From Rhoda to Golda
She garnered fame for her portrayal of the much-loved Jewish New Yorker Rhoda Morgenstern on “Mary Tyler Moore,” and now Valerie Harper will take on the role of yet another strong Jewish woman, Golda Meir. Harper is starring in the film adaptation of William Gibson’s Broadway play “Golda’s Balcony,” which featured Tovah Feldshuh in the lead role and, with 493 performances, was the longest running one-woman show in the history of the Great White Way. Like the play, Gibson’s screen adaptation, directed by Jeremy Kagan, follows the span of Meir’s life and career. Harper plays all the roles in the film. Although Feldshuh was nominated for a Tony and won a Drama Desk Award for her portrayal of Meir on Broadway, Harper was not shy about making the role her own.
“I know Tovah, and I love her. She’s a really gifted actress, [but] I used Golda much more than Tovah in my preparation for the role,” Harper told The Shmooze. “I think that Golda herself was the appeal.”
Harper, who is not Jewish but because of her Rhoda days is commonly mistaken for a member of the Tribe — “I have the neshoma, I’ve been told” — did extensive research on Israel’s first female prime minister in preparation for her performance. She originally appeared in the play’s national tour following its Broadway run. “I felt a huge responsibility, because [Meir] is so wonderful and I wanted to honor her life and her very being in a way that was appropriate,” she said. “It’s a really important story, especially right now.”
She added, “I’ve been a Zionist all my life, before I even knew the word for it.”
“Golda’s Balcony” will be released in New York on October 10.
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Most Popular
- 1
Opinion The dangerous Nazi legend behind Trump’s ruthless grab for power
- 2
Opinion A Holocaust perpetrator was just celebrated on US soil. I think I know why no one objected.
- 3
Culture Did this Jewish literary titan have the right idea about Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling after all?
- 4
Opinion I first met Netanyahu in 1988. Here’s how he became the most destructive leader in Israel’s history.
In Case You Missed It
-
Culture Trump wants to honor Hannah Arendt in a ‘Garden of American Heroes.’ Is this a joke?
-
Opinion Gaza and Trump have left the Jewish community at war with itself — and me with a bad case of alienation
-
Fast Forward Trump administration restores student visas, but impact on pro-Palestinian protesters is unclear
-
Fast Forward Deborah Lipstadt says Trump’s campus antisemitism crackdown has ‘gone way too far’
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.