“Something powerful is happening at the Daryl Roth Theater — but it isn’t so much the play as the audience...A paint-by-numbers portrait of Gloria Steinem...For those who already know the story... from Steinem’s memoir...the play itself — as opposed to the experience of it — does not have much new to add...We get something of a historical pageant...These powerful stories get short shrift in Paulus’ staging...This gives ‘Gloria: A Life’ the wedged-in, medley feel of a jukebox musical.”
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“During the bioplay ‘Gloria: A Life’, Steinem quotes the oft-cited maxim that ‘the personal is political'...When ‘Gloria’ works, it’s when the political feels personal...Judged as a piece of drama, Mann’s retelling of Steinem’s story is unexciting and by-the-numbers; as a piece of performance, Lahti’s portrait seems both sleepy and stiff. But 'Gloria' is not really supposed to be either drama or traditional performance. Mann and Paulus envision it as an old-fashioned consciousness-raising ritual.”
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“’Gloria: A Life’ isn’t a straightforward bio-play. It’s a unique, deeply moving performance created in the hopeful, conversational spirit of its extraordinary subject, an act of looking back in order to look forward...For some, ‘Gloria: A Life’ might be a visit to an old friend, a love letter, an affirmation, a manifesto, an encouragement, or an experience of catalyzation or catharsis. It’s all these things, and it’s also a lesson.”
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“Directed in the round by Paulus and put together by an almost entirely female creative team, the production is not as theatrically audacious as its subject was politically daring. What it does is give many audience members a release valve in our tumultuous times...Lahti gives an affecting, calmly determined portrayal; it's hard to think of a better guide than this particular actor through the life of someone who has embodied the fight for women's rights for half a century.”
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"Arguably the most potent, informative, emotionally riveting and ultimately uplifting theatre piece currently playing in New York...In one sense, the play comes off as a personal appearance. With the audience seated arena style in an oval surrounding the playing area the history-making activist talks about America's current political landscape...As directed with the typically strong hand of Diane Paulus...there is also a sense of story theatre to the proceedings."
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“A bio show/love-in/town hall meeting/therapy session conducted by the magnetic Lahti in the guise of...Gloria Steinem...It's a straightforward evening of show-and-tell, but, for all its seeming artlessness, it vividly conveys why the feminist movement was necessary, and why Steinem was so central to it...’Gloria: A Life’ captures the sheer exhilaration of the discovery, made by millions of women, that they could be powerful, too. Paulus' breezy direction keeps things lively.”
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“If you’re in need of a little inspiration. some reassurance that the world is not the total dumpster fire that Fox News would have us believe...’Gloria: A Life’ is just the ticket...Less a bioplay and more a crash course in feminism...Mann never makes it feel like we’re getting a history lesson....After the story comes...a 20-minute discussion...Whether the show needs this particular portion probably depends on your personal taste.”
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“Diane Paulus has staged Emily Mann's wonderful play about the long and influential life of Gloria Steinem to create an experience that's more like having a conversation than watching a play...Christine Lahti not only convincingly inhabits the titular role but is a reasonably convincing Steinem look-alike...Mann's script is stuffed with countless other both humorous and moving defining moments in Steinem's personal and professional life."
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