Gloria: A Life NYC Reviews and Tickets
Member Reviews (211)
See it if you want to know more about Gloria in a fun and creative setting. Great homage.
Don't see it if this can be a bit "too" informational and could use a tad more heart. Read more
See it if You are interested in Steinam or the women's movement. Feels more like a live action documentary than a typical play.
Don't see it if You want something light or fun. It definitely held my interest and I learned a lot about her but it's not the most entertaining of shows.
See it if You want to learn more about Gloria Steinem in an entertaining, often moving way that relates well to today’s politics.
Don't see it if You’re a misogynist or have no interest in political issues. Read more
See it if You are interested in her life. If you want to see good acting.
Don't see it if If you want a show that goes deeper, deeper into her life. A faster paced show.
See it if you want a good review of feminism that includes current references, focused on Steinem's contributions, well-portrayed by entire cast.
Don't see it if you are not interested in the history of the struggle over the last 50 years that continues today. You have no hope for equality for all. Read more
See it if for the nostalgia if you experienced the feminist movement. Or to know what you missed if you were too young or distracted. Marvelous photos
Don't see it if There is no reason not to see this show. It is fabulously produced and directed. It is inspiring and informational as well as entertaining
See it if you want to see the glorious Lahti present the formidable Steinem in a play that's long on bio details but short on theatrics or discourse.
Don't see it if you hope for a critical or penetrating docudrama. [This is a by-the-numbers, reverential, one-sided celebration of the feminist icon's life] Read more
See it if About the women's civil right movement.
Don't see it if you want alot of action, this is not a musical. Type that came up are women get same pay, jobs, making abortion safe and that you had choic Read more
Critic Reviews (24)
“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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"The play succeeds in part because it takes such an upbeat view of Steinem and her career. Early in the play, the character proclaims herself to be a 'hope-aholic'-and her stalwart optimism proves contagious. Yes, challenges to women's rights have been rife in the last couple of years. But when-at the top of the play-we see projected TV clips depicting the cultural pigeonholing of 1950's women as wives and mothers and little more, it lends our current situation a welcome perspective."
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