Actress/dancer, Christina Carlisi is breathing life into the great Martha Graham at the Whitefire Theatre and you do not want to miss it.
For those of you unfamiliar with Miss Martha Graham, she was the most influential, dancer/choreographer of the Twentieth century. Some say there wasn’t such a thing as modern dance before she came along. Actually, I think Martha said it and I couldn’t agree more.
Martha considered herself a dancer first, choreographer second and she proved it by performing until she was in her mid seventies. In 1926, she founded the Martha Graham Dance Company and it still reigns as the oldest dance company in the United States.
One can’t help but wonder how anybody can bring such a mega star to life and do her justice. Well, Christina Carlisi does just that and does it beautifully.
When the one woman play written by Ellen Melaver and directed by Stewart J. Zully opens, we find seventy four year old Martha (Christina) on the stage fuming because Clive Barnes, the New York Times critic had the gaul to give her performance in “Clytemnestra” a terrible review. Worse than that, he suggested that maybe it was time for old Martha to turn in her dancing shoes.
It’s from this point, we explore Martha’s life and find out how she came to be one of the most iconic forces in the world of dance.
Miss Carlisi is mesmerizing as she moves on stage the way Martha moved, bringing out Graham’s passion, her difficulties, challenges and lastly the pain and anguish she felt, when she had to face giving up the one thing that gave her life meaning – the one thing she dedicated and sacrificed her whole life for…Dance.
“Martha” opened at the Whitefire Theatre, located at 13500 Ventura Blvd. Sherman Oaks, on Sunday March 12th and plays every Sunday at 7:30 until April 16, 2017.
Tickets are $25.00 and can be reserved by going to www.marthasoloplay.brownpapertickets.com or call 818-687-8559.
