Lisa Ellex

April 9-12 2026

3B Development Series

Tickets 

Award-winning playwright and filmmaker Lisa Ellex retells the story of her ex-husband’s funeral in this outrageous new musical-comedy.With 5 original songs and a few classic standards, the show is a poignant yet hilarious eulogy of a life wildly-lived. With music by the jazz trio, The Undertakers, it might be the best funeral you’ve ever attended.

PERFORMANCES:
April 9, 10, 11, 2026 at 7:30PM
April 12 at 4PM
RUN TIME: 2 hours
PRICE:$25 in advance, $30 day of show
At IRT: 154 Christopher st. NYC #3B (third floor)
ADA Accessible
PLEASE NOTE: All sales final and there is no late seating at IRT Theater.
VISIT/CONTACT US»

Written byLisa Ellex
Directed by James Luzar
Musical Director Declan Mills

With
Dan Berkey, Goldie Dver*, Lisa Ellex*, James Luzar, Sidney Myer*, Alison Nusbaum*, Gretchen Reinhagen*, Lulu Rose, Mary Ellen Ryan, Warren Schein

*Appears courtesy Actors Equity. This production is an Equity-approved showcase.

“A funeral. A musical. A cabaret. Star-studded.A Don’t-Miss!”
– Scott Barbarino, NiteLife Exchange

“Like many parodies, farces and comedic works, there’s a truth lying within. From a solemn memorial at first…the play is, in subtext,a study in grief, the complex nature of family dynamics, lapsed relationships, love in its many guises and more.”
– Marilyn Lester, NiteLife Exchange

Lisa Ellex (Playwright | Performer)
A third-generation Greenwich Village native, Lisa is an actress, vocalist, columnist, and award-winning playwright and filmmaker,

With roots in the theater, Lisa crossed over to television to select programming for the launch of HBO’s COMEDY CHANNEL. She wrote and produced numerous junkets there before moving to COMEDY CENTRAL where she wrote guest segments for comedian Allan Havey’s talk show Night After Night. Other TV production credits include, The Cosby Show, The Ellen Burstyn Show, The Dictator, CBS Movie of the Week, Top Cops, and Night Music with David Sanborn & Jools Holland.

For her 2025 directorial debut short, Angela, Lisa took home a “Best Director – Short Film” award at the Jersey Shore Film Festival. The film also won the “Best Actress” award at the Long Island International Film Expo for Angela Pietropinto’s performance in the title role. https://vimeo.com/1076254253?share=copy#t=0

As an actress, Lisa’s film and TV credits include Heart (with Brad Davis and Steve Buscemi), A Little Tenderness, The Ellen Burstyn Show (with Ellen Burstyn and Harvey Keitel), and The Cosby Show. When she’s not writing, Lisa enjoys singing in big bands and small jazz ensembles.

James Luzar (Director) has directed over 75 off-Broadway and cabaret shows in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago and London. He directed and produced The Sunday Morning Gospel Show at Woodstock ‘94 starring Phoebe Snow, Mavis Staples, Thelma Houston and Cece Peniston. James has also directed shows for Cybill Shepherd, Rosemary Clooney, Liza Minnelli and Betty Garrett, and directed and co-produced Songmasters Inside Out at The Algonquin Hotel – a 13-week retrospective of American musicfeaturing Joe Williams, The Mamas and The Papas, Al Jarreau, Taylor Dayne, Rita Moreno, Brian Wilson, and Laura Nyro, among others. He spent 4 years as president of River Siren Productions which produced the television series, Cybill. He has also served as acting coach on various series.

Dekko Mills (Music Director)
Australia born, New York City bred, Dekko is excited to add musical theatre to his playing experience, which includes performing jazz at Birdland, blues at Terra Blues, funk-fusion at NuBlu, A David Bowie tribute at Joe’s Pub, and everything in between at The Bitter End, Arthur’s Tavern, Brooklyn Bowl and more with his own jazz-funk R&B fusion band – Wombat Combat. Thanks to the team and especially Lisa for this opportunity!

IRT Theater is a grassroots laboratory for independent theater and performance in New York City, providing space and support to a new generation of artists. Tucked away in the old Archive Building in Greenwich Village, IRT’s mission is to build a community of emerging and established artists by creating a home for the development and presentation of new work.

This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts and the New York State Legislature; New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in Partnership with the City Council; A.R.T./New York’s NYC Small Theatres Fund made possible with support from the Howard Gilman Foundation & support for ASL interpretation provided in part through funding from Access A.R.T./New York.

ACCESS: IRT is a fully wheelchair-accessible facility. Please reach out to Kori Rushton if you have any accessibility questions or concerns, krushton@irttheater.org

PLEASE NOTE: All sales final and there is no late seating at IRT Theater.