‘Eisenhower: This Piece of Ground’ by Richard Hellesen. Directed by Nancy Rominger. Presented by Florida Studio Theatre’s Stage III series, Bowne’s Lab, 1265 First St., Sarasota. Reviewed Jan. 15. Through Feb. 1. Returns March 11-22. 941-366-9000; floridastudiotheatre.org

In his one-man play, “Eisenhower: This Piece of Ground” at Florida Studio Theatre, Richard Hellesen has two goals: To improve the 34th president’s ranking among all his predecessors; and to comment on how Ike’s position and views contrast with what is happening in our nation today.

It is a genial and educational production under the direction of Nancy Rominger, starring Robert Zukerman as Eisenhower. Those too young to remember Eisenhower’s presidency or his impressive military record as the Supreme Allied Commander during World War II who oversaw the D-Day invasion in 1944 at Normandy, France, will likely learn the most about his life and career.

But it’s a sometimes hazy look back at major decisions he made, deferred or avoided in his focus on “moderation” as a guiding principle throughout his presidency.

Hellesen establishes a natural reason for Eisenhower to be talking out loud in the comfortable offices of his home in Gettysburg, Pa. in 1962. He is recording his thoughts on a reel-to-reel tape for a future memoir, and his latest session is prompted by the publication of a poll of historians in which he ranked 22nd among the 34 presidents at the time.

The number rankles him. “What does greatness mean and why don’t I stack up?” he asks, noting that the poll states he was a “great American but not a great president.”

As he talks, he runs through some of his major achievements, including ending the Korean War six months into his first term, maintaining peace in the world for eight years and building the interstate highway system.

Eisenhower occasionally speaks in aphorisms or sound bites that reveal his human touch and down-to-earth manner, qualities that helped him get elected twice to the presidency after his military service. Zukerman sounds affable and genuine when he says “leave things better than you found them.”

The play doesn’t dwell on Ike’s World War II experiences, which is a surprise, but he does talk about the awesome responsibility and worry he felt suspecting he could lose as many as 100,000 troops on D-Day. Thankfully the number was much lower. On the day that Franklin Roosevelt died in 1945, Eisenhower was inside a concentration camp for the first time, sickened by what he saw with the crematoriums and open ditches filled with dead bodies. He ordered soldiers to film everything they could see so that nothing could be denied in the future.

He also shares his regrets, like not defending Gen George Marshall when he was accused by Sen. Joseph McCarthy of being a communist, and not standing up to McCarthy and his assistant Roy Cohn.

And he felt played by Arkansas leaders when they were ordered to enforce desegregation. Instead of protecting the Black students, the governor had police and other officers protecting protestors before Eisenhower brought in the military to help the students get to class.

“I do not want to see federal troops in American cities ever again,” Eisenhower said. “It is not our streets that need to be conquered. It is our souls.” It is one of several comments during the show that seem to echo loudly about what we’re seeing happening now, particularly the confrontations in Minneapolis and other cities.

Eisenhower was not a firebrand politician. He was gentle and measured, which probably means he wouldn’t get as much attention in today’s society. But that approach might also be a welcome relief from the bombardment of actions that we see happening every day.