Ethyl Eichelberger (July 17, 1945 – August 12, 1990) was an Obie award-winning American drag performer, playwright, and actor. He became an influential figure in experimental theater and writing, and wrote nearly forty plays portraying women such as Jocasta, Medea, Nefertiti, Clytemnestra, and Lucrezia Borgia. He became more widely known as a commercial actor in the 1980s.
Eichelberger's plays were performed in almost any space that might pass as a stage in New York City during the height of the East Village performance bar scene of the 1980s. Among the venues at which they were produced are the Pyramid Club, King Tut's Wah Wah Hut, and 8 B.C., and later at more established venues such as P.S. 122, Dixon Place, La Mama, the Performing Garage, and Dance Theatre Workshop. Eichelberger also took productions of his plays on tour to such far away places as Australia and Europe.[6]
He often performed solo works in free verse based on the lives of the grandes dames of history, including Lucrezia Borgia, Jocasta, Medea, Lola Montez, Nefertiti, Clytemnestra, and Carlotta, Empress of Mexico. "I wanted to play the great roles but who would cast me as Medea?", he mused late in life in Extreme Exposure: An Anthology of Solo Performance Texts from the Twentieth Century. His 1984 play Leer distilled Shakespears's King Lear into 3 characters, all played by Eichelberger.[7] Such works are rarely revived, as they require a solo performer capable of accompanying himself on the accordion, eating fire, turning cartwheels, and doing splits and other acrobatic feats.[8]
On August 12, 1990, he committed suicide by slashing his wrists in his Staten Island home.[7] Only after his suicide did it become widely known that he was diagnosed with AIDS two years prior and had become unable to tolerate the side effects of the medication and the debilitating effects of the disease.[9]
^Moon, Michael (1998). A small boy and others : imitation and initiation in American culture from Henry James to Andy Warhol. Durham: Duke University Press. ISBN978-0822321613. OCLC 37606286.
^ abFisher, James (2011). Historical dictionary of contemporary American theater, 1930-2010. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press. ISBN9780810879508. OCLC 741366103.
^William Harris, "Ethyl Eichelberger Cartwheels Through History", New York Times, August 7, 1988
^Liz Lufkin, "Actor Makes a Name for Himself", S.F. Chronicle, November 10, 1987
^Gussow, Mel. "Stage: 2 Eichelberger 'Classics'", The New York Times, August 18, 1987. Accessed September 30, 2013.
^Jeffreys, Joe E. (2002). "Eichelberger, Ethyl (1945-1990)" (PDF). glbtq. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
^ abGussow, Mel (Aug 14, 1990). "Ethyl Eichelberger, Performer, 45; Creator of a Gallery of Characters". The New York Times.
^Gussow, Mel (1990-08-26). "STAGE VIEW; Ethyl Eichelberger and His Interior Spotlight". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-03-19.
^Jeffreys, Joe E. (1991). "Ethyl Eichelberger, 1945-1990". TDR. 1 (1): 10–12. JSTOR 1146101.
^Simonson, Robert (May 3, 2005). "Taylor Mac First Winner of P.S. 122'S New Ethyl Eichelberger Award". Playbill. Retrieved 2019-03-19.
ethyl, eichelberger, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, march,. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Ethyl Eichelberger news newspapers books scholar JSTOR March 2009 Learn how and when to remove this template message Ethyl Eichelberger July 17 1945 August 12 1990 was an Obie award winning American drag performer playwright and actor He became an influential figure in experimental theater and writing and wrote nearly forty plays portraying women such as Jocasta Medea Nefertiti Clytemnestra and Lucrezia Borgia He became more widely known as a commercial actor in the 1980s Ethyl EichelbergerBorn 1945 07 17 July 17 1945Pekin Illinois United StatesDiedAugust 12 1990 1990 08 12 aged 45 Staten Island New York USABiography editEthyl Eichelberger was born on July 17 1945 in Pekin Illinois to Amish Mennonite parents 1 He attended Knox College in Galesburg Illinois and graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City in 1967 For seven years he was the lead character actor at the Trinity Repertory Company in Providence Rhode Island 2 He then returned to New York changed his name to Ethyl 3 4 and became a member of Charles Ludlam s Ridiculous Theatrical Company acting and designing wigs At the Ridiculous Theatrical Company Eichelberger met Black Eyed Susan actor who became a close friend In 1987 he wrote his play Saint Joan for Black Eyed Susan following the death of Charles Ludlam 5 Eichelberger s plays were performed in almost any space that might pass as a stage in New York City during the height of the East Village performance bar scene of the 1980s Among the venues at which they were produced are the Pyramid Club King Tut s Wah Wah Hut and 8 B C and later at more established venues such as P S 122 Dixon Place La Mama the Performing Garage and Dance Theatre Workshop Eichelberger also took productions of his plays on tour to such far away places as Australia and Europe 6 He often performed solo works in free verse based on the lives of the grandes dames of history including Lucrezia Borgia Jocasta Medea Lola Montez Nefertiti Clytemnestra and Carlotta Empress of Mexico I wanted to play the great roles but who would cast me as Medea he mused late in life in Extreme Exposure An Anthology of Solo Performance Texts from the Twentieth Century His 1984 play Leer distilled Shakespears s King Lear into 3 characters all played by Eichelberger 7 Such works are rarely revived as they require a solo performer capable of accompanying himself on the accordion eating fire turning cartwheels and doing splits and other acrobatic feats 8 He became more widely known as a commercial actor in the 1980s appearing with The Flying Karamazov Brothers on Broadway in Shakespeare s The Comedy of Errors and with Sting in The Threepenny Opera 2 He also appeared as a cast member of the HBO variety series Encyclopedia On August 12 1990 he committed suicide by slashing his wrists in his Staten Island home 7 Only after his suicide did it become widely known that he was diagnosed with AIDS two years prior and had become unable to tolerate the side effects of the medication and the debilitating effects of the disease 9 In 2005 P S 122 awarded the first Ethyl Eichelberger Award to Taylor Mac 10 References edit Moon Michael 1998 A small boy and others imitation and initiation in American culture from Henry James to Andy Warhol Durham Duke University Press ISBN 978 0822321613 OCLC 37606286 a b Fisher James 2011 Historical dictionary of contemporary American theater 1930 2010 Lanham Md Scarecrow Press ISBN 9780810879508 OCLC 741366103 William Harris Ethyl Eichelberger Cartwheels Through History New York Times August 7 1988 Liz Lufkin Actor Makes a Name for Himself S F Chronicle November 10 1987 Gussow Mel Stage 2 Eichelberger Classics The New York Times August 18 1987 Accessed September 30 2013 Jeffreys Joe E 2002 Eichelberger Ethyl 1945 1990 PDF glbtq Retrieved March 19 2019 a b Gussow Mel Aug 14 1990 Ethyl Eichelberger Performer 45 Creator of a Gallery of Characters The New York Times Gussow Mel 1990 08 26 STAGE VIEW Ethyl Eichelberger and His Interior Spotlight The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved 2019 03 19 Jeffreys Joe E 1991 Ethyl Eichelberger 1945 1990 TDR 1 1 10 12 JSTOR 1146101 Simonson Robert May 3 2005 Taylor Mac First Winner of P S 122 S New Ethyl Eichelberger Award Playbill Retrieved 2019 03 19 External links editEthyl Eichelberger at IMDb Ethyl Eichelberger at the Internet Broadway Database nbsp Ethyl Eichelberger at the Internet Off Broadway Database Video collage of several of Ethyl Eichelberger s Downtown very off off Broadway performances on YouTube Ethyl Eichelberger at Find a Grave Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ethyl Eichelberger amp oldid 1144523366, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
