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A Tale of Two Mensches:

Why (and How) Donald Margulies wrote a Christmas play by amy levinson

Geffen Playhouse founder Gil Cates and Playwright Donald Margulies

ACT I The birth of an idea Often when I speak to writers about the genesis of their plays, I am surprised at what inspires their ideas.

But this idea, to have one of America’s preeminent Jewish playwrights — a writer who often explores Jewish themes in his work — write a Christmas play, was an idea that started with our late founder and producing director Gil Cates.

Of course, the seeds for this unlikely commission were planted long ago, when Cates directed Margulies’ play P4 PERFORMANCES MAGAZINe

Collected Stories. This production, which went on to become a film for PBS, marked the first of many collaborations and the beginning of a profound friendship between the two men.

Following the extraordinary success of that play, the theater produced Dinner with Friends, Shipwrecked! An Entertainment: The Amazing Adventures of Louis de Rougemont and Time Stands Still, which was commissioned by the Geffen and had its world premiere here before opening on Broadway.

The question Margulies couldn’t help but ask in regards to a Christmas commission, though, was, “Why me?” And for Gil and the Geffen, that answer was crystal clear. The idea arose during the run of Margulies’ play Shipwrecked! The play was originally commissioned by South Coast Repertory to be

a tale of two mensches coney island christmas

part of their theater for young audiences, but it ultimately evolved into a fairytale far more suited for adults. It explored the life of Louis De Rougemont, an infamous teller of tall tales who was later called forward to defend the truth of his adventures. It was this play, at once so whimsical and deeply felt, that struck a chord — the likes of which an audience had never seen from Donald Margulies. This was the kernel that lead to Coney Island Christmas.

Now while the artistic team at the Geffen saw the obvious correlation between the two, Margulies didn’t quite see the request for this play coming. When asked to tell the story of the phone call he got from Cates about this particular commission, he recounts it as follows:

Samantha Mathis and Linda Lavin in Collected Stories by Donald Margulies.

Photo by Craig Schwartz Photography.

Gil: Donald — I’ve been thinking about commissioning a play for the Geffen to run during the holidays, and I want you to write a big Christmas show for the whole family.

Donald (joking): Gil, if I’m going to write you a Christmas show, you know it’s going to be a Jewish Christmas show, right?

Gil (serious): Perfect! And go ahead and make it really big … a spectacle!

Tasked with that direction, Margulies was essentially set loose to find the idea that would launch his writing process.

In culling material, he was reminded of a short story called The Loudest Voice by Grace Paley, an eight-page tale of a young Jewish girl named Shirley Abramowitz. Margulies took Paley’s gem and built upon it, creating an entire community who must learn to navigate the cultural melting pot that was New York in the 1930s — and during Christmas no less. Was it big? Yes — Margulies’ new work included musical numbers, two holiday pageants, 17 actors and a Coney Island skyline complete with a Ferris wheel.

ACT II you can take the jew out of brooklyn ...

Jewish themes are abundant in the history of Margulies’ work, and the chance to write a holiday show that was not non-denominational, but rather multidenominational provided yet another opportunity to explore one of his favorite subjects. In one of his earlier works, The Model Apartment, Margulies examines what it means to be the child of Holocaust survivors. In Collected Stories his central character’s writing is defined by her Jewish experience in New York. In his adaptation of Sholem Asch’s God of Vengeance, he explores the complicated world of the Jewish immigrant

Joel Rooks and Marin Hinkle in Donald Margulies’ The God of Vengeance (2002) at the Williamstown Theatre Festival. Photo by Richard Feldman.

Gregory Itzin in the Geffen Playhouse production of Donald Margulies’ Shipwrecked! An Entertainment, directed by Bart DeLorenzo. Photo by Michael Lamont.

experience in 1922 through the eyes of a brothel owner who wants nothing more than to raise a nice Jewish girl in the midst of his own seedy business practices.

The Jewish identification of Margulies’ characters gives them roots in the past, sometimes positive associations of community and purpose, and sometimes negative ones such as persecution and an abandonment of belief. And in Coney Island Christmas, in the midst of holiday songs, humor and heartwarming stories of the past, Margulies still poses questions about assimilation and what it means to be both Jewish and American.

Shirley, at twelve years old, is asked by her parents to recognize and honor her history and in turn, she asks her parents to see the difference between participating and assimilating.

So having found his inspiration and agreeing on a deadline, all that was left was the writing of the play. The hard part.

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playwright donald margulies and director bart delorenzo during rehearsals of coney island christmas

ACT IIi A new play from the page to the stage Margulies let us know last November, after hearing about the sudden passing of Gil Cates, that he would have the play ready for the following holiday season, and further, that he was dedicating this work to his old friend. He set about writing and by January 2012 the Geffen received the first draft.

Margulies’ writing process for all of his plays is as follows: He gets a draft out of his system, the one he calls the “bad rough draft.” Now, to most readers, this ‘bad’ draft is still a good play but what this means for him is that there are sections that are only in idea form — broad sketches rather than specific dialogue, characters who have only begun to be fleshed out, a general direction of the plot, but maybe not every beat. At this point, Margulies gives the draft to one or two people to critique and then goes into a rewrite. Gil was always struck with Margulies’ ability to sort through notes P6 PERFORMANCES MAGAZINe

with a discerning ear. He takes what is useful and discards the rest, without being defensive or dismissive where his own work is concerned.

After going through this process with Coney Island Christmas, Margulies set back to work on the second draft and emerged in March with a version that was read in front of an audience. In the months that followed we were able to schedule an additional reading that was attended by staff and close friends so that Margulies and director Bart DeLorenzo could continue to hone the script and make decisions about the future production. For Margulies, these readings are an essential part of his process wherein he learns what the play needs in order to be ready for first rehearsal.

At the point at which this article goes to print, we have just begun the rehearsal process, where the work on this new play will surely continue. Having Margulies here for the fifth time in the Geffen’s short history is our own version of holiday joy, and we take the bitter with the sweet as Margulies points out that the man who commissioned the piece will never have a chance to see it. But within the play he inspired Margulies to write, Gil Cates will forever be remembered as the man who didn’t think twice about commissioning one of his favorite Jewish writers to pen a Christmas play.

Photo by Chelsey Rosetter

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