My Golden Girl Sadly is Misrepresented on Stage

There are times you see a play and you know that there is a gem inside the shambles of what is being performed on stage. That was the case tonight at the NY SummerFest with the play My Golden Girl, by Charlotte Volage. Somehow the actors Fran McGee and Mary Tierney and the directors Ted Mornel and Sarah Bellin decimated what I came to find out was a powerful and poetic piece about homelessness, despair, abuse and heartbreak. They shucked the brilliantly written dialogue for what seemed like a drug induced free for all improvisation. Sensing that there was something else here, I asked for the script and after reading it, realized the actors and directors, hadn’t a clue to what this play held. The dialogue was thrown up into the air and for the most part out of context. There is an amazing through line to this piece that was crucified. 

My heart breaks for Charlotte Volage who trusted friends to do her work proud. Sadly, they didn’t trust that all they needed was to memorize the script intact, sink into a characterization of this deeply moving play and trust.

When you have been abused and have gone through something so traumatic at a young age, did you know if you haven’t talked about it, you will as you start to die? The last thing that most people reveal is the secrets that slowly ate away at their soul during their lifetime. Now image if you are homeless, elderly and about to lose even the meager positions you own. My Golden Girl, is this story.

I truly wish for My Golden Girl, a better production where Ms. Volage‘s powerful script can be seen in it’s true glory. 

My Golden Girl, played at NY SummerFest at The Hudson Theatre Guild, 441 West 26 Street (between 9th and 10th Avenues). Closed