East Lynne Theater Co's Tales of the Victorians Plays Final Performance 10/9

There is one more opportunity to attend the award-winning East Lynne Theater Company's "Tales of the Victorians." The time is Saturday, October 9 at 4:00p.m. and the location is The Cliveden Inn, 709 Columbus Ave. While taking tea and tasting treats at this lovely B&B, professional actress and long-time ELTC favorite Michele LaRue will read the humorous and charming "Representing T. A. Buck" by Edna Ferber. Cost for this popular pastime is only $10.00, and like other ELTC events, children are always welcome, and, ages 12 and under are free.

"Representing T. A Buck" is one of several of Edna Ferber's (1885-1968) famous stories about Emma McChesney, a fictional woman who rose from stenographer to partner at the T. A. Buck Featherloom Petticoat Company. Making McChesney a divorced mother in 1913 at a time when "divorce" was rarely openly discussed let alone written about, is early proof that Ferber's interest in creating characters who strove through personal difficulties to get ahead in the world was paramount. So famous were her McChesney tales that she was asked to adapt them for the Broadway stage, with Helen Hayes portraying Emma. Her other plays include "The Royal Family" and "Dinner at Eight" which she wrote with fellow Algonquin Round Table personality George S. Kaufman, and her novels include Pulitzer Prize-winning "So Big," "Saratoga Trunk," "Giant," and "Alaska," all of which were adapted into successful films. Jerome Kern asked Ferber if he could adapt one of her novels for the stage, and the musical "Show Boat" was born.

Michele LaRue is a working member of the three major performing unions: Actors' Equity Association, Screen Actors' Guild, and AFTRA. Because she writes about and edits articles and books about theater, she is also a member of Drama Desk, an organization of New York drama critics. Her stage credits with ELTC include William Dean Howells' "Bride Roses" directed by her late husband and founder of ELTC, Warren Kliewer. NYC performances include "A New England Legend," "Key West," and "Silent Night, Lonely Night." In the Garden State, Michele is an active member of New Jersey Repertory Company, and created roles in world premieres at Centenary Stage Company and The Bickford Theater. She tours nationally with two one-person shows: "The Yellow Wallpaper," based on the work of Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and "Someone Must Wash the Dishes: An Anti-Suffrage Satire," a humorous piece written by Marie Howe, originally published by the National American Woman Suffrage Association (precursor of the League of Women Voters), in 1913.

Meanwhile, two ELTC productions continue: "Berkeley Square" through October 23 at The First Presbyterian Church, 500 Hughes St. and "Helpful Hints" at The Mad Batter through October 18.
For information and to make reservations for "Tales of the Victorians" and other productions, call 609-884-5898 or go online to www.eastlynnetheater.org.