Harvey Fierstein Donates $250K Matching Grant to La MaMa

 Harvey Fierstein Donates $250K Matching Grant to La MaMa

‍The donation will help complete the renovation and restoration of the historic theatre, where the four-time Tony winner got his start.

BY LOGAN CULWELL-BLOCK
JANUARY 04, 2023

Read the article in Playbill.

Harvey Fierstein has donated a $250,000 matching grant to La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club's capital campaign, with funds going to help complete the renovation and restoration of the company's building in NYC's East Village.

The four-time Tony-winning actor and writer, who got his start at the landmark Off-Off-Broadway institution, is encouraging the public to make their own donations so his matching grant can be used in full.

"[La MaMa founder] Ellen Stewart, La MaMa, called us her babies and tended to us in the nurseries that were her theatres," says Fierstein in a statement. "Every artist needs a safe place to develop, to experiment, to engage other artists, to seek the feedback of audiences, and to grow. I, and thousands of other artists, found that place to be La MaMa ETC. Please join in this effort to modernize and strengthen the nursery for the generations of theatre artists and audiences to come. There’s no better way to support the arts than by supporting the arts."

Fierstein, currently represented on Broadway with Funny Girl (for which he penned a new book), made his La MaMa acting debut in Andy Warhol's Pork, later appearing in Robert Patrick's The Haunted Host. He would go on to debut much of his early work as a playwright at the Off-Off-Broadway theatre, including the three one-act plays that would later collectively become Torch Song Trilogy; the work earned Fierstein his first two Tony Awards (Best Actor in a Play and Best Play) when it transferred to Broadway in 1982.

"Harvey is a revolutionary artist who breaks boundaries using his heart and his mind to speak truth through his work," shares La MaMa Artistic Director Mia Yoo. "He paved the way for so many other artists who came after him, helping to shape La MaMa's legacy. We are deeply grateful for his gift which will help ensure that artists of all identities can continue to pursue their creative dreams at La MaMa."

Among the improvements planned for the historic building are ADA accessibility on all floors, an enlarged lobby, dedicated community space, an outdoor terrace, and a building-wide data network.

To donate to the campaign, visit lamama.org.

Paint2Power at La MaMa Galleria

Thank you to the artists, activists, and everyone who joined us on Sunday, December 4 at La MaMa Galleria for Paint2Power!

Thank you to event organizers and partners Julia Haart, Kate Rigg, Heidi Sieck, Nicole Ansari, Shaunna Thomas, Marlene McCarty, Antoinette Cooper, Miriam Haart, BETTY, A'shanti F. Gholar, and Jen Aks, among others.

In the wake of the Dobbs decision overturning Roe V. Wade and the women-led revolution in Iran, catalyzed by Mahsa Amini’s death, hundreds of women came together in community to spread messages of resistance and create a collage of Story Stars on a large-scale mural of Lady Justice by C. Finley. The mural can be viewed on the wall behind the theatre at 19 East 3rd Street, NY, NY.

Photos by Suvin Ahn

Photos by Suvin Ahn

Photos by Suvin Ahn

How to Remake A World?

How would YOU #RemakeAWorld?

In this moment there is an urgent need to consider the many ways we can remake a world. We must come together, connect, and create a movement that unifies and propels all of us forward toward a more just world.

Please share your ideas through a quick video, an image, text, a sample of your work or all of the above to share with La MaMa's worldwide community on social media and/or our website.

You may submit your response HERE

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TEXT MESSAGE FROM: ROBERT PATRICK

Most people are right- or left-handed.

Most people are right- or left-minded

But for "right" or "left" to be "right" or "wrong" branded

Is like being right- or left-blinded.

People pretend to live up to

The rules (right or left) of their preference,

But the opposite urge they eventually give up to.

Priests end up promiscuous, for reference,

And pot- poets wind up billionaire producers.

Speaking of billionares, that one that followed his dream of Mars-reaching

Got lots of Fed loot to do it, which is sociaism to you, sirs.

Who's got my I Ching?

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Actor John-Andrew Morrison 

(La MaMa Alumnus and Tony Nominee, A Strange Loop)

_____

Ping Chong, director, choreographer

La MaMa · How to Remake A World: Ping Chong

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La MaMa is dedicated to the artist and all aspects of the theatre. La MaMa’s 61st “Remake A World” Season believes in the power of art to bring sustainable change over time and transform our cultural narrative.  At La MaMa, new work is created from a multiplicity of perspectives, experiences, and disciplines, influencing how we think about and experience art. The flexibility of our spaces, specifically the newly reimagined building at 74 East 4th Street (La MaMa’s original permanent home), gives our local and remote communities access to expanded daytime programming. The digital tools embedded in the space allows artists to collaborate remotely, and audiences worldwide to participate in La MaMa’s programming. 

 

Remembering Peter Brook

Photo of Ellen Stewart and Peter Brook

Peter Brook, the renowned award-winning British director whose non-traditional approaches to classic work reinvented theatre, passed away at the age of 97. For his innovative work, he has won Tony and Emmy awards, as well as a Special Citation from the New York Drama Critics Circle Awards for Le Centre International de Créations Théâtricales at La MaMa, which included performances of Ubu Roi, L’os, The Ik, and The Conference of the Birds in 1980. These works, performed in both French and English, also traveled through the Middle East and Africa.

Throughout his career, Peter Brook’s influence has had a profound impact on artists and audiences across the globe. His contributions to art at La MaMa and his love for Ellen Stewart will never be forgotten.

Photo by Jean-Guy Lecat of The Ik directed by Peter Brook, featuring Bruce Myers, Natasha Parry, Andreas Katsulas, Malik Bowers, and Miriam Goldschmidt

Photo by Nicolas Treatt of The Ik, Michele Gollison on the left and Miriam Goldschmidt on the right

Photo by David Simmonds of The Conference of the Birds directed by Peter Brook, Bob Lloyd on the left and Jean-Claude Perrin on the right

Photo by Jean-Guy Lecat of The Ik, featuring Andreas Katsulas, Malik Bowers, Natasha Parry, and Bruce Myers

6 Questions with Martha Clarke of GOD'S FOOL

Interview with Martha Clarke, the creator and director of God's Fool about the ancient story of St. Francis of Assisi by Allison Hsu and Cadence Rose

Camera by Pearse Redmond
Edit by Theo Cote

Martha Clarke is an American theater director and choreographer noted for her multidisciplinary approach to theater, dance, and opera. A graduate of Juilliard, she danced with the Anna Sokolow Company before becoming a founding member of Pilobolus Dance Theatre. She has choreographed for Nederlans Dans Theater, American Ballet Theatre, Rambert Dance Company, and The Martha Graham Company, among others. As a director, Ms. Clarke’s original productions include Garden of Earthly Delights, Vienna: Lusthaus, Miracolo d’Amore, Endangered Species, An Uncertain Hour, The Hunger Artist, Belle Epoque, Vers La Flame, Kaos, and Chéri. She directed Alice’s Adventures Underground, a collaboration with Christopher Hampton for the Royal National Theater UK, and A Midsummer’s Night Dream for A.R.T. Opera productions include Mozart’s The Magic Flute and Cosi Fan Tutti for Glimmerglass, and Tan Dun’s Marco Polo and Gluck’s Orfeo and Eurydice for New York City Opera, among many others. She created L’Altra Meta del Cielo for La Scala Ballet (2012). She directed and choreographed Chéri (2013) for the Signature Theatre and The Threepenny Opera (2014) at the Atlantic Theater Company in New York City. Her most recent production, Angel Reapers, a collaboration with Alfred Uhry played at the Signature Theatre as her second production in her five-year residency (2016). Awards: Ms. Clarke is the recipient of a MacArthur fellowship, a Drama Desk Award, two Obie Awards, two Joe A. Callaway awards, the Dance Magazine Award, the Samuel H. Scripps/American Dance Festival Award for Lifetime Achievement, and two Lucille Lortel awards. In 2019, she received the Flora Roberts Award from the Dramatists Guild.