Cape May’s award-winning, Equity professional East Lynne Theater Company will host its annual “Spring Soiree” fundraiser, May 25, as a kick off to the theater company’s 45th Season, which they have themed “The Story Continues.” The limited-ticket event will provide guests with an extra-special treat: the opportunity to be among the first to witness East Lynne’s new home–the Clemans Theater for the Arts at the Allen AME Church.
Cape May’s former Allen AME Church has been undergoing extreme renovations since it was nearly devastated by a fire in 2018. The city of Cape May realized and understood the structure’s importance to the history of Cape May, as well as to its citizens and former congregation, and endeavored to save the building. When East Lynne, which has been producing shows at the Cape May Presbyterian Church for the past 25 years, began a search for a new venue, the theater company made a deal with the city to help with renovations to create an arts venue unlike anything else in South Jersey. Thanks to a generous donation from Cape May resident Christina Clemans, the former church is now called the Clemans Theater for the Arts at the Allen AME Church.
The Spring Soiree will benefit the Company’s Capital Campaign, which goes toward ongoing restorations to the building and an addition that will house dressing rooms, costumes, props, equipment, and more.
“We are incredibly excited to show our guests the many stunning renovations that have been done to create the Clemans Theater,” said Susan Tischler, East Lynne’s board president. “I know that everyone will be as impressed as I am by what has been done to restore this historic building to its former grandeur to make the Clemans Theater one of the premier arts venues in New Jersey.”
The Memorial Weekend event takes place 4 to 7 p.m. Sunday, May 25. Tickets, which can be purchased at TicketLeap.com, are $125 per person and include appetizers, wine, beer and entertainment by the Eddie Morgan Trio, which will have revelers bopping around to their signature mix of Jazz, Blues and Funk.
Tickets are currently available East Lynne’s first show of its 2025 Mainstage Season, Ken Ludwig’s “Dear Jack, Dear Louise,” which runs June 19 to July 12 at the Cape May Presbyterian Church. Go to EastLynneTheater.org.
About East Lynne Theater Company: Founded in 1980, East Lynne Theater Company has been named by The New York Times as one of the Top 75 summer theaters in North America and recognized by the New Jersey Senate and General Assembly as “one of the state’s most important cultural treasures.” In 2023, understanding that the American Theater is itself a growing work of art, East Lynne expanded upon its mission of “presenting and preserving America’s theatrical heritage” by including plays about America today. Currently housed in the Cape May Presbyterian Church, East Lynne’s “New Beginnings Capital Campaign” is raising funds to help renovate its future home in Cape May’s historic Allen African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME). For more information go to EastLynneTheater.org.