A play, book discussion and conversations on President Dwight Eisenhower’s life and motivating forces will be highlighted during the next few weeks at the Olney Theatre Center on Olney-Sandy Spring Road.
Following an Off-Broadway run last year, “Eisenhower: This Piece of Ground” debuted here Sept. 27. The one-man show featuring Tony Award winner John Rubinstein portrays the former president dealing with his legacy and how he believed he improved the country he loved.
The show runs through Oct. 20 and is performed Wednesday through Saturday evenings at 7:30 p.m. and Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday matinees at 1:30 p.m.
There will be a discussion of the book, “Ike’s Bluff: President Eisenhower’s Secret Battle to Save The World,” on Oct. 8 at 6 p.m., and a conversation with the actor on Oct. 6 at 3:30 p.m.
Also planned are an Oct. 6 discussion on The Ranking of American Presidents, an Oct. 13 Promote the Vote community event and an Oct. 14 musical theatre audition class with Rubinstein,
Playwright Richard Hellesen spent years pouring over Eisenhower’s own memoirs, speeches and letters to create a show that takes place at Eisenhower’s Gettysburg home a few years after his presidency.
In the performance, Eisenhower is dictating his thoughts in what is expected to be a book about his life. He talks about being born in Texas but spending most of his life in Kansas. He recalls his parents and siblings and explains that he only went to West Point Academy because his family had no money for college, and he was too old for the Naval Academy. He had never dreamed of a career in the military or politics.
Thoughts about World War II, starting NATO and Sen. Joseph McCarthy’s tirades to rid the country of everyone he believed was a communist permeate the excellent performance.
During the play, when Eisenhower speaks about politicians who are motivated by ego and dreams of grandeur rather than the country they swore to serve, audience members can’t help connecting the remarks to today’s political events.
Following the Sept. 29 performance, Hellesen agreed that the connection was there but claimed it was inadvertent and basically unavoidable.
