East Lynne Theater Co. Receives Travel and Tourism Grant

The award-winning Equity professional East Lynne Theater Company is receiving $12,600.00 from the Cooperative Marketing Grant sponsored by the New Jersey Department of State: Division of Travel and Tourism. The award was given based on the scores of an independent evaluation and funding review committee that studied ELTC's application and marketing plan.

This is the eleventh year that ELTC has received this prestigious grant, the funding for which is solely used for marketing. It has been instrumental in helping ELTC seek advertising opportunities outside of South Jersey, which has contributed to ELTC becoming a cultural tourism destination, providing yet another reason to come to Cape May.

The combination of ELTC' unique repertoire of well-produced classic American plays and new works based on American history and literature, and its marketing efforts to attract visitors to its productions, has been paying off more and more every year. This past year, ELTC broke all box office records, with more than half of the audience visiting Cape May for the first time, from over 25 different states, and two foreign countries. Reviews continue to be excellent, including from Terry Teachout in "The Wall Street Journal" who wrote this about "Arsenic and Old Lace:" "It's hard to imagine a more diverting piece of summer fun than Gayle Stahlhuth's revival of "Arsenic and Old Lace" at ELTC. It crackles flawlessly."

ELTC pursues performance possibilities beyond Cape May County. Funding for these productions comes from the organizations sponsoring ELTC's touring shows and specific grants received by ELTC for touring only, yet The Town of Cape May benefits because ELTC clearly states that its home is Cape May. Already "Sherlock Holmes Adventure of the Speckled Band" is headed for several locations in March of 2019.

ELTC also attracts visitors to Cape May off-season with Murder Mystery Weekends in February, March, and April held at The Henry Sawyer Inn and the Twin Gables Inn. "AM New York" cited it as one of the top five murder mysteries in the country.

March is also when ELTC offers its radio-style productions, coordinated with Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts and Humanities' Sherlock Holmes' Weekend, and ELTC's artists-in-residence conduct workshops and direct student productions at West Cape May Elementary School.

For more information about the company, and how organizations can become a Season or Show Sponsor or advertise in the 2019 ELTC playbill, call 609-884-5898, e-mail eastlynneco@aol.com, or visit eastlynnetheater.org. Season tickets for 2019 are available for only $90 for four shows.

Photo: Paul Battiato and Morgan J. Nichols in Lynne Theater Company's "Arsenic and Old Lace," which returns in 2019. Photo credit: Gayle Stahlhuth