East Lynne Theater Company Presents POE BY CANDLELIGHT and THE CAT AND THE CANARY

The award-winning Equity professional East Lynne Theater Company presents two events in time for Halloween: "Poe by Candlelight" on Saturday, October 19 at 8:00p.m. and the classic silent thriller, "The Cat and the Canary," accompanied by Wayne Zimmerman on the organ, on Sunday, October 20 at 7:00p.m., both at The First Presbyterian Church, 500 Hughes Street in Cape May, where the theater is in residence.

"Poe by Candlelight" is the final "Tales of the Victorians" performance for 2019. Like other "Tales" that take place at different venues throughout the summer, this features light refreshments and stories read by ELTC actors. This year, stories by the master of the macabre, Edgar Allan Poe, include "The Mask of the Red Death," "The Cask of Amontillado" and "Hop-Frog," and the performers are Sydia Cedeño, Lee O'Connor, and Gayle Stahlhuth. Refreshments will be served in the hospitality room before the hour-long performance.

Sydia Cedeño was a reader for the "All Write" Selected Shorts program with Symphony Space in NYC for many years, recorded for NPR. She received the Outstanding Individual Performance Award 2018 at the New York Musical Festival at Playwrights Horizon for her work in the world premiere of "Errol and Fidel." For ELTC, she performed in "Sherlock Holmes Adventure of the Speckled Band."

Lee O'Connor, also ELTC's technical director, is a favorite reader for "Tales," and has portrayed Sherlock Holmes since ELTC began producing radio-style Holmes' adventures in 2002.

Gayle Stahlhuth, who has been ELTC's artistic director since 1999, was highly complimented for her directing and portrayal of Martha in ELTC's "Arsenic and old Lace" in Terry Teachout's review in "The Wall Street Journal." She's also performing in "The Great Tree and Other Tales by Zona Gale" for the holidays.

Based on John Willard's popular 1922 Broadway play, "The Cat and the Canary" stars Laura La Plante and was directed by Paul Leni, who successfully blended horror with humor in what is considered the first successful "haunted house" film. This film is also the first of six adaptations of the play; the most notable being the 1939 film starring Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard.

Annabelle West can only inherit her Uncle Cyrus's fortune if she is proved to be of sound mind. When she spends the night in her relative's old mansion overlooking the Hudson River, she begins to fear for her sanity. Is it because of the ghost of Cyrus West - or something else?

Providing his own original musical accompaniment is Wayne Zimmerman, who has been playing for ELTC's silent film series since 2011. He has played in a variety of venues from coast-to-coast and in Hawaii, regaling audiences with his silent film accompaniment and concerts. At varying times he's served as organist at the Lansdowne Theatre in Lansdowne, PA, the Tower Theatre in Upper Darby, PA, the Brookline Theatre in Havertown, PA, the Merlin Theatre in suburban Philadelphia, and the president of the Delaware Valley Chapter of the American Theatre Organ Society.

Reservations are strongly recommended for both shows, and may be purchased through ELTC's website, eastlynnetheater.org, by calling 609-884-5898., or e-mailing eastlynneco@aol.com. Tickets for "Poe by Candlelight" are $12, and for "The Cat and the Canary" $15. Ages 12 and under are free for both.

Next up are "Sherlock Holmes Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle" on October 25-26 and November 1-2, and "A Celebration of Judy Garland" on Monday, November 4.

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