****Memories! Tonight, sitting in the audience of the premiere of   “The First Lady of Television”, now onstage at The Northlight Theatre, I thought about my youth and my mother’s love of this program on TV. I remember her talking about how this show began on the radio back when she was much younger and when TV announced they would have the fabulous Gertrude Berg do this show on TV, she was ecstatic. I was 7 years old when “The Goldbergs” first appeared on TV ( I think it was CBS) and we would eat our dinner either before or wait until after. I think it was years later that “snack tables” became vogue and allowed us to eat our dinner while watching the TV in our living room.

During the early days of TV, most of what we saw was variety shows, like “Uncle Miltie/Milton Berle, The Ed Sullivan Show and kids shows as well as news. For the most part, after the news at ten, there was very little to watch and sit-coms, as we know them did not exist. Many of the old radio shows did not transfer with ease, but one did. The Goldbergs with Gertrude Berg worked and as I said earlier, our family dined with the Goldberg family every week, rain or shine.

In James Sherman’s new play, “The First Lady of Television” smoothly directd by BJ Jones on a clever set designed by Jeffrey D. Kmiec, we meet the family as played by Ms. Berg’s ( a part that may have been written with Cindy Gold in mind) cast of players. They are preparing or what actors call rehearsing for that night’s broadcast. At this time, there is a great deal of talk about Communism and the black listing of actors. Berg’s co-star Phillip Loeb (deftly  handled by William Dick) who portrayed her husband Jake, is being asked to name names. There were union politics and civil rights involved, and since she ran her show, she vowed that she would do what she could to save him.

In this play, as we look at what the show was and why the audiences loved Molly/Gertrude Berg, we learn a great deal about loyalty. Loyalty to the fellow cast members, the station, the sponsors ( oh yes, if they dropped you, you would be off, and possibly gone) and of course to your country. While there are many funny segments, this is not a comedy. This is a play that digs into history! A time, between wars, when a new entertainment machine was becoming normal over unique. Yes, television was a medium and little by little, becoming affordable. I know that we were the first in my family to have one, and every evening one or more of our relatives would stop by for a cup of coffee ( maybe Sanka) and join us for a show.

The other members of this cast are all important to the overall picture that is painted by Sherman. They are Mark David Kaplan asEli Mintz/David, Sarah Coakley Price as Arlene McQuade, daughter Rosalie, Ty Fanning, as Larry Robinson who played their son, Sammy and not part of the family, Their director/producer Walter Hart portrayed by Joe Dempsey. These are actors portraying actors telling us a story intertwined with a situation comedy that changed the lives of many Americans. In Sherman’s script there is conversation about “favorite presidents”, immigration, and of course politics dealing with communism and yes, democracy.

The set as I said was designed to be a TV set so we have the opening with the famous “window” where Ms Berg as Molly started and ended  each show. We also have the living room and the dining room. In addition, we have Mr. Hart coming from the audience as he is running the tech for the rehearsal. The costumes (Raquel Adorno) certainly seemed to be the 1950’s look and the wigs by Megan E. Pirtle were wonderful. Jake appeared to be the real McCoy who needed a haircut. Nicholas Bartleson’s props were on target and I am not sure, but that Sanka container looked authentic ( like the one my Grandmother had in her kitchen). The sound (Andre Pluess) and lighting (Lee Fiskness) were perfect.

I am not sure that this play would be, or for that matter qualify as a comedy because the story itself is quite deep, but I can tell you that the history is worth coming to see. I need to clarify for you younger people, this is not , and I mean NOT, the Goldbergs sit-com that has been on TV in recent years. This is the Goldbergs of yesteryear, and the story of Molly Berg, creator and star of same.

 

“The First Lady of Television” will continue Thru – Oct 12th with performances as follows: