Date: Jul 28, 2011

From Staged Reading to Off-Broadway -

Hofstra Alumni Bring "Harry & Eddie" to the Big Apple

Starting August 17, Directed by Bob Spiotto, Hofstra Alumnus and Exec. Producer of Hofstra Entertainment

Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY … Mark Weston’s play Harry & Eddie: The Birth of Israel explores the relationship between Harry Truman and his friend and business partner Eddie Jacobson, Jacobson was instrumental in encouraging and inspiring Truman and the United States to endorse and support Israeli statehood in May of 1948.

In 2008 Harry & Eddie was presented as a staged reading at Hofstra University, in conjunction with the Hofstra conference, Israel at 60: A Celebration, and as part of a series of politically-themed events leading up the Presidential Debate between Barack Obama and John McCain at Hofstra on October 15 of that same year.

Hofstra has been instrumental in bringing Mr. Weston’s work to off-Broadway. Directed by Bob Spiotto, executive producer of Hofstra Entertainment and a Hofstra alum, Harry & Eddie will open at St. Luke’s Theater on August 17, 2011, for an open-ended run.  The production will star two Hofstra alumni: Rick Grossman, class of 1971, as Eddie Jacobson, and Lydia Gladstone, class of 1974, as his wife, Bluma Jacobson. Neither Mr. Spiotto or Mr. Grossman are new to this work: Mr. Spiotto directed the staged reading and Mr. Grossman played the part of Eddie at Hofstra. Dan Hicks, a Long Island native, will take on the role of Harry Truman.

Rick Grossman as Eddie Jacobson, Lydia Gladstone as Bluma Jacobson, Dan Hicks as Harry S. Truman, director Bob Spiotto and playwright Mark Weston. Photo by Carol Rosegg.

Performances of Harry & Eddie are 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. Tickets may be purchased through Telecharge.com  or by calling 212-239-6200. St. Luke’s Theater is located at 308 West 46 Street, near Restaurant Row.

The theater was the long time home of Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding and has more recently been the stage for shows such as My Big Gay Italian Wedding, Dietrich & Chevalier and Zero Hour. 

Playwright Mark Weston is a native of Hicksville, NY, and has been writing for more than 30 years. His many credits include Beckwourth, Beckwourth…The Later Years, Bagels and Luck, The Ninth of April, I’m With You! Shoehorn, Split Infinitive, De Witt C!, Harry & Eddie and the musical Louise, starring Paige O’Hara. Screenplays include Beckwourth, Carnival Magic, Pershing, A New Tomorrow, Slade, Crispus Attucks, and the documentary Inca Remembered, which was the recipient of more than 30 international awards.

Additionally, Mr. Weston has written for daytime serials, and game shows.  He has taught and continues to teach writing at the Screen Actor’s Guild conservatory in New York. He is a member of the Dramatist’s Guild. An actor for more than 50 years, he was a member of Lee Strasberg’s first classes starting in 1954. Mr. Weston continued studying with Mr. Strasberg for 11 years and appeared on Broadway, Off-Broadway, in many touring companies, as well as in films. He has been seen on numerous soap operas. 

Hofstra University is a dynamic private institution where students can choose from 140 undergraduate and 150 graduate programs in liberal arts and sciences, business, communication, education and allied health services, honors, as well as a School of Law and the Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine.

###