"With most of us, 90 minutes of reminiscing wouldn't make for scintillating theater. Gert Boyle, as played by Wendy Westerwelle, is the exception to that rule. The late Gert came to fame when she took the reins of Columbia Sportswear after her husband's death in 1970 and also became the "One Tough Mother," with gray hair and glasses, of its comedic '80s and '90s ad campaigns. In one, she put her son, Tim, through a carwash to test the durability of a coat."
"The audience clapped when Westerwelle appeared onstage, and gave her a standing ovation at the end - apt applause for a one-of-a-kind performance. With a no-nonsense voice, expressive body language and emphatic gestures, she enthralls and entertains while also touching our emotions, without milking such moments for cheap tears. And, wonders of wonders, she does this while mostly staying seated, only standing now and then to emphasize the rising emotion of her story,"
Don Horn's play It's Not All About Me stages Gert Boyle at eighty-four in an interview-format performance at triangle productions!. Paula Gunness hosts the fictional Portland Spotlight TV and guides Boyle through anecdotes that blend humor and grit. Wendy Westerwelle delivers a chiefly seated portrayal with a no-nonsense voice, expressive body language, and controlled emotional peaks that avoid cheap sentiment. The piece recounts Boyle's Jewish childhood in 1930s Germany, her family's immigration, and her fight to retain control of the company her father founded. Video projections augment the narrative while the audience responds with strong applause and a standing ovation.
Read at Oregon ArtsWatch * Arts & Culture News
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