Review: Canada's Former First Lady and Current First Mom Goes Solo in MARGARET TRUDEAU: CERTAIN WOMAN OF AN AGE

"This is a work in progress," co-author Alix Sobler advised the Minetta Lane Theatre audience before a press performance of the autobiographical solo play, Margaret Trudeau: CERTAIN WOMAN OF AN AGE.

Indeed, when the title performer/playwright did take the stage, she rarely strayed far from the script placed on a music stand during the ninety minute piece. Variety of movement was primarily supplied by collages of photos on an assortment of screens provided by projection designer Mike Tutaj,

Trudeau's brief New York appearance (she continues to tour the play) was the latest offering from Audible, a company specializing in releasing downloadable audiobooks and other spoken word entertainment, that has taken up residence at the Greenwich Village Theatre, producing and recording numerous plays that focus on storytelling.

The only woman in Canada's history to be both the wife of the country's Prime Minister (Pierre Trudeau, who she married a few years into his 15-year tenure and divorced shortly before its end) and the mother of another (the current PM, Justin Trudeau), her individual accomplishments include advocacy for support of mental health issues, having been diagnosed as bipolar herself.

It's with this knowledge of her mental state that she talks about her earlier years, which became complicated quite quickly when, as an 18-year-old flower child on a family vacation in Tahiti, she attracted the attention of the then-Minister of Justice, nearly thirty years her senior, who confided to a friend that if he were to marry, she would be the one.

Her celebrity as a nightlife queen grew as she'd trod the dance floor of Studio 54 and hobnob with The Rolling Stones, and her youth and attractiveness caught the attention of notable leaders such as Ted Kennedy, leading to questionably innocent encounters.

But she would later recognize it all as an attempt to escape from an official position that required her to stay unobtrusive when not being placed before the media for state functions. She credits her five children, talking about each one in detail, for pretty much parenting her.

Trudeau never claims to be an actor, and under Kimberly Senior's direction, she's rather upbeat and chipper throughout the piece, which tends to resemble a talk show appearance more than a dramatic performance. She lightly touches on emotional matters and mental struggles, but her text rarely exudes any dramatic force. Perhaps that will come with more progress.

To post a comment, you must register and login.