Elegant Rage
I never saw Ethyl Eichelberger  perform and I did not know him, but I waited on him a lot from 1985-1987 and saw him around the east village in the years that I lived there. he was a lovely man in those contexts. He was 10-15 years older than much of his audience. I remember when he died noting it. He has always been iconic of a certain time and place. Recently, doing some research, I watched video snippets of his 80’s performances on YouTube. He has a volcanic wit. He was in the Trinity Rep (in Providence, Rhode Island) company for years, before becoming a performance artist. This background in the regular theater accounts for the viciously true and hilarious energy he brings to Klytemnestra…
My memory of him, for what it’s worth, was of a man who was gracious at the end of the night, even at a table full of fools. Often a little glitter clung to his cheek.
