CLASSIC AMERICAN TALES (CAT)
Phone: 609-884-5898 e-mail: [email protected] Facebook Instagram
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Telling America's Stories One Tale at a Time
"Terrific Tales day! Thank you so much! Frank Smith was great on the porch. I was transported! Stephanie Garrett was so good and so interesting at the Cape May Public Library. Spreading the word and shouting praise from the roof tops!" - Marian, West Cape May, 2026
"Thank you for a most perfect afternoon on the porch at the Dormer House! My sister and I absolutely loved it from the beauty of
the porch set up to the cookies and lemonade, from the tales of Calamity Jane and Wild Bill to Gayle's ability to engage the listener
with different voices, intonation, and projection! Well Done! We can’t wait to do it again!" - Dana, Tierra Verde, Florida, 2026
"Thank you for a most perfect afternoon on the porch at the Dormer House! My sister and I absolutely loved it from the beauty of
the porch set up to the cookies and lemonade, from the tales of Calamity Jane and Wild Bill to Gayle's ability to engage the listener
with different voices, intonation, and projection! Well Done! We can’t wait to do it again!" - Dana, Tierra Verde, Florida, 2026
Pat Dwyer presenting his new one-person show THURBER: NOT UNMEANINGLESS on the porch of The Dormer House in Cape May.
From Louisa May Alcott to Langston Hughes to James Thurber to Kurt Vonnegut, and before and beyond, our storytellers
relish diving into America's rich and diverse literature. Topics include war, frontier expansion,
immigration, intolerance, and the joy and hardships of everyday life that make up this country's complex history.
We've performed "Tales" focusing on the rights of women, Blacks, and the LBGTQ+ community, as well as horror,
sports, and children's literature. We love and encourage post-performance conversations!
CLASSIC AMERICAN TALES (CAT) started in the summer of 2023 as a continuation of what had been known as
TALES OF THE VICTORIANS, which was created by East Lynne Theater Company in Cape May, NJ in 1989. CAT
quickly expanded to include acting and playwriting workshops, lectures, and performances in other Cape May
venues and on the road "Telling America's Stories One Tale at a Time."
In 2027, we'll be starting readers theater productions in which the story itself is centerstage - no sets, just actors seated on stage, performing rich dialogue with intriguing plot twists in adaptations of American novels and stories. First up is Tom Sims' adaptation
of Sinclair Lewis's delightful Free Air (1919), the first road-trip romcom, with a cast of 8.
Perhaps the most famous readers theater enterprise was produced by the First Drama Quartet in 1949, when Charles Laughton,
Agnes Morehead, Charles Boyer, and Sir Cedric Hardwicke toured George Bernard Shaw's
Don Juan in Hell. In 1994, this readers theater production was remounted with Harris Yulin, Ed Asner, Rene Auberjonois,
and Mira Furlin. Others who've performed it include Gena Rolands, Dianne Wiest, Harold Gould,
David Warner, Martin Landau, and Charles Durning.
As mentioned above, we don't perform just in Cape May! If you'd like a CAT to come to you, please contact Gayle Stahlhuth at [email protected] or call 609-884-5898. To keep up with all of our happenings, please join our e-mail newsletter
mailing list. Just click here.
Check out CAT's other pages to see what else we're planning and who's involved!
CAT is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that is collecting donations for its own support as well as for
The Lee O'Connor Memorial Fund. Click here for more details.
If anyone needs special accommodations due to a physical disability, please call or e-mail CAT at 609-884-5898
or [email protected] at least two weeks prior to the scheduled event so members of the company can
work to meet your needs.
"During the pandemic, when you produced TALES in your backyard, it was a spirit-saver. Thank You, Gayle! I am grateful,
and it did not go unnoticed. Keep up the inspirational work." - Eileen from Cape May Point, NJ
relish diving into America's rich and diverse literature. Topics include war, frontier expansion,
immigration, intolerance, and the joy and hardships of everyday life that make up this country's complex history.
We've performed "Tales" focusing on the rights of women, Blacks, and the LBGTQ+ community, as well as horror,
sports, and children's literature. We love and encourage post-performance conversations!
CLASSIC AMERICAN TALES (CAT) started in the summer of 2023 as a continuation of what had been known as
TALES OF THE VICTORIANS, which was created by East Lynne Theater Company in Cape May, NJ in 1989. CAT
quickly expanded to include acting and playwriting workshops, lectures, and performances in other Cape May
venues and on the road "Telling America's Stories One Tale at a Time."
In 2027, we'll be starting readers theater productions in which the story itself is centerstage - no sets, just actors seated on stage, performing rich dialogue with intriguing plot twists in adaptations of American novels and stories. First up is Tom Sims' adaptation
of Sinclair Lewis's delightful Free Air (1919), the first road-trip romcom, with a cast of 8.
Perhaps the most famous readers theater enterprise was produced by the First Drama Quartet in 1949, when Charles Laughton,
Agnes Morehead, Charles Boyer, and Sir Cedric Hardwicke toured George Bernard Shaw's
Don Juan in Hell. In 1994, this readers theater production was remounted with Harris Yulin, Ed Asner, Rene Auberjonois,
and Mira Furlin. Others who've performed it include Gena Rolands, Dianne Wiest, Harold Gould,
David Warner, Martin Landau, and Charles Durning.
As mentioned above, we don't perform just in Cape May! If you'd like a CAT to come to you, please contact Gayle Stahlhuth at [email protected] or call 609-884-5898. To keep up with all of our happenings, please join our e-mail newsletter
mailing list. Just click here.
Check out CAT's other pages to see what else we're planning and who's involved!
CAT is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that is collecting donations for its own support as well as for
The Lee O'Connor Memorial Fund. Click here for more details.
If anyone needs special accommodations due to a physical disability, please call or e-mail CAT at 609-884-5898
or [email protected] at least two weeks prior to the scheduled event so members of the company can
work to meet your needs.
"During the pandemic, when you produced TALES in your backyard, it was a spirit-saver. Thank You, Gayle! I am grateful,
and it did not go unnoticed. Keep up the inspirational work." - Eileen from Cape May Point, NJ
Carolyn Nelson reads a tale on the porch
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Frank Smith reads a Christmas tale
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Stephanie Garrett reads Ida B. Wells
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Or make checks payable to Classic American Tales and mail to
Classic American Tales, 121 Fourth Avenue, West Cape May, NJ 08204
CAT is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization
Classic American Tales, 121 Fourth Avenue, West Cape May, NJ 08204
CAT is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization
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Funding has been made possible in part from the Cape May County Board of County Commissioners via the Cape May County Division of Culture & Heritage,
a partner of the Jersey State Council on the Arts. CAT is a proud partner of REVNJ
a partner of the Jersey State Council on the Arts. CAT is a proud partner of REVNJ
