Michele LaRue
(CAPE MAY, NJ) -- After a highly successful series of story and play readings throughout the summer, the final "Tales at the Dormer House" for 2024, is on October 10. Topics have ranged from the Civil War to the Harlem Renaissance, and conversations after the presentations are engaging and enlightening. It is a pleasure for Classic American Tales (CAT) to provide this entertaining event on Thursdays at 4:00pm at 800 Columbia Avenue, Cape May, on the porch, weather permitting. Otherwise, performances are in the charming parlor.
Guests are also treated to lemonade and tasty treats, along with the porch breeze and a well-told tale. Cost is only $12.00, cash or check at the door, and guests at The Dormer House and children ages 12 and under are free.
On September 26, Tom Byrn reads stories by American Wits: Carolyn Wells (1862-1942), George Ade (1866-1944), and Ben Hecht (1894-1964). CAT's artistic director, Gayle Stahlhuth, directed several plays in Cape May in which Byrn performed, including the solo show "Mr. Lincoln," which also toured to Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble in PA. In 2018 and 2019, he directed "Silent Sky" and "Summerland," produced by Stahlhuth in Cape May. Byrn has acted at various theaters in the Philadelphia area, including People's Light & Theatre and the Delaware Theater Company, and at various other theaters in PA, NY, and OH. He is a member of Actors' Equity and the Lincoln Center Director's Lab and resides in the Susquehanna River Valley of central PA with his wife and daughter.
Michele LaRue returns to the porch on October 3 to read Dorothy Canfield Fisher’s (1879-1958) "The Bedquilt," (1906) a suspenseful tale about a woman’s journey to self-respect, universal admiration, and the realization of her ideal. Aunt Mehetabel is taken for granted by her New England family— until she conceives a quilt "beyond which no patchwork pattern could go." LaRue, a member of Actors' Equity, tours the country with "The Bedquilt" and other stories that are part of her series, "Tales Well Told."
On October 10, Phil Pizzi brings Will Rogers (1879-1835) to life. In 1917, Rogers was a headliner for the Ziegfeld Follies, and in 1922, started a syndicated column that was read in 2,800 newspapers. His wit, wisdom and understanding of the human condition is often compared to that of Mark Twain. In the fall of 2018, Pizzi retired as the host of "The Morning Show" on 98.7-FM The Coast, WCZT, just one of his many credits in the entertainment field.
CAT’s play and story readings continue throughout the month at the Cape May Public Library and End of the Road Theater.
Reservations for "Tales" are appreciated and may be made through CAT by calling 609-884-5898 or e-mailing classicamericantales@aol.com.
After 23 years serving as the producing artistic director of East Lynne Theater Company, Gayle Stahlhuth founded Classic American Tales to tell America's stories "one tale at a time."
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