Golda's Balcony at CIBC Theatre

Chicago Tribune - Recommended

"...Warm and engaging throughout, Harper does not entirely capture the steely, riveting part of Meir--the rugged determination that made her willing to hide her plutonium or virtually single-handedly remind the American Jewish community of their financial obligation toward Israel. But it's otherwise an impressive and fully realized performance that likely will exceed people's expectations."

Chicago Sun Times - Recommended

"...Best known as the author of "The Miracle Worker" and "Two for the Seesaw," Gibson adopts the form of a memory play and gives us an anguished Golda as she moves close to death in 1978, at age 80. While there is plenty of anguish and exhaustion and ambivalence, there also is a sense of accomplishment."

SouthtownStar - Highly Recommended

"...Fans of Harper who recall her as Rhoda on "The Mary Tyler Moore" show will be amazed by her performance in this show. And those who want inspiration for our troubled times will get an inside look at an incredible history. Put it all together, and there's nothing not to like in Golda's Balcony."

Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended

"...Harper portrays multiple supporting characters, including Meir's husband and Henry Kissinger; ironically, her display of technical virtuosity makes Meir's life clear but undercuts the story's emotional impact."

Time Out Chicago - Recommended

"...Using a series of flashbacks, Golda’s Balcony attempts to present a fair and balanced look at a trailblazing woman by putting some of her faults (she was neither the world’s best wife nor farsighted in her early activism) on display. Harper, as Meir and a handful of others, brings studied technical proficiency and actorly generosity that both colors Meir’s life and fills the gorgeously renovated former Schubert Theater, although she never overwhelms us enough that we don’t notice the play’s workmanlike quality and hopeless one-sidedness."

ChicagoCritic - Recommended

"...As a stage show, the stellar lighting and wonderful video projections of politicians, landscapes together with the sounds of war all add depth to Valerie Harper’s monologue. This show is good history told with honesty, humor and heart. It is a tight-knit play that covers much about a determined zealot who helped build and then saved her beloved Israel. Golda is looking down and smiling approval at Valerie Harper’s performance."

Chicago Stage and Screen - Recommended

"...The one-person show is a difficult thing to pull off even in the best of circumstances, because the actor has nothing to play off of. Meir's story and Harper's resonant performance grip our attention, though. And the authentic and imaginative set design by Anna Louizos, vivid Projections by Batwin & Robin Productions and often jarring sound design by Mark Bennett and Kevin Lacy make us feel as if we have stepped lock stock and barrel into the Middle East."