Starring Vivien Straus
October 26, 2023 @ 7:00 pm
October 28, 2023 @ 8:30 pm
In “After I’m Dead, You’ll Have to Feed Everyone – The Rollicking Tale of Ellen Straus,” Vivien Straus portrays her beloved mother, a refugee from Nazi Europe who emigrates to NYC, marries a California dairy farmer after a two-week courtship, and emerges as a national environmental pioneer and matriarch of the organic food movement. The story encompasses their mother-daughter relationship, Ellen’s battle with cancer, and the evolution of a pioneering activist who created a national model for protecting farmland from destruction.
With joyful renditions and witty dialogue, it’s a fresh and funny love letter that takes the audience through to the end of her mother’s life – during which Vivien reassures her mother that she won’t serve chicken salad at her memorial – punctuated with delightful cow facts and farm life stories.
In the mad-cap tribute, Straus portrays 11 characters (10 humans and 1 cow).
The show originally played to 17 sold-out performances (2,100+ attendees) in the restored hay barn at Straus Home Ranch, where Ellen and her husband Bill lived until death-did-they-part after 52 years of marriage.
Critics lauded “After I’m Dead” as “One of the best celebrations of life imaginable.” “Entertaining.” “Full of love.” “Totally engaging.”
Website (with video trailer, press coverage and reviews): vivienstraus.com
Writer/Performer: Vivien Straus
Directed by Elly Lichenstein
Produced by Michael Straus and Denise Rocco-Zilber
Marketing & Public Relations by Michael Straus
Dramaturgy by Jayne Wenger
Contains a sample of Cows, by Sandra Boynton and Tom Ford, courtesy of Concord
Running Time: 65 minutes
Genre: Comedy, Tragicomedy
