Cape May’s East Lynne Launches Landmark 2026 Season at Clemans Theater

Issue #632

March 21, 2026

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In This Cape May Local Scoop Issue…

 📆 Cape May Events

☀️ Cape May Local Weather

🎭Cape May’s East Lynne Launches Landmark 2026 Season at Clemans Theater

🏖️ Cape May Rolls Out Website, Events for Semiquincentennial and Historic Honors

 🐝 Ancient Pollen Reveals Cape May County’s Hidden Ecological History

Cape May Local Scoop’s Events Are Sponsored By: Shop Local

👇 Here’s what’s going on in the Cape May Local Area👇  

  March 21

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Cape May’s East Lynne Launches Landmark 2026 Season at Clemans Theater

Cape May’s East Lynne Theater Company is ushering in a new era with the announcement of its first-ever five-show Mainstage Season for 2026. The productions will be staged at the company’s recently established home, the Clemans Theater for the Arts at the Allen AME on Franklin Street, marking its first full season in the venue. The lineup features a diverse selection of American works, including Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters’ First 100 Years by Emily Mann, Funny Girls by Jennifer Childs, the New Jersey premiere of Lunar Eclipse by Donald Margulies, The War of the Worlds: The Panic Broadcast by Joe Landry, and Fully Committed by Becky Mode. The move into the Clemans Theater allows East Lynne to expand beyond traditional productions, opening the door to a broader range of programming such as art exhibits, photography displays, cabaret performances, and jazz events. The 2026 season coincides with several major milestones, including the 250th anniversary of the United States, Cape May’s 175th anniversary, and the city’s 50th year as a National Historic Landmark. In recognition of these occasions, the company has curated a season centered on distinctly American stories and themes. Also debuting this year is the Philadelphia Summer Residency Series, which will spotlight talent from the nearby city. The inaugural residency features actor, playwright, and 1812 Productions co-founder Jennifer Childs, who will perform her one-woman show Funny Girls, celebrating influential women in American comedy. Tickets for individual shows and flexible ticket packages are now available, offering theatergoers multiple ways to experience the company’s inaugural season in its new home. East Lynne’s 2026 Mainstage Season includes:

· “Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters First 100 Years” by Emily Mann, June 18 to July 19: Adapted from the New York Times best-selling memoir by African-American sisters Sarah L. Delany and A. Elizabeth Delany with Amy Hill Hearth, it is the beautiful story of two elderly sisters, Sarah and Bessie Delany, 102 and 103 years old respectively, recalling their extraordinary lives with warmth, wit and astonishing clarity. The Delany sisters guide us through the events that shaped modern America—from the rigid segregation of the Jim Crow South to two World Wars, the Civil Rights Movement, and the cultural transformations that followed.

· “Funny Girls” created and performed by Jennifer Childs, July 24 to Aug. 4: Jennifer Childs helps launch East Lynne’s new Philadelphia Summer Residency Series in her one-woman show that celebrates the revolutionary women who transformed American comedy, bringing to life the comedic styles of icons such as Fanny Brice, Mae West, Phyllis Diller, Joan Rivers, Gilda Radner and others who helped redefine what women could do on stage and screen.

· “Lunar Eclipse” by Donald Margulies, Aug. 27-Sept. 20: Pulitzer Prize-winner Margulies’s story about a married couple who, while watching the stunning celestial event unfolding above them, reflect on the universal truths at the heart of a long marriage.

· “The War of the Worlds: The Panic Broadcast” by Joe Landry, Oct. 8 to Nov. 1: “The War of the Worlds: The Panic Broadcast” will recreate the famous Mercury Theatre on the Air broadcast directed by Orson Welles, the radio drama that blurred the line between fiction and reality and became one of the most extraordinary moments in broadcasting history. Performed live in the style of a 1930s radio studio, actors, musicians, and sound effects artists bring the entire broadcast to life, transporting audiences back to the Golden Age of Radio, when a voice on the airwaves could reach millions at once.

· “Fully Committed” by Becky Mode, Dec. 3-20: A wildly funny one-person tour de force in which a single actor plays more than 40 different characters—from desperate diners and entitled socialites to nervous assistants, impatient chefs, and celebrities—who expect the impossible: a table at New York’s hottest restaurant during the holidays. The phones won’t stop ringing and no one is taking no for an answer.

Cape May Rolls Out Website, Events for Semiquincentennial and Historic Honors

  Cape May is marking a major year of milestones in 2026, celebrating both national and local historic anniversaries while unveiling a new website designed to showcase the city’s events and history. Along with communities across the United States commemorating the nation’s 250th anniversary, Cape May is also celebrating 50 years as a National Historic Landmark. The designation was granted in 1976 in recognition of the city’s well-preserved 19th-century Victorian architecture, which has become one of its defining features. To help highlight the yearlong celebrations, city officials have introduced a new website dedicated to promoting anniversary events and providing visitors and residents with information about activities throughout the year. The launch is part of a broader effort to spotlight the historic seaside community and encourage participation in its commemorative programs. The city has also released several special items tied to the celebrations, including commemorative beach tags, anniversary banners, and a visitors’ guide that features event listings, local information, and resources for tourists. During a City Council meeting on March 3, officials discussed additional ways residents can take part in the celebration. One proposal involves creating a time capsule, allowing community members to contribute items that will be sealed this year and opened in the future during a milestone anniversary of the city’s incorporation. Another community project invites residents to submit photographs for a special exhibit titled “175 Photos for 175 Years,” showcasing images that reflect Cape May’s history, character, and community spirit. The anniversary website and the new visitors’ guide also feature details about a scavenger hunt that encourages participants to explore historic locations around the city. Participants can submit completed forms online or at the Cape May Community Center on Ocean Street. Prizes will be awarded based on the number of sites discovered during the hunt. Officials hope the new website and interactive activities will encourage residents and visitors alike to celebrate Cape May’s historic legacy and take part in the community’s milestone year. 

Ancient Pollen Reveals Cape May County’s Hidden Ecological History

  Microscopic grains of pollen preserved in Cape May County’s saltmarsh sediments are offering scientists a remarkably detailed record of the region’s environmental history, stretching back thousands of years. Through palynology — the study of pollen — and palynostratigraphy, which analyzes pollen found in sediment cores, researchers are able to reconstruct past plant communities, climate patterns, and long-term ecological shifts. According to an article by Jessica Gorzo, Ph.D., in a recent issue of Cape May Magazine, these preserved pollen records provide valuable insight into how the region’s coastal landscape has evolved over time. If readers can get past the polysyllabic scientific jargon, an intriguing story about the region’s environmental past begins to emerge. Although bogs were historically viewed as the best environments for preserving pollen, studies in Cape May County have demonstrated that the county’s oxygen-poor, waterlogged saltmarsh soils are equally valuable archives. Sediment cores taken from sites such as Dennis Creek, Bidwell Tidal Marsh, Cape May Court House, and Whale Beach reveal a dynamic landscape shaped by both natural climate change and human activity. Samples dating back roughly 3,000 years show that areas now covered by tidal marsh once supported holly forests and other upland vegetation. Over time, pollen evidence documents the presence — and eventual retreat — of northern forest species such as fir, spruce, paper birch, and hemlock as the climate warmed following the last glacial period and into the end of the Little Ice Age. Hemlock appears to have persisted locally until the mid-1800s, when a combination of warming temperatures and widespread land clearing contributed to its decline. More recent sediment layers capture the transformation of dune forests that once contained American beech, black walnut, basswood, chestnut, and ash. The pollen record preserves evidence of American chestnut before it was nearly eliminated by blight and suggests ash species were once more common before modern threats reduced their numbers. As forests were cleared and environmental conditions shifted, marsh grasses and coastal vegetation gradually became dominant. Together, these findings confirm that Cape May County has long functioned as an ecotone — a transitional zone where northern and southern plant species overlap. Even before European settlement, species ranges were naturally shifting due to climate change. Human settlement accelerated landscape changes through deforestation and the introduction of non-native plants, further reshaping the region’s ecology. Today, Cape May County remains a biological crossroads. Ice Age relic species persist in the Pine Barrens, while trees such as bald cypress grow near the northern limits of their range. The pollen record underscores that the county’s landscape has never been static, but instead reflects thousands of years of adaptation, migration, and environmental change.

What important mode of transportation, introduced in the 19th century, significantly boosted tourism to Cape May?

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 Answer to the March 19th Trivia Question

What was the primary reason for constructing the Cape May Canal during World War II?

A) To create a shortcut for commercial shipping between New York and Philadelphia
B) To provide a protected route for maritime traffic to avoid German U-boat attacks
C) To facilitate the expansion of the Cape May-Lewes Ferry service
D) To connect inland waterways for recreational boating purposes

Answer: B) To provide a protected route for maritime traffic to avoid German U-boat attacks

The Cape May Canal was constructed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers in 1942 during World War II. Its primary purpose was to offer a secure passage for ships, allowing them to bypass the treacherous waters near Cape May Point where German U-boats were known to operate. This canal became a crucial link in the Intracoastal Waterway, enhancing the safety of coastal shipping during the war...​

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