Philly drag icon Dito van Reigersberg — AKA Martha Graham Cracker — dies at 53
Dito van Reigersberg is more widely known as his stage persona, Martha Graham Cracker. His death was announced Monday night by his friend and bandmate Victor Fiorillo.
Eliza Becker (left) and Dito van Reigersberg (right) performing with Eliza Hardy Jones | photo by Megan Matuzak for WXPN
A pillar of Philadelphia’s drag and performing arts culture has died. Dito van Reigersberg, known better as Martha Graham Cracker, died at 53 years old Monday. van Reigersberg’s death was announced on social media by his friend and bandmate Victor Fiorillo.
According to Out Magazine, van Reigersberg died from leukemia after being diagnosed in 2022.
“I am absolutely devastated to tell you that my sweetest and most generous and most talented friend Dito van Reigersberg aka Martha Graham Cracker has given her last bow (or is it curtsey?),” Fiorillo wrote on social media. “Dito just died, surrounded by family and friends and music and an amazing medical team at Penn.”
He was a founding member of Philadelphia’s Pig Iron Theatre Company and launched his drag persona in 2005, performing regularly as Martha Graham Cracker in Philadelphia and New York City up until his diagnosis.
“It’s almost like she’s my id, my emotions writ large,” he said of Martha Graham Cracker in a 2025 Philadelphia Magazine interview. “She’s been given permission to exist without the Dito modesty.”
He stepped away from performing to focus on his health after the diagnosis, and returned to the stage briefly before his passing.
van Reigersberg last performed at WXPN with Eliza Hardy Jones, accompanying her on vocals, during her Homegrown Live session in April 2025. Watch that performance below:
van Reigersberg touched many lives, including members of the WXPN community.
“I first met Dito in the late ‘90s when Pig Iron Theatre was born,” host and Kids Corner producer Robert Drake said. “Then, as part of Big Mess Orchestra and their outrageous sold-out performances at Philly’s Trocadero, I got to experience his captivating magic on stage. His passion for performing as well as his love for Philly constantly competed internally for top billing. Dito was the postcard Philly needed for decades, that proudly showcased the uniqueness of our city’s performing community. He will be missed and remembered by many.”
WXPN Programming Director Jim McGuinn called van Reigersberg’s death a “massive loss for Philly, for our arts community, and for the world.”
“Dito was a brilliant performer, writer, actor, singer, clown, yes, clown! He was funny, clever, sexy, gracious, in short… brilliant,” McGuinn said. “His work made us think, smile, laugh, cry — sometimes all at once. His guest slot with The Silver Ages in 2022 left us all in tears, of joy and laughter, and it was so special to see him sell out Union Transfer for Martha shows and the big Live Aid tribute last year. Dito packed a lot of life and love and living into too few years. Maybe the best way to honor him is to keep him in our hearts while we go out and do the same.”
van Reigersberg was the man behind the popular show “Poor Judge,” which featured featured Philadelphia artists singing about heartbreak, road trips, and Hollywood’s allure, all to the music of Aimee Mann and dressed as the singer. He served as the lead role in its first run in 2024, but stepped away earlier this year due to health concerns.
He is survived by his husband Matthew Neenan, family, friends, and throngs of fans.
Details on memorial services for van Reigersberg have not been shared at this time.