Garden of Alla
Reviewed by Joseph Klink
Theatre West
Through July 23, 2023
RECOMMENDED
Who is Alla Nazimova? A cunning and revolutionary artist of the early 1900s, she was internationally recognized for her work in theater and silent film. She studied with Constantin Stanislavski at the Moscow Art Theatre, she performed Ibsen and Chekhov on Broadway, she was openly part of the LGBTQIA+ community, and she was one of the first female directors, producers, writers and editors in the film industry. How is it that her name and story have remained buried beneath Hollywood while her contemporaries persist?
Theatre West presents Garden of Alla: The Alla Nazimova Story, and whether you are familiar with early Hollywood history or not, this insatiable queer icon, and this one-woman show honoring her, is a masterfully illuminating experience. Written and performed by Romy Nordlinger and having premiered in 2017, this production has met audiences across the US and overseas at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Nordlinger has put in the hours and she succeeds in bringing Nazimova to life.
As the house opens there are clips from Alla’s films projected on the back walls. We gain the slightest sense of her and what it was like to see her acting. Then the fire, herself, takes the stage. “I am not a woman, not a man, not tall, not short, not fat, not thin…”, she says. She wields power from the start. Audiences are taken back through time as she intimately shares her experiences being Jewish in czarist Russia before; moving first to New York where she quickly rose in theater; and later to Los Angeles, with her Garden of Alla, a 2.5 acre estate on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. Directed by Lorca Peress, this production does not miss a beat and brings audiences in close. Video and graphics design by Adam Jesse Burns match with lighting design by Malcom Wilson, score and sound by Nick T. Moore; they all come together magnificently to establish an impressive space.
Most importantly, Nordlinger’s performance is an example of dedication. She is an expert. Her writing gives us the history and the context in a personal and impressionable manner. It is storytelling with potential to bridge the gap between never learning about this great artist and making her story known as it should be. Nordlinger makes strong choices in physicality, embodying several people from Nazimova’s life, and her energy demonstrates the sort of excellent stage presence that the titular figure was known for.
Those previously familiar with Nazimova are aware that she became a controversial figure in Los Angeles, working under a male pseudonym, and this is probably the main reason why she has been forgotten. Yet her spirit would arguably resonate with audiences now more than ever.
Garden of Alla, written and performed by Romy Nordlinger, presented by Theatre West, located at 3333 Cahuenga Blvd West, Los Angeles; Fri.-Sat. @ 8 pm, Sundays @ 2 pm, thru July 23. Running time 80 minutes with no intermission. https://theatrewest.org/on-stage/2023/garden-of-alla-the-alla-nazimova-story
