"Will Rogers' U.S.A." presented by East Lynne Theater Company
Date and Time
Wednesday Jun 28, 2017
8:30 PM - 10:15 PM EDT
Wednesdays through Saturdays, June 22 - July 22 at 8:30pm
Location
East Lynne Theater Company in residence at The First Presbyterian Church of Cape May, 500 Hughes St., Cape May
Fees/Admission
$32; $27 senior; $17 students and military (active/retired/veteran); ages 12 and under free
Website
Contact Information
East Lynne Theater Company
Office: 121 Fourth Ave., West Cape May, NJ 08204
Phone: 609-884-5898
Send Email
Description
?There's no trick to being a humorist when you have the whole government working for you,? said Will Rogers (1879-1935), famous humorist, writer, philosopher, and performer. As a young man, he worked on ranches, and being a master of the lariat led to his performing in Vaudeville. By 1917 he was a headliner for the Ziegfeld Follies, blending his unique style of poking gentle fun at current events with his rope tricks. In 1922, he started a syndicated column that was read in 2,800 daily papers. His wit, wisdom and understanding of the human condition is often compared to that of Mark Twain. In 1934, Rogers played the role of Nat Miller in the road company of Ah, Wilderness!. Declining to do the role in the film version, he ended up flying with Wiley Post to Alaska in 1935. The plane crashed near Point Barrow, killing both men. Taking on the role of Will Rogers is Tom Byrn who recently received rave reviews for his performance in ELTC?s Mr. Lincoln. Conceived and produced by George Spota in 1970, James Whitmore originally played the role. The script is not published and took ELTC?s artistic director three months to track down who owns the script and the rights.