Playwright Arje Shaw used his father's experiences as a young man fleeing the Nazi invastion of Poland to craft The Gathering, a comedic family drama about a Holocaust survivor's clash with his family over Ronald Regan's planned visit to a German graveyard containing the bodies of dead S.S. officers. Set in 1985, The Gathering explores the conflicts between grandfather, father and son which arise over the dinner table when they discuss President Ronald Reagan's planned visit to Bitberg, site of burial grounds for Nazi soldiers. The stakes are high in the discussion because the grandfather (Hal Linden) is a Holocaust survivor and his son is a speechwriter for Reagan. Caught between them is the young lad, who is preparing for his bar mitvah.
