What I liked
I adore the entire set-up, cleansing of the space, the immersive aspect of allowing the audience to participate by helping to conjure the spirit of Victoria to tell her story! It was a very clever and smart way to capture the audience. The writing was so powerful and interesting, I felt as though I had been robbed a bit of the Minor I earned in History from undergrad to have never learned about this woman. To command an audience from start to finish rested entirely on Ashley Ford’s shoulders and luckily for all involved in the production, she delivered by the spirit loads – WHAT. A. PERFORMANCE. This is tour de force and someone to watch (in my humble opinion)!!
What I didn't like
While I am an auditory learner, myself, I will say that there was a lot of talking. To give the performer a small reprieve, I’m wondering if there might be certain elements that can be “shown” to us vs. “told” to us. Maybe finding (or creating) newspaper clippings from when she was imprisoned or some of the moments that led to her downfall. Just a thought…
My overall impression
A thoroughly entertaining and captivating show complete with seances, history, and a call to the audience to rise up and continue the hard work started by one of our unknown Founding Mothers, Victoria Woodhull. This show is such a fascinating tale of someone who very few of us know anything about, but all of us SHOULD absolutely RESPECT! And the portrayals of not only Victoria, but also, her sister, Tennessee, were spellbinding and powerful! Kudos!
