Typical this time of year, East Lynne Theater Company’s artistic director Gayle Stahlhuth, after plowing through dozens of stories, selects a few to present for the holidays in storytelling fashion. This means that everything is memorized and at least 30 different characters are interpreted, many with simple gestures like the flick of a wrist, a nod of the head, and/or a change in the dialect. The tales are endearing, witty, and appropriate for all ages. This year, the American writers she’s selected are Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864), Edward Everett Hale (1822-1909), Mark Twain (1835-1910), and O. Henry (1862-1910), under the title Yuletide Tales.
In Hale’s 9 Linwood Street, an Irish girl arrives in Boston, but her brother isn’t on the dock to meet her. With the help of many, she eventually arrives at this unique address.
In Susie’s Letter from Santa Clause, Twain, as Santa, explains that she will get the trunk filled with doll clothes, but must talk to Santa first through the household speaking tube. The plans for the trunk delivery are whimsically elaborate.
Hawthorne’s Snow Image is about two children who create a child out of snow, or was it just their imagination? But the real question becomes, did their father have the right to question their imagination?
O. Henry provided his usual “twist” at the end of The Gift of the Magi, proving that the love between two people is stronger than the gifts they gave each other.
Venues where Stahlhuth has performed her one-person shows include The Smithsonian and Manhattan Theater Club. When she performed Baum’s “Life and Adventures of Santa Claus,” it was designated an “American Masterpiece,” part of the NEA’s Masterpieces Series.
Also this time of year, ELTC accepts nonperishable items for the Cape May Food Closet when performing. What is needed most are boxed spaghetti, shampoo, canned veggies, and coffee. For monetary donations, checks should be made payable to The Community Food Closet of Cape May.
Yuletide Tales is presented on November 25, 26, December 4, 8, 9, and 10 at 8:00 with a 2:00 show also on December 10, at The First Presbyterian Church of Cape May, 500 Hughes St.
For more information about the show and East Lynne Theater Company, click here.