"Julian Wiles, the founder and artistic director of Charleston Stage and author of Inga Binga, brings the young Jack Kennedy to life before our very eyes. . . . Anyone who has ever been remotely intrigued by the dashing, enchanting life and times of JFK will enjoy Inga Binga. . .an original play, based on actual events that happened right here in Charleston, Inga Binga is the story of a weekend tryst between Jack and Inga, a Danish beauty queen who caught the young ensign’s eye in Washington. . . We won’t tell you much more of the story, (go see it for yourself!) but it was wildly entertaining." —Charleston Arts Magazine, 2012
Cast: 7M, 2W
Set: Unit set: a hotel room in Charleston, SC
Recommended for: high schools, colleges, general audiences
Intrigue, espionage, and forbidden romance abound in Inga Binga, based on the amazing true story of Ensign Jack Kennedy's World War II romance with Inga Arvad, a suspected Nazi agent and the former Miss Denmark, whom Jack called "Inga Binga". When rumors that Kennedy was seen in the company of a beautiful blonde bombshell and alleged Nazi began to circulate around wartime Washington in 1942, the FBI is soon on the case. Jack and Inga arrange for a secret liaison in Charleston, SC, checking into a hotel under assumed names. But FBI agents set up recording devices in the next room, where they begin to listen in on Jack and Inga's tryst. When reporters from LIFE Magazine show up, eager for a photo of the clandestine couple, the makings of a full-blown farce are soon in the works. Based on declassified FBI files that were secretly held in the offices of J. Edgar Hoover for more than 50 years, Inga Binga is a fictional and farcical romp through this steamy footnote in American history.