Michelle Elwyn

Michelle Elwyn, a mainstay of D.C.-area theater for many years, died August 8 at the Adler Center in Aldie, Virginia, of lymphoma after a brief, devastating illness. She was 76 years old. Elwyn was a properties designer who built and sourced the props for numerous productions in the D.C. area over the course of a rich career. Ari Roth, the former Artistic Director of both the Mosaic Theater Company of D.C. and Theater J at the Washington, D.C. Jewish Community Center, paid tribute to Elwyn in a Facebook post, calling her “one of the hardest working, most exacting, dedicated designers in our theater community.” In addition to her design work for Mosaic Theater Company and Theater J, Elwyn regularly worked on productions at the Folger, Studio, and Round House theaters.

From 2007-2020, Elwyn was the principal props designer for the “Voices From a Changing Middle East Festival.” Roth said that the Israeli struggle to find “just and ethical” solutions to its many challenges as a nation “animated Michelle and [as] a Jewish artist, she brought a level of commitment, solidarity, and partnership to those collaborations with Israeli and visiting Palestinian artists that contributed mightily to the depths and spirit of Voices Festival productions.” A partial list of Michelle Elwyn’s productions can be found at https://www.abouttheartists.com

Michelle Elwyn was born in Washington, D.C., on September 15, 1944, the eldest child of Bernice “Bunny” (Mendoza) and Harold Elwyn. She grew up in Bethesda, Maryland, and graduated from Walter Johnson High School. She studied fine arts at the Corcoran School of Art, Cornell University, and New York University. She is survived by her husband of 45 years, Robert Murch, her stepson Daniel Murch, grandchildren Kellyn Murch and John Murch, sisters Deborah Genevich and Vicki Elwyn, brother-in-law Vince Genevich, niece Ashleigh Genevich, nephew Shawn Elwyn, and many other loving family members and friends. She is pre-deceased by her brother, Kenneth Elwyn.

Donations in Michelle Elwyn’s memory may be made to the Lehigh County Humane Society

(https://www.lehighcountyhumanesociety.org/) or Hart for Animals (https://www.hartforanimals.org).

May her memory – and her lasting artistic contributions – be for a blessing.