Gayle Stahlhuth, photo by Naomi Weinberg
(CAPE MAY, NJ) -- "Before we retired to bed, an attempt was made to teach the children to pronounce 'vegates,' (how do you do?) like a German. Our good neighbors are a little concerned to think there is not one in the neighborhood who will be able to interpret for us when the Hessians are quartered here," wrote Margaret Morris in her diary on December 21, 1776.
On Thursday, July 2, 2026 at 4:00pm, The Cape May Public Library, 720 Franklin Street in Cape May, NJ presents a free performance of Classic American Tales’ Margaret’s Diary During a Revolution written and performed by Gayle Stahlhuth based on the diary of Margaret Morris and other research, created to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution. To Register, visit https://cmcl.org/event/15666949.
Since March, performances have been hosted by Cape May MAC, at The Steuben House in Landing Bridge, NJ, Peachfield in Westampton, NJ, The Avalon Public Library, and The Wildwood Crest Art Pavillion. This fall, it will be at Historic Cold Spring Village in Cape May and at The Morristown Public Library.
The performance is set in 1795 and Margaret Morris, in proper attire, is visiting a location to read sections from her diary and add what she later learned about events leading up to and after The Battle of Trenton while living in Burlington, NJ next to the Delaware River. Beginning her detailed entries on December 6, 1776, her writing is accessible for the modern ear and not without humor as Hessian invasions were imminent, and the Pennsylvania Navy. and the Pennsylvania and New Jersey militias patrolled the river, preparing for war to come to Philadelphia. Many of her neighbors fled Burlington, while she remained.
Gayle Stahlhuth is an actor, director, playwright, producer, storyteller, and teacher. From 1999 through 2022 she was producing artistic director of East Lynne Theater Company and currently is founding artistic director of Classic American Tales in Cape May. She has performed off-Broadway, in tours, regional theater, TV and film, and toured the country with one-person shows she created, which include Lou: The Remarkable Miss Alcott, The Awakening adapted from the novel by Kate Chopin, and Eve's Diary based on the writings of Mark Twain.
Gayle received a commission from The Smithsonian to create the two-person Not Above a Whisper about Dorothea Lynde Dix. Her directing and performing have been praised in “The Philadelphia Inquirer,” “The New York Times,” and “The Wall Street Journal.” A member of The Dramatists Guild, SAG-AFTRA and AEA, The National League of Professional Women honored her in 2016 for her work in theater, and she is listed in the newest edition of The Cambridge Guide to American Theatre (2008). Stahlhuth lives in New Jersey and Manhattan.
Margaret’s Diary During a Revolution came to be because Sara Cureton, Executive Director of the NJ Historical Commission, asked if Stahlhuth could create a play about the American Revolution. Earlier, she had commissioned Stahlhuth to create a play to honor the 100th Anniversary of the United States entering WWI. She hired James Rana to write A Year in the Trenches, while she served as dramaturg, producer, and director of the premiere in Cape May in 2017. This two-act play with a cast of eight toured the state in a staged-reading version and returned to Cape May again as a full production in 2018.
Tales at The Dormer House resume the following Thursday, July 9, with Phil Pizzi reading Hemingway’s “My Old Man” about horse racing. To learn more about other locations for Margaret’s Diary During a Revolution and the 2026 season, visit https://www.ClassicAmericanTales.org. CAT is a nonprofit theater with the mission to “Tell America’s stories one tale at a time.”
