Review: GLORIA: A LIFE at Wool Sutdio Theatre

GLORIA: A LIFE is a play that celebrates the work of activist, writer and feminist organizer Gloria Steinem in her fight for women’s equality. Throughout decades, Steinem has dedicated her life to advancing the cause of women’s rights and this play provides an exceptional overview of her tireless efforts, but more notably, it illustrates how one finds their voice and raises it to effect meaningful societal change. In addition to telling Steinem’s story, the show highlights the women with whom she’s partnered over the past five decades to advance the dialogue and champion equal rights.

In The New Jewish Theatre’s production of GLORIA: A LIFE, Jenni Ryan embodies Gloria Steinem and narrates Steinem’s life from college student to famed activist and writer. She is surrounded by a talented all female cast, including Summer Baer, Kayla Ailee Bush, Sarah Gene Dowling, Carmen Celilia Retzer, Chrissie Watkins and Lizi Watt who step-in-and-out of characters to support Steinem’s story. Each of the actors take on multiple roles, floating in-and-out of scenes that move chronologically through the decades from the late 1950’s until the present day.

Jenni Ryan gives a magnificent performance as Steinem. She paints Steinem with human vulnerability. Her characterization elicits audience empathy as she exposes the incertitude Steinem experienced in her early work. Ryan illustrates Steinem finding her voice and ultimately demonstrates Steinem’s maturation to a confident activist who raises issues without fear. It is commendable that Ryan stepped into the role just a week before opening night due to a last-minute casting change and delivered a solid performance.

Director Sharon Hunter collaborates with her actors and technical crew to move the story through the decades. Props changes and minor wardrobe adjustments subtlety advance the time frame. Amanda Werre’s sound design effectively does the rest of the work to move the audience along using news clips, snips of interviews and music to establish the time period. Her work demonstrates how excellence in sound design can be used to advance the storyline.

This production of GLORIA: A LIFE is a relevant and entertaining production of a well-written narrative on the life of Gloria Steinem. The New Jewish Theatre’s production runs through Sunday, June 18, 2023 at the Wool Studio Theatre. For more information visit jccstl.com.

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