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Such A Gift
Continued from preceding page
she actually said, or would
have said?'
In fact, Sam and Itkeh
started out as a novel, as a
continuation of Such A Life.
LaZebnik decided to make it
a play after seeing The
Hospital Ward, a one-act
drama about two older men.
The Hospital Ward is "the
typical story of two people
who can't live with and can't
live without each other,"
LaZebnik said. "It's also the
story of a profound love" — a
theme prevalent in Sam and
Itkeh, LaZebnik said.
The idea was solid. The
form was down, too. He need-
ed to write it.
He awoke early each day,
writing from 9:30 a.m. until
4 p.m. He wrote his rough
draft in longhand and, upon
completion, put it on a word
processor.
His one break came at
lunch. "It's the only time I
saw people all day," he said.
One of LaZebnik's favorite
lunch spots is the faculty din-
ing room at Stephens College
in Columbia, Mo., where he
worked for many years in the
English department.
It was during one of those
lunches that he chanced to
meet Paula Kalustian, guest
professor in the theater
department at the college.
Creative production coor-
dinator of Rags on Broadway
and director and choreo-
grapher for A Little Night
Music at the Wolftrap Opera
Company, among others,
Kalustian was more than a
little interested when LaZeb-
nik began to speak of his
latest work, Sam and Itkeh.
"It started with a conversa-
tion during lunch one after-
noon," she said. "A week
later, I found out I would be
directing the show."
One aspect of Sam and
Itkehthat particularly at-
tracted Kalustian is its tale of
new immigrants. Kalustian's
own family came to the
United States from Armenia.
"I could really respond to so
much in the play," she said. "I
have all those stories, too."
But LaZebnik was just star-
ting. The play was finished,
but five more versions were to
follow before the first reading
of Sam and Itkeh was even
held.
Then came more changes,
rehearsals, and still more
changes.
Somebody had to take care
of the business end. Even the
most brilliant — and con-
stantly revised — play needs
a producer. For that, LaZeb-
nik turned to his brother,
Robert, who still lives in
Jackson.
Last year, Robert produced
his brother's play The Billard
Game in Jackson. It was such
a hit the theater owners ask-
ed for another.
Several days later, Robert
called his brother. "I said
`Jack, I've booked space (at
the theater). Have you got
anything?' "
Robert also helped arrange
the first reading of the play in
Jackson, to which a number
of LaZebnik family members
were invited.
After the reading, many in
the audience remarked how
much the characters in Sam
and Itkeh were like the in-
dividuals on whom they were
based, Robert said. "And I
thought yes, that's Ma and
Pa!'
Despite the instant recogni-
tion, Jack LaZebnik said his
play is a blend of fact and fic-
tion. Like the central figures
in the play, his mother was
romantic and his father prac-
tical. "Itkeh" speaks fre-
quently of a young suitor,
Nicholas. So, too, Edith
LaZebnik "talked a lot about
doctors who had been in love
with her," Jack LaZebnik
said.
-
Sam and Itkeh, which opens
this month in Jackson, is
hardly LaZebnik's first ven-
ture into the world of the
theater. His plays Lincoln
and Mary, Impeachment and
John Brown have been pro-
duced at theaters around the
country.
It is from the past that
LaZebnik derives much of his
creativity. His father's life
also served as the inspiration
for his book Sam, which
LaZebnik has yet to send to
his agent.
He sent his mother's story,
Such A Life, out right away.
It was rejected four times.
Through a connection,
LaZebnik managed to get a
copy of Such A Life to an
editor at Morrow Press, which
eventually published the
book. The editor started
reading the work in the even-
ing, and didn't put it down all
night.
LaZebnik hopes the conti-
nuing story of his mother's
life as told in Sam and
Itkehwill draw the same kind
of enthusiasm.
After its Detroit run, Sam
and Itkeh will be produced in
Kansas City, Mo. Robert
LaZebnik also hopes to bring
it on stage in New York and
Chicago.
But first comes opening
night in Jackson next week.
LaZebnik is busy putting the
final touches on Sam and
Itkeh.
One ribbon needs to be tied
a little tighter. Another could
use a bigger bow.
And now, it's time to open
the box. ❑