Woman on a Ledge – Cri du Coeur With Strings

As Rita Costanzi tells it, a harp named Maria fell in love with a violin named Marco. They got engaged in Florence, and found work in Canadian orchestras. But as she became a star performer, he struggled to work his way up in the string sections, unable to move out of (literally and figuratively) playing second-fiddle. Finally he got a good job, but they had to move to New York to take it. Maria’s career languished here, and Marco began cheating on her (literally and figuratively) with a first-violin.

In brief, that’s the life of Costanzi herself: a celebrated harpist who has recorded and performed around the world. She is now telling her life’s story—to the accompaniment of her magnificent harp—in the downstairs Cabaret space of the Theater for the New City.

The script was adapted from her writings by the genius/pianist/monologist Hershey Felder, who performs one-man shows in the personae of famous composers.

As Costanzi speaks, she plays, and Oh! her solos are heavenly, weaving in snatches of Debussy, Bach, Puccini, Liszt—even Kander & Ebb. Sitting so near to an instrument that’s typically in the back of an orchestra is breathtaking. Close enough to see the harp’s ornamentation, we are aware of every note that’s plucked, and the resonance of every harmonic and overtone the instrument projects.  Would that the 80 minutes we spend with “Maria” were hers and hers alone!

Rita Costanzi in peak emotion (Photo by ShellyAndKeith Photography)

Unfortunately, classical music is not easily fitted into this contemporary autobiography, where the main events are disappointment and regret, and the high-point—the one to which the audience I was in responded most heartily—is her Little League son’s game-winning homer. 

Director Lissa Moira has a deep theater space to work with, but only once does she send Rita upstage. Plenty of lines are delivered straight to audience; and a monolog shouldn’t come out face-forward all the time. But quite a few soft lines are murmured into the harp-strings, and louder lines hurled against the wall. 

It must be hard for a stage actor to convey the emotional life of a character in a play. But I am confused by what could motivate a performer, who almost never needs to speak in a concert hall, to reveal the ups and downs—especially the downs—of her life in front of total strangers, night after night. And what the metaphorical “ledge” is, that she’s on, is never articulated.

The production values are high. The set is designed by Lytza Colon; the lighting and sound design by Marsh Shugart. The music is divine; it would be a treat, indeed, to have Costanzi in concert. But here (to turn Shakespeare on his head) I would have preferred more art, with less matter.

Opening Photo by ShellyAndKeith Photography.

Woman On a Ledge runs through November 24, at the Theater For the New City, 155 First Ave./10th St. Tel: 212-254-1109.