East Lynne Theater Co's holiday display.
Photo by Gayle Stahlhuth.
It's this time of year when Drumthwacket, the Governor's Official Residence in Princeton, is always decked out in holiday splendor. But this season, a theatrical "twist" has been added.
When the Drumthwacket Foundation asked the New Jersey Theatre Alliance if its members would be interested in helping The Garden Club of New Jersey decorate this prestigious residence, East Lynne Theater Company was among the theaters to say "yes." The Drumthwacket Foundation is a non-profit, non-partisan organization that counts among its missions the preservation of the Drumthwacket properties and broadening access. The Alliance fosters collaboration, cooperation and audience development.
At the first meeting at the residence last spring to discuss "Druthwacket on Stage," representatives from various theaters, the New Jersey Theatre Alliance, Drumthwacket Foundation, and The Garden Club, were in attendance. ELTC''s artistic director, Gayle Stahlhuth, and costume designer, Marion T. Brady from Little Falls, NJ, were there. Before the meeting, pictures of the five rooms to be decorated had been e-mailed to the participants. Stahlhuth and Brady brought pictures of costumes from ELTC's 2012 production of "It Pays to Advertise," and a few other shows, in which Brady both designed and built the costumes.
During the summer, while ELTC's mainstage productions were going on in Cape May, the company received word that it would be decorating the Governor's Study. Phone calls between Stahlhuth and members of the Foundation and Garden Club, as well as conference calls between Alliance members and fellow theaters, followed.
The hunt began for mannequins. Susan and Barry Tischler, owners of Kaleidoscope, a women's clothing store on Cape May's Washington Street Mall, lent ELTC their full-size mannequin, which includes a head and feet. Though taller than the actor Maria Silverman who wore the purple suit in "It Pays to Advertise," the suit fit the mannequin, and a hat, shoes, gloves, and a muff were found to complete the Edwardian look. Eric Hafen, artistic director of The Bickford Theatre located next to The Morris Museum in Morristown, NJ, brought two "torso" mannequins to the residence for ELTC's use. The museum is lending them to ELTC.
On November 20, Stahlhuth and ELTC's technical director, Lee O'Connor, traveled to Princeton to set up the display. Christmas themes were encouraged, and what is Christmas without shopping? Opening on Broadway in 1914, "It Pays to Advertise" is a comedy about the power of advertising, with actual facts and figures from what the likes of Kodak and Kelloggs spent in 1914 - almost 100 years ago - at the time World War I began in Europe.
The next day, the Garden Club finished off the festive atmosphere with floral arrangements.
ELTC's display is created to make one think of a shop window. The mannequin in the purple suit is looking at two dresses and a framed sign in the middle that advertises "Thirteen Soap: Unlucky for Dirt," designed by Mark E. Lang for ELTC's production. There are smaller frames on either side of the dresses, sitting on small tables. One has pictures and credits from the show. The other is a page of dialogue from "It Pays to Advertise," where real statistics are revealed, ending with:
"Six hundred and sixteen million dollars were spent last year in magazines and newspapers, billboards and electric signs, bringing education and comfort and fun and luxury to the people of the United States. It's romance - the romance of the printing presses, of steel rails, of the wireless, of trains and competition, the romance of modern business, and it's all built on advertising. Advertising is the biggest thing in this country, and it's only just the beginning."
Four other theaters decorated other rooms. Centenary Stage Company, at Centenary College in Hacketstown, provided costumes and props from its "Christmas Carol" for the library; The Growing Stage, in Netcong, decorated the parlor with elaborate set designs from "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer;" and in the parlor, are costumes from Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey's "The Misanthrope," and Premiere Stages' "Madison." Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey is located in Madison, and Premiere Stages is at Kean University in Union.
Other not-for-profit Equity professional theater members of the New Jersey Theatre Alliance have set designs and props from various shows on display in the dining room so that all Alliance members are represented at Drumthwacket.
The Drumthwacket Foundation Holiday Open Houses, which are open to the public, are scheduled for Wednesday December 4; Sunday December 8 and Wednesday, December 11. Reservations are required and can be made at www.polclients.com/drumthwacket/housetour.cfm. School field trips and groups of more than fifteen people should contact 609-683-0057, extension #5. A $5.00 donation to the Drumthwacket Foundation is suggested.
Meanwhile, back in Cape May, East Lynne Theater Company's production of "Christmas with Harte and O. Henry"" runs through December 14.
