Dito van Reigersberg, 1972 - 2026

Philadelphia-based actor and drag performer Dito van Reigersberg, 53, died of leukemia on June 1. Van Reigersberg (born Fernando Steven van Reigersberg) started doing drag shows when a student at Swarthmore, and played the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in the ‘90s. He often performed as Martha Graham Cracker—“the world’s tallest and hairiest drag queen”—and was a regular at the Pig Iron Theater Company, which he co-founded, and also appeared in such plays as Poet in New York, Gentlemen Volunteers, Shut Eye, Hell Meets Henry Halfway, Chekhov Lizardbrain, and Zero Cost House. He said of his performances, “If you’re just a person who likes music, hopefully the music side of the show is satisfying to you. And maybe there’s a feeling like anything could happen, which is exciting and weirdly liberating. My favorite compliment I’ve ever gotten is, ‘My face hurt after your show, I was laughing and smiling so much.’ That’s all I really want: people to go on a crazy journey with a drag queen and have a great time and a deep belly laugh.” Van Reigersberg is survived by his husband, choreographer Matthew Neenan.