(CAPE MAY, NJ) --Cape May’s award-winning, Equity professional East Lynne Theater Company will host its annual “Spring Soiree” fundraiser, May 25, 2025 to kick off the theater company’s 45th Season, 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 what will soon become East Lynne’s new permanent home–the Clemans Theater for the Arts at the Allen AME Church. The Spring Soiree will benefit the company’s ongoing operations budget.
Cape May’s former Allen African Methodist Episcopal (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 in remembrance of her late husband, Dave Clemans, the former church is now called the Clemans Theater for the Arts at the Allen AME Church.
“We are incredibly excited to show our guests the many stunning renovations that have been done to prepare this historic structure for the creation of the Clemans Theater,” said Susan Tischler, East Lynne’s board president. “I know that everyone will be as impressed as I am at what has been done to restore this historic building to its former grandeur, which will make the Clemans Theater one of the premier arts venues in New Jersey.”
The Memorial Weekend event takes place 4:00pm to 7:00pm on Sunday, May 25. Tickets are $125 and available for purchase online and includes appetizers, wine, beer, and entertainment by the Eddie Morgan Trio. The Clemans Theater for the Arts is at 717 Franklin St., Cape May.
For tickets to East Lynne’s first show of its 2025 Season, Ken Ludwig’s “Dear Jack, Dear Louise,” from June 19 to July 12 at Cape May Presbyterian Church, 500 Hughes St., go to EastLynneTheater.org.
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 its mission to “present and preserve America’s theatrical heritage” by including plays about America today. Currently housed in Cape May Presbyterian Church, East Lynne’s “New Beginnings Capital Campaign” is raising funds to renovate its future home in Cape May’s historic Allen African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME).
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