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It’s 1967. Lyndon B. Johnson is in office, Jackie Kennedy and Aristotle Onassis have just become an “item,” protests against the Vietnam war are going strong — and Judge Francis Biddle, former Attorney General under FDR and Chief Judge at the Nuremburg Trials, is 81 years old. Trying is the award-winning play inspired by the real-life experiences of playwright Joanna McClelland Glass as personal secretary to Biddle during the last year of his life. A funny, bittersweet look at the healing power of companionship, Trying is a fascinating portrait of an illustrious figure in American history. After a series of ...Read More
It’s 1967. Lyndon B. Johnson is in office, Jackie Kennedy and Aristotle Onassis have just become an “item,” protests against the Vietnam war are going strong — and Judge Francis Biddle, former Attorney General under FDR and Chief Judge at the Nuremburg Trials, is 81 years old. Trying is the award-winning play inspired by the real-life experiences of playwright Joanna McClelland Glass as personal secretary to Biddle during the last year of his life. A funny, bittersweet look at the healing power of companionship, Trying is a fascinating portrait of an illustrious figure in American history. After a series of disappointing failures with secretaries, the brilliant and irascible Biddle — in failing health and beginning to confront his own mortality — is apprehensive when the young and inexperienced Sarah Schorr arrives to work with him in his small office over the garage of his home. Although his ancestry and position in the centers of American power contrast strongly with her humble beginnings on the prairies of Saskatchewan, the two forge a rocky friendship, and Glass’ richly scripted story illustrates how two strangers, at two dramatically different places in their lives, can unexpectedly and forever influence each other. Aug. 20 – Sept. 14; International City Theatre, Long Beach Performing Arts Center, 300 East Ocean Blvd., Long Beach CA 90802; $32-$47; 562-436-4610; www.InternationalCityTheatre.com
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