Meet East Lynne Theater Co.'s Cast of BIOGRAPHY at Restaurant Q&A

For those who didn't have the opportunity to meet the cast and crew of East Lynne Theater Company's "Biography" at the after-show party at Aleathea's Restaurant on September 21, another chance is to be had on Friday, October 7 at an after-show Q&A. It's a wonderful opportunity for patrons to ask the actors and director such questions as "why do they do what they do?" and "how do they do it?"

At the center of this S. N. Behrman comedy is Marion Froude, an internationally known portrait painter. Looking for a juicy tale about celebrities for his magazine, Richard Kurt offers Marion $2,000 to write her autobiography. It's 1932, during the Depression, and Marion isn't getting commissions like she used to. Enter Leander Nolan, who hasn't seen Marion in fifteen years, and is now running for the United States Senate. He and Nolan's future father-in-law use their influence to try to kill her story.

Raised in a tenement in Worcester, Massachusettes, S. N. (Samuel Nathaniel) Behrman (1893-1973) wrote Broadway plays and/or collaborated on numerous Hollywood screenplays, and was a regular contributor to "The New Yorker." His genius was to offer social anaylsis couched in breezy comedies. "Biography" is funny, fast-paced and witty, while slyly revealing the real truth in characters' lives. It's a rare treat to see a Behrman comedy, but Metropolitan Playhouse in New York City is presenting another one, "End of Summer," from October 7 through November 6.

Behrman somewhat based Marion on Neysa McMein, a well-known illustrator and portrait painter. The likes of Ira and George Gerswhin, Dorothy Parker, and Harpo Marx paid visits to her 57th Street Manhattan apartment while she painted.

Playing the roles of Marion and Leander are Erika Amato and Tom Byrn. Erika, new to ELTC, has performed in New York, Los Angeles, and in national tours such as "Footloose." She has also released five albums with her band, Velvet Chain. Tom portrayed the 16th President in ELTC's "Mr. Lincoln," his seventh play with the company, and recently performed in "Vanya & Sonia & Masha & Spike" at Cider Mill Playhouse. Both attended Vassar, and neither have seen each other since graduation.

Also new to ELTC is Mike Newman who plays Kurt. He recently performed in "Peter and the Starcatcher" at the Winnipesaukee Playhouse in New Hampshire and was in "Macbeth" with Old Hat Theatre Company in New York City.

Others in the cast who are new to ELTC are R. Scott Williams and Veronique Hurley.

Scott has appeared in 46 states thanks to two national tours and has given hundreds of performances of "Shear Madness" at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. This summer, Veronique playrf Olivia in The Glass Eye's production of "Twelfth Night"in New York City.

Returning to ELTC are Mark Edward Lang (another Vassar grad.) and John Cameron Weber. Recently, Mark's "Lunt and Fontanne: The Celestials of Broadway" traveled to Texas and was selected to be part of the New York International Fringe Festival this past August. John has performed in various regional theaters and in National ("Damn Yankees," "1776") and European ("West Side Story," "Guys and Dolls") tours.

Also in the cast is ELTC's artistic director, Gayle Stahlhuth, who is helming the production.

"Biography" runs Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8:00pm through October 15, except there is no show onWednesday, October 5, and a show on Sunday, October 9 at 7:30pm. There is an an ASL interpreted performance onSeptember 30 and on October 13, $5 from every ticket sold will go to Gilda's Club in South Jersey.

The location is the historic First Presbyterian Church of Cape May, 500 Hughes Street, where ELTC is in residence. Tickets are $32.00; $27.00 for seniors; $17 for students and those in the military or a veteran. Age 12 and under are free. For more information and to make a reservation, call 609-884-5898 or visit www.eastlynnetheater.org.

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