Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts and East Lynne Theater Company Present GHOSTS OF CHRISTMAS PAST Trolly Rides

"When the mother looked out the window, she saw a small white figure that seemed to be human, but was made of snow. She saw her children working on it: Sam bringing fresh snow, and Violet applying it to the figure as a sculptor adds clay to a model. She was amused to observe how their imaginations got mixed up with what they were doing, because they seemed to think the snow-child would start playing with them."

And, indeed, that's exactly what the snow-child does in Nathanial Hawthorne's "The Snow Image."
This tale is just one of three stories that are part of the repertoire of the "Ghosts of Christmas Past" Trolley Rides, co-sponsored by The Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts and the Equity professional East Lynne Theater Company. The other ghostly stories are based on Mary Wilkins Freeman's "The Twelfth Guest," about a strange young woman who appears for Christmas dinner, and Frank R. Stockton's "Old Applejoy's Ghost," about an old ghost who convinces his grandson to celebrate Christmas. All have been adapted for storytelling by ELTC's Artistic Director Gayle Stahlhuth.

Listen to these classic American ghostly tales, told in a dark trolley, while the twinkling lights of the beautifully decorated homes and streets are seen through the windows of the heated vehicle.
The "spirited" thirty-minute rides begin and end at the Washington Street Mall Information Booth. Tickets are only $10 for adults and $7 for children, ages 3-12, and run almost nightly through January 2.

Once again, the main costumed storyteller is Frank Smith, who was the first person to portray Dr. Physick for the Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts' tour of the Physick Estate, and has performed for ELTC in William Gillette's "Sherlock Holmes" and for "Tales of the Victorians," ELTC's popular storytelling event on the porches of B&Bs during the summer and fall.

Reservations are strongly suggested and can be made by calling Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts at 884-5404. If tickets are available the day of the tour, they will be sold at the Washington Street Mall Information Booth.

Meanwhile, there are only three performances left of East Lynne Theater Company's highly-original world premiere, mainstage production of "Christmas in Black and White" featuring Stephanie Garrett and Gayle Stahlhuth, on Sunday, December 6, Friday, December 11, and Sunday, December 12 at 8:30pm. The location is The First Presbyterian Church, 500 Hughes St., Cape May. Tickets are $23 for general admission; $13 for students; and ages 12 and under are always free. For information or reservations: 884-5898 or on the web at www.eastlynnetheater.org.