Who Am I? A Human Revolution

02/13/2023

Who Am I? A Human Revolution is a sweetly wrought, wonderful play. An excellent beginning for a brand new writer indeed!

[NoHo Arts District, CA] – A NoHo Arts theatre review of Who Am I? A Human Revolution written and performed by Helema Maggiore and directed by Jessica Lynn Johnson.

Helema has created a beautiful and fascinating solo show to tell the story of her life so far. A twin, a singer and a beautiful Black woman, she empowers herself and inspires her audience as she performs. When I say perform, how Helema is on stage doesn’t really feel like a performance in the traditional sense. It’s more subtle than that.

Even as she circles through her many different characters. It never quite feels performative. She is herself, only perhaps a little more so. The result is a charming, gentle, guileless and graceful presence.

So that when she becomes the different people in her life, to weave her narrative, and as she sings her own songs, which she sprinkles throughout the show, we find her utterly believable.

Solo work is often autobiographical by its nature. But simply sharing the story of your life, or even pivotal moments in it is not by itself enough to make a play. Composing and creating and editing to the essence of what is needed to communicate a thought, a feeling or a revelation is where the work is. Some succeed better than others, but they are all entertaining in a multitude of ways.

Helema’s show works so well I think because her story shows her to be not only monumentally strong and brave, but also fiercely loyal.

Surely one of the most admirable of qualities. Within the hour or so of this newly formed piece, she brilliantly characterizes her relationship with her twin sister, her family and, in particular, her mother so vividly that we almost feel as if we are there with her. On stage, in her world, in her own unique history.