It’s more of a history lesson than a play (there’s nothing at stake, no issue demanding resolution), but it was still a pleasure to sit through EISENHOWER: THIS PIECE OF GROUND. A history lesson, after all, can be not only edifying but entertaining.
John Rubenstein impersonates Dwight David Eisenhower in Richard Hellesen’s one-man show about the late general and president, commanding the stage with impressive skill and flair. Utilizing his strong voice and impeccable diction, Rubenstein makes you believe you are in the presence of Ike as he prowls the sun porch of his Gettysburg farm in Aug. 1962, talking about his illustrious life.
At times Ike speaks into a tape-recorder (as if collecting his thoughts for a new book); other times he simply directs his remarks at the audience (as if delivering a speech). Much of Hellesen’s text has been adapted from one or another of Ike’s speeches, memoirs or letters. The play, as we learn in a program note, has been written with “the assistance of David Eisenhower and the Eisenhower family, as well as the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum.”
Ike’s thoughts and beliefs ring out during the course of the play, helping Rubenstein to create a vivid portrait of a fine, honest and upstanding leader, a true statesman.
Ike almost didn’t become such a person. In 1911, when he had just graduated high school in Kansas and had applied to West Point, he was crushed when he was turned down. But then the lad who had been accepted flunked his physical. This opened the door for Ike, allowing him to make it into the Academy. How would his life had gone if he hadn’t lucked out?
Ike grew up as the third of seven sons, all of whom enjoyed success in their respective fields. He respected his stern, straitlaced father, but deeply loved his mother, who became a Jehovah’s Witness and a pacifist. She wept when he joined the army but also recognized that he was an adult and needed to go his own way in life.
That way included marriage to Mamie Doud in 1916, a promotion to Major in 1920, postings in Panama, Philippines and Europe (where he served under General George Marshall). In 1942 he became commander-in-chief of the Allied Force, North Africa, leading to promotion as Major General and Supreme Commander of the Allied expeditionary forces in 1943. He then commanded the Allied Army in June, 1944: D-Day, the Normandy invasion.
Rubenstein as Ike recalls many of those adventures, bringing them to life once again for us. Always Ike’s humanity and decency shine through, especially when he talks about the men and women who fought under him, the lives that were lost, the awful price of war. (“The only purpose of war is peace,” he reminds us).
He also comes down strongly on the side of democracy and fair play when talking about politics and civilian life (he served two terms as president). He believed in standing up for “what you know is right and treating everyone with trust and respect.” It’s hard to imagine a Republican (which Ike was) saying something like that today.
Don’t think, though, that Ike was all sweetness and light. As Rubenstein demonstrates, Ike had a temper, could be cranky and jealous (it bugs him mightily that the NY Times ranked him at No. 22 in its Best President of All Time feature). Yes, the Colossus had a human side and it comes through vividly in this skillfully acted, directed and produced show.
(Theatre West, 3333 Cahuenga Blvd West. Phone 323-851-7877 or visit theatrewest.org)