Ellen Stewart's passed away on January 13, 2011 at the age of 91. Her memorial service was held at the St. Patrick's Cathedral on Monday, January 17th. It was an auspicious location that inspires reverence and much like the lady herself was theatrical, grand and demands respect. The opulent hall was filled with friends, family and many of the artists whose lives Ellen had touched. La MaMa Board President, Frank Carucci noted that "there is a full house here today, which would have made Ellen very happy."

Director Reverend George Drance served as the Principal Celebrant of the services and began by assuring us that "everyone has a story about Ellen. She was a story teller and a story maker." Those stories have been in turn inspiring, jaw dropping, shocking, unbelievable, astonishing, motivating, infuriating and moving.

She was infamously outspoken and opinionated. She was fearless and passionate. Through her tenacious determination, she built one of the most revered and long lived independent theatres in the world.

Ellen moved from Louisiana to New York in 1950 and worked as a dressmaker and designer. In 1961 she founded the Café La MaMa in a basement on East 9th Street as a place there her brother and his friends could present theatre. From the beginning, La MaMa was committed to the artist and for over 40 years Ellen greeted  audiences with her now famous words, "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to La MaMa, dedicated to the playwright and to all aspects of the theater."

While artists were delighted to have a space in which to create and a stage on which to present their work, neighbors were less than happy about the number of men coming and going at all hours of the day and night. Accusing Ellen of being a lady of the evening police were called numerous times to investigate. These troubles eventually lead to eviction. At one performance Ellen asked all of the audience members to please stand up, pick up their chair and follow her down the street. She then led the parade of slightly confused but game audience members as they marched a couple of blocks to the new La MaMa location.

Despite her protestations she was an artist herself. She was an accomplished director, playwright and composer. In 2007 she was nominated for Outstanding Original Music for Herakles Via Phaedra from the New York Innovative Theatre Awards. In 2009, even though she was in failing health she conceived, wrote and directed her final production, Asclepius from a hospital bed that was placed in La MaMa's Annex Theatre.

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