WELCOME TO EPISODE 24 OF THE GOLDEN GIRLS DEEP DIVE PODCAST! Starting from the beginning of the show, each week we recap an episode of The Golden Girls and we end each episode with a fully researched deep dive into something from the Golden Girls universe!

In episode 24, THE DAY HAS FINALLY COME! BIG DADDY IS COMING TO MIAMI! That’s right, Blanche’s father is bringing all his Southern charm for a visit… but he also has an announcement. Shenanigans ensue when a neighbor’s tree falls onto the ladies’ lanai and Sophia has to put a Sicilian curse on the guy to get him to take care of it.

For the week’s deep dive, Patrick is telling us the story of Ellen Stewart, who created the downtown Off-Off-Broadway theater La MaMa. It was at La MaMa that Torch Song Trilogy, the play starring Estelle Getty which led to her landing the role of Sophia on The Golden Girls, was created, and the woman behind the theater's creation was a trailblazer in the downtown arts scene.

Sources:

• Ellen Stewart: Still Pushing that Pushcart - The Villager - Nov 2006

• Ellen Stewart, 91, Off Off Broadway Pioneer, Dies -  New York Times - Jan 13, 2011

• Greenwich Village 1963: Avant-garde Performance and the Effervescent Body - Sally Banes - 1993

• Ellen Stewart - Wikipedia

• Remembering Ellen Stewart, Founder… La MaMa - BeyerBlinderBelle.com - Feb 21, 2023

• Ellen Stewart - LaMaMa.org

• Remembering Ellen Stewart, Giant Of N.Y. Theater - NPR - Jan 14, 2011 

• History - LaMama.org

• Artists and Admirers on Ellen Stewart’s Legacy - The New York Times - Jan 18, 2011

• La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club - Wikipedia