Aberdeen is a veteran of five Broadway shows: The Passion of Joseph D, the original Fiddler on the Roof, Billy Budd, Royal Hunt of the Sun, and Citizen Tom Paine. He's also performed in Off-Broadway shows and in regional theater including ELTC where he was in Spoon River, Women and the Vote, and The Dictator. He starred in the international tour of The Magic Show and in his own television special Magic Maestro Please. His film work includes playing Attorney General Herbert Bromnell, speaking to President Eisenhower played by Robin Williams, in The Butler. On television, he was a regular on the daytime serial, Love of Life.
“Aberdeen shines . . he has stage charisma that establishes a rapport with the audience." - Cape May Gazette
Magic shows, a popular act on the vaudeville circuit, is still popular today. Actor/magician Robert Aberdeen delights audiences of all ages with his sleight-of-hand. Performances include selections from The Oldest Illusion in the History of Magic: "The Cups and Balls" and The Second Oldest Illusion: "The Mystery of the Silver Rings." Robert has performed his show throughout the country.
Robert Aberdeen is a veteran of five Broadway shows: The Passion of Joseph D, the original Fiddler on the Roof, Billy Budd, Royal Hunt of the Sun, and Citizen Tom Paine. He's also performed in Off-Broadway shows and in regional theater including ELTC where he was in Spoon River, Women and the Vote, and The Dictator. He starred in the international tour of The Magic Show and in his own television special Magic Maestro Please. His film work includes playing Attorney General Herbert Bromnell, speaking to President Eisenhower played by Robin Williams, in The Butler. On television, he was a regular on the daytime serial, Love of Life.
“Aberdeen shines . . he has stage charisma that establishes a rapport with the audience." - Cape May Gazette
SOMEONE MUST WASH THE DISHES: An Anti-Suffrage Satire
Written by Marie Jenney Howe and performed by Michele LaRue, it was originally published by the National American Woman Suffrage Association (precursor of the League of Women Voters.)
"Woman suffrage is the reform against nature,” declares Howe’s unlikely, but likable, heroine. Howe, a pro-suffragist, wrote her Anti-Suffrage Monologue in 1912—eight years before women at last won the vote. Her fictional speaker is a charming, guileless enthusiast who sincerely believes that her efforts as a “womanly woman” will keep the Home intact—and save the Nation from anarchy. “Ladies, get what you want. Pound pillows. Make a scene. Make home a hell on earth—but do it in a womanly way! That is so much more dignified and refined than walking up to a ballot box and dropping in a piece of paper!” This has been performed at libraries, in schools and museums and for various women's organizations throughout the country.
Michèle has worked in numerous NJ theaters including Tri-State Theatre, New Jersey Rep, the Bickford Theatre, Centenary Stage, and ELTC, which was founded by her late husband, Warren Kliewer. She is a member of AEA, SAG, and AFTRA, and as a theatre editor-writer, of Drama Desk.
"Michele LaRue is all innocence when stating that if women were awarded suffrage,they'd have no impact on the vote, anyway." The Newark Star-Ledger (NJ)
Written by Marie Jenney Howe and performed by Michele LaRue, it was originally published by the National American Woman Suffrage Association (precursor of the League of Women Voters.)
"Woman suffrage is the reform against nature,” declares Howe’s unlikely, but likable, heroine. Howe, a pro-suffragist, wrote her Anti-Suffrage Monologue in 1912—eight years before women at last won the vote. Her fictional speaker is a charming, guileless enthusiast who sincerely believes that her efforts as a “womanly woman” will keep the Home intact—and save the Nation from anarchy. “Ladies, get what you want. Pound pillows. Make a scene. Make home a hell on earth—but do it in a womanly way! That is so much more dignified and refined than walking up to a ballot box and dropping in a piece of paper!” This has been performed at libraries, in schools and museums and for various women's organizations throughout the country.
Michèle has worked in numerous NJ theaters including Tri-State Theatre, New Jersey Rep, the Bickford Theatre, Centenary Stage, and ELTC, which was founded by her late husband, Warren Kliewer. She is a member of AEA, SAG, and AFTRA, and as a theatre editor-writer, of Drama Desk.
"Michele LaRue is all innocence when stating that if women were awarded suffrage,they'd have no impact on the vote, anyway." The Newark Star-Ledger (NJ)
AUNT HATTIE’S HOUSE
Written and Performed by Emma Palzere-Rae. Spend a lovely evening with Harriet Beecher Stowe, who speaks of her life, her new home, and what drove her - a working mother in the 19th century, to write Uncle Tom’s Cabin.
In 2000, Emma premiered Aunt Hattie's House in the Missouri Humanities Council's touring Civil War Chautauqua, before presenting it in Cape May for ELTC as part of the double-bill titled The Beecher Sisters, in which Gayle Stahlhuth premiered her own one-woman A Trunk Without a Label about Catharine Beecher. Emma's more than 20-year career incorporates working in all areas of professional theater including performance, artistic administration, playwrighting and producing. She founded Be Well Productions in 1989, bringing one-woman historical portrayals to schools, libraries and community organizations. She is the director of development for the Women's Center of Southeastern Connecticut.
“Harriet is grandly portrayed by Emma Palzere-Rae." - Ed Wismer, critic for Cape May Star and Wave
Written and Performed by Emma Palzere-Rae. Spend a lovely evening with Harriet Beecher Stowe, who speaks of her life, her new home, and what drove her - a working mother in the 19th century, to write Uncle Tom’s Cabin.
In 2000, Emma premiered Aunt Hattie's House in the Missouri Humanities Council's touring Civil War Chautauqua, before presenting it in Cape May for ELTC as part of the double-bill titled The Beecher Sisters, in which Gayle Stahlhuth premiered her own one-woman A Trunk Without a Label about Catharine Beecher. Emma's more than 20-year career incorporates working in all areas of professional theater including performance, artistic administration, playwrighting and producing. She founded Be Well Productions in 1989, bringing one-woman historical portrayals to schools, libraries and community organizations. She is the director of development for the Women's Center of Southeastern Connecticut.
“Harriet is grandly portrayed by Emma Palzere-Rae." - Ed Wismer, critic for Cape May Star and Wave
EVE’S DIARY
Adapted and performed by Gayle Stahlhuth, it recounts the adventures of Adam and Eve as written by Mark Twain. Life IS difficult to figure out without a dictionary! From trying to figure out what Adam was when she first saw him, to naming the animals, to taking a bite out of the apple, to life after the Fall, Eve lovingly recorded it all. Length can vary from 15 to 40 minutes. Performance locations include The One-Woman Festival at One Dream Theater in NYC and the American Quilters' Society's annual show in Paducah, KY.
“Diary abounds with wit and charm.” - The Tribeca Trib (NYC)
Adapted and performed by Gayle Stahlhuth, it recounts the adventures of Adam and Eve as written by Mark Twain. Life IS difficult to figure out without a dictionary! From trying to figure out what Adam was when she first saw him, to naming the animals, to taking a bite out of the apple, to life after the Fall, Eve lovingly recorded it all. Length can vary from 15 to 40 minutes. Performance locations include The One-Woman Festival at One Dream Theater in NYC and the American Quilters' Society's annual show in Paducah, KY.
“Diary abounds with wit and charm.” - The Tribeca Trib (NYC)
TALES OF THE VICTORIANS
One of ELTC's popular events for over 25 years, "Tales" goes beyond the usual Cape May schedule of Thursdays in the summer and Saturdays in the fall, and have been booked by libraries, schools, museums, other theaters, and private homes for a variety of special occasions, entertaining all ages. A member of ELTC reads an American classic tale. Favorite writers are O. Henry, Mark Twain, Edna Ferber, Dorothy Parker, and Edgar Allan Poe. Pictured here is James Rana performing for a group at a library in Barnegat, NJ.
“The Bret Harte story was one more warmth-producing Yule log on the holiday fire.” - Cape May Star and Wave
One of ELTC's popular events for over 25 years, "Tales" goes beyond the usual Cape May schedule of Thursdays in the summer and Saturdays in the fall, and have been booked by libraries, schools, museums, other theaters, and private homes for a variety of special occasions, entertaining all ages. A member of ELTC reads an American classic tale. Favorite writers are O. Henry, Mark Twain, Edna Ferber, Dorothy Parker, and Edgar Allan Poe. Pictured here is James Rana performing for a group at a library in Barnegat, NJ.
“The Bret Harte story was one more warmth-producing Yule log on the holiday fire.” - Cape May Star and Wave
LOU: The Remarkable Miss Alcott
Written and Performed by Gayle Stahlhuth. It is the fall of 1871 in Louisa May Alcott’s Boston apartment. As she reads her mail and packs for a trip to Europe, Louisa talks to the audience about her life as a philosopher's daughter, Civil War nurse, and writer of short stories and novels, including Little Women. The script is taken from the letters, diaries, and stories of the famous author. Length can be 35 minutes to a full-two act. It's been performed at numerous places including The Smithsonian Institution, The Arvada Center in Denver, CO, and at The School of Philosophy behind Orchard House, one of the Alcott's home in Concord, MA.
"Last night's performance of Lou was like an evening with an old friend . . . The portrayal moved the audience from laughter to tears." - The Riverton Ranger (WY)
Written and Performed by Gayle Stahlhuth. It is the fall of 1871 in Louisa May Alcott’s Boston apartment. As she reads her mail and packs for a trip to Europe, Louisa talks to the audience about her life as a philosopher's daughter, Civil War nurse, and writer of short stories and novels, including Little Women. The script is taken from the letters, diaries, and stories of the famous author. Length can be 35 minutes to a full-two act. It's been performed at numerous places including The Smithsonian Institution, The Arvada Center in Denver, CO, and at The School of Philosophy behind Orchard House, one of the Alcott's home in Concord, MA.
"Last night's performance of Lou was like an evening with an old friend . . . The portrayal moved the audience from laughter to tears." - The Riverton Ranger (WY)
CHRISTMAS STORIES
Adapted and performed in storytelling fashion (memorized, not read) by Gayle Stahlhuth, who brings 30 plus characters to life during one performance. These shows have become a Holiday Tradition in Cape May and on the road. Here are a sample of the Christmas tales she's premiered, although there are others by Mark Twain, Edward Everett Hale, Mary Wilkins Freeman, Bret Harte, and Frank R. Stockton as well:
CHRISTMAS IN WISCONSIN: TALES BY ZONA GALE Gayle portrays the storyteller, Calliope Marsh, who lived in Friendship Village, Wisconsin her whole life. In Human, while waiting in line at the post office to mail off her Christmas presents, she discovers that a seven-year-old boy doesn't have the money to visit his mother who’s in a hospital in another town. In The Great Tree, she is determined to see to it that the tree in the center of town is lit with electric lights for Christmas Eve in 1912. Zona Gale was known for her short stories and her novel, Miss Lulu Bett, that she adapted for the stage. While on Broadway in 1922, it received the Pulitzer Prize.
THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF SANTA CLAUS From L. Frank Baum, the man who gave us The Wizard of Oz, comes this charming tale about Claus’s life, from his early years to how he became immortal. Baum gave Claus an exciting life that evokes all the charm, warmth, and fantasy that made his "Oz" stories American classics. He took Claus out of his conventional trappings, and placed him into the world of folklore, complete with fairies, gnomes, and elves. In fact, it is because of Baum’s book, that Santa Claus is believed to have elves to help him. When ELTC produced this one-person tour-de-force in 2010, it was designated an “American Masterpiece” as part of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Masterpieces Series. (2010 was the final year of this 3-year series.)
O. HENRY'S CHRISTMAS STORIES Stories include Whistling Dick's Christmas Stocking, about a hobo who traveled from NYC to Louisiana and end up preventing a catastrophe. In Christmas by Injunction, a kind-hearted miner wants all the children in town to meet Santa Claus and receive presents. One problem: there are no children in the town of Rough-and-Ready. Also included is perhaps the greatest American Christmas tale of all time, The Gift of the Magi, about a young married couple very much in love.
LOUISA MAY ALCOTT'S CHRISTMAS Tales include the first two chapters of Little Women in which the famous sisters, Jo, Beth, Meg, and Amy, give their Christmas breakfast to a poor family, present gifts to Marmee, perform a play Louisa wrote, meet the new neighbors, and receive a letter from their father who is a minister in the Civil War. How It All Happened is about people in a boarding house helping two little girls celebrate Christmas, and in Tessa's Surprises, a well-to-do family helps an immigrant family from Italy. The spirits of the bells in different church steeples gather every Christmas Eve to discuss how the year has been in the thoughtful and poignant What the Bells Saw and Said.
"Stahlhuth is an absolute delight, bringing Christmas cheer to the audience as she switches from one characterization to the other. Her performance is one of the highlights of the theater season in Cape May." - Jacob Schaad, critic for The Cape May Gazette
“Stahlhuth mesmerizes audiences as she moves seamlessly from character to character.” - Catherine Dugan, Exit Zero
Adapted and performed in storytelling fashion (memorized, not read) by Gayle Stahlhuth, who brings 30 plus characters to life during one performance. These shows have become a Holiday Tradition in Cape May and on the road. Here are a sample of the Christmas tales she's premiered, although there are others by Mark Twain, Edward Everett Hale, Mary Wilkins Freeman, Bret Harte, and Frank R. Stockton as well:
CHRISTMAS IN WISCONSIN: TALES BY ZONA GALE Gayle portrays the storyteller, Calliope Marsh, who lived in Friendship Village, Wisconsin her whole life. In Human, while waiting in line at the post office to mail off her Christmas presents, she discovers that a seven-year-old boy doesn't have the money to visit his mother who’s in a hospital in another town. In The Great Tree, she is determined to see to it that the tree in the center of town is lit with electric lights for Christmas Eve in 1912. Zona Gale was known for her short stories and her novel, Miss Lulu Bett, that she adapted for the stage. While on Broadway in 1922, it received the Pulitzer Prize.
THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF SANTA CLAUS From L. Frank Baum, the man who gave us The Wizard of Oz, comes this charming tale about Claus’s life, from his early years to how he became immortal. Baum gave Claus an exciting life that evokes all the charm, warmth, and fantasy that made his "Oz" stories American classics. He took Claus out of his conventional trappings, and placed him into the world of folklore, complete with fairies, gnomes, and elves. In fact, it is because of Baum’s book, that Santa Claus is believed to have elves to help him. When ELTC produced this one-person tour-de-force in 2010, it was designated an “American Masterpiece” as part of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Masterpieces Series. (2010 was the final year of this 3-year series.)
O. HENRY'S CHRISTMAS STORIES Stories include Whistling Dick's Christmas Stocking, about a hobo who traveled from NYC to Louisiana and end up preventing a catastrophe. In Christmas by Injunction, a kind-hearted miner wants all the children in town to meet Santa Claus and receive presents. One problem: there are no children in the town of Rough-and-Ready. Also included is perhaps the greatest American Christmas tale of all time, The Gift of the Magi, about a young married couple very much in love.
LOUISA MAY ALCOTT'S CHRISTMAS Tales include the first two chapters of Little Women in which the famous sisters, Jo, Beth, Meg, and Amy, give their Christmas breakfast to a poor family, present gifts to Marmee, perform a play Louisa wrote, meet the new neighbors, and receive a letter from their father who is a minister in the Civil War. How It All Happened is about people in a boarding house helping two little girls celebrate Christmas, and in Tessa's Surprises, a well-to-do family helps an immigrant family from Italy. The spirits of the bells in different church steeples gather every Christmas Eve to discuss how the year has been in the thoughtful and poignant What the Bells Saw and Said.
"Stahlhuth is an absolute delight, bringing Christmas cheer to the audience as she switches from one characterization to the other. Her performance is one of the highlights of the theater season in Cape May." - Jacob Schaad, critic for The Cape May Gazette
“Stahlhuth mesmerizes audiences as she moves seamlessly from character to character.” - Catherine Dugan, Exit Zero
