Being Prime Minister of Israel can be a terribly tough task, especially after your land is attacked by its neighboring countries, and you find yourself at the center of an international crisis affecting the lives of millions. But once more, imagine trying to describe this massive crisis on your own – and onstage – while using a script that depends on one person to be not just an actor, but a spectacle. Can someone really be up to this challenge?
Shalom, Tovah Feldshuh! In the role of Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir in William Gibson’s Golda’s Balcony at the Helen Hayes Theatre, Feldshuh brings an admirable, unparalleled amount of enthusiasm and energy to bring to life one of history’s most politically powerful women.

But before we go any further, let us take a moment to digest some history. Golda Meyerson (she later changed her name to Meir) was born in Russia in 1898. When she was a child, she immigrated with her family to the United States. In 1921, she moved with her husband to Palestine in an effort to help the Jews. Eventually her influence grew and she became a major player in big political circles. As head of the Jewish Agency in Jerusalem, she helped to expedite the migration of Jews to Palestine after the Holocaust. Future positions for Golda included Israeli Foreign Minister, Minister of Labor, and Ambassador to Moscow. Then, in 1961, this wife, mother, and teacher became the fourth Prime Minister of Israel.
Golda’s Balcony follows the trajectory of her life, but constantly returns to the 1973 Yom Kippur War, an event in which Israel is attacked by Egypt and Syria. It is here that Gibson offers his personal dramatization of history. According to him, Meir threatens Henry Kissinger that she will launch nuclear warheads against the countries harming Israel, which could conceivably begin another world war, unless the United States comes to the small country’s aid. Or, as Golda says: Doomsday will begin in Jerusalem.

It is unfortunate that Gibson’s text tries to be both a biography of Golda’s life, following her transformation from American schoolteacher to leader of international politics, in addition to a confrontational drama about the Yom Kippur War. Instead of a simple one-woman show or a heated drama, what results in Golda’s Balcony is a mess of documentary, drama, and dictation.

Gibson’s vision of Golda is more as a narrator than an impressive dramatic figure. However, Feldshuh works impressively well with her material, and is, nevertheless, breathtaking as a teacher and mother who got mixed up in one of the craziest and scariest political and military messes of the twentieth century. It is unfortunate, however, that her talents are often wasted for minutes on end as she attempts to cover more than a hundred years worth of Israeli foreign policy. In other words: too much history, not enough Golda.

For the record, Golda’s Balcony originally began as a drama with more than one character called simply “ Golda”. It played Broadway in 1997 with Anne Bancroft in the leading role. As such, numerous sequences throughout Golda’s Balcony require Feldshuh to break into multiple characters, as if she were to have a conversation with herself. For example, in the portrayal of lengthy cabinet meetings, Feldshuh impersonates the facial expressions and voices of her male confidantes. She is, however, accompanied by numerous visual aids, providing photographic depictions of her husband, her cabinet members, and various parts of Israel.

Feldshuh’s most powerful moment is at the very, very end when she is calm and less hysterical, which allows her to finally become a real, dramatic woman. After dictating a foreign crisis to us, as well as her entire autobiography, Feldshuh sits down, and says what she claims will be her last word of the evening – “SHALOM.” She says it three times. Not only does she say “goodbye”, she emphasizes her hope that her beloved land of Israel will someday reach a state of harmony with the rest of the world. Then, all of a sudden, loud gunshots are heard throughout the theater, just as they have been blasted throughout the show. Her eyes look up. And with a determined grimmace, she says again: “SHALOM.”

Director Scott Schwartz has complemented Feldshuh’s tireless efforts with a spectacular environment that has the potential to both add to and subtract from his leading lady’s performance. Howard Brinkley’s elaborate lighting design constantly changes in order to highlight differing moods, moves back and forth through different time periods, and finally, helps keep the attention of theatergoers. Mark Bennett’s loud sound design can awake any audience member who might be dozing off during the rougher portions of Gibson’s text. Also, the graphics that fill the stage of Anna Louizos’ ; set provide a good deal of visual aid, ranging from maps of the Middle East to depictions of the many men in Golda’s life. Golda’s Balcony played off-Broadway’s Manhattan Ensemble Theater this summer to sold-out houses, and it is likely to play to respectably full houses for the next year or so on Broadway. After all, there are a lot of middle schools and Jewish suburban families seeking educationally-oriented programming on Broadway. In spite of the mountains of details and expositions that blemish Gibson’s text, the show is nevertheless breathtaking because it allows a great actress like Tovah Feldshuh to loudly command the stage in a great role.

Golda’s Balcony

Helen Hayes Theatre

240 W. 44^th Street

$45.00 - $75.00

212-239-6200