Beston back in Eastham
Einhorn re-enacts author of 'The Outermost House'
By Don Wilding
|
Marvin
Einhorn reads from the script of "Henry Beston's
'The Outermost House' by Cynthia L. Cooper at Chapel
in the Pines in Eastham Aug. 30.
(Photo by Don Wilding)
|
During Henry Beston’s famous "year"
on the beach that became the Cape Cod literary classic "The
Outermost House," he took a trip away from the beach
and ventured out one day in 1927 on "An Inland Stroll
in Spring." During that trip from one side of Eastham
to the other, which makes up a chapter of Beston’s
famous book, he walked from Coast Guard Beach to the bay
side, passing by the Chapel in the Pines on Samoset Road.
Over Labor Day weekend, and 75 years following
the publication of "The Outermost House," the
spirit of Henry Beston was brought to life again on that
very spot, courtesy of film, television and theater actor
Marvin Einhorn. The actor, whose film credits include "A
League of Their Own" and "A Beautiful Mind,"
brilliantly re-enacted the author in "Henry Beston’s
‘The Outermost House,’" a script by New York
playwright Cynthia L. Cooper and director Katheryn Mulroney,
on Aug. 30 and 31 at the historic Eastham chapel.
The events, which drew 65 people to the tiny
chapel, were a benefit for both WOMR-FM,
Outermost Community Radio in Provincetown, and The Henry
Beston Society. The fund-raiser was organized by Carol Green
of Truro.
Einhorn, who also worked as a television director
at NBC ("The Today Show," "NBC Nightly News,"
"Mr. Wizard") for 30 years, bears a strong resemblance
to the late author of "The Outermost House," who
died in 1968. Although Einhorn is not nearly as physically
imposing as Beston was, his performance as the author at
the Oct. 11, 1964 dedication ceremony of his famous Coast
Guard Beach house as a National Literary Landmark was a
towering feat.
|
Marvin
Einhorn, as Henry Beston, describes the shape of the
Outer Cape. (Photo by Don Wilding)
|
Einhorn first became interested in Beston
and "The Outermost House" back in the 1950s, when
he read "A Journal for Henry Beston," by Winfield
Townley Scott. This prompted Einhorn to contact Beston personally
and ask his permission to re-enact his story, which the
author happily granted. "I think Mr. Beston misunderstood
me at firstwhen I called," Einhorn recalled. "He
thought we were going to make a movie and that I wanted
him to star in it."
It took Einhorn several decades before he
could finally act on his quest to play Beston. He finally
hooked up with Cooper, who undertook a massive research
project. Through this research, along with "The Outermost
House" itself, Cooper was able to weave together an
eloquent script for Einhorn, enabling him to fulfill his
longtime dream of playing Beston.
The reading begins with Beston at the 1964
dedication ceremony. "Slowly, Henry steps off the podium,
reaches for sand and lets it run through his fingers, like
a timer; he smells the sand, and rubs it all around his
hands," Cooper writes in her script.
Einhorn follows his sand activity by exclaiming,
"The duneland burns with the smell of sand, ocean,
and sun. Solitary and elemental, unsullied and remote, visited
and possessed by the outer sea, these sands might be the
end of the beginning of a world."
The story soon drifts back to the 1920s, where
Beston recalls his relationship to the woman who would become
his wife, Elizabeth Coatsworth. He talks of his gruesome
experiences in World War I: "On the loneliest of nights
beneath the blackened skies of France with exploding torpedoes
and landscapes littered with ripped bodies, I dreamt about
my prim New England village. No thoughts, only longing,
only pictures of my long walks down the beach searching
for a hermit crab."
|
Marvin
Einhorn exits the Chapel in the Pines stage to enthusiastic
applause. (Photo by Don Wilding)
|
He continues, speaking about leaving his lofty
position at The Atlantic Monthly in New York, and going
"in search of something else." Eventually, Beston
ends up on the dunes of Eastham, as Einhorn goes into detail
of his deal with local carpenter Harvey Moore to build his
20x16 house on the outer dunes. The fall season is what
hooks him to stay. "Autumn is no lovelier in any region
of the world than in New England," he says.
Einhorn continues with several classic Beston
lines, passionately reading the "We need a wiser and
more mystical concept of animals" quote, recalling
the sinking of The Montclair, and a powerful description
of the shape of the Outer Cape, giving the indications on
his outer arm.
He concluded with the line: "For the
gifts of life are the earth’s and they are given to
all, and they are the songs of birds at daybreak, Orion
and the Bear, and dawn seen over ocean from the beach or
from a little house on the outermost reaches of the outermost
shore."
Marvin Einhorn has been wanting to bring the
spirit of Henry Beston alive for many years. He accomplished
just that "on the outermost reaches of the outermost
shore."
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Don Wilding is Executive Director of The
Henry Beston Society and author of the book "Henry
Beston’s Cape Cod."
