By Bart Greenberg***Internationally famous harpist Rita Costanzi‘s talent is on full display in her one-woman show Woman on a Ledge nearing the end of its run in the Cabaret Room at Theater for the New City. Via her musical instrument, 
she expresses passion and anger, frustration and joy. Even more surprising is her ability to evoke the same emotions with her voice and body, as well as creating a variety of people with a variety of accents who intersected with her life. This is a autobiographical play based on her own writings, and adapted for the stage by Hershey Felder (who has created similar shows for himself), fashioning a powerful vehicle for Constanzi.
The musician has lived a long and complicated life, trying to be a success in her field, as well as a wife and mother. The problem is to achieve all three roles at the same time and that ultimately proves impossible for her despite her willingness to sacrifice a great deal. It’s a dark tale of chauvinism in the music industry and the macho posturing of men, but Constanzi’s charm and humor lightens it considerably. And then there is the music by Debussy, Puccini, Liszt, traditional Irish and Scottish folk songs, and even Kande
r and Ebb. Yes, the “Theme from New York, New York” played to the tale of a young couple attending the film on its first release, paralleling her own marriage.
Woman on a Ledge offers a smart, interesting script and Costanzi gives a wonderful performance. What could possibly go wrong? Well, a terrible venue and some odd choices by director Lissa Moira. Theater for the New City has several versatile, playable spaces—and then there is the dungeon that is the Cabaret Room. Accessible by a steep and dimly lit staircase, it is an airless space with terrible sight lines, iffy acoustics, and seating that grew steadily more uncomfortable during the 1 hour and 45 minute running time, sans intermission. Anyone tending toward claustrophobia, should betware.
Given the limitations of the space, Moira’s staging choices barely exploited the playing area. She chose to stage 95% of the 
show downstage, with only one moment when Costanzi moved upstage in a not terribly motivated shift. While the entire width of the stage was well-utilized moving the action upstage a foot or so would have solved some of the vision issues. An asset to Woman on a Ledge was lighting designer Marsh Shugart’s excellent work in capturing the shifting moods and settings of the piece.
Hopefully, Woman on a Ledge (a curious title never defined in the script) will find a more appropriate space in which to blossom as Constanzi is certainly a performer (both musically and dramatically) to be celebrated. As some wise person once observed, it really is all about real estate.
Only two more days to see Woman on a Ledge. Last performance is on Sunday, November 24. Tickets here.
]Theater for the New City, 155 1st Ave., NYC.
Photos by David Behzadpour
