REVIEW: Historic icons, a boy and Sheboygan come together in 'Ronnie Rabinovitz'
By Renee Valois
Special to the Pioneer Press
February 2, 2014
Ronnie was an ordinary boy with the good fortune to get to know two extraordinary men: Jackie Robinson and Jack Kennedy. The world premiere of "The Incredible Season of Ronnie Rabinovitz" at The History Theatre pulls these very different people together, along with the tangled threads of civil rights, labor unrest, politics and gender inequality that were challenging and changing the nation at that time.
Playwright Eric Simonson makes clear from the start that the play is based on reality but has taken some dramatic license. That honesty works, but most of the prologue to the play, in which Ronnie talks to the audience and the lighting crew and introduces his celebrity friends, doesn't. It reminds us that what we're about to watch is not "real" and suggests what we're going to see before we see it -- slowing the start of the play.
However, once we dive into the story, it's intriguing. The year is 1960, and the place is the living room of the Rabinovitz household in Sheboygan, Wis. Jackie Robinson is visiting the family after giving a talk at a nearby event for the National Conference of Christians and Jews, in which both he and Ronnie's father are active. Ronnie's father David is outraged that someone spray-painted a vicious message with the "n word" on the wall of his law office and decides to involve the local sheriff.
The scenes with Robinson cut back and forth between scenes of the family hosting Senator Jack Kennedy while he was campaigning for the presidential primary in Wisconsin, with David's support as a prominent, politically active attorney. Simonson economically shifts scenes in an instant, as one hero exits the room and the other walks on. The juxtaposition of the two very different men with the same family is revealing.
Mark Benninghofen is great as David, conveying a sharp mind and bulldog persistence. Ansa Akyea's Jackie Robinson is warm, smart and likable, a great friend to Ronnie (Jack Alexander). E.J. Subkoviak adds dramatic tension in a strong portrayal of the sheriff who initially seems to have more of a problem with Robinson than the bigoted defacement of the Rabinovitz property.
Although Peter Middlecamp doesn't look much like Kennedy, he captures the Boston accent and upper-class affectations of the famous clan and is handsome and charming enough to entrance Charlotte, Ronnie's mom. A bit in which the half-dressed Kennedy flirts with her is amusing.
Teri Parker Brown gives Charlotte the chutzpah to be sarcastic back to her husband when he orders her around or tells her to stop talking to their famous guests. Her resistance to being treated like her husband's "servant" foreshadows the women's movement that will take off in another decade or so.
Although nothing happens in the play that changes the world, it's peopled by men who did. Director Ron Peluso, who shepherded the show into existence, keeps the core emotionally satisfying. We can all identify with how exciting it would have been to host Jack and Jackie in our home.
Ronnie was one lucky kid.
What: "The Incredible Season of Ronnie Rabinovitz"
Where: History Theatre, 30 E. 10th St., St. Paul
When: Through Feb. 23
Tickets: $32-$40; senior, youth & group discounts
Information: 651-292-4323; HistoryTheatre.com
Capsule: Two nation-changing men, one real family in Sheboygan.