Golda's Balcony to Close With Feldshuh Jan. 2

William Gibson's Golda's Balcony, starring Tovah Feldshuh as the legendary Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir, will end its run at the Helen Hayes Theater on January 2, the final day of Feldshuh's contract. As we reported earlier today, Jackie Mason's Freshly Squeezed has already booked the intimate Broadway house for a spring bow.

Golda's Balcony chronicles the late Golda Meir's life--from the pogroms of Russia to the halls of the Knesset. This production, directed by Scott Schwartz, transferred to Broadway after an extended run at Manhattan Ensemble Theatre. It opened on October 15, 2003 at the Helen Hayes Theater. In her Broadway.com Review of the piece, Jessica Branch wrote: "In this powerful, painful examination of what it takes to make ideals reality, Gibson cites historical evidence that Israel did have nuclear capability and speculates that the desperate country could have armed its planes in a last-ditch attempt to win the war. Despite the flaws in the play's non-chronological framework, Gibson deploys loving, meticulous historical detail to brilliant effect in creating the searing emotional scenes that are the heart and soul of the piece… But it's Feldshuh herself who imbues the play with a magic that makes a character from all the contradictions."

Feldshuh, who won the 2003 Lucille Lortel and Drama Desk Award for Golda's Balcony, also earned her fourth Tony nomination for her performance in the solo show. On February 1, she will reprise her role in a run of Golda's Balcony at the Wadsworth Theatre in Los Angeles.

Golda's Balcony recently became the longest running one-woman show is Broadway history. There was some talk of it running past January, with producer Dave Fishelson extending offers to Bette Midler among others. However no replacement casting was ever announced and the show will now end with Feldshuh.