“Gloria: A Life” At The New Jewish Theatre Celebrates Gloria Steinem

Playwright Emily Mann specializes in writing plays which are also documentaries. She is said to have research skills to rival Ken Burns. Her most recent play “Gloria: A Life” chronicles Gloria Steinem’s career through Gloria’s personal narrative and a slew of characters in her life played by an ensemble of six women.

The New Jewish Theatre presented “Gloria: A Life” earlier this month directed by Sharon Hunter and staring Jenni Ryan as Gloria Steinem. Kayla Ailee Bush and Chrissie Watkins were standouts in the ensemble as activists Dorothy Pitman-Hughes and Flo Kennedy whose activism and feminist leadership helped Steinem bring racial diversity to her work. The entire ensemble was mesmerizing during the scene of the Supreme Court hearings during Roe vs. Wade.

Scenic Designer Fallon Podrazik created a powerful space that serves the play well with all of the locales represented in Steinem’s life. Costume Designer Michele Friedman Siler also facilitated the story with just the right themes for each time period.

As a last-minute replacement, Ms. Ryan took on a Herculean task with the title role. I applaud her and Ms. Hunter for their hard work with a daunting undertaking in a short period. I wish they had had more time to mine the emotional connection to Gloria Steinem and not just the facts about her life. I never felt or saw any depth of character or shift from one life experience to another and in that sense the narrative felt more like a lecture than a play. I learned a great deal about Gloria Steinem and about the Women’s Movement, but I left without any sense of the heart of this great woman which made me wanting more.

The “second act” was an actual discussion with the audience but not a traditional theatre talk back. The audience was invited to stay and participate in a talking circle that was curated by a guest speaker. Gloria calls herself a “hope-aholic” and perhaps this is where the hope comes in. If we all look at each other and TALK maybe that’s where the change for good can actually happen. This was a beautiful end to a very educational evening. Gloria Steinem’s life is inspiring in any form.

“Gloria: A Life” presented by The New Jewish Theatre ran through June 18th. For information about their remaining season visit The New Jewish Theatre website.