The Next Stage Theatre Company offers
a dramatic presentation* of
Lee Blessing's A Walk in the Woods, finalist for the Pulitzer Prize
dir.: Drew Pirrone-Brusse
with Michael Bérubé and Nate Schierman
*What is a dramatic presentation, anyway, compared to full productions we’ll offer Summer and Fall?
It’s rehearsed. It’s fully acted, except the actors don’t walk around the stage and they
do carry scripts. This play lends itself to less movement. Patrons tell us they find these dramatic
presentations exciting.
Loosely based on real events, A Walk in the Woods shows us a younger American negotiator and his older Soviet counterpart in Geneva for arms treaty talks.
Botvinnik and Honeyman take walks together after the day’s work.
At first, they talk about history and nuclear warfare.
As they get to know each other, they also talk about life.
In 2014, twelve years ago, a review in the New York Times pointed out that
“…[the dialogue] is consistently smart and interesting”, but he added this caveat (italics, mine):
“… Atomic weapons remain an immense concern, but after the fall of the Soviet Union, Communist aggression is hardly the most pressing worry…..”
Maybe, in 2014…..
But in 2026, with Russia once again on the offensive, this play reminds us what recapturing mutual respect might offer us.
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