Scranton music and theatre communities remember Michael Draper at public memorial on Sept. 15
Since Michael Draper passed away on Aug. 9, his friends in both the music and theatre communities of Northeastern Pennsylvania have been recalling his remarkable impact both privately and publicly on social media. Next week, they’ll have a chance to pay their respects together.
While Draper had type 1 diabetes and was in and out of the hospital for years due to various health issues, his death still came as a shock to many, as he always seemed to bounce back after joking about his own mortality. He is remembered for his various musical and theatrical talents, unbound creativity, one-of-a-kind personality, sardonic sense of humor, and consistent generosity.
On Sunday, Sept. 15, his friends will hold a memorial in downtown Scranton, starting with a candlelight vigil at the bust of Jason Miller on Courthouse Square at 6 p.m. Toasts, stories, and memories will be shared at the Irish Wolf Pub (503 Linden St., Scranton) at 7 p.m., followed by an open jam at 9 p.m. Radio personality Freddie Fabbri will serve as the emcee of the evening.
“I would like to invite any folks that knew Michael to participate by attending, speaking, or performing. I thought it would be very special to have folks that knew him read a poem, part of a script, sing, or play guitar,” organizer Roxanne Pauline said.
Those who are interested in contributing can e-mail her at Ruby99tuesday@gmail.com or text 570-780-4779. A Facebook event page has also been created.
Calling him “a wonderful talent that will be missed by all of us,” Pauline was a longtime friend and bandmate of Draper in Psycho Nurse, one of his many musical projects. The ’80s punk/shock rock band, who reunited for a few shows in 2016, wrote their own obituary for Draper, as one was not published in the local newspapers:
On Friday, August 9, 2019, Michael Fredrick Draper, 53, died at his home in Scranton.
Born on October 27, 1965, he was a lifelong diabetic. He was preceded in death by parents Roy Draper and Rose Betz Draper of West Side. A graduate of West Side High School and Marywood College, Mike was an adored thespian, musician, and artist. He had a passion for the performing arts. He was a director, writer, singer, actor, and musician.
He performed in hundreds of theatre production for Scranton Public Theater, Act Out, and theatre groups throughout NEPA during his 30-year career. He taught guitar students at Gallucci Music. He was renowned for performing in area bands. As a talented musician, he had the ability to play almost any instrument. He produced many recordings as engineer, producer, writer, singer, and musician. He was one of the founding members of the shock rock band Psycho Nurse and performed with them, opening for The Ramones on tour.
Michael’s family was the theater and the musical groups he worked with. His colleagues in theatre and music loved and cherished working with him. His mortal remains have been cremated. A celebration of life will take place at a date to be announced.
NEPA Scene posted a photo collage and tribute to Draper across social media as well:
Both the local music and theatre scenes in Scranton suffered a major loss today. Michael Draper was a creative force – a musician, actor, director, teacher, activist, and so much more, all rolled into a generous, funny, irreverent, thoughtful, weird, smart, geeky, crazy, kind man with a strikingly original voice that always left an impression on both audiences and his fellow creatives. From various rock bands like Psycho Nurse to unique theatre productions, he was unafraid to express himself and showed others how to do the same for decades. This little collage doesn’t even begin to capture his unconventional life and personality, but don’t cry for him – make some inappropriate jokes in the face of death instead because that’s what he’d do right now. RIP, Draper.
See NEPA Scene’s photos of Draper performing with Psycho Nurse at the F.M. Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre in 2016 here.
