Body of Work

ONE-WOMAN SHOWCASE:
LONE ACTRESS CREATES CAST OF DOZENS IN
'MY LEFT BREAST' (excerpt)
June 20, 2002, Scott Renshaw, City Weekly

Betsy West is the only human being who occupies the stage during My Left Breast, but it's not entirely appropriate to call it a one-woman show. Despite the starkness of the production—a single actor on a stage, accompanied by Marjorie Janove's expressive cello—this is a show teeming with funny, funky characters. It's just that every one of them besides Susan emerges through rich storytelling.

Give ample credit to Betsy West for taking the raw material of the text and investing it with absolute emotional conviction. The pixie-cute West's energy percolates throughout the show, giving bite to [playwright Susan] Miller's punch lines and gravity to her frustrations. But the heart of West's performance is her uncanny ability to connect with characters who don't exist on the stage.

My Left Breast opens with a startling moment of exuberance as West enters the stage area dancing, twirling joyously to Janove's cello. She fills the space with life as soon as she appears, and never stops. My Left Breast brings the entire texture of a life through one voice. By the time the show ends, you'll swear West wasn't just dancing with herself.