One-woman musical finds inspiration in Israel’s Golda Meir

Off and on for about 20 years, Sharon and David Ohrenstein have been working on variations of an opera or musical about the ground-breaking Israeli prime minister Golda Meir.

There was “Our Golda” in 2001, followed by “My Golda” and “Golden Roads.” And Meir represented one-third of their musical “Three Queens,” which also touched on the lives of Cleopatra and 17th century Russian empress Elizaveta.

The different versions shared a subject, but had their own focus. Each played into the development of their newest project “Rhapsody for Golda,” a one-woman show in which Sharon Ohrenstein plays Meir and about half a dozen other characters.

Arts Newsletter: Sign up to receive the latest news on the Sarasota area arts scene every Monday

Theater, dance, concerts, opera and more: Your November guide to the arts in the Sarasota-Manatee area

Designing the future: Panel named to select architect for new Sarasota Performing Arts Center

She wrote the book and lyrics while her pianist and composer husband, David, wrote the music for the show, which was featured last March at the SaraSolo Festival under the direction of Blake Walton.

Sharon Ohrenstein said she’d put Meir aside but would get encouraged by various people to keep working on the show, particularly the late vocal coach Carlo Thomas. “He was 100% behind it and mentored us in numerous ways,” she said.

“Rhapsody for Golda” returns to the stage for a production that opens the new season for the Sarasota Jewish Theatre in collaboration with SaraSolo Productions and the Players Centre, where it will be performed Nov. 10-13.

In this new piece, which includes just a handful of songs heard in previous versions, the focus is on Meir as a woman and a working mother. “We stayed away from the overriding political issues other than the creation of the state of Zion and everyone needing a safe home. It’s her rising as a working mother, being the only woman in a room full of men,” Sharon Ohrenstein said.

It is told “with a lot of laughter,” David Ohrenstein said. “When we first did it at SaraSolo in March, there was so much laughter, which surprised us a little bit, but Sharon's comedic timing is so good.”

The response at SaraSolo “gave us a huge amount of confidence. We had a lot of professional feedback that said this is a show that’s going to go somewhere,” she said. “It has legs. That told me the structure is good, the characterizations are good and the musical selections work.”

They have tweaked the show a bit, changed some lines and lyrics, and expanded a scene when Meir was serving as prime minister.

Sarasota Jewish Theatre: Company sets a path for expansion in third season

Graduate acting program: FSU/Asolo Conservatory brings some ‘Sense and Sensibility’ to Cook Theatre

But it’s mostly a love story about Meir and Zion, who represents the land on which Israel was found and becomes one one of the characters Ohrenstein plays.

“He’s kind of like a guardian angel, an earth spirit,” she said. In one scene, Zion says, “Some think of me as a plot of land, but I am more than any land can be. I am an idea, a prime, a vision. As such, I am borderless, though some try to define my exact boundaries. I have an allure that defies definition. I can touch your soul. Once I have touched it I am an unstoppable force.”

Over the years, Sharon Ohrenstein’s admiration and appreciation for Meir has only grown.

“She’s a great woman. I have personally learned a lot from the story,” she said. “She’s someone who came from humble beginnings and achieved so much through determination and love and perseverance and dedication. I feel she had a calling.”

‘Rhapsody for Golda’

Music by David Ohrenstein, book and lyrics by Sharon Ohrenstein. Directed by Blake Walton. Presented by Sarasota Jewish Theatre, SaraSolo Productions and The Players Centre at The Players Centre, 3501 S. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, Suite 1130. Nov. 9-13. $20-$25. 941-365-2494; theplayers.org

Follow Jay Handelman on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Contact him at jay.handelman@heraldtribune.com. And please support local journalism by subscribing to the Herald-Tribune.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota Jewish Theatre salutes Golda Meir in one-woman musical