East Lynne Theater Company to Present Suzanne Dawson In DOROTHY PARKER: A CERTAIN WOMAN

During the pandemic in 2020, East Lynne Theater Company's artistic director, Gayle Stahlhuth produced 21 different live events under the title "Tales in the Backyard." One of these was about Dorothy Parker with Suzanne Dawson reading one of her stories, "Interior Desecration." It begins: "My friend, Alistair St. Cloud, is one of our most talented interior decorators. Surely you have seen his photograph in the magazines - that photograph which shows him clad in a Chinese dreaming-robe, looking yearningly into a bowl of goldfish."

And that is how "Dorothy Parker: A Certain Woman" was born, starring Dawson in a world premiere created by James Rana, based on the life and works of one of the world's wittiest women, directed by Stahlhuth. Unlike "Tales," the work is committed to memory and performed - not read.

Dawson was last on ELTC's stage portraying Martha Brewster in the hilarious "Arsenic and Old Lace," with Stahlhuth in the role of her sister Martha, and directing. Rana has performed in and written plays for ELTC, including "A Year in the Trenches" that was commissioned by The New Jersey Historical Society. He was in "The Band's Visit" on Broadway, and will be returning to the National Tour of the same production, this fall.

Dorothy Parker (1893-1967) was a poet, journalist, critic, screenwriter, human rights activist and philanthropist. She was a member of The Algonquin Round Table (also known as "The Vicious Circle"), a popular writer for "The New Yorker," won the O. Henry Short Story Award for "The Big Blonde," and received an Oscar nomination for co-writing the screenplay for the original "A Star is Born." A collection of her work, "The Portable Dorothy Parker," has never been out of print. She was recently in "The New York Times" when her gravestone was unveiled before many fans on August 23, 2021 in Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx. Due to the efforts of the Dorothy Parker Society, her ashes were moved from the NAACP headquarters in Baltimore, to the Bronx where she is now next to her parents and grandparents. On the gravestone is the final stanza of her 1925 poem "Epitaph for a Darling Lady:" It reads: "Leave for her a red young rose. Go your way, and save your pity. She is happy, for she knows that her dust is very pretty."

Suzanne Dawson's off-Broadway productions include "CBS Live" and "The Great American Backstage Musical." Her regional credits include "Sylvia" at Florida Studio Theatre and "Rumors" at Paper Mill Playhouse. She toured with "Rumors," and opposite Gavin MacLeod in "Last of the Red Hot Lovers." In 2011, Dawson performed in "The World of Dorothy Parker," created by Stahlhuth for a cast of four. Other ELTC productions include "Berkeley Square," "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," adapted by James Rana, and "The Butter and Egg Man."

"Dorothy Parker: A Certain Woman" runs from September 15 - October 16, Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8:00 PM at The Cape May Presbyterian Church, 500 Hughes Street, where ELTC is in residence. Tickets are $35; $30 senior; $20 student/military. Visit Eastlynnetheater.org, under "Mainstage Season" for more information; under "News" for the COVID-19 Safety Protocol, or call 609-884-5898.

Meanwhile, a special ELTC concert for 9/11 starring soprano Barbara Quintiniani, "A Hundred Thousand Days of Light" will also be at the same location for the same price.

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