It's been a sad month for theater fans, as we recently lost several talents who leave the world a slightly dimmer place. Some, like brilliant costume designer Theoni V. Aldredge, were famous beyond theatre walls for their accomplishments, while others, like Ellen Stewart of La MaMa Experimental Theater Club, or playwright Romulus Linney, found success and acclaim on quieter terms. While not quite household names, both were beloved by the theatre communities around them for long lives in service to the art of the stage, and from Broadway to Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway, theatre marquees dimmed their lights in memory of Stewart and Linney on Jan. 19 at 8 p.m.
The outgoing, experimental Stewart was the polar opposite of the erudite, quieter Linney in many ways. Yet both embodied a fierce commitment to the individualism and exploration theatre provides. Founding LaMaMa in 1961, Stewart built the venue into an acclaimed space for edgy, experimental, creative, and brave productions while also pioneering the Off-Off-Broadway movement into the mainstream press. Stewart passed away on January 13 at age 91, and tributes in print have been both vivid and poignant, from the tribute by Michael Feingold in The Village Voice, to the piece by Jason Zinoman of The New York Times (of which About.com is a part) whose tribute to Stewart this weekend included funny, touching, and insightful remembrances by Sam Shepard, Wallace Shawn, Sally Kirkland, Edward Albee, and others.
Linney, meanwhile, pushed boundaries more quietly. A respected playwright of primarily Off-Broadway works, as well as Broadway's The Love Suicide, Linney was father to film and theatre actress Laura Linney, and passed away on January 15, at the age of 80. Linney was an elegant and prolific writer who explored the human condition in a wide range of one-act and two-act plays. He received two Obie Awards for his work, among many other awards, and was also a teacher and novelist. His works achieved respect and quiet fame within theatre circles, and in 1991, the Signature Theatre Company devoted an entire season to stagings of his works.
The losses of Linney and Stewart, as well as Aldredge just a few days ago, provide a fitting reminder that a life in the theatre is often as well measured in acts of bravery and creative exploration as it is in fame.
Image: Copyright © 2011 La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club
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