By Chuck Graham, TucsonStage.com
Cynthia Jeffrey (foreground) plays Gloria Steinem in the highlight production "Gloria: A Life" at Invisible Theatre.
There is still plenty of work to do, but “Gloria: A Life” at Invisible Theatre is a spirited reminder that much has been accomplished since Gloria Steinem first discovered her feminist activist inspiration in the 1960s.
“Gloria” written by Tony-nominated Emily Mann is a theatrical production of Steinem's career highlights with Cynthia Jeffery in the title role, accompanied by a cast of five stepping up to play a variety of women (and a few men) involved in these accomplishments.
The actors are Gianbari “Debora” Deebom, Alida Holguin Gunn, Amalia Clarice Mora, Gretchen Wirges and To-Ree-Nee Wolf.
High across the back of the stage are three video screens showing a variety of news clips and interview moments. Everything flows chronologically, from the 1950s TV commercials promoting a housewife's highest accomplishment – owning the latest model refrigerator – through the decades of cultural turmoil, clinched fists and burning bras, political rallies and the rest, right up to the election last November of Kamala Harris as America's newest Vice-President.
As Steinem's career picks up speed, Jeffrey adds intensity to her performance, creating a sense of the national momentum felt by the women's movement campaigning for equal rights, equal pay and equal benefits.
Mann as playwright presents Steinem as an energetic aww-shucks kind of Toledo native and Smith College graduate with honors, who wanted to become a New York journalist. She quickly discovered all the goo writing jobs were going to men.
So, reluctently, she agreed to go undercover as a Playboy Bunny just so she could get strog assignment. That decision sparked the flame igniting Steinem's inner activist. The rest is history, her story, our story – and also, this play.
Inclusion was a buzz word of the women who called for unity in pressing their case for equality. This fervor from those times quickly spilled over into the audience at the performance I attended.
The mostly female voices were cheering every achievement, applauding key statements that easily recalled the spirited tumult of those upheavals that turned the nightly network news into must-watch TV.
IT's own Susan Claassen directed the production following the strictest COVID protocol. All the cast members perform wearing face masks of clear plastic. From the audience you can see each actor's face better, but the voices r a bit muffled.
Never the less, the march of progress for women rings out loud and clear. After the 95-minute production, an imagined circle of unity to connect the actors and the masked, socially distanced audience for 20 minutes is held after each performance.
Claassen invites comments and personal experiences from those watching, bringing an up to date perspective to the experience in the Gloria Steinem talking-circle tradition.
“Gloria: A Life” runs through March 7, with Wednesday through Friday evening performances at 7 p.m. and weekend matinees at 2 p.m., in the Invisible Theatre, 1400 N. First Ave.
All seating is socially distanced, reservations are required, masked are required at all times and restroom cleanliness is strictly maintained. Tickets are $40. For details and reservations, 520-882-9721, or visit invisibletheatre.com
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