Dan's Papers - July 27, 2007 - Come See Harry and Eddie

Guild Hall is presenting a Harry and Eddie at The Jewish Center of the Hamptons in East Hampton this Sunday about President Harry S. Truman's role in the history of Israel. The John Drew Theater's performance company is performing this tale of an unlikely friendship and its far-reaching consequences. The play, titled Harry and Eddie: The Birth of Israel, discusses Truman's little-known personal relationship with Eddie Jacobsen, a Jew he met during World War II while operating an army canteen. The two men later opened a haberdashery store in Kansas and formed a deep bond as they ran their store, but the strains of the Great Depression closed its doors after a few years. The men parted ways, Jacobsen continuing his path in sales as Truman, of course, forayed into politics. As the United Nations struggled with the decision to recognize Israel's statehood, Truman's relationship with Jacobsen played a crucial role. While Truman initially wanted little to do with Zionists, Jacobsen made his way into the White House and helped influential Jewish leaders like Chaim Weizmann have their voices heard in D.C. and at the U.N.

Mark Weston, a lawyer and journalist for ABC News, wrote the play. Weston is the author of The Land and People of Pakistan, a critically acclaimed nonfiction book about Pakistan, as well as The Last Man in Europe, a two-act drama about George Orwell. The New York Times hailed The Last Man in Europe as a "lovely, understated tragedy" and the show has been well received. Weston, whose passion for culture and history spreads from the Far East (he is currently working on a book about important Japanese historical figures) through the Middle East and into Europe and America, grew up in the small, 93% Caucasian town of Armonk, New York. He has come a long way from Armonk and, through his works, shown the many complexities present in international relations and the important nuances that have shaped the course of history.

Harry and Eddie stars Eli Wallach, recipient of the 1992 Lifetime Achievement Award from Guild Hall's Academy of the Arts. Wallach has played quirky, hot-headed characters throughout the past six decades, appearing in important films including 1956's Tennessee Williams adaptation Baby Doll, where he played a Mexican bandito, in 1960's The Magnificent Seven, as Clark Gable's buddy in 1961's The Misfits and as the contemptible pistolero in Sergio Leon's cult classic, The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. He stars alongside Rik Colitti, of Barfly, The Bronx, and Crocodile Dundee. Colitti is also no stranger to the stage, having acted on Broadway in The Odd Couple and The Threepenny Opera. The two men are joined onstage by Tony Award- nominated-actress Anne Jackson (Middle of the Night). Jackson has been acting on the stage, small screen and the silver screen all her life. The talented trio is set to put on a gripping and moving performance about a pivotal moment in the history of the U.S., the U.N., Israel and in the lives of a few influential men.

James L. LaRocca is directing the play. LaRocca made waves out on the East End last summer as the writer and director of The Night of Seventy-Five Stars at the John Drew Theatre in East Hampton. That show's cast included Alec Baldwin, Bob Balaban, Harris Yulin, Eli Wallach and Anne Jackson in the dramatic roles and a host of musical talent that featured maestro Itzhak Perlman as well as KT Sullivan and Mark Nadler. The Night of Seventy-Five Stars became a beloved local hit last summer and with some of the same stars, LaRocca hopes to repeat that magic on Sunday. Playwright's First in New York City has recognized Mr. LaRocca's work and he is a member of the Naked Stage, the theater collaborative at The John Drew Theater at Guild Hall of East Hampton, as well as Meir Ribelow's Playwrights Workshop at The Players in Gramercy Park.

With tensions between the United States and Middle Eastern nations at their usual high (although perhaps not at the same breaking point as last summer's much-documented and quickly forgotten Israeli / Lebanese conflict that dominated NPR airwaves and benefit discussions), Harry and Eddie is as timely as ever. The play's focus on the formations and fulfillment of "beshert" (Yiddish for destiny, fate) may serve to remind the audience how personal, individual and even little-known bonds can shape the face of a nation - or even create one - more than the media-blitzed large-scale depictions of countries in conflict. It is not just Judaism that Weston puts in the spotlight here, but the value of human friendship.