Eisenhower: This Piece of Ground
A New Los Angeles Repertory Company production
by Richard Hellesen
Directed by Peter Ellenstein
“An illuminating tour-de-force performance.”
About Eisenhower: This Piece of Ground
Eisenhower: This Piece of Ground is a candid and fascinating fictional eavesdropping on President Dwight D. Eisenhower at his Gettysburg, Pennsylvania farm.
It is 1962 and The New York Times Magazine has published its first list ranking the American Presidents in order of greatness. Pondering his placement on the list, Eisenhower looks back on his life – his Kansas upbringing, his decorated Army career, his victories in World War II, and his two terms as President – contemplating the qualities and adversities that make an American President great. Eisenhower: This Piece of Ground is adapted from a vast array of General Eisenhower’s memoirs, speeches, and letters.
Runtime
1 hour, 55 minutes including one intermission.
Age Recommendations
Recommended for ages 10 and up.
Eisenhower: This Piece of Ground Showtimes
Thursday, July 11 at 7:30 pm
Friday, July 12 at 8:00 pm
Saturday, July 13 at 2:00 pm and 8:00 pm
Sunday, July 14 at 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm
Artists
Cast
John Rubinstein originated the title role in the Broadway musical Pippin, directed by Bob Fosse, and won the Tony and Drama Desk Awards for his performance in Children of a Lesser God. Other Broadway appearances include Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Ragtime, Hurlyburly, M. Butterfly, The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (Drama Desk nomination), Getting Away with Murder, Fools, Love Letters, and the 2013 Pippin revival. He appeared off-Broadway in Counsellor-at-Law (2005 Lucille Lortel Award, Outer Critics’ Circle and Drama League nominations), Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Urban Blight, Cabaret Verboten, and Morning’s at Seven. Regionally: Wicked in LA and the international tour of the Pippin revival. He starred in the TV series “Family” (Emmy nomination) and “Crazy Like A Fox,” and over 300 episodes. Films include “Being the Ricardos,” “Hello, I Must Be Going,” “21 Grams”, “Red Dragon,” “The Boys from Brazil,” “Someone to Watch Over Me,” “Daniel, Zachariah,” and “Getting Straight.” He directed the world premiere of A. R. Gurney’s The Old Boy, and Counsellor-at-Law, Company, Brigadoon, Macbeth, The Three Sisters, Phantasie, Nightingale, The Rivals, A Little Night Music, Guys and Dolls, Into The Woods, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, and The Rover. He composed film and TV music (“Jeremiah Johnson,” “The Candidate,” “The Dollmaker,” “China Beach,” among others), hosted two classical music radio programs, played keyboards in a rock band, and has recorded over 200 audiobooks, most numerously Jonathan Kellerman’s Alex Delaware series of Los Angeles crime novels. He is married to Bonnie Burgess, and their son Max is the youngest of his five children, joining Jessica, Michael, Peter, and Jacob.
Production Team
Richard Hellesen is the author of numerous plays and musicals for adult and young audiences. His work has been seen at the Denver Center, South Coast Repertory, Los Angeles Repertory Company, Sacramento Theatre Company, Geva, Florida Stage, Gretna Theatre, Sundance Children’s Theatre, Imagination Stage, People’s Light & Theatre, City Theatre in Miami, B Street Theatre, and Ford’s Theatre in Washington DC, where he is an Associate Artist. He has received playwriting awards from the National Theatre Conference, the Beverly Hills Theatre Guild, the Philadelphia Festival Theatre for New Plays, and PEN USA-West; his two-dozen short plays include five finalists for the Actors Theatre of Louisville Heideman Award. A member of the Dramatists Guild, he has twice been Playwright-in-Residence at the William Inge Center for the Arts in Kansas.
Peter Ellenstein is Producing Artistic Director of the New Los Angeles Repertory Company. He is a multi-award-winning director, producer, new play midwife, and educator whose work has been seen nationwide. For thirteen years, Peter was Artistic Director of the William Inge Center for the Arts in Kansas where he created many innovative playwright development programs such as the William Inge Home Playwright Residencies, partnerships with leading national arts organizations (Martha Graham Company, Cornerstone Theater) and rural arts and education partnerships.. He served seven years as Producing Director of the original Los Angeles Repertory Company, for whom he directed the LA Premiere of Assassins, Odets’ Rocket to the Moon, and many other acclaimed productions. Peter served as Interim Artistic Director of the Gretna Theatre in Pennsylvania and the Jerry Herman Ring Theatre at the University of Miami in Florida. Peter has been a consultant, board member, panelist, and site visitor for many institutions, including the National Endowment for the Arts, California Arts Council, Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE), and KCACTF. Peter directed a nationally prominent streaming version of Richard Hellesen’s Necessary Sacrifices. He has a decades-long artistic relationship with Richard Hellesen and has directed the premieres of many of his plays. Peter comes from a theatre family, his father was noted actor/director Robert Ellenstein and his brother David is longtime Artistic Director of North Coast Rep and current interim Artistic Director of Laguna Playhouse.
Michael Deegan & Sarah Conley
Michael Deegan has designed scenery, lighting & projections since 1970. His focus has been on Opera, starting in Boston, where he worked with Esquire Jauchem. He was recruited by the Metropolitan Opera in 1977, moved to New York City, married & started collaborating with Sarah G. Conly, a costume & set designer. Notable Off-Broadway productions were “Flight”, “Dante’s Inferno” & “Angel of the Amazon”. “Streetcar Named Desire” for Andre Previn in Pittsburgh. New York Times picked their production of “Pique Dame” a top 10 production of 1991. Won an Emmy for “Bernstein at Seventy.” On Broadway designed the lighting for “The Circle” & “Shadowlands.” International designs for Philip Glass’s “La Belle la Bete” & “Dracula.” They have designed scenery, lighting, and costumes for Opera productions in Iceland, Italy, Japan, and China.
For the past forty years, Esquire Jauchem has had an extremely varied career in the performing arts. He founded the Boston Repertory Theater, was Associate Director (with Sarah Caldwell) of the Opera Company of Boston, and was co-founder of Broadway’s Jauchem & Meeh Special Effects company. He has worked as a Producer, Writer, Director, and Designer (lighting, sets, and costumes) in various performance arts and produced over 1,000 network and cable television episodes. His film, “Bondage,” is based on a play by David Henry Hwang and can be seen on Amazon Prime.
Joe Huppert is working with New LA Repertory Company for the first time. Previous designs include: This Wonderful Life at North Coast Rep, American Blues and other venues; The Dybbuk and The Oldest Boy (Craig Noel Award) for San Diego Repertory Theater, Lizard Boy for Diversionary Theater, Glengarry Glen Ross for La Jolla Playhouse. Sound designs include Blueprints to Freedom, Peter and the Starcatchers (La Jolla Playhouse), The Fantasticks and Stop Kiss for Pasadena Playhouse, Scott Joplin’s Rag, Extraordinary Chambers (Craig Noel Nomination (Mo’Olelo); Wisdom From Everything (Local Theater Company), Urinetown, Over the Tavern, KingO’ The Moon (Mercury Theater).
Photo Gallery
Videos
Press & Reviews
“★★★★ Excellently acted biodrama.”
“Provocative and thoughtful. Ike served America well and Rubinstein, in turn, does the same for Ike.”
“An absorbing new play. Rubinstein is a wonder. The production is so gripping.”
“An intriguing portrait of a man who had to make some far-reaching decisions when it came to events in the United States and the world, many of which are still felt today.”
“Rubinstein gives a performance you won’t soon forget… An engrossing and informative evening in the theater.”
“★★★★ A sterling performance”
“Not to miss.”– NewYork.com
“Rubinstein’s portrayal is nothing short of marvelous. It gives us hope
for our current democracy.”
“Filled with timely political lessons from a leader who strove to put country over party.”
“Tony winner John Rubinstein is theater’s prez-iding man.”
“A fascinating experience. John Rubinstein has given us a great gift.”
“John Rubinstein was quite amazing. Great. Completely engaging. I loved it.”
“A perfectly cast John Rubinstein brings our 34th president back to life.”
Press
Reviews
“An illuminating tour-de-force performance.”
“★★★★ Excellently acted biodrama.”
“Provocative and thoughtful. Ike served America well and Rubinstein, in turn, does the same for Ike.”
“An absorbing new play. Rubinstein is a wonder. The production is so gripping.”
“An intriguing portrait of a man who had to make some far-reaching decisions when it came to events in the United States and the world, many of which are still felt today.”
“Rubinstein gives a performance you won’t soon forget… An engrossing and informative evening in the theater.”
“★★★★ A sterling performance”
“Not to miss.”– NewYork.com
“Rubinstein’s portrayal is nothing short of marvelous. It gives us hope
for our current democracy.”
“Filled with timely political lessons from a leader who strove to put country over party.”
“Tony winner John Rubinstein is theater’s prez-iding man.”
“A fascinating experience. John Rubinstein has given us a great gift.”
“John Rubinstein was quite amazing. Great. Completely engaging. I loved it.”
“A perfectly cast John Rubinstein brings our 34th president back to life.”