Wendi Winters. (Photo courtesy of the Winters family)

Wendi Winters was one of five staff members murdered while working at the Capital Gazette newsroom on June 28.

But in addition to her thrice-weekly columns as a staff writer for the local Annapolis newspaper, Winters’ name is familiar to D.C. theater aficionados. Since 2014, she spanned the region covering productions large and small as a senior reviewer at DC Metro Theater Arts.

Winters “had absolutely no ego about what she covered,” says Nicole Hertvik, the publisher and editor in chief of DC Metro Theater Arts. “I could send her to Arena Stage and know she would do a great job or she would go to Bowie Playhouse, which is a smaller community theater, and she would do it all. There’s very few writers who I can count on like that.”

Arena Stage wrote in a tweet that “Our hearts go out to the family and friends of journalist Wendi Winters who reviewed many Arena Stage productions over the years through @DCMTheaterArts. Her voice will be missed.”

Hertvik describes Winters’ reviewing voice as “humorous, witty, a little bit eccentric.” Because she often drove far distances to the shows, she would include notes about the parking availability or her experiences en route.

“Tantallon Community Players’ current production of Hairspray is one of those shows where this reviewer wouldn’t mind seeing every performance. It’s just that damn good,” she wrote in early June. “I’m saying that despite driving through a dark, raging rainstorm that would have made Noah blanch, just to get to the theater.”

This past year has been one of upheaval for DC Metro Theater Arts, with the death of founder Joel Markowitz. Hertvik says that when the team wondered whether the site could continue without him, Winters was “instrumental” in her support of its continuation.

That support was more than words. Winters accompanied Markowitz for his final Helen Hayes Awards in 2017 alongside Hertvik. At that point, the founder was dealing with the later stages of ALS. “I needed help getting him in and out of the car,” says Hertvik, and Winters happily lent a hand. “It’s selfless acts like that that I’ll remember.”

Winters was a 65-year-old Edgewater, Md. resident with four children, according to The Baltimore Sun. Her DC Metro Theater Arts biography says that she moved to Maryland in 1999 after owning a fashion public relations firm in New York, and “continues to be active as a Girl Scout leader and a regional church youth advisor,” in addition to writing more than 250 articles each year.

“I was not that aware of all the work she did in Annapolis, because she was so active with us,” says Hertvik. “I don’t know how she had the time to do it all.”

To Hertvik, Winters’ passion for theater of all stripes exemplified the best of DC Metro Theater Arts.

“We want to shine a spotlight on theater in this region and make sure people know what an amazing and hardworking group of artists live here,” she says. “Wendi was definitely someone who had that belief, and worked for not a ton of money to make sure we were able to spread that message.”

There are two vigils scheduled on Friday for Winters and the four other victims of the Capital Gazette shooting. The first will be held from 4-7 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Annapolis (333 Dubois Rd, Annapolis) and the second from 7 p.m. onwards outside of the Capital Gazette newspaper building (888 Bestgate Road, Annapolis).