PicksInSix Review: The First Lady of Television - Northlight Theatre
Sherman’s Marvelous, Articulate Plunge Hits Home!
PicksInSix® Review | Guest Contributor | Ronald Keaton
This is the story of a grand storyteller named Gertrude Berg. She is the subject of James Sherman's marvelous, articulate plunge into show business history, “The First Lady of Television.” It's the latest production from Northlight Theatre currently at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie and now playing through October 12. Given the subject matter within the play—dealing with McCarthyism, the House Un-American Activities Committee in the 1950s and the blacklist known as Red Channels—what unfolds are unsettling, almost frightening precedents of today's politics. Artistic director BJ Jones comfortably guides his ensemble through Mr. Sherman's encompassing wallop of a script, complete with meticulous research and loving dialogue.
Gertrude Berg was a pioneer of classic radio. She was one of the first people to create, write, produce, and star in a long-running hit when she premiered her comedy-drama "The Rise Of The Goldbergs" in 1929, as network radio was in its infancy. NBC ran her series, which eventually settled as "The Goldbergs," for seventeen years. Molly Goldberg was a big-hearted matriarch of a Jewish family in The Bronx. And that family—husband Jake, the always supportive Uncle David, daughter Rosalie and son Sammy—comprised a tight-knit group that went through common issues that all families experience: love and loss, celebrations of all kinds, personal growth and family discussion. It was a 15-minute show on radio. In 1949, Gertrude was able to transfer the show intact to television for a nearly ten-year run on CBS and DuMont.
The episode in question here they are shooting really doesn't matter. Molly is preparing for a July 4th celebration at home. The real drama is from outside the studio, where HUAC is making its presence known on the set. Suddenly the director Walter Hart (Joe Dempsey in a purposeful, strong turn) calls out "Hold, please!" for the umpteenth time in the rehearsal. The actor playing Loeb/"Jake" has learned that he has been listed in the pamphlet called Red Channels, along with 150 other show business types. The show's sponsor, Sanka, began to pressure Ms. Berg and the network to fire Mr. Loeb, however it got done. But such action was delayed. And delayed for well over a year. Finally, Gertrude is placed in the untenable position of deciding, on the set right then and there, whether or not to fire Mr. Loeb.
And that sets off, from the actor's reality in losing his job and fearing he'll never work again, a remarkable monologue from Mr. Sherman's pen. Mr. Loeb (the absolute best work ever from William Dick as Loeb/"Jake") takes us on an emotional, staccato journey about life. Union friendships. Family failure. Stories of literal survival at a time in America when hate filled the walls of Congress and threatened the very life of the country. Sound familiar? And Mr. Dick expertly takes us through all this with a deft combination of dread and confusion and, when it was all said and done, some inner panic for an artist who "just wants to work."
Mark David Kaplan shares such a gentle Eli Mintz/"Uncle David", so accommodating and helpful, as he becomes a kind of staff for Philip. Sarah Coakley Price as Arlene McQuade/"Rosalie" says yes, fire him. She emotionally forces a real wrench into the story with the fear that she doesn't want to lose HER job either; she just wants to move on and become what Gertrude is—star, writer, director of her own show. Ty Fanning (Larry Robinson/"Sammy") plays it all smarter than we know in showing how simply Larry negotiates his own path through the maze.
And at last, there's the great Cindy Gold in the title role. Gertrude/"Molly" is fully committed to this process. She says, in fact, that this cast is her family and she cannot abandon family for any reason. So, she gives everyone a strong boost in looking at their own stead—even Philip, the obvious tool to put away. Yes, Gertrude stays loyal right to the end. And Ms. Gold is simply wonderful in her consistent, charming take on a woman much more accomplished than people knew. It's all done within the guise of family loyalty, in a world turned upside down outside the studio, by a movement of hate ironically prescient to what many experience today. This is an ensemble play built on purpose and earnest leanings, as playwright Sherman shows us all, despite the history we think we know, what was still good in that time and place.
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR | RONALD KEATON received an Equity Jeff Award for the performance of his one-man show CHURCHILL. www.solochicagotheatre.com Coming soon, his new solo play “Teddy’s Last Ride.”
PHOTO | Michael Brosilow
Northlight Theatre
presents
World Premiere
The First Lady of Television
North Shore Center for the Performing Arts
9501 Skokie Boulevard
through October 12, 2025
WEBSITE
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