My Name is Rachel Corrie

My Name is Rachel Corrie is currently playing at Minetta Lane Theater.  It went to see it last Thursday night.  The production is a one woman play that last about 1 1/2 hours.  A chronicle of a young woman’s life working from emails and letters finding a political voice living in the Gaza Strip supporting the Palestinians.

The actress, Megan Dodds, who plays Rachel Corrie is incredibly talented.  Also, the language in the play is impressive.  Very well written.  Would probably be interesting to read the play.  The set is also well done.  As she moves from her bedroom into the bullet ridden streets of Gaza, the moving parts allow her to do so. 

As a Jew, I went because I was interested in the other side.  What I left with was mixed. 

Outside the theater, before we entered, were a few people giving out information from their side.  In essence, they felt the play was very one-sided so they were compelled to give out this piece of information for the viewer to read before they entered the theater.  The Jewish/Palestinian conflict stirs up lots of opinions.  That was actually the most interesting in terms of controversy.  After reading the piece that was given to me, it was obvious that these people were pro-Israel. 

Rachel Corrie was an idealist.  She grew up in Oregon, took a trip to Russia when she was a pre-teen and it changed her life.  She looked at America differently.  How she got mixed up as a Palestine sympathizer never becomes clear but her naivety does.  Who can’t sympathize with people trapped inside their homes with no jobs and bullet holes in their living room walls.  It is awful.  No hope for the future.  But Rachel emphasizes that it isn’t like she is working for Hamas.  She’s right but the people whose living room she is sitting in voted for Hamas.  The people who she is trying to support aren’t helping themselves.  They have unfortunately been taken over by a bunch of radicals who are creating havoc which causes Israeli to retaliate. 

Sad for all fronts.  Not sure how anyone changes what is going on over there but Rachel was an idealist.  What is sad is how she got swept up into a no-win situation sympathizing with the families of a war torn area.  She was a remarkable girl and I wish she had found a different cause.  Perhaps she’d still be alive today. 

I left the play saddened by a life wasted.  From what I saw as a viewer (her parents have been the backers of this venture ) she had incredibly energy and compassion.  It is just a shame that she didn’t use it somewhere else.

Comments (Archived):

  1. ted

    Rachel went to Gaza long before Hamas was elected. What caused the havoc before that election which “caused Israel to retalitate?” did you know that 40% of crowded Gaza had been seized by Israel for Jewish settlements, and that when settlers travelled, the army would force Palestinian traffic to come to a halt? Dont you think this kind of colonization could lead to revolt?

  2. Kevin Walsh

    Palestinians: stop killing Jews; then there would be no need for barriers, military checkpoints, retaliation, counter-retaliation, and so forth.

    Stop killing Jews.