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Cape May Gazette Cape May — The East Lynne Theatre Company, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary, opened last week a run until Sept. 3 with 8:30pm performances of four vintage one act comedies performed by four talented and versatile actors in many roles. Appropriately, it is being called "Four By Four." In keeping with the theatre's purpose to present plays of the 19th and early 20th centuries, the latest offering covers a time period from 1847 to 1912. The scripts were written by famous playwrights of that period, including Louisa May Alcott, William Dean Howells, William Gillette and Elmer Rice. Bringing the plays to life under the direction of Gayle Stahlhuth, who also serves as the company's artistic director, are actors Damon Bonetti, Dawn Harvey, Mark Edward Lang and Alison J. Murphy. Selecting the best of the 4 plays depends much upon one's personal tastes. Indisputable is the fact that in each presentation the acting is outstanding. My preference happens to be Rice's "The Passing of Chow-Chow" in which a wife, portrayed by Harvey, comes to see a lawyer (Lang) to file suit for divorce. The hilarious premise is that their dog Chow-Chow has come between them. The husband, portrayed by Bonetti, who in real life has Wildwood roots, also shows up at the lawyer's office to sue his wife, but when the two meet there everything turns out okay after the husband is told the dog has died. An appropriate funeral is planned and they live happily ever after. Almost as funny is Howell's "The Smoking Car" in which a mother (Harvey) leaves her baby with a bewildered passenger, portrayed by Lang, while she leaves to find her luggage. In the subsequent scene, which sometimes borders on the farcical, the baby is passed around among other passengers in the smoking car of the train. Gillette's "The Painful Predicament of Sherlock Holmes" is a tour de force for Murphy who interrupts Holmes (Lang again) to tell him her problems. This is an unusual act since Holmes doesn't speak a word. Lang plays the short piece in pantomime and very well. The fourth play, which serves as the curtain raiser is Alcott's "Bianca", written by the younger Alcott and occasionally performed by her and her sister. Featuring the two women of the cast, the play can best be described as a bit of comedy and some tragedy. Unless you're an Alcott fan, you may not find it as entertaining as the other three efforts, however. All in all, "Four by Four" is an interesting evening of theater. One act plays aren't presented too often in professional theater. The East Lynne Theatre Company is to be commended for making something old new again. |
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