[Originally published in the Star & Wave newspaper on October 8, 2025.]
By Roy Steinberg, Producing Artistic Director
With the rise of social media, many of us find ourselves reconnecting with people we haven’t seen in decades. A simple friend request from a “friend of a friend” can suddenly reopen the door to bonds we thought long forgotten.
These ghosts from our past often arrive carrying memories — the scent of mountain air, the echo of a once-beloved song, the laughter of classmates we’d nearly forgotten. Cape May, of course, is famous for its ghosts, but I find myself haunted just as often by faded conversations and half-remembered readings that resurface unexpectedly. Sometimes these ghosts bring joy; sometimes they stir unease. And it’s in that contrast — between joy and sorrow, reunion and regret — that the essence of theatre is born.
In Dutch Masters at Cape May Stage, an apparently chance subway encounter turns out to be anything but. The two characters share a history, yet their memories of it are radically different. A third figure — ghostlike in presence — becomes the catalyst for a revelation that changes everything.
Theatre has long turned to ghosts to tell its stories. Shakespeare’s Hamlet opens with the ghost of the murdered king, setting into motion the play’s central conflict. In Macbeth, apparitions and witches steer the course of tragedy. Ghosts have always carried truth, warnings, or unfinished business.
As Halloween approaches — rooted in the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, when spirits were believed to cross into the world of the living — it feels especially fitting that Cape May Stage presents a play haunted by memory, identity, and the past. After all, our town has its own ghost stories: from historic inns to the stool at The Ugly Mug, where a mischievous spirit is said to occasionally the pinch servers.
Though Dutch Masters is a contemporary play, it draws from Shakespeare and even the Greeks, weaving a tale both “surprising and inevitable.” It asks what happens when ghosts — whether of memory, history, or conscience — refuse to stay buried.
So the next time a friend request pops up on your screen, consider: is it a joyful ghost… or one with an agenda? Either way, there’s no better way to explore the echoes of the past than an evening at the theatre.
Cape May Stage’s fall production, Dutch Masters, runs through October 19. Experience how the past can haunt the present by calling 609-770-8311 or visiting capemaystage.org for tickets.
Roy Steinberg is the Producing Artistic Director at Cape May Stage.
