It’s been more than three decades since Golda Meir died. She was a giant on the world stage in her time. Starting life in Kiev, she made her way to the American Midwest before settling in Palestine and eventually becoming the fourth Prime Minister of Israel. In her day, a female head of state was a rarity.
Her legacy lives on in many ways, but the most unique may be through Seattle resident and veteran actress Joan Wolfberg.
Wolfberg, whose repertoire of one-woman shows also includes one about Eleanor Roosevelt, is renowned for her portrayal of Meir. She has staged the performance throughout North America, but her presence on the stage in the Seattle area has been a rarity.
That will change when she performs her portrayal of the “Iron Lady” of Israel on Sunday, Jan. 25 at Temple B’nai Torah in Bellevue as part of the congregation’s 2009/5769 cultural arts series.
Wolfberg, who moved to Seattle about a year ago, has been playing the role of Golda Meir for two decades, beginning with a regional theater production of Golda.
“After that, I developed the one-woman show,” she says.
That development included not only academic research, but also talking to people who had known Meir. In the intervening years, she has performed countless times for groups ranging from schools to Jewish Federation dinners.
“What I found was that here was a woman who led Israel through some of its most trying times, but who also had a very human side that the world often did not see,” Wolfberg says.
She adds that no matter the audience, she is continually gratified by the reaction of those in attendance.
“People are often moved to tears,” she says. “I often am told that they too now see the human side of a great woman.”
Wolfberg says that parallel to the story of a person’s life, the play is also the story of the nation of Israel.
“I open the play saying that Golda is a woman who moved to Palestine to build the nation of Israel,” she says. “That she and the nation are survivors — and that “˜survivor’ is synonymous with being Jewish.”
B’nai Torah’s Rabbi James Mirel says that he first saw Wolfberg perform her Meir production in an intimate setting — a friend’s living room.
“It was amazing to see her up close,” he says. “I knew then that we had to get her to come to B’nai Torah. It is something that I know many can benefit from seeing.”
The performance will be held in the sanctuary, which will double as a theater that night.
“It will work well for her,” says Mirel, a performer in his own right. “She needs a light and sound. After that, it is all her. And it is wonderful.”
The performance, underwritten in part by the Hermine Pruzan Endowment Fund, is presented free of charge.
Now on stage: Golda Meir
