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
propelled her to write Uncle Tom’s Cabin.  
“Harriet is grandly portrayed by Emma Palzere-Rae."   Cape May Star & Wave (NJ)

THE AWAKENING, based on Kate Chopin’s 1899 novel, relates the decisions made by Edna Pontellier
as she “awakens” one night to her life as an artist, lover, wife and mother.
“A superb evening!”       Atlantic City Press (NJ)
“A triumph for Gayle Stahlhuth!”     Cape May Star & Wave (NJ)   

AN EVENING WITH EMILY DICKINSON tells of the life of the poet Emily Dickinson.  
“A bravura performance by Emma Palzere-Rae.”   Ocean City Sentinel (NJ)

EVE’S DIARY recounts the adventures of Adam and Eve as written by Mark Twain.
“Diary abounds with wit and charm.”     The Tribeca Trib (NYC)  

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), was also a journalist, short-story writer, and a member of the
Algonquin Round Table.  Newspapers hired her to cover Presidential Campaigns before women were
allowed to vote. 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)
LIZZIE BORDEN LIVE (Commissioned by and first performed for ELTC in 2007)
Written and performed by Jill Dalton, directed by Jack McCullough, original music by Larry Hochman
Jill Dalton brings the legend to life in this provocative play that has audiences rethinking the sensational murders
of Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Borden on Aug. 4, 1892. The only one tried for the murders as Andrew's daughter,
Lizzie, who maintained her innocence and as acquitted. To this day, the case is considered unsolved, although
many do believe that "Lizzie Borden took an ax and gave her mother 40 whacks. When she saw what she had
done, she gave her father 41."  Did she do it or not?  You decide.
"Dalton enacts a Lizzie such as never before been portrayed anywhere on stage, screen or in literature.  Her
accomplishment may be far the most accurate, the most thoroughly researched, and the most brilliantly complex
Lizzie created for dramatic purposes.  It is an accomplishment not only of theater and performance, but of
Lizzie Borden scholarship: a tale woven with historical accuracy and intelligent speculation, one that does not
try to solve the murders, but to puzzle out the mystery inside the woman herself."
              Richard Behrens, Critic for The Hatchet, Quarterly for The Lizzie Borden Society   
"I heartily recommend LIZZIE BORDEN LIVE.  It's unlikely you will arrive at any conclusions, but you'll
have spent a short spell with a complex and most interesting Lizzie, in the person of Jill Dalton...Dalton is
nothing less than superb in her depiction, alternating between sweet, innocent, witty, and savagely murderous."
                                                       Ed Wismer, Critic for The 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.
"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)
"Stahlhuth is renowned for bringing characters to vivid life." Cape May Star and Wave (NJ)
LOUISA MAY ALCOTT'S CHRISTMAS
Written and Performed by Gayle Stahlhuth
As Louisa, Gayle, in storytelling fashion, performs the first two chapters of Little Women (the March Family
Christmas), and the stories "How It All Happened" and "Tessa's Surprises": 25 characters in all- in 60 Minutes!
"Stahlhuth is an absolute delight, bringing Christmas cheer to the audience as she switches from
one characterization to the other."  Jacob Schaad, critic for The Cape May Gazette
“Stahlhuth is renowned for her ability to bring characters to vivid life.”  Cape May Star and Wave

NOT ABOVE A WHISPER tells of Dorothea Dix’s struggles as she sought protection for the indigent
mentally ill in the 1800s.
"Anyone who thinks about the relationship between taxation and social responsibility would have
much to learn from NOT ABOVE A WHISPER."
                                      Ken Yellis, Curator of Education, The National Portrait Gallery
PAUL ROBESON THROUGH HIS WORDS AND MUSIC
Written by Gayle Stahlhuth           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.
"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.
 "Paul Robeson Through His Words and Music was one of our most well attended presentations.  Derrick did a wonderful
job narrating Robeson's life and singing his songs.  The presentation provides a nice balance between Robeson's personal
life and his importance in history" Carol Campell, Friends of Fanwood Memorial Library, NJ as reported in The Scotch
Plains-Fanwood Times
 "Superb performance!  The history of Robeson flowed seamlessly into singing that delighted all who attended.  The
applause afterwards went on so long that Mr. McQueen had to deliver an encore!  What a treat!  Every one of the attendees
came up to me later, grateful that I had booked the show.  Mr. McQueen and Technical Director Mr. O'Connor were
wonderful to work with. Thank you East Lynne Theater Company for making the night a success!" Jennifer Rees Schulze,
Westfield Memorial Library.     
"Derrick McQueen’s voice is phenomenal…the text emphasized what a multi-talented Renaissance man Robeson was.”  
Cape May Star & Wave (NJ)

SHERLOCK HOLMES ADVENTURES in the style of the original 1930’s NBC radio series, with live sound effects
and commercials, these shows are being requested to “go on the road.”  Adventures offered are The Copper Beeches
and The Speckled Band.  Available in March and November.   
                                                            “This excellent group brings Holmes to life!”    Ocean City Sentinel (NJ)

SOMEONE MUST WASH THE DISHES
Written by Marie Jenney Howe           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 irresistibly likeable, 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!”  
"Michele LaRue is all innocence when stating that if women were awarded suffrage,they'd have no impact on the vote,
anyway."  The Star-Ledger (NJ)

TALES OF THE VICTORIANS, American short-story classics read by members of the company, have pleased
audiences on the porches of B&Bs in Cape May, in schools, museums, theaters, and parlors, entertaining all ages.
“The Bret Harte story was one more warmth-producing Yule log on the holiday fire.”   
Cape May Star & Wave (NJ)







TOURING SHOWS      Covering American History from 1840-1950!

VICTORIAN MAGIC is a tour de force for actor/magician Robert Aberdeen,
who 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."
“Aberdeen shines . . he has stage charisma that establishes
a rapport with the audience."    Cape May Gazette

THE YELLOW WALLPAPER
Directed and adapted by Warren Kliewer
Performed by Michele LaRue
The Yellow Wallpaper  is Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s chilling indictment of 19th-
century medicine. And one of the finest horror stories ever penned. Gilman’s story
has been applauded by feminists since its publication in 1891. A three-month-long
idyll in the country, the detailed attentions of a loving husband—and a room hung
with yellow wallpaper—propel a spirited new mother to the brink of madness. The
Yellow Wallpaper continues to chill today’s readers, dazzling feminists and
historians, mystery- and horror-story enthusiasts alike, with its wit, suspense, and
superlative style.based on
"I want to commend The East Lynne Theater Company, and particularly Michele
LaRue, on the stunning performance."      
          Martha C. Allen, Project Director, NJ Committee for the Humanities