In 1962, a group of 75 historians ranked US Presidents in terms of their contributions to the nation and effectiveness as leaders on the world stage. President Dwight D. Eisenhower landed far down the list in the “mediocre” category as the scholars pronounced him a “great American” but not a “great President.” Ouch!
This slight informs the solo drama “Eisenhower: This Piece of Ground,” receiving its San Diego Premiere at North Coast Rep. Drawing inspiration and content from the former president’s speeches, letters and writings, playwright Richard Hellesen has crafted a compelling portrait of Eisenhower not only as a soldier, general and president but also as a son, father and husband.
Bringing Ike to life is Tony Award-winning, Broadway veteran John Rubinstein, whose performance, under the direction of Peter Ellenstein, is riveting. As the responsibilities that come with leadership and the attributes required to hold high office are explored, Rubinstein holds the audience in his hand. There is much food for thought about past and present occupants of the White House.
The story begins with the retired president reading the aforementioned survey and strangling the newspaper in which it is published. This ego hit puts Ike into high gear to move ahead with a book about his White House years. Imagining he’s speaking directly to the historians who consigned him to the dustbin of history, Ike turns on a reel-to-reel tape recorder and lays out his journey from a humble upbringing in Kansas to West Point graduate to ultimately Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in Europe during World War II followed by his successful bid for the American presidency. These vignettes and more are made indelible by the projection of family and historical photos on the picture windows of the Eisenhower farm home in Pennsylvania thanks to the team work of set designer Marty Burnett, sound and projection designer Joe Huppert and light designer Matthew Novotny.
It’s a surprise to learn that Eisenhower never wanted a military career nor a political career. He attended West Point for the college education he could not otherwise afford. Compelling Ike to leave the military and run for office was his opposition to a post-war movement that favored non-interventionist foreign policies by the United States that likely would have led to the weakening or potential collapse of NATO. His campaign platform was “Modern Republicanism,” a political philosophy that sought to balance fiscal conservatism with social welfare programs.
During Ike’s presidency the nation enjoyed eight years of peace and prosperity with expansion of Social Security, minimum wage increases, civil right laws enacted, NASA created, the Korean War ended and Ike’s most ambitious domestic project, the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, constructing 41,000 miles of interstate highways that stimulated the economy and changed the lives of Americans forever. This president was not a slacker.
This piece of ground in the play’s title refers literally to Eisenhower’s Gettysburg farm but also metaphorically to the United States and the principles of democracy that Dwight Eisenhower dedicated his life to defending and preserving by always choosing the “harder right instead of the easier wrong.” Imagine if all citizens heeded this Clarion call.
In the past 60 years, opinions have changed about our 34th president. In 2021, C-SPAN conducted another survey of presidential historians. This time around, Eisenhower rose to 5th place.
by Lynne Friedmann
