Avant-Garde Impresario Stewart Dies
I feel as if I should say something about the passing of Ellen Stewart, a longtime vital force in New York theatre. But the fact is, I never met her, so I can’t pass along some pithy, oh-that’s-a-side-of-her-I’ve-never-heard-before anecdote. I can only say that I’ve had some of the best theatregoing experiences of my life at Stewart’s La MaMa — which she sometimes, in her cozy, pre-show intros, would pronounce with the accent on the second “Ma,” which sounded very posh, as opposed to stressing the first “Ma,” which would have been down-home. I also had some terrible times at Stewart’s playhouse. Very best and very worst: high praise.
