Dallas Actress Carolyn Wickwire performs a very polished portrayal of the life of famed artist, Georgia O'Keeffe. Born in 1887, O'Keeffe attended the Art Institute of Chicago beginning in 1905. A friend sent some of O'Keeffe's drawings to the famous New York photographer, Alfred Stieglitz, who was impressed with her work and gave O'Keeffe her first showing at his well-known gallery 291. The two formed a close personal as well as professional relationship. Steiglitz, though married at the time, didn't let that stand in his way. He and O'Keeffe eventually married; although he lived in New York and O'Keeffe, who had become enamored with New Mexico, spent much of her time there. After Stieglitz died in 1946, O'Keeffe moved to her home in Abiqui permanently where she died in 1986.
The play centers heavily on her relationship with Stieglitz, who, while championing her talent, often ignored her. They seemed to have more of a symbiotic, rather than a devoted relationship. She comes off as a masochistic, narcissistic bitch and he as an artistic, sadistic s.o.b.
This play suffers the same fate as most one-person shows; it runs 30 minutes too long. The only two exceptions I have seen are Lynn Redgrave in Shakespeare for My Father about the life of her father, the iconic Shakespearean actor, Sir Michael Redgrave; and Elaine Stritch in Elaine Stritch at Liberty, the illustrious actress discussing her life and career. Both of these shows resonated due to their personal connections. Absent these very individual and family relationships, any one-person show, if well written, can be done justice in one hour; anything longer, as in O'Keeffe, is overkill.
Ouida White has directed this play as best she could, considering the disjointed script. Bryant Yeager's lighting adds greatly to the visual effects.
