Last year, Congress Hall celebrated its bicentennial with a weekly birthday party in the Ballroom. This party was unlike any other, especially for the “Big House By the Sea.” The bicentennial birthday dinners were a theatrical experience, a play that told the story of Congress Hall’s 200 years that included sing-alongs, three-courses of authentic cuisine, dancing and merry-making. The cast and crew played to sold-out crowds, and the show was so popular that it was brought back for a short reprise around the Christmas holidays.
This year, the bicentennial birthday crew is venturing “Into the Third Century” with a new play that tells the story of Congress Hall as it relates to the greater fabric of American History. It begins in the future: Labor Day Weekend, 2066. The time capsule that was buried in 2016 is unearthed, and with it all of the illustrious history of Congress Hall. Annie, a young employee in the Blue Pig Tavern, travels back into the past along with Curtis Bashaw, the 106-year-old co-managing partner of Cape Resorts. As they read through a book they found in the time capsule called “Tommy’s Folly,” Annie gains a greater understanding of Congress Hall and its role in the nation’s history. Along the journey, she meets Congress Hall celebrities like Thomas Hughes, Annie Knight, John Philip Sousa, presidents Franklin Pierce and Benjamin Harrison, and of course, Blue The Pig.
Just like last year, the cast is made up of Congress Hall employees. Curtis Bashaw, Cape Resorts Co-Managing Partner who led Congress Hall’s 7-year renovation that resulted in its re-opening in 2002, will play himself once again this summer. The three-course menu will be a culinary experience made up of foods that would have appeared on the menu in the 1850s. Guests are encouraged to sing-along during the performance that celebrates America’s first seaside resort. “Into the Third Century” will be performed Wednesday nights beginning July 12. Tickets for adults are $75, which includes the meal, performance and tableside wine. Children ages 4-12 may join for $25. For reservations and information, please call (609) 884-6542 or visit caperesorts.com.
200 Congress Place, Cape May
(888) 944-1816, www.caperesorts.com