Atlanta theater community wants to give patron Susan Stiefel a curtain call

A couple that took Atlanta theater to heart and connected with scores of performing artists, Alan and Susan Stiefel were as much a part of an opening night as the jitters and last-minute tweaks. On June 29, Susan Stiefel, 81, died, five years after the death of her husband, leaving the city’s performing arts community at a deep loss.

Susan was born in New York and attended the city’s High School of Performing Arts. She was told by her acting coach she could not act, so she did not attempt any onstage work after that but nonetheless loved theater and attended whenever she could. She always had a strong memory of all she took in, said her friend and Suzi Awards judging coordinator John Waymire.

Susan and Alan met in Chicago in a group for single parents. When they moved to Atlanta in 1987 they quickly became Atlanta theater enthusiasts and friends to the city's performance community. (Photo courtesy of Meredith Miller)

Many years later, while in Chicago after a marriage that ended in divorce, she met Alan in a group for single parents, and the two hit it off. They went to their first show together — a touring version of “Sweeney Todd” that Susan hated then grew fond of later.

When the Stiefels moved to Atlanta in 1987, they got tickets to the Fox Theatre and would attend the Broadway series throughout the year there and Theater of the Stars during the summer. It wasn’t until Susan started working across the street from the Alliance Theatre that she went there, and the couple’s first show was “Angels in America,” Waymire said.

Freddie Ashley, artistic director of Actor’s Express, met the Stiefels more than 20 years ago when he worked at the Alliance. He did pre-show talks the first Tuesday after opening night, and the Stiefels were regulars at every one.

“We became friendly then, and, when I got the job at Actor’s Express in 2007, they said they’d come subscribe there and check it out,” he said. “I was concerned. I didn’t know them that well and (thought), ‘What if they are put off by some of the racier stuff we do from time to time?’ And they were not. They embraced it all and started venturing out to all Atlanta theaters.

“I think they loved everything — from the grittiest play to the brightest, happiest musical. Part of what was so charming and wonderful about them was that they loved the work so much and the people who made it,” Ashley said.

Susan with Suzi Awards judging coordinator John Waymire. The last theater peformance they caught together was “Hot Jambalaya” at Horizon Theatre on opening night in late May. (Photo courtesy of John Waymire)

Waymire met Susan in 2008 when she signed up to be a judge for the Suzi Awards, the Tony Awards of Atlanta. He was the judging coordinator and trained all new judges. The next year, Alan joined as a judge. The couple started on the musical panel; Susan joined the play panel. Then they moved to the recommending panel and got to attend opening nights. That is when Alan began his tradition of photographing artists and later presenting packets of pictures to them.

Rachel May, artistic director of Synchronicity Theatre, has her own fond recollections. “In Atlanta, there is no real star culture or fame culture, even though we have some wonderful stars on our stages,” May said. “To have Susan and Allen celebrating (these artists) as though they were walking a red carpet was wonderful to see.”

After Alan’s death, it was hard for Susan to resume her normal theatergoing. She was carrying a lot of grief and had even mentioned to Waymire that without Alan around, she was ready to join him.

“I think it was hard for her to dive back in because of the routines and rituals like coming to watch tech rehearsal,” Ashley said. “When (Alan) wasn’t there, it amplified the loss even more. Over time, she did get back into it full throttle because it did fill a lot of needs for her.”

Because she had become friends with so many in the community by attending their shows, and later weddings and birthday celebrations, the community was eager to help when Alan passed. Many would give her rides to and from the theater, and Waymire did so often. Their last show together was “Hot Jambalaya” at Horizon Theatre on opening night May 29. Waymire recalls taking Susan home and learning that she fell that night and was in the hospital the next day. That was the beginning of the end. Susan’s daughter, Meredith Miller, said her mother had been dealing with cancer on and off and with metastatic breast cancer since 2023.

Bruce Cohen, who was a sponsor of the Actor’s Express recent run of “Wit,” dedicated the production to the memories of his mother and Ashley’s mother, who also died recently. When Susan was nearing death, Cohen suggested the company also include a dedication to her for all remaining performances.

The Stiefels loved everything from bright musicals to gritty dramas, Actor's Express Artistic Director Freddie Ashley said. (Photo courtesy of Meredith Miller)

Susan’s legacy, Waymire said, is the joy she shared with Atlanta actors, designers and producers. “She never said a bad word about anyone,” he said. “She found something to love in every performance.”

A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. Oct. 12 at the Alliance Theatre, staged by Waymire, Cohen, Ashley, Alliance Artistic Director Christopher Moses and actors Natasha Drena and Veronika Duerr.

Part of the memorial is to celebrate both Susan and Alan. “It’s been said that losing Susan is like losing Alan all over again,” Waymire said. “We lost him during the pandemic, so we didn’t have time to say goodbye. Losing Susan brings back all of those memories.”

It’s hard to think about Atlanta theater without both of them, especially Susan, Ashley said. “She was a surrogate mom, grandmother and bubbie to a lot of us,” he said. “And it will take a long time to process losing her.”

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Jim Farmer covers theater and film for ArtsATL. A graduate of the University of Georgia, he has written about the arts for 30-plus years. Jim is the festival director of Out on Film, Atlanta’s LGBTQ film festival, and lives in Avondale Estates with his husband Craig.