With virtually no financial resources, Ellen Stewart created the La Mama theater in New York in 1961, where writers and actors such as Sam Shepard, Elizabeth Swados, and Harvey Fierstein found both encouragement and a home for their work. Includes footage from the early days, interviews and brief excerpts from some of the theater works. Stewart also talks about her experiences as a "colored" working at Saks Fifth Avenue between 1950 and 1957
Elizabeth Swados was an American writer, composer, musician, and theatre director. Swados received Tony Award nominations for Best Musical, Best Direction of a Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score, and Best Choreography. She was nominated for Drama Desk Awards for Outstanding Director of a Musical, Outstanding Lyrics, and Outstanding Music, and won an Obie Award for her direction of 'Runaways' in 1978. In 1980, the Hobart and William Smith Colleges awarded her an honorary doctorate in Humane Letters.
By browsing this website, you accept our cookies policy.