Lydia LaFleur - Hail & Brava!

The Morningside Players (TMP) was led by Lydia LaFleur and

Aimee Scheff for more than two decades. Under her guidance, TMP achieved 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization status in 1986 and grew to be

an award-winning and respected off-Broadway theater company.

Over the next twenty-five years, Lydia was featured in, directed,

and co-produced plays by Chekhov, Ibsen, G.B. Shaw, and

Tennessee Williams. In subsequent years, she remained an

ever-stalwart supporter of TMP and was a valued and treasured

member of the Morningside Gardens community.

She will be dearly missed.

"It was a joy to know and work with Lydia! At our company meetings, she was always the most daring thinker - eager to take a risk on plays, casting, and approach. Her wisdom, good humor, steady support, and encouragement meant so much to all of us."

--- Susanna Frazer, Artistic Director, The Morningside Players

Remembrances

“Lydia, to me, was ever-youthful, calm, and kind; serious, but with a sense of humor; there were no pretensions. Working, or rather playing alongside her, felt natural, therefore simple and easy. We played together in The Glass Menagerie and A Delicate Balance, both directed by the inspired and inspiring Dorothy Carter.

I am so, so very glad that on my last visit (in 2019) to NYC I spent three hours chatting with her in her apartment sipping tea and eating cake; as she related fascinating stories to me, which mostly imbued me - indirectly - with advice…”

--- Ingrid Fraley (Actress, who began with The Morningside Players as Eva Kaliwoda)

“I send my very best and I absolutely LOVED Lydia and sharing the stage with her...”

--- Nancy Ledger (Actress and Director)