Fordham is mourning the death of Noah Goldstein, a 2016 alumnus of the theatre program at Fordham College at Lincoln Center, who was the victim of a hit-and-run driver near the Lincoln Center campus on Saturday, June 18.
“This is a heartbreaking loss, especially for [Goldsteins’] family and loved ones. We have reached out to [Noah’s’] family, and of course will do everything we can to support them in their hour of grief,” said Joseph M. McShane, SJ, president of Fordham.
“It is a terrible blow to lose someone so young and full of promise, and we cannot imagine the pain of Noah’s family and loved ones. I ask that you join me in keeping them in your thoughts and prayers.”
Goldstein, a native of San Jose, California, worked at Ars Nova, a nonprofit theater in New York, as a production intern. Goldstein also worked at the Texas-based Vortex Repertory Theatre and Music & Entertainment Television.
Over the weekend, the Fordham’s theatre program put up a tribute on its Facebook page to the recent graduate, referring to Goldstein using a gender-neutral pronoun, “they.” Friends and faculty noted it was Goldstein’s preferred pronoun.
“They were our best and our brightest. They are gone too soon. Show the other side what great art looks like. Love, The Fordham Theatre Program.”
Goldstein’s focus was on set design, technical direction, production design, and sound design. Goldstein worked on several Fordham theatre productions, among them Oh My Darling, The Man Who Built His House to Heaven, and The Mojo and the Sayso.
After graduating last month, Goldstein landed a job in New York City as a set designer for Lifetime Supply, a show that opens this week at the IRT Theater on Christopher Street.
Tim Zay, Fordham theatre’s technical director, said it was a joy to see Goldstein mature and grow during four years at Fordham. He noted that last April, Goldstein helped the theatre program use, for the first time, computerized moving panels in the mainstage season’s final play, White People.
“[Goldstein] was so full of life, and always finding the humorous part of life. [Noah] was very intelligent, well read, and articulate. I could make obscure references, and [Noah] would pick up on them very easily,” he said. “[Goldstein] was one of these students who came in knowing a good deal, but unlike some who think they know everything and you can’t teach them, [Noah] was open to learning a lot more.”
Kai Brothers, the theatre program’s production manager described Goldstein as a “consummate collaborator, open to exploration, endlessly inquisitive, rigorous in process and able to draw upon boundless reserves of creativity.” He called Goldstein’s stage design work on the play The Man Who Built His House to Heaven “elegantly simple, but really essential.”
“Noah was there during the rehearsal process, the writing process, all the way through,” he said. “Noah was integral to the way that the story took shape on stage.”
Daniel Alexander Jones, head of the theatre program’s playwriting curriculum, called Goldstein one of the program’s best students–“a gifted young artist and magical soul.”
“I will miss our wide-ranging and inspired conversations most of all,” he said.
A Memorial Service for Noah will be held Bellarmine College Preparatory in San Jose, CA in the Leontyne Chapel on Saturday, June 25 at 2 p.m., with a brief reception to follow in Liccardo Hall.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that those who want to make a memorial gift in Noah’s name can make a donation to Bellarmine Prep, 960 West Hedding Street, San Jose, CA 95126-1215. All donations made in Noah’s name will support Bellarmine’s Theatre Tech Department.
Letters of Condolence may be sent to the Goldstein Family c/o
Fordham University
113 W. 60th Street
New York, NY 10023
Attn: Campus Ministry, LL 217
Plans are underway for a local service. For more information, contact Vincent DeCola at decola@fordham.edu.
Staff from Counseling and Psychological Services, Campus Ministry, and the Dean of Students Office will be standing by this week to help all who are grappling with Goldstein’s loss.
The Counseling Center can be reached directly at:
Lincoln Center: (212) 636-6225
Rose Hill: (718) 817-3725
Campus Ministry can be reached at:
Lincoln Center: (212) 636-6267
Rose Hill: (718) 817-4500
