|  | |
"As many are aware of [Lena's] prominent role in folk music, few recall what a brilliant actress she was"
—Edward Reich, patron
|
Theatre Compatriots John Wynne-Evans & Lena Spencer
Photographer Unknown |
Behind the big, sliding metal door near the top of the stairs at Caffè Lena is a dark chamber filled with a sense of magic. Feeling almost like a secret room, the lights come on to reveal a bank of forty-five well-used theater seats, a rickety ladder to the lighting booth, a tiny dressing room. Few would guess that this room, largely unknown to the Caffè's music crowd, spawned The Homemade Theater, now in residence at the Spa Little Theater, and Fovea Floods, now producing acclaimed avante garde shows in New York City. Or that Spalding Gray, John Wynne-Evans, and David Hyde Pierce were part of the scene in the 1970s and 80s. |
Lena Spencer |
Lena Spencer was an actress before she opened her café. Her first love was theater and she starred in many plays during her twenty-nine years here. In 1987 Lena enjoyed the great treat of being cast as a "slatternly woman" in the major motion picture based on William Kennedy's Ironweed. |
Photo
|
Photo |
More....
"Compiled and edited by Jocelyn
Arem, Caffè Lena historian/Board of Directors with special thanks to
the Saratoga History Museum"
This project is made possible by the generous support of The Sparkplug Foundation & Skidmore College’s President’s Discretionary Fund
| |
| |
