East Lynne Theater Company Presents an Evening of Vaudeville

CAPE MAY – The award-winning Equity professional East Lynne Theater Company is presenting “Vaudeville!” on Thurs., Nov. 10. The aggressive waiter, the down-and-out dance duo, the Irish landlady, and the spunky ingénue are just a few of the characters that will be comically brought to life by actors who have performed with ELTC. Along with original Vaudeville skits, there is music and singing, a lovely dinner, a raffle, and an introduction to the company’s exciting 2012 Season.
ELTC’s annual gala will once more take place at Aleathea’s Restaurant at the Inn of Cape May, 7 Ocean Street, and the restaurant, once again, is graciously supporting the event.
The evening begins at 5:30 p.m. with hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar. At 6:30, a sumptuous surf and turf dinner is served – along with entertainment that was created and arranged by ELTC board members Karen Case Cook, Mark Edward Lang, and Alison J. Murphy.
Live music, provided once more by Chris Sooy and Lew London, will embrace the Vaudeville era (1900-1930). Performers include ELTC favorites Suzanne Dawson, Mark Edward Lang, Alison J. Murphy, Lee O’Connor, Thomas Raniszewski, Susan Tischler, and Grace Wright.
New to ELTC is actor, writer, and variety artist James Rana, who has captivated audiences throughout North America and Europe. He will be performing slight-of-hand, juggling, and his own Vaudeville routines. Rana’s varied accomplishments include performing for the Big Apple Circus, to roles in television’s “Law and Order SVU.” Recently, he wrote and narrated “Poe: A Celebration” for NPR/Satellite radio, and his adaptation of three Poe mysteries will make its world premiere at ELTC in 2012.
As usual, the recipient of the Historic Jackson Street Neighborhood Association Scholarship Fund in the Name of Bob and Toni Green will also be announced, and there will be a few exciting items for a live auction, including the popular “Day in Manhattan with Gayle and Lee.”
ELTC is selling 50/50 Raffle Tickets for $50 each, with the opportunity to win $3,000, $1,500, or $500, and purchasers don’t have to be present to win. Only 200 tickets will be sold. Checks should be made out to East Lynne Theater Company and mailed to ELTC’s office, 121 Fourth Ave., West Cape May, NJ 08204. This year, the winners will be among the first tickets drawn; not the last three.
Entering its thirty-second year of entertaining audiences in Cape May and throughout the country, ELTC has much to celebrate. The reviewer for “The Wall Street Journal,” Terry Teachout, came to Cape May in July just to see ELTC’s “He and She,” giving it a great review. New Methuen Drama Books just published “Working in American Theatre,” where ELTC’s biography is included among other prestigious theaters in the country.
To attend “Vaudeville!” costs $60, and checks should be made out to East Lynne Theater Company and mailed to the office. Reservations should be made by November 5. For information and reservations, please call ELTC at 884-5898. All of the proceeds for the evening go to the Equity professional nonprofit East Lynne Theater Company to support the production season and educational outreach. Donations from those unable to attend will be gratefully received, and are tax-deductible.
Meanwhile, East Lynne’s 2011 Cape May Season still continues with “The Phantom of the Opera” on Oct. 28; “Sherlock Holmes’ Adventure of the Norwood Builder” on Nov. 4 and 5 and “Christmas Presents from the Past” on Nov. 25 and 26, and Dec. 4, 9, and 10. ELTC is once more partnering with The Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts’ “Ghosts of Christmas Trolley Rides” which runs during Nov. and Dec.