Photo Diary: David Schweizer celebration
A dazzling assortment of friends and colleagues gathered at Joe’s Pub on Monday to celebrate the life and work of irreplaceable/irrepressible theatermaker David Schweizer, who dropped dead of a heart attack last December at the age of 74.
The event was put together by two of his proteges, director Christopher Ashley (above right) and composer Mark Bennett (above left).
The hosts were David’s BFF Greg Mehrten and esteemed collaborator Kathleen Chalfant, who took credit for convincing David to stop dyeing his hair candy colors and let it go gray.
The Public Theater’s Oskar Eustis recalled a period in his life when he was a mess and Schweizer provided a beacon of friendship.
Julian Fleisher was one of many who spoke of Schweizer’s gift for mentorship as well as his penchant for animal prints. (See also David Zinn’s touching Instagram post detailing the depth and intimacy of Schweizer’s mentorship.)
David’s partner* Caleb Wertenbaker regaled the crowd with tales from David’s childhood, including dressing up in full Ottoman costume (complete with turban) when the Duke and Duchess of Windsor visited his family home in Baltimore.
Michael Winther performed a number from Mark Campbell’s “Songs from an Unmade Bed,” accompanied on piano by the great Kimberly Grisby.
Soprano Caroline Worra sang an excerpt from “Rhino!” (based on the Ionesco play), which would have been Schweizer’s debut as an opera librettist. Michael Sargent on video introduced a clip from his film called “I Hate” that David finished shooting just before he died.
Austin Pendleton spoke of Schweizer’s meticulous attention while staging his play “Orson’s Shadow.”
Sandra Tsing Loh and Mike Albo took turns sharing comic zingers from some of the many solo shows by standup comedians that Schweizer directed.
And Rinde Eckert played accordion and sang a gorgeous wordless “Irish Lament.” Afterwards we all trekked over to Tanya Selvaratnam’s glamorous duplex in Alphabet City for food, drink, and schmoozing that came close to replicating the legendary come-one-come-all New Year’s Day bashes that Schweizer threw at his home in Tribeca, universally known as “The Loft.”
*I originally described Caleb as David’s husband but I stand corrected.
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