Milt Marcus has a play opening this month.

The longtime Island resident's drama, The Gardens of Frau Hess, will have its premiere at the Caldwell Theatre in Boca Raton, Florida, on February 22. It is set in Germany in 1944, and is a dramatic interpretation of a true event which deals with Ilse Hess, wife of Rudolph Hess, and a Jewish gardener sent to work for her. They are thrown together by a twist of fate into a strange and seductive relationship. The play portrays two powerful forces in opposition, and the intimate nature that binds them.

The cast stars Patricia Hodges and Ken Kliban, both actors with numerous credits on and off Broadway and film. The director is John Henry Davis, who directed (among other works) Papa, with Len Cariou, seen last year off-Broadway. The Gardens Of Frau Hess will run to April 5th. Marcus is hoping for additional stagings of the play, possibly including New York, and a film. Milt says he's already at work on another play: "There's this guy who's running a little country, kind of like a little island, and...."