Actress-Singer Sharon Ohrenstein, accompanied by Composer-Pianist David Ohrenstein, present Golda Meir as a person of humble origins bound to husband, family, and finally her largest family. The latter are the people of Israel who make her their Prime Minister. Musically, Sharon’s Golda begins “Safe at Home” in Milwaukee. But after going through education and teaching, she wants to spread out and use her abilities to help Jewish people also do the latter — in their own homeland. She asks Morris to “Will It with Me.” Both say “I Do” to that and in marriage. Golda can boast “I Have Returned” when the couple goes to Palestine. On a kibbutz, they experience “All of Us One.” Morris is almost killed by a sniper. He has to leave to work and earn. They decide to start a family. Sharon uses a board of pictures and dates to illustrate the concomitant history of their family and the Israel they are helping by going on “Golden Roads.” A “Montage” indicates Golda raising funds and friends by making speeches and asking for further pledges, especially during World War II, by selling bonds. She works tirelessly to get refugees “home”. She glories in seeing kids seeking refuge as “Flowers Full Grown.” The dramatic falling action after Golda returns to Israel comes across as a history lesson more than as a personal story. But her songs do reflect her decision to fight for her people, to defend their homeland, and to secure Jewish rights. Despite a bit of overload on the musical, songs about “The First Israeli Cabinet” and “The Kitchen Cabinet” are well written and delivered. “Golden Roads” lead to victory over the attackers on Yom Kippur 1973. Golda meets problems afterward with the courage she has shown all her life. Her actions do seem underplayed at the musical’s finale, however. Carlo Thomas’s direction is consistent, but he needs to get rid of some of the activity and find a way to eliminate similarities to a business meeting or a history lesson as Sharon’s Golda uses the board of pictures. Voices other than Morris’s could be pared. The present musical has been developed for a decade, starting with a larger cast and proposed production values. Here is proof that a smaller version of the story can be perfected.
