3rd Annual Rock, Paper, Scissors Tournament at Harpoon Henry's

At 7:15 PM on Monday August 4th at Harpoon Henry's, 91 Beach Drive in North Cape May , the third annual "Cape May County Rock, Paper, Scissors Championship" competition took place.

The 2008 winner was Billy Tomlin, 15, from Cape May, NJ! It was his first time in a sanctioned Rock, Paper, Scissors event and was without a doubt, the most prepared and competitive player we've seen yet! The second place finisher was Ryan Douglass.

It was great family fun and a fund-raiser for Cape May Stage. It was a huge success across the boards! Thanks again to Ed & Teresa Henry of Harpoon Henry's for continuing to host this terrific event!

Click here to see the 2008 tournament results!

Cape May Stage Celebrates 20 Years of Theatre With Elegant Gala & Art Show

Cape May Stage proudly celebrated their 20th Anniversary season on June 27th and 28th at the beautiful Lindenwood Estate and private home of Chris & David Clemans in Cape May Point, NJ with a two-day spectacular Gala Event headed by chairwomen, Victoria Clayton and Leslie Martel. Both nights, guests at the Gala enjoyed the property’s charms both inside and out, surrounded by sprawling Eden-like Renaissance gardens with their pergolas of roses and winding stone pathways that travelled in and around waterfalls, fountains, and different varieties of foliage. For the first time ever, never-before-seen paintings from David Clemans’ own private collection were on display for the public to enjoy. The Black-tie cocktail party and private art preview on June 27th was a gorgeous evening with sexy cocktails and delicious food catered by the Washington Inn. The music of Sal Anthony filled the room with Denise Johnson singing the standards by his side. Guests toured the estate dressed in tuxedos and evening gowns and marveled at the beautiful paintings and gardens that surrounded then. It set the stage for the big Gala event that followed the next evening.

On Saturday night at 6:30PM, the night was abuzz as friends of Cape May Stage enjoyed valet parking and free trolley service upon arrival before making their way to the glorious white tents that decorated the grounds at Lindenwood. The event began with terrific cocktails and passed hours d'oeuvres and was followed by a wonderful dinner with everything from seafood to roast beef to delectable pastas and fresh vegetables. After dinner, Artistic Director Michael Carleton, kicked off the live auction with his expert auctioneering skills--giving away everything from Sunset Sails, to fresh flowers for a year, to custom private wine labels, to overnight stays at amazing inns and hotels, and dinners at four star establishments! Guests competed for 20 high-end prizes while enjoying divine desserts, fresh coffee, and smooth after dinner drinks.

The rest of the night was spent, dancing to the sounds of Second Vision out of Philadelphia, catching up and laughing with friends old and new, and taking evening strolls through the moonlit gardens and their peaceful solitude. In the end, it was an evening to remember: the perfect time of year mixed with a special, one-of-a kind place, to celebrate 20 years of bringing professional Equity theatre to Cape May, NJ.

May 22, 2008 Official Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony at Restored Playhouse

On Thursday May 22, Cape May Stage officially launched its 20th consecutive season in Cape May with the grand unveiling of the fully restored and renovated Robert Shackleton Playhouse. That evening at 7:30 PM ticket holders shared the excitement among local and state officials, newspaper and television reporters, and the Board of Trustees, staff and friends of Cape May Stage as we hosted an official Ribbon-Cutting ceremony before the first Cape May Stage performance ("Fully Committed" by Becky Mode) in our newly restored theatre! It was an evening full of excitement, complemented by a terrific show and lovely after party at the Boiler Room Night Club in Congress Hall! Guests mingled with featured actor Tim Williams while enjoying gourmet snacks and tasty desserts, tea and coffee; and, a cash bar. There was so much to celebrate that evening! It was a wonderful night had by all!

Accommodations Night at Cape May Stage

Every year Cape May Stage hosts an informal soiree at the theatre with our local innkeepers and accommodations owners. This year on June 18th, we invited them all to join us for a glass of wine (or two) and tasty hors d'oeuvres before the performance of the hilarious hit comedy "Fully Committed" performing on our stage! We treated them to the show and it was a full house! Thanks to board members Kate Emerson, Don Schweikert, Patty Schmucker & Sandy Miller for pulling this event together! It was a wonderful night had by all!

5th Annual Silver Key Raffle & Champagne Brunch

On December 16th, 2007 Cape May Stage held it’s 5th Annual Silver Key Raffle at the beautifully decorated Harbor Cove home of Mary and Tedd McKenney. All 75 beautifully dressed guests, wearing black and silver, enjoyed a lovely Champagne brunch with glorious gourmet food prepared by George Mallous and John Karapanatiotis of Pier House and George's Restaurant. Happy guests polished off a case of champagne, as well as pitchers of Bloody Marys and other festive cocktails and drinks.

Our Silver Key Raffle had 65 amazing prizes, a record number! The gifts and prizes ranged from Broadway theatre tickets to personal training sessions at the gym to gift certificates for Cape May restaurants to beautifully decorated gift baskets full of Lulu’s coffees and holiday treats, and the winners were all thrilled!

Chairwoman, Mary Trella, has done an exceptional job in pulling this event together for the last five years. Every dollar raised will help finish Project Encore. In three short years, Cape May Stage has raised over one million dollars for this restoration project! Thanks to everyone involved, the work begun by Michael Laird almost 20 years ago continues, and thrives, in what will be a beautiful new theatre next year. Pat yourselves on the back, dear Friends of Cape May Stage-- for we could never have done it without you!

Cape May Stage Hosted a Free Poetry Slam November 14th

Cape May Stage in conjunction with Human Resources Commission of Cape May hosted its first poetry slam in over 5 years on Wednesday, November 14 from 4-6 PM at the Robert Shackleton Playhouse on Bank and Lafayette Streets in Cape May. The high-energy poetry event was open to the public, both as audience members and poets of all disciplines. Many people of all ages came out to the free event and experienced a live poetry slam and expressed their poetic justice. The first hour was an open mic for students and community people to recite their original prose. The second hour featured Atlantic City native, Raymond Tyler, a successful writer, artist, poet and slam organizer for over ten years. His work in the area of arts and music allowed him to offer audience members a short workshop on poetry and the art of live expression before sharing his own works! It was a terrific event and will definitely return in 2008!

The Robert Shackleton Playhouse Dedication Ceremony

On Saturday, August 11, 2007 a very special event took place in Cape May the dedication of the Robert Shackleton Playhouse of the Cape May Stage. The evening was filled with high emotion and grand pageantry.

Robert Shackleton was a part time Cape May resident and Broadway and film actor of the 40's and 50's, appearing alongside such luminaries as Ray Bolger and Jimmy Durante. His surviving family members honored his theatrical legacy with a $200,000 donation to the non-profit theatre company, and their ongoing effort, Project Encore to restore and renovate the landmark structure into a state of the art performance facility.

"Our family embraced this unique opportunity to be able to honor our father, Robert Shackleton, as well as being able to do something wonderful for the community of Cape May," remarked Leslie Martel, Shackleton's daughter. "We are hoping this donation will help others in the community to come forward and follow our lead. There are still so many opportunities to give."

Festivities included an unveiling of a custom portrait of Robert Shackleton that will permanently hang in the theatres recently renovated lobby. Artistic Director Michael Carleton welcomed all attendees to the theatre that evening and honored Shackleton's family members in the audience with a hearfelt speech before the curtain rose. During intermission, the audience enjoyed wine in the piazza outside the theatre compliments of the Shackleton family as part of the celebration.

The entire evening was a first-class performance.

2nd Annual Cape May County Rock, Paper, Scissors Tournament

At 7:15 PM on Thursday July 19th at Harpoon Henry's, 91 Beach Drive in North Cape May , the second annual "Cape May County Rock, Paper, Scissors Championship" competition took place.

The 2007 winner was Katie Moran, 18, from Bethel, Conn. She is going to be a freshman at High Point (North Carolina) University this coming fall. It was her first time in a sanctioned Rock Paper Scissors event and she was thrilled to be champion. The second place finisher was Glen Corson from Hawaii.

It was great family fun and a fund-raiser for Cape May Stage's Project Encore. It was a huge success across the boards! Thanks again to Harpoon Henry's for a terrific event!

Click here to see tournament results (20 KB PDF)

2007 Retro Prom!

Cape May Stage hosted a fabulous "Retro Prom" gala at the Congress Hall ballroom on Monday evening, June 25. The party was the annual fun-filled early summer fundraiser for the professional Equity theatre and what a party it was! It was a fancy night, under glittering lights, full of tasty delights! Rob and Lisa Ransom were crowned the new 2007 prom king and queen, the silent auction had so many terrific prizes, there were flowers, and photos, and balloons, and lots of dancing! It was a very successful night and a wonderful time had by all!

Silver Key Raffle and Holiday Bash!

On December 8, 2006, we topped off a record-breaking season with a glittering event when we held our Fourth Annual Silver Key Raffle and Holiday Party at the Harbor Cove home of Mary and Matt Trella. It was an amazing evening for Cape May Stage! Over 109 beautifully dressed people joined us for a night of fun, friendship, cocktails, and hors d'oeuvres. It was the perfect way to ring in the holiday season and a wonderful night had by all! Click here to read more.

Celebrity Gala

Socialites from all across Cape May called it “the social event of the season”. Nearly everyone agreed it even outdid the earlier in the summer not-so-fancy fundraiser “Rock, Paper, Scissors Contest” at Harpoon Henry’s. It was a ‘happening’ that folks who were there will probably be talking about for generations to come – Project Encore’s ‘A Fete With the Stars’ gala at the Issac Smith Vineyard.

Held despite threatening storms on the lovely Sunday afternoon of August 27th, ‘The Fete With the Stars’ headliner ‘stars’ were two of the leading actors of the 20th century, Celeste Holm and Robert Prosky. These two icons headed a glistening list of theatre celebrities that mingled with 230 plus guests of Cape May Stage from 3 to 6pm. The elegant charity event, graciously hosted by Rona and Toby Craig, was indeed a tremendous success for Cape May Stage’s theatre restoration’s Capital Campaign, Project Encore.

Celebrities and guests alike were entertained by local musicians George Mesterhazy and Geno White and feasted on delicious food generously supplied by the Craigs. The fruitful ‘live’ and silent auctions featured many intriguing prizes such as tickets to an upcoming Rolling Stones concert, a walk-on part in the Cape May Stage Christmas Show, tickets to Broadway plays and Radio City Music Hall, a Wine and Cheese soiree for 12 at the Chalfonte Hotel, a enormous gas grille from Swain’s hardware, and other tempting prizes.

As the guests headed back towards their cars, and the bartenders closed down their stations, and the last credit card payment was being tallied, one could just barely hear Celeste Holm whispered to her husband, Frank, “jolly good show.”

The Spring Prom- A Night to Remember!!

This past June Cape May Stage's first “All-Star Prom Night" in the Congress Hall Ballroom was a blast and people are still talking about it! The party was the annual fun-filled early summer fundraiser for the theatre.

The classic `Prom night' included different prom themes throughout the ages. Everyone was encouraged to dust off and adorn themselves in their old glorious prom dresses and suits to make it `the prom night to end all other prom nights!' Classic style prom photos were taken all evening long and guests were entertained by Rob Maitner and Seth Reichgott, the stars of the Cape May Stage production, "The Big Bang". Noted disk jockey, Charlie D, spun the perfect records as guests danced with their dates and/or their favorite dance partners to contemporary and oldies classic prom tunes.

And no prom is ever complete without voting for the King and Queen of the night! This year two of the younger revelers, Theresa Palchak and Dan Casale, were chosen among 200+ guests to wear the crowns!

Our silent auction as well as the assortment of delicious foods made the evening, indeed, a night to remember! Thanks to all who contributed in making the prom a very spectacular event!