Golda's Balcony, Shakespeare & Company, Jackie Liebergott Black Box Theatre at Emerson Paramount Center, through March 10. 617-824-8400 or emersontheatres.org/Online/default.asp

"Golda's Balcony" and Annette Miller's powerful performance as the title fourth (and so far only woman) Prime Minister of Israel are more timely than ever. Last summer Shakespeare & Company returned to the William Gibson one-woman play it world premiered in 2002 in Lenox—once again with Daniel Gidron as director and Miller as Golda Meir. Where this 100-minute, no intermission solo work is set during the 1973 Yom Kippur War—when Egypt and Syria attacked Israel, the current Emerson Paramount Center run follows the October 7 massacre of Israelis by Hamas and Israel's ongoing war with the Gaza-based terrorists and efforts to rescue hostages.

Theatergoers at the intimate Jackie Liebergott black box are likely to see parallels between Golda's questions about dealing with the 1973 attack and issues about Israel's pre-October 7 intelligence.

Meir's self-doubts move through both her personal and professional lives in Gibson's insightful play. As Goldie Myerson, the activist wife—for whom "The cause (the independence and survival of Israel) was my life"—wonders if it was a mistake that husband Morris married her, saying "I ruined his life." At the same time, she continually details the conflicting views of the likes of defense minister Moshe Dayan and deputy prime minister Yigal Allon during cabinet meetings that challenged her own approach to defending Israel.

That approach involves Meir pushing for American military assistance on phone calls with Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and resisting the worst case scenario employment of the Dimona nuclear reactor (constructed in 1967 with French assistance). The play's title actually derives from the nickname for a secret area for observation of activity at the Dimona facility.

By contrast, there are proud moments outlining successes. "We brought our state back into being," she notes. Meir's own efforts in pursuit of that reality raise $50 million dollars in the United States. There is also a vivid memory of 50,000 Jews