AUNT HATTIE'S HOUSE: RECONSTRUCTED Will Be Presented at East Lynne Theater Next Week

"Aunt Hattie's House," written and performed by Emma Palzere-Rae, premiered in 2000 at the Heartland Chautauqua, and in that same year, East Lynne Theater Company brought the show to Cape May, NJ. Now 20 years later, ELTC is proud to present "Aunt Hattie's House: Reconstructed," featuring a revised script, not only to make the play available virtually, but to reflect some of the progress anti-racism work has taken during this time.

The play explores what compelled Harriet Beecher Stowe to pen "Uncle Tom's Cabin," the best-selling novel that is said to have changed the course of United States history. Published ten years before the start of the Civil War, the book's stark portrayal of slavery sparked a heated national conversation on abolition. Meanwhile, Stowe, was raising seven children and, through her writing, she became the primary breadwinner of her household. The play explores Stowe's passion for justice, while giving us a look into the life of the 19th century working mother.

"Aunt Hattie's House: Reconstructed" premieres on Thursday, April 22, for free, at https://tinyurl.com/ELTC-HATTIE, and is available anytime through Sunday, April 25. ELTC strongly recommends connecting the computer to a flat screen TV with an HDMI cable so the show can be seen on a larger screen with better sound, and even use Closed Caption if you like. The show is also available directly on ELTC's YouTube Channel on Smart TVs, so no hook-up is necessary.

"Aunt Hattie's House: Reconstructed" is directed by Albert Cremin, with production stage management by Carin Jennie Estey, and the costume was designed and built by Marion T. Brady.

Most recently for ELTC, Emma Palzere-Rae played Mrs. Miller in "Ah, Wilderness!" She has performed in other regional, stock and off-Broadway theaters, as well as in film, television and radio. She founded Be Well Productions in 1989, touring several critically acclaimed one-woman plays on characters as diverse as Harriet Beecher Stowe, Emily Dickinson and Gilda Radner. In 1990, she banded together with other female solo artists to create NYC's "Womenkind Festival." Currently, she is the Associate Director at Artreach, Inc. in Norwich, CT. A graduate of Emerson College, Emma is an active member of Actors' Equity, and the Dramatists Guild, where she serves as the regional representative for New England - West.

Content Warning: This production contains material that may be distressing to some viewers, including discussions of suicide, rape, slavery, and the death of a child as well as depictions of enslaved peoples, and the use of gunshot sound effects.

This event is made possible with support from CultureSECT Economic Recovery Fund of the Southeastern CT Cultural Coalition and Community Foundation of Eastern CT and with support from the Connecticut Office of the Arts, which also receives funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.

To watch other ELTC videos, visit https://www.tinyurl.com/ELTCYouTube. The two-person fully-staged Equity production of "Nothing Matters" can be watched nightly at 8:00 PM through May 9 for free or pay-what you will (minimum $5). For tickets, go to www.tinyurl.com/bierce-tix. ELTC's mainstage season, live, begins in mid-June with "Vaudeville Variety." To check out the season, visit www.eastlynnetheater.org, under "Mainstage Season."