One-woman show.
Alley Cat production in the theater
Teresa Elena Gallar as Emma Godman
Created in Tampa, Aug. 14 - 29, 2004. NT Village Music Garden, 911 Franklin St., Tampa
A poetic reverie on Goldman’s anarchist beliefs and inner life, a memory play.
"The play essentially takes place in the New York apartment of one of Goldman’s friends. She’s holed up awaiting inevitable but dubious arrest in connection with the assassination of William McKinley, which she has been accused of inciting.
After setting the scene, Litwak and Gallar offer vignettes from Goldman’s personal and political life that have led up to that moment. And, as we see, the personal and political are completely intertwined in Goldman.
It’s interesting the way the vignettes come to us. The theater darkens and, when the lights come up, Gallar is in another part of the expansive stage at NT Garden Village to signal the change in time and place. It’s not especially fancy stagecraft, but the blackouts provide a rhythm and help combat the lecture-ish feeling of so many one-person shows.
The play’s major flaw is its brevity. That’s not a common problem in contemporary theater, and in many cases it would be a virtue. But here, because of a fascinating subject, and despite a rich performance and a provocative script, it’s frustrating that we don’t get to plumb Goldman’s motivations more deeply." Robert Hicks, St Petersburg Times, Aug. 12, 2004