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Ms. Feldshuh has become synonymous with William Gibson’s play about the late Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir, which set a record as the longest-running one-woman play in Broadway history almost ten years ago.
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Tovah Feldshuh, whilst having appeared in several Broadway shows as well as regional theaters throughout the United State, television and film, is undoubtedly best known for her playing the late Israeli Prime Minister, Golda Meir in the one woman show “Golda’s Balcony.”
Tovah first began to feature as Golda supervised more than ten years ago, eventually taking its Broadway, where it ran for two years between 2003–05, breaking the record for the longest-running, one-woman show in Broadway history – a record which remains intact till this day.
Tovah Feldshuh, a Tony Award nominee for Best Actress during that run, has consistently been the recipient for critical approval, both from theater audiences as well as critics for handling the part of the indefatigable Ms. Meir, particularly the many sacrifices that she made personally, in order to serve in the challenging post of Prime Minister of Israel during one of the most tumultuous periods in the country’s history.
In a recent interview, announcing that the “Golda’s Balcony” is being revived after a hiatus of several years, Tovah praised “Golda” as being one of the greatest women in history whilst crediting William Gibson for writing such a moving play.
“ It is an honor to be Golda again almost ten years after the show left the Broadway stage, and once again to be given the opportunity to provide audiences with insights her wonderful sense of humor, and remarkable charisma.” Summed up Ms. Feldshuh.
“Golda’s Balcony” describes the life of Golda Meir when she arrived in the United States as a nine year old from Russia, during her years as a student going on to become a schoolteacher in Baltimore, and making Aliyah to Israel (Palestine) with her husband Morris and her sister Sheyna in 1921, while in her mid twenties.
The play, particularly in the late sixties when Golda has been appointed the fourth Prime Minister of Israel in the euphoria after the Six Day War, and the period leading up to 1973 Yom Kippur War, when Israel faced the genuine possibility of defeat, and how Ms. Meir prevented this from happening.
The very title of the play” Golda’s Balcony” a terminology used by Israeli’s then and now to describe a look out post overlooking a well fenced off parcel of land outside the Negev city of Dimona, which reputedly houses the secret Israeli nuclear weapons program gives an indication of the “tool” that Golda was prepared to use to prevent Israel from the risk of annihilation.
To give an idea of the extent of her virtuosity, Feldshuh plays not only Golda, but a number of characters, including Henry Kissinger and Moshe Dayan.
Apart from her busy schedule Tovah still finds time for considerable efforts on behalf of charity, which has seen her become a recipient of the Eleanor Roosevelt Humanities Award, Hadassah’s Myrtle Wreath, as well as the Israel Peace Medal
Tovah Feldshuh made her Broadway debut in 1973 in the musical Cyrano later going on to appear in the title role of Yentl, first off-Broadway, later at the Chelsea Theater Center and finally on Broadway.
Other Broadway shows that Tovah has appeared in include Saravà and Lend Me a Tenor.
