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Video Work: Documentation of "Gertrude" (1972)

Audio/Visual

This video documents the ETC Company’s 1972 production of "Gertrude, or Would She Be Pleased to Receive It?” at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club. A work of musical theater written by Wilford Leach, the play is narrated by an Angel and follows the adventures of the title character, loosely based on Gertrude Stein, through a windy walk with her dog Ernest and her friend Isadora Duncan and to an arboretum. Leach described the play (in the show’s program) as “a valentine, specifically to the memory of Gertrude Stein” but not “a literal portrait.” The piece was part of the ETC Company’s first 5-Play Repertory, which also included productions of ”Carmilla,” “Demon, “The Only Jealousy of Emer,” and “Renard”.  The video was originally shot using a Portapak camera, and camera originals are spread across two separate half-inch open reels (numbered B1 and C13 in La MaMa's collection).

Researchers interested in viewing this material should contact La MaMa's Archives at archives@lamama.org.
Screenshot from video documentation of Gertrude (1972)
Screenshot from video documentation of Gertrude (1972)
Recording date: January 1972
Recording date: February 1972
English
OBJ.1972.0056
1/2 inch open reel, Mp4
The ETC Company of La MaMa (performer), Ben Johnston (music), Wilford Leach (playwright), John Braswell (director), Wilford Leach (director), Zizi Mueller (music), Bill Elliott (music), James Cuomo (music), Margot Lewitin (contributor), Richard Laws (tech), Mitchell Kurtz (tech), Richard Schroeder (tech), John Braswell (performer), Camille Tibaldeo (performer), Murrell Gehman (performer), William Finley (performer), Sandra Johnson (performer), Donald Arrington (performer), Margaret Benczak (performer), Charles Madden (music), Margaret Benczak (music), Dean Kelso (music), Glen Velez (music), Jeffrey Lyons (music)
Gertrude
"Gertrude" and "Demon" (1972)
ETC Company's First 5-Play Repertory (1970-1973)
Program: ETC Company's Five Repertory Productions (1972)
Program: ETC Company's Five Repertory Productions (1972)
La Mama Experimental Theatre Club, ETC Company of La Mama, Stein, Gertrude, 1874-1946, Duncan, Isadora, 1877-1927, Leach, Wilford, 1929-1988, Mueller, Zizi, Off Off-Broadway theater, Audio-visual materials, Theatrical companies, Repertory theater, New York (State)
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