Harvest
a play about losing oneself, and finding oneself again
A Cuban refugee, now famous for his memoir of life during the Castro regime, suffers a traumatic episode and loses his memory. When he finally finds his way back home to NYC years later, his publisher, therapist, and family don’t quite know what to do.
The action jumps from New York City, to Los Angeles, to Paris and back like a flow of memories. Video projections are encouraged. And a soundtrack of pop period music anchors the play and reflects the zeitgeist of self-reflection and rebellion during the 1960’s.
a romance
set in 1969
but rooted in the trauma of the past.
Alejandro is the toast of New York City. His memoir about life in Cuba remains steadily at to the top of the New York Times bestselling list. But when an accident leaves him stranded out of town with severe memory loss, his life vanishes in an instant, leaving him lost, alone, alienated, and wondering if there’s a purpose to anything.
It was the 1960s. So, join the club, pal.
He wakes up as a John Doe. Destiny soon draws a young woman into his path, and she teaches him to be free and encumbered, and together they dash off to Paris to experience this madcap journey called life. He turns his hand to writing. Manages to publish a few stories. Learns about cheeses. Enjoys cafe life. And so, all is well in John Doe’s world…
…until he remembers.
“Hello there! Here we are: New York City, the town that never sleeps, where dreams come true, where great minds invented the hot dog, where baseball fans split camps between the Yankees and the Mets, where sailors come to sing and dance the night away (if some musicals are to be believed), and where the publishing industry ushered in the modern age of American literature at such houses as Simon and Schuster, Random House, Alfred A. Knopf, and Viking Press. I’m Vera Springer, Editor in Chief at Macmillan Publishing Company. A woman. Corner office. Pretty snazzy. And a private secretary, too. I’m rather a big deal. Nice to meet you. Now buy me a martini, sweetheart, and make it snappy and dirty. Then maybe we’ll get around to talking manuscripts.”
ALEJANDRO / JOHN: born in Cuba, now lives in the United States. He’s a a writer, a thinker, and a cautious man. He has lost so much, he needs to keep what he has safe. He doesn’t really fit in anywhere. But he’s no stranger to loneliness.
PENNY: is an artist, young, unconventional, free spirited, eager to experience life, dreams of studying in Paris and seeing the world.
DR. ANDREEVA: is John Doe’s psychiatrist, a refugee from WWII who set up a practice in America. Haunted by memories of what was lost, he struggles with hope for a better future.
VERA: is Alejandro’s book editor. She has a wicked sense of humor and a desire to shock. She lives life hard and fast, seeking distractions to calm her inner turmoil, such as a good martini.
CHANNING: is Alejandro’s NY, wealthy, socialite wife.
TALK SHOW HOST: is a fictitious TV personality in the style of Dick Cavett.
VIVIENNE: is a private detective in Paris, specializing in missing person inquiries. They are smart, independent, not easily ruffled. They’ve seen it all.
TREVOR: a wealthy Englishman in NYC, opening up his consciousness with drinking, drugs, Buddhist meditation, and frivolity. His solution to everything is to throw cash at it.
The play can be done with 4 actors, each assuming multiple roles, except Alejandro/John.
Characters:
Inspiration
Inspired by “Random Harvest,” the 1942 Hollywood film starring Greer Garson and Ronald Coleman that breaks my heart every time I see it. The film was based on the book by James Hilton (author of Good-bye, Mr. Chips and Lost Horizon). The name for the novel came from wartime reports of bombs “falling at random.”
The IMDB page for the film notes that it was Gene Wilder’s favorite film, and considered it the most romantic film he had ever seen. Additionally, it’s interesting to note that the protagonist of The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield, watches this movie at New York's Radio City Music Hall. I don’t recall — did he call it phony? Probably. But both Sydney Pollack and Anthony Minghella considered remaking the film, although it’s difficult to perfect what is already perfect.
I agree. So, my rendition veers off into the 1960s and focuses on a Cuban refugee. It was a time of change, fighting for social justice and equal rights, antiwar protests, psychedelics, free-love, counterculture, assassinations, outrageously wonderful fashions, and a man on the moon. It was such a complex time to grow up in, and I thought it the perfect time period to place a double amnesia plot twist. Right? Why not!
“You might well ask: is there a cure for amnesia, Vera? No, there is not. We’ve been too darn busy inventing Tang, that delicious, nutritious, instant orange drink, and winning mankind’s race to the moon. Be satisfied with that for now.”
PENNY
Okay, let’s get serious about this name thing, Mr. John Doe. Let’s choose a Spanish name for you. For the time being. What’s your favorite? You don’t know? Okay. Maybe you just don’t remember any Spanish names. I’ll refresh your memory. Pablo? Jorge? Jose? Any of those could be your real name. You could be a Paco, Fidel, Arturo. Any of these ringing a bell? Ha! What if you had a normal American name? That would be funny, wouldn’t it? Here we are trying to jog your memory and find your Spanish name and all the time you were just plain Bill. Hey, how much longer will you have to stay at the hospital?
JOHN
I can leave.
PENNY
Really? That’s wonderful! You can start your new life. You’re all better?
JOHN
No.
PENNY
No? But they’re letting you go? Oh, Johnny. Isn’t there something they can do for you? To help you remember? I’m sorry. I’m upsetting you. I shouldn’t be talking about it.
JOHN
No. I like the sound of your voice.
PENNY
Thank you.
JOHN
I like you.
PENNY
That’s a good thing, because I feel the same way, too, Walter. Walter? How’s that for a name! No? Good, I don’t like the name Walter.
“Well, my friend, you have too few memories and I, alas, have too many. Who is in the more favorable position, do you think? Yes, you can not imagine why someone would envy your position. You wish to remember, perhaps hoping to relive happy times, but I know there are no happy memories waiting for me, and so I prefer to keep them safely tucked away in their beds. It works sometimes. Until it rains. Then the smell transports me. Destroys me.”
“There's only one thing more important... and that is, after you've done what you set out to do, to feel that it's been worth doing.”
— James Hilton, Random Harvest.
Production History:
WALLIS KNOT THEATRE Company, New York City. Reading, workshop, script development.
Cast Members: Andhy Mendez, Connie Rotunda, Annalisa Chamberlin.
Photo by Silvia Saponaro featuring Connie Rotunda as Vera.