“You have a most annoying habit of talking to me when people are present. Sometimes it is all I can do to keep my poise and appear not to be listening to you.”
So says Harriet, to her “other self,” Hettie. Together, they are one person, and Harriet is actually speaking to herself.
The audience of course gets to see this “conversation” between these two and when Margaret, with her “other self” Maggie, pays a visit, the real fun begins.
Margaret and Harriet maintain propriety, while Hettie and Maggie voice raw emotions.
And this is just one of four plays that make up the deliciously witty evening, “Alice on the Edge,” all written by playwright Alice Gerstenberg, and produced by Cape May’s own East Lynne Theater Company.
The evening includes “Fourteen,” where Mrs. Pringle, her daughter and butler frantically juggle plates in preparation for a dinner party, while a blizzard blows outside.
Also included is “Illuminati in Drama Libre,” similar in style to “Waiting for Godot.”
“He Said and She Said” is about a busybody who questions why the unmarried Diana spends so much time with her best friend—and her best friend’s husband.
“Overtones” was the most talked-about play of the 1915 Broadway season, where, for the first time on stage, two characters talk to their alter egos.
Gerstenberg (1885-1972) was part of “The Little Theater Movement,” which offered artists the opportunity to take risks without the concerns inherent in large commercial ventures.
“Overtones” was produced on Broadway, had a successful run in vaudeville, then was performed in London by Lily Langtry.
“Alice on the Edge” can be seen until July 25 at 8:30 p.m., Wednesdays through Saturdays, at The First Presbyterian Church, 500 Hughes St., Cape May.
There will be no performance on July 4, but an added performance on July 5.
On June 26, there will be an after-show Q&A with the cast, and on July 17 an American Sign Language Interpreted performance.
Tickets are $28 general admission; $23 for seniors and those with disabilities and their support companions; and $13 for full-time students. Children ages 12 and under are always free.
Season tickets are still available through June 30: five shows for only $90.
For information and reservations, call 609-884-5898.
To make a reservation using a credit card, call 866-280-9211.
Meet the cast
Where else have the actors performed?
Where do they live when they are not in Cape May?
How do they get hired?
What made them want to be actors?
Audience members will get the opportunity to ask these and other questions of the five-member cast of “Alice on the Edge,” June 26 immediately after seeing East Lynne Theater Company’s production of Alice Gerstenberg’s one-act plays directed by Karen Case Cook.
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