After a much-publicized cancellation, “My Name is Rachel Corrie,” based on the activist’s writings, has opened in NYC. The following commentary ran Oct. 16 in Newsweek:
A Controversial Death Provokes a Controversial Play
by Cathleen McGuigan
Do you remember the name Rachel Corrie? Maybe not. She was a 23-year-old American peace activist killed by an Israeli Army bulldozer as she tried to block the destruction of a Palestinianâs house in Gaza in March 2003. She became more than a footnote in the Middle East conflict when her own wordsâfrom her journals and e-mailsâwere shaped into an award-winning one-actor play in London called âMy Name is Rachel Corrie.â But when the showâs U.S. opening last spring was cancelled at the New York Theater Workshop (best known for spawning the musical âRentâ), a controversy erupted. The theaterâs artistic director had made his decision after talking to leaders in the Jewish community; he later told The New York Times, âIt seemed as though if we proceeded, we would be taking a stand we didnât want to take.â The London producers called the cancellation âcensorship.â
With that advance drum roll, âMy Name Is Rachel Corrieâ finally opened last weekend at the intimate Minetta Lane Theater in Greenwich Village, brought here by new producers. And hereâs the good news: the play is hardly a political diatribe. Artfully adapted (by actor/director Alan Rickman and journalist Katharine Viner), itâs about a passionately idealistic young woman, whose childhood causes included ending world hunger and saving the spotted owl. If that sounds painfully earnest, hereâs even better news: Corrie was a lovely and powerful writerâcharming, quirky, funny, and given to painting strong images in a memorable voice. We spend the first 40 minutes of the 90-minute show just getting to know her, in her messy red-painted bedroom in Olympia, Washington. As engagingly portrayed by Megan Dodds, her blond ponytail bounces as her quick mind moves from salmon swimming in city pipes to helping the homeless to philosophizing on life and death. âMy mother would never admit it,â she announces cheerfully, âbut she wanted me exactly as I turned outâscattered, deviant and LOUD.â
When Rachel lands in Gaza to join a group of international protestors, her nerve and idealism are tested, as she encounters curfews, checkpoints, gunfire and even helps recover a dead body from a field as an Israeli tank fires close by. Her writing grows grim. She still makes lists in her journal as she did before, but the lists sound like this: âIn Dr. Samirâs garden. Fig treeâŚDill, lettuce, garlic. White plastic chairs, deflated soccer ballâŚTwo bulldozers, tanks.â She wrestles with her sense of social justiceâshe can leave, but the Palestinian families sheâs come to know cannot. And she wrestles with the politics of supporting Palestinians, acknowledging the suffering of ordinary people in Israel. She writes her mother: âIâm really scared and questioning the fundamental belief in the goodness of human nature. This has to stop. I think it is a good idea for us all to drop everything and devote our lives to making this stop.â
While that may sound naĂŻve, itâs hard to disagree with such a powerful plea for peace. And after seeing the play, it would be hard to dislike Corrieâs singular personality or to doubt her sincerity. Thatâs not to say the show wonât spark debate, which, according to producers Dena Hammerstein and Pam Pariseau, is precisely what they want. âAfter we first saw the play in London,â says Pariseau, âWe went to dinner with some people and ended up talking for two-and-a-half hours about the play. We thought, when was the last time that happened?â Some friends tried to talk Pariseau out of taking on a show with such controversial underpinnings. But, says Hammerstein, âWe really feel thereâs been a controversy about something that people didnât know first hand. We really hope by bringing the play here, people can judge for themselves.â
The first night of previews, they gave a free ticket to a man passing out pro-Israel fliers outside the theater. Other nights have drawn other protestors passing out leaflets. To formalize the debate, the producers also planned audience âtalk-backsâ after some shows, with participants ranging from Rachel Corrieâs parentsâwho originally provided the showâs materialâto playwrights David Hare and Tony Kushner. Here is a play where the real dialogue begins when the curtain comes down, theater that not only stirs our hearts but sticks in our heads.
See also: Rachel Corrie, myths and facts. See our last post on “My Name is Rachel Corrie.”