Ed Asner Fills Former President’s Ambitious Shoes

The Caldwell Theatre has attracted a number of A-list stars to perform on its stage in its 30-plus-year history, from Julie Harris to Christopher Reeve. But it’s been a while since the theater has hosted an actor of Ed Asner’s

stature. For the first five days in June, the film, television and stage star will perform as Franklin Delano Roosevelt in a one-man show at the Caldwell.

Touring the country courtesy of Campobello Theatre productions, “FDR” is set near the end of the president’s life, where it finds Roosevelt reflecting on his years in office, from his inauguration to World War II and the New Deal. Asner’s dedication to the tour is remarkable, belying his 81 years of age. He’s proven to be a workhorse, playing 14 different cities since mid-February, all one-night jaunts. The Caldwell’s five-day run will be the show’s only weeklong engagement – a coup for the theater, considering most shows of this type open at the Kravis or the Arsht.

“What attracted them to us was the size of the venue,” says Clive Cholerton, artistic director at the Caldwell. “It was more intimate and it lent itself to this show.

“We saw them on the road, and they had advertised they were looking for places,” Cholerton adds. “Our producing director contacted them and said, ‘Would you be interested in doing it here?’ We just sort of negotiated a package that seemed to work for everybody. It was almost unbelievable how easy it worked out.”

“FDR” opens June 1, a late spring engagement that has its pluses and minuses. The snowbirds will have already migrated, but for those of us still here, there will be a lot less entertainment competing for our dollars. Cholerton isn’t too worried about it: He expects every performance to sell out.

“Every place he plays, when you read the reviews, [the critics] can’t believe how good he is,” Cholerton says. “What attracted me more than anything is that we’re not just plugging a name up there. He’s still a working actor, still cranking it out.”

It helps that FDR is in vogue right now; Jonathan Alter’s book “The Defining Moment,” a study of the president’s first hundred days, became a national best-seller in 2006, and FDR’s name continues to be evoked as a bellwether for our current president.

“Looking at it now, with the monumental decisions in front of President Obama and Congress, the subject matter is so relevant and pertinent,” Cholerton says. “When you think of what FDR had in front of him and worked way through it, he didn’t settle for easy answers.”

Tickets are $40 to $75 and are on sale now at www.caldwelltheatre.com. Call 561/241-7432.