Update on VAUDEVILLE VARIETY tonight, August 21 at 7:00 PM. IF it is raining at 5:00 PM in Cape May and West Cape May, we will NOT be able to perform tonight. DO not go by the weather in other parts of the Cape May area like North Cape May or Erma. It could be raining there, but not here in Cape May or West Cape May. Be sure to check the weather here. IF we don't perform tonight, we will perform at 7:00 PM on Sunday. IF people who have tickets cannot attend on Sunday, they may use their tickets on Saturday, Aug. 28 at 7:00 PM. Of course, tickets will be refunded if today is the only day someone can attend and rain prevents a show. Here's hoping the rain in Cape May and West Cape May will hold off until 10:00 PM. Sorry for any inconvenience.
Join Susan Tischler, Holly Knapp, and Will Knapp in East Lynne Theater Company’s fun-filled “Vaudeville Variety,” where they’ll take you back to 1916 with such skits as “A Day at the Races,” “The World’s Greatest Knife Thrower,” and a humorous take on housekeeping, along with songs of the period like “Moonlight Bay” and “Shine on Harvest Moon.” All three performers have worked for ELTC before, most recently in the company’s virtual production of “Yuletide Tales” in 2020. “Vaudeville Variety” is directed by ELTC’s Artistic Director, Gayle Stahlhuth.
The show is performed on the following Saturdays at 7:00 PM, with no intermission: June 12 and 26, July 10, 24, and 31, and Aug. 21 and 28. Sundays are the rain dates. It is being produced outdoors at West Cape May Borough Hall’s “Back Yard,” 732 Broadway, not far from Cape May’s historic district, where there is plenty of parking. Tickets, which must be purchased in advance, are $25; $20 students and military (active/retired/veteran), and ages 12 and under are free. ELTC adheres to all regulations set forth by the State of New Jersey to implement safety measures to ensure a safe and enjoyable theater going experience for our patrons, staff, volunteers, and artists.
Mae Savell Croy, portrayed by Susan Tischler, is travelling throughout the country promoting her new book, “Putnam’s Household Handbook.” Croy did write the book that contains suggestions such as “if the baby wants to cry, let it do so, thereby exercising and strengthening its young lungs. The best therapy for the baby is to leave it alone, to put it outdoors, and to seemingly forget all about it.” Susan adapted Croy’s book for ELTC several years ago, creating a longer one-woman show titled “Helpful Hints” that was performed at the Chalfonte Hotel, on ELTC’s mainstage at the Cape May Presbyterian Church, and on tour.
Joining Mrs. Croy are two vaudevillians, portrayed by Holly and Will Knapp. In one skit, Madame Vivesectovitch, the world's greatest knife thrower, asks a volunteer to hold a cigarette in his mouth, claiming that she will cut the cigarette in half with her knife. Can she do it? And why is her full-time assistant, Sylvester, no longer with her? Can she even see the cigarette from a few feet away? And then there’s the winning horse called “I Don’t Know,” in a “Day at the Races” that sets the laugher in motion.
Currently, Susan is the storyteller for “The Ghosts of Christmas Past Trolley Rides,” produced by ELTC with Cape May MAC, and has performed in several ELTC productions including “Sherlock Holmes Adventure of the Speckled Band.” From 2017-2019, she performed for SPQR Theatre, also in Cape May, in Calliope Rose, The Wreck of the Spanish Armada, and her own original works, Meet the Locals and Tao of Tisch. She was then selected to perform Tao of Tisch at The Women's Theatre Comedy Showcase in Parsippany, NJ. Other credits include portraying Minnie Pearl and co-producing Barry’s Christmas Opry, proceeds of which go to the West Cape May Christmas Parade.
Holly and Will have been performing regularly in South Jersey since they moved to the Cape May area in 2004 and 2003 respectively. After graduating from University of the Arts in 2004, Holly performed at Elaine's Dinner Theater (bringing Will on board in 2007) and then served as the theater’s Artistic Director and Executive Producer for several years, where she developed nearly a dozen original shows. She made her ELTC debut in the 2015 staged reading of “Our American Cousin,” and was in Cape May Stage's “Moonlight and Magnolias” in 2007. Recent credits include Audrey (“Little Shop of Horrors”), Morticia (“Addams Family”), Fastrada (“Pippin”), Evelyn Nesbit (“Ragtime”) and Mrs. Lovett (“Sweeny Todd”). Currently, Holly is the co-host of the 5-start rated true crime/comedy podcast “We Would Be Dead.” Will began playing music professionally with the “Off Duty Super Heroes” in Philadelphia in the late 90's, and began a solo (and occasional duo) career after moving to South Jersey. He plays and sings at various locations in Cape May, Wildwood and Avalon.
Director Gayle Stahlhuth has performed Off-Broadway, in regional theaters, and in film and television. Since 1999 she has been Artistic Director of ELTC, producing over 100 different plays and musicals for this company, and directed most of them. Her work has been praised in “The New York Times,” “The Wall Street Journal,” and “The Philadelphia Inquirer.”