Joan Marlowe Rahe dies at 88
Actress pioneered indie theatre news reporting
Marlowe Rahe helped pioneer independent news reporting about the production of plays and musicals on and Off-Broadway, in regional theater and summer stock.
Born in Ithaca, New York, she studied at Stephens College and Cornell U., she started her acting career in regional theater and New York. On Broadway she appeared in "Mr. and Mrs. North" and acted in summer stock and regional theater.
She was on the staff at Newsweek before starting to co-publish and edit the Theater Information Bulletin in 1944. In 1964, she and Blake purchased Theatre Critics' Reviews, a compendium of theater reviews from newspapers and magazines dating back to 1940. They sold the publication to Playbill 30 years later, before the Internet permitted widespread access to reviews and other newspaper stories. She was co-author of the books "The Keys to Broadway" and "Broadway -- Inside the Last Decade."
She served as president of the Outer Critics' Circle and New Drama Forum, an offshoot of the Drama Desk organization of reporters and columnists.
A longtime fixture at opening nights and at theater haunts like Sardi's and the 21 Club, syndicated columnist and radio personality Jack O'Brien once said that she "was far more glamorous than most of stars on stage."
She is survived by her husband, Roderic Warren Rahe; sons Roderic Warren Rahe, Jr. and Ward Morehouse III, a theater columnist and four grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held on March 15 at 2:00 p.m. at the Noroton Presbyterian Church in Darien, Conn.
Donations may be sent to Stephens College, 1200 East Broadway, Columbia, MO 65215.
