La Vagabonde

The life of a dance-hall performer struggling to maintain her hard-won independence in the face of an ardent suitor is the subject of this largely autobiographical story. Johanna Ward plays the role well of this aging (34) dancer who has a detachment from and mild disdain for her colleagues, arising in part from her former marriage to a man of position and money. Ward presents the controlled, but deep, emotion of this woman struggling to release the pain and frustration of an abusive first marriage and to enjoy the almost painfully awkward ardor of her suitor. The many French phrases and names, delivered with fluency, may be a bit daunting to some but become comfortably familiar as the story progresses. J.E.M. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine