Back in Cleveland

I had the opportunity to return to Cleveland last month, this time working on a new play for FusionFest at the Cleveland Play House. It was a great chance to encounter some of Cleveland's theater groups and artists. I got to work with some terrific Cleveland actors, all of whom I'd work with again in a heartbeat. I hope some of them are free for the various readings and, hopefully, the full production on the JCC’s commissioned play.

Seth Gordon and I also had time to meet, have a meal, and generally talk about theater, most especially the JCC project. I was particularly happy that some of the people I interviewed, either on the phone or during my March trip to Cleveland, came to the play reading at CPH. Bob Gries, Roe Green and some other JCC members all added their input and encouragement.

I also got to walk around University Circle (will they EVER finish that road?), and do more in-town research at the Historical Society on the history of Jewish Cleveland. Now it has become time to dive in and actually write a first draft. And so I have. I finished the first act just yesterday and have moved on to the second half. And if all goes as planned, I will be back to your city the last week of June to hear the draft of the play with some of you in the audience.

I'm a bit hesitant. Remember it's a new play… and new territory for me. The play concerns a fictional Cleveland family of three generations, from their being immigrants at the end of the 19th century to about 1976. The first act stays in 1946 and is set in a living room in a home in Cleveland Heights. The family has a successful business in the garment trade, a powerful economic force, along with the steel industry, in Cleveland for most of the 20th century. But more important, the garment industry was a Jewish industry, and it was fueled by Jewish families and powered by the drive and focus of those families to carve a place in this country while never losing sight of their heritage, their traditions, and their generosity.

Well, back to work.