Review: EDDIE: THE FRIENDSHIP THAT CHANGED HISTORY At White Theatre

It is hard to imagine a tougher gig for any actor than a one-man show about an historical personage; especially in front of people who may have known that person in life or are related to him by blood. This is the towering achievement of actor Victor Raider-Wexler as he conjured up the living being of Westport clothier and Harry Truman presidential buddy Eddie Jacobson for two only performances at the White Theatre inside the Jewish Community Center in Overland Park on May 13 and May 14.

The occasion for the production is the seventy-fifth anniversary of the birth of the State of Israel. It could be easily argued that the true life contributions of Eddie Jacobson and Harry S. Truman were pivotal to the survival of the infant Israeli state in 1948.

The premise for the play is a thirtieth reunion of the Artillery Company in which both Jacobson and Truman served during World War I. The setting is the venerable Muehlebach Hotel which still operates in downtown Kansas City today. The date is November 11, 1949. President Harry S Truman is not present. President Truman is in Washington D.C. placing a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington Cemetery. Eddie Jacobson is the last minute replacement for a scheduled speaker.

The simple set features a chair with a side table and a water glass, a podium, and a menswear wire manikin wearing Eddie's old Doughboy Uniform. He tells us it no longer fits. The described furniture is downstage of a wall festooned with a projection screen and two hanging American flags.

For the next hour or so, Victor Raider-Wexler transforms into Harry Truman's old friend Eddie Jacobson. Eddie reminisces about their long friendship, their business partnership, and their part in the birth of Israel.

Victor Raider-Wexler is a great story-teller and blessed with a hell of a memory. As he regales us with Eddie's story, a photographic record appears on the projection screen upstage. It also helps that Victor has more than a passing resemblance to the real man.

EDDIE: THE FRIENDSHIP THAT CHANGED HISTORY was written by Bob Feinberg and Marvin Starkman in 2009. They felt Eddie Jacobson never got the credit he deserved for his actions in 1948. Starkman was the first actor to play the part. He was an actor, director, and talent agent. Feinberg is a lawyer and Vice President of WNET, the PBS TV station in New York. The two were long-time friends. One of them is reuputed a distant relation to Eddie Jacobson.

EDDIE: THE FRIENDSHIP THAT CHANGED THE WORLD is Co-directed by Keith Wiedenkeller, Artistic Director of the White Theatre, and Dennis D. Hennessy, CEO of New Theatre Restaurant. The one act play is co- produced by Kansas City Actor's Theatre and the Truman Library Institute.

Victor Raider-Wexler is a veteran actor with hundreds of TV, film, voice actor, Broadway, and other theater credits over a very long career. I don't know Victor well, but I have been aware of his presence here in KC since 2015.

Victor may not remember this, but I was asked to interview him and his co-star Marilyn Lynch when they performed in THE GIN GAME for KC Actors Theatre. I left the interview thinking that this guy is a really nice person in addition to being a very good performer. Part of Victor's appeal is that he is a warm and kind individual. Each character he creates is distinct from the many others he has touched.

Following the performance of EDDIE, Victor was asked about his process by an audience member. Paraphased, but typical for him, Victor responded by saying that while he did some research into backstory, his first concern is always for the audience. The actor is just a tool for the playwright and material on offer.

If you missed EDDIE, you missed something special. Perhaps the White Theatre can be talked into bringing it back. EDDIE and the man who played him are worth getting to know.