I

n the midst of a varied writing career — 
articles, books, feature films — Roger 
Rapoport decided to go live with the 
immediacy of a theatrical presentation. 
The impetus came in 2019 after reading 
Peter Ferry’s award-winning novel Old 
Heart, which is about an American veteran 
attempting to reconnect with a World War 
II Netherlands romance that had dimmed 
as the war ended.
The play’s debut is scheduled for two 
performances at the Redford Theatre: 7 
p.m. Saturday, May 14, and 4 p.m. Sunday, 
May 15.
“When I read the novel, I saw it as an 
intimate drama that would work really 
well on stage,” said Rapoport, who grew 
up during family moves from Detroit, into 
Oak Park and then Muskegon, where he 
resettled some 18 years ago after pursuing 
career opportunities in other states.
“I like that this story resonates across a 
cultural divide. These two people in the 
story are from vastly different worlds, and 
their ability to share who they are is com-
plicated by language, upbringing and the 
war itself. He’s African American, and she’s 
Jewish. 
“I knew this story would have special 
appeal for families involved with assisted 
living decisions, and that’s where the play 
starts.”
Tom Johnson, the main character played 
by Ed Gaines in later years and Jakari 
Carson in flashbacks, is a Detroiter who 
was in college when the war started and 
then joined the army. Sarah van Praag, 
played by Melanie Lamrock, was in hiding 
after the Nazis invaded the Netherlands. 
Ironically, the backstory involving the 
circumstances surrounding the two brings 
up similarities to the devastation of con-
ditions occurring in Ukraine, observed 
Rapoport, whose family ancestry is based 
in Ukraine. 

The couple in the play joined forces with 
the resistance movement to smuggle food 
for starving populations, and television 
allows today’s viewers around the world 
to watch volunteers trying to combat the 
tragedy of starvation as the Russian mili-
tary blocks relief efforts.
The play is directed by Karl King and 
produced by the Redford Theatre, King 
and Glenside Productions, Rapoport’s 
company. Among Jewish community 
members helping to get the word out 
about the production are Mark Jacobs, 
co-director and co-founder of the 
Coalition for Black and Jewish Unity, 
and Ted Cohen, chief marketing officer 
at the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan 
Detroit.
“I am blessed because my films have had 
a remarkable group of stage actors,” said 
Rapoport, whose myriad of recent projects 
has included screenings of his latest movie, 
Coming Up for 
FAir, which 
delves into 
teenage mental 

health problems. “During the 10 years that 
I’ve been producing films, the actors all 
said trying to do a play is a lot more com-
plicated. 
“I learned that the writing process for a 
play is much more collaborative. We did 
a series of table reads, and every time the 
actors went through the script, they would 
change the dialogue spontaneously. They 
took the written word and made it more 
colloquial. Invariably, the changes were 
better. 
“We’ve been doing reads for over two 
years, and I like the group aspect of it, 
even during COVID, when we had to do 
this on Zoom. [Entering the collaborative 
writing process going into theater is like] 
going from being a diver to joining a soc-
cer team.” 

A DIVERSE CAREER
Rapoport became interested in a writing 

50 | MAY 5 • 2022 

ARTS&LIFE
THEATER

Native Metro Detroiter brings Peter Ferry’s 
award-winning novel to the stage.
Old Heart

SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Promotional photos for Old Heart, 
featuring Melanie Lamrock as 
Sarah van Praag and Jakari Carson as 
Young Tom Johnson.

Roger Rapoport

