Remembering Ute von der Heyden

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Ute von der Heyden, who died recently at 84, was a frequent contributor of theater reviews and arts stories to our pages. She also worked behind the scenes as an editor. Equipped with a Michigan State University journalism education and two decades’ experience as a Lansing State Journal reporter, she brought us a high level of professionalism. Though an enthusiastic booster of area theater — she served on the old BoarsHead Theater’s board — her reviews were honest, perceptive and respected. A case in point of the latter was her take on a Wharton Center production. “When it comes to ‘The Phantom of the Opera,’ there are two kinds of people,” she wrote. “People like my husband” (Paul C. Wright, who survives her, as does a daughter, Leslie Auld), “who said, ‘I’ve seen that chandelier come crashing down twice already, why would I want to see that again,’ and people like me who think, ‘Are you mad, it’s not about the chandelier. It’s about the romance, the mystery, the costumes, the staging, the beauty of the music, the poetry of the lyrics.’ Why wouldn’t you want to see it again? And again and again.” The next day City Pulse received an email declaring her review the best ever. It was from the show’s producer, Broadway legend Hal Prince.

Von der Heyden told compelling stories, but none were as compelling as her own. She was born in Dresden, Germany, in 1939. In 1945, she and her parents, sister and grandmother fled to a bomb shelter, which caught fire as the allied forces pounded the city. Her grandmother pushed Ute out a window, her clothes aflame. Her family perished. A Red Cross unit rescued 6-year-old Ute. An aunt took her in. After the war, they lived under Soviet control in East Germany, from which they were determined to escape. They failed the first time, but on foot for days in a second attempt, foraging for food in the woods, they made it to allied-controlled territory. At 14, Ute emigrated to the United States with her aunt’s family, settling in Saginaw. She pushed herself to master written and spoken English. No one would have ever guessed it was her second language.  She found her calling in journalism.

After the Journal, she launched a second career in state government. Retired, she returned to journalism at City Pulse soon after it was launched in 2001. Here, Elaine Yaw, City Pulse’s first arts editor, picks up the story.

A mutual friend, Meegan Holland, brought them together. “I had no idea who she was, what she looked like, or anything. It didn’t matter, she said on the phone she would recognize me. I trotted over to Sir Pizza on what was then Grand River Avenue, a block away from City Pulse on Turner Street.

“Sure enough, I walked in, and a petite, amazingly dressed woman — she always looked like a million bucks; her style sense was fascinating and amazing — said, ‘Elaine, over here.’  I will never ever forget the way she said my name. After that initial meeting, where I hired her on the spot, there was always an ‘oh’ in front of my name when she said it, for urgency, no matter what the topic of conversation was.”

“She wrote, she edited, she planned and strategized,” Yaw recalled. “She and Paul C. Wright scooped me up and introduced me to everyone they knew in the Lansing-area theater scene, which was nearly everyone — because they went to all shows, gave their sweat and tears to local theater, and more.

“I had a dream in early September with Ute in it, and I knew I needed to get in touch. I’m so glad I didn’t ignore it. I didn’t get to see her one last time, but we talked on the phone. And I got to hear her say my name in the way she did, “Oh, Elaine ... Elaine Yaw?” And then we laughed about the line, “There can be only one editor.” And that, without doubt, was always Ute.”

 

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