In Memoriam: MILLY S. BARANGER
August, 2023
Milly S. Baranger died on August 21st at the Amsterdam Nursing Home in New York. She was 86; there was no cause given. Milly was an author, educator, and producer who was a longtime member of the League of Professional Theatre Women, serving in many capacities, including on the board in the early 2000s.
Although she had been less involved with LPTW in recent years, a highlight for Milly with our organization was in 2012, when our newly formed Heritage Committee presented at the Cherry Lane Theatre (with thanks to Angelina Fiordellisi and her staff) an evening of conversations with Milly, Julie Gilbert, and Ruth Wolff, produced by VP of Programming Mari Lyn Henry, with scenes from Ruth's plays about historical theatre women performed by Cynthia Enfield and David Spencer, directed by Shellen Lubin. It was a truly theatrical evening as much as a historical one, celebrating the women who cultivated and created live theatre and these three women who write with such care, respect, and eloquence about them. Milly wrote a note to the committee soon after about how important it was to bring these stories of historical women in theatre to light theatrically, and how profound it was that we had presented that evening. Only people who exist in the immediacy of live theatre can truly understand that.
She is survived by her spouse, Liz Woodman. She will be missed by many, including all of us here at LPTW.
