Thursday, December 1, 2005
The one-woman show pays homage to the late prime minister Golda Meir.
By JOHN BENSON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
During the '70s, Valerie Harper was a major part of American television comedy.
First as Rhoda Morgenstern on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and then later with her own series, "Rhoda," the actress continually touched America's heartstrings, producing both laughter and tears.
Now Harper is showing some range, which is something she's been doing quite a bit of lately. A few years ago she tackled off-Broadway production "All Under Heaven," a one-woman play based on the life and work of Nobel Prize-winning author ("The Good Earth") and civil rights activist Pearl S. Buck.
Today, her attention is on former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir in the one-woman North American National Tour of "Golda's Balcony," which comes to the Playhouse Square Center Wednesday through Dec. 11 at the Palace Theatre.
The four-time Emmy Award-winner says the portrayal of Golda Meir requires a heavy sense of responsibility.
"Tremendous," said Harper, calling from Detroit. "First of all, she's one of the towering figures, male or female, of the 20th century. She was a life so powerfully lived within such great commitment."
Inspiration to women
While Harper's Rhoda character was viewed as epitomizing the '70s women's rights movement, Meir set the bar with equal rights activists around the world.
"I remember she was very important in America because she was here all of the time and she had this wonderful Midwestern speech, plain American English," Harper said. "She had an American way of being and I remember as part of the women's movement in the '70s, there was a poster with Golda's picture and underneath it said, 'But can she type?' That was everywhere. And she was constantly in Ms. magazine. People were holding her up for her accomplishments and here she was a grandmother. And just out there, outside the kitchen, in the greater world."
Meir's story -- from Russian schoolgirl to Israel's prime minister -- is truly amazing and inspiring, which is what perhaps led Tony Award-winning playwright William Gibson ("The Miracle Worker" and "Two For The Seesaw") to write the book "Golda," from which "Golda's Balcony" is taken.
Portryas 44 characters
Throughout the 90-minute show, Harper displays her acting talents in the portrayal of 43 additional characters, including Meir as a child, Meir's family members, as well as world figures such as U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. Harper admits the initial barrier for "Golda's Balcony" is the average theatergoer's perception that the play may be more of a history lesson. But the 65-year-old actress stresses this is not the case.
"Share the evening with Golda Meir because she's a really important figure and because it's funny," Harper said. "You will laugh, you will cry. You will get some education but the point is this play is not a boring historical thing. It has lots of visual effects and it's short. There's no intermission. You will see Valerie Harper doing her damnedest to bring in a cogent and interesting and compelling evening. I think it's a great evening in the theater."