by Lanie Robertson
directed by Ceil Herman
featuring Toni Marie as Peggy Guggenheim
April 6 - 15, 2007
Costume Design ~ Meredith Loring
Stage Manager ~ Elaine Childs
Sound Board Operator .................................................. Elaine Childs
Light Board Operator .................................................... Ken Eastlack
Set Construction Crew ......... Peter Herman, Ken Eastlack, Dia Taylor
Publicity ..............................................................................Toni Marie
House Manager Coordinator ............................................. Kathi-Jane
Art lives on at the Black Box
‘Woman Before a Glass ’ reveals Peggy Guggenheim
REVIEW BY JOEL COURTNEY
The Las Cruces Bulletin
The No Strings Theatre Company opened their latest production, “Woman Before a Glass ” by Lane Robertson and directed by Ceil Herman, on Friday, April 6.
The story of “Woman Before a Glass ,” a one-woman show, details several moments in the later years of Peggy Guggenheim’s life.
Bringing the larger-than-life personality of Guggenheim to the stage is the larger-than-life presentation by Toni Marie.
Guggenheim, who is most well known for her collection of 176 pieces of modern art housed in her Venetian Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, discusses some of the most important events in her life from her own perspective.
Guggenheim jumps from topic to topic as she addresses the audience.
The most common theme of her discussion is where “her children” (her famous art collection) will be housed after her death.
Tragedies abound in Guggenheim’s life, from the death of her father aboard the Titanic and the death of her oldest and favorite sister during childbirth, to run ins with the Nazis in her attempt to escape Paris with her beloved collection.
After hearing of Guggenheim’s relationship with her father and the devastation caused by his passing, you begin to understand more about why this wealthy woman goes through men like someone with a cold would go through tissues.
She seems to spend the majority of her life looking to connect with another person, and failing at that, tries to connect to the world of modern art, which Samuel Beckett had described to her as “alive.”
Her two children, Sinbad and Pegeen, come from her marriage to Lawrence Vail. Later, Guggenheim married painter Max Ernst. Throughout the performance though, she only speaks kindly of her “soldier boy,” John Holmes, who loved all of her, even her nose.
Most noticeably, Guggenheim seems to sabotage her own relationships, often having affairs outside of her two marriages and even sleeping with her daughter’s husband, which prompts one of Pegeen’s suicide attempts.
The show concludes with Guggenheim drifting in a gondola on a Venice waterway as the “moon reflects in her eyes.” The scene approaches the artistic beauty that Guggenheim seeks so intuitively.
Although the story, which tells of a lonely, yet very wealthy woman , may seem not enough to deserve a onewoman show, it is Marie that gives the character the life to last through the four acts of “Woman Before a Glass .”
Half soap opera and half history lesson, the show would be nothing without Marie’s explosive personality and ability to say the lewdest things without batting an eye. Despite bringing the extroverted part of Guggenheim’s personality to the forefront, Marie also captures the pain of all of Guggenheim’s losses.
Marie has amazingly held this character in since the original performances in December were cancelled due to her illness. The extra time with the character showed in the quality of her performance, but it also seemed to relieve her to finally let that character flow out of her.
This show goes into a long line of great one-person shows from NSTC. Don’t miss this great night of theater, but you will definitely want to leave the children at home.
“Woman Before a Glass ” shows at the Black Box Theatre, 430 N. Downtown Mall, through April 15. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2:30 p.m.
Tickets are $9 for adults and $8 for students and seniors over 65. All seats on Thursday are $6. A high school student rush ticket for unsold seats ($6 with ID card) is available 10 minutes before each performance.
Reservations can be made by calling the Black Box Theatre at 523-1223 or online at
Art collector on display
Sun News Report
No Strings Theatre Company presents Lanie Robertson's off-Broadway hit "Woman Before a Glass" directed by NSTC's artistic director, Ceil Herman. The play opens tonight and runs through April 15 at the Black Box Theatre, 430 N. Downtown Mall.
Toni Marie, seen in NSTC's "Aunt Raini" and "Belle of Amherst," plays the role of modern art collector Peggy Guggenheim, niece of Guggenheim Museum founder Solomon Guggenheim. She was famous for her foul mouth and extensive art collection, which included 10 Picassos, 40 Ernsts, eight Mirós, four Magrittes, three Man Rays, three Dalís, one Klee and one Chagall.
Mercedes Ruehl won an Obie award for her portrayal of Guggenheim at New York's Promenade Theater in 2005. The one-woman show focuses on Guggenheim's later life, as she searches for a home for her collection.
The NSTC production was originally scheduled to run Dec. 29 through Jan. 14, but was postponed.
Performances are at 8 p.m. today, Saturday and April 13 and 14, 7 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday and April 15. Tickets are $9 for general admission, $8 for students and seniors over 65 and $6 for all seats on Thursday. High school student rush tickets for unsold seats, $6 with a student ID, are available 10 minutes before each performance. For reservations, call the Black Box Theatre at 523-1223 or visit www.no-strings.org.
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