[NEohioPAL] Dorothy Silver "excellent" in GOLDA'S BALCONY at Actors' Summit - Review

[Thackaberr at aol.com]

>From the West Side Leader 
Golda Meir lives again at Actors’  Summit 
By David Ritchey 
Dorothy Silver  ‘excellent’ in ‘Golda’s Balcony’
HUDSON — Theater can’t be much  better than Dorothy Silver’s performance as 
Golda Meir in Actors’ Summit  Theater’s production of “Golda’s Balcony.” 
Silver is the only person on the  stage. As Golda Meir (1896-1978), the prime 
minister of Israel between 1969 and  1974, Silver is gold. What a 
performance! At the moment the curtain call  started, the audience was on its feet and  
applauding. 
William Gibson wrote the script and  also is known for writing “The Miracle 
Worker” and “Two for the Seesaw.” Both  starred Anne Bancroft on Broadway and 
in the  movies. 
This is Gibson’s second version of  the Meir story. The first version, which 
was not successful, had several  characters on stage. In the version now 
playing at Actors’ Summit, Meir is the  only character on stage. This version 
played on Broadway for 15 months and soon  will be released as a feature film with 
Valerie Harper playing Meir. In this  version, the audience is aware of Meir’s 
conversations with her husband, Morris  Meyerson, and with Henry Kissinger, 
King Abdullah, her staff and others. Gibson  makes this character larger than 
life — yet Meir herself was larger than life.  Few women had Meir’s impact on 
the world. 
She was an idealist who thought  Israel could be carved out of the desert and 
become a homeland for the world’s  Jews. She was born in Kiev, Ukraine, but 
when she was 8, she moved to Milwaukee  with her family. In 1921, she moved to 
Palestine to join a kibbutz. She moved  upward through the political ranks in 
Israel until she was elected, in 1969, as  the prime minister of Israel. She 
died in 1978 in Jerusalem of lymphatic  cancer. 
The set, designed by Actors’  Summit’s co-artistic director, Neil 
Thackaberry, includes several levels, with  desks on two levels and a table with teapot 
and cups on a third level. This  simple set provides a kitchen table or 
resting place and two offices for one of  the most powerful women to ever have 
lived. 
Co-directors Reuben Silver and  Thackaberry had the good sense to get out of 
Dorothy Silver’s way and let her  glorious talent shine through. Reuben and 
Dorothy Silver have been married a  long time and have appeared in many 
productions together. Their influences on  each other’s performances cannot be 
measured or discovered at this point in  their lives. We can only be thankful that 
these two wonderfully talented people  have decided to live their lives in the 
Cleveland area and perform where we can  see their work. 
Dorothy Silver’s beautiful,  crystal-like voice zooms and soars as she 
describes Golda’s marriage to  Meyerson, her children and her fight to preserve her 
beloved  Israel. 
Silver seems to approach a role  from the inside out. She knows the 
character, the characteristics of her  character and then adds on the exterior 
movements of the  character. 
Those of us who have been fortunate  to see her in other productions know 
Silver is a consummate actress. Simply  stated — it doesn’t get any better than 
Dorothy Silver as Golda  Meir. 
“Golda’s Balcony” plays through  April 13. For tickets, call (330) 342-0800. 
David Ritchey has a Ph.D. in  communications and is a professor of 
communications at The University of Akron.  He is a member of the American Theatre 
Critics  Association. 




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