Keen Company's A WALK IN THE WOODS, Starring Kathleen Chalfant, Begins Tonight

The Drama Desk and Obie Award-winning Keen Company kicks off their 2014 - '15 season with the first major New York revival of Lee Blessing's A Walk In The Woods, starring Kathleen Chalfant and Paul Niebanck, and directed by Keen Artistic Director Jonathan Silverstein.

""I am thrilled to announce Keen's 15th Anniversary season. Since 2000, Keen has presented stories of people doing their best during challenging times. This season, we continue that tradition by presenting two revivals that explore the relationship between the personal and political. I have wanted to direct A Walk in he Woods since assisting a production early in my career at George Street Playhouse. In light of recent events, Lee's smart, entertaining and deeply personal treatment of a complex issue is just as important today as it was when originally presented. I am especially excited to welcome back two of our talented and distinguished alumni, Kathleen Chalfant (Painting Churches, Keen Season 12) and Paul Niebanck (Such Things Only Happen in Books, Keen Season 10), back to the Keen stage for Woods. In a twist, Kathy will be playing the Russian Botvinnik, originally written for a man but here adapted for a woman. Kathleen is unique and fearless actor and I have no doubt she will bring a refreshing and truly original interpretation to the role."

A Walk in the Woods, Lee Blessing's Pulitzer Prize nominated drama, is a revealing debate on the hope and ultimate futility of high-stakes politics. Two super power arms negotiators- one a cynical Russian veteran and the other an idealistic American newcomer - meet informally in the woods after long, frustrating hours at the bargaining table. A Walk in the Woods is a surprisingly humorous and timely story of the politics that divide us and the humanity that unites us. Mr. Blessing's play is a fictionalized account of the meeting between Paul Nitze and Yuli Kvitsinsky, who took a ''walk in the woods'' during the 1982 Geneva peace talks and came up with their own deal, which was later turned down by the United States and the Soviet Union. A Walk in the Woods was also nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play.

Performances for this limited Off-Broadway engagement of A Walk In The Woods at The Clurman Theatre at Theatre Row (410 West 42nd Street, between 9th and 10th Avenues) will begin tonight, September 9th and continue through October 18th only, with opening night set for September 30th.

Kathleen Chalfant (Painting Churches - Keen Company; Obie, Outer Circle Critics, Drama Desk, and Lucille Lortel Awards - Wit; Tony Award nomination - Tony Kushner's Angels in America: Millennium Approaches; Obie Award - Alan Bennett's Talking Heads) and Paul Niebanck (RX - Primary Stages; Blood and Gifts, In the Next Room or the vibrator play - LCT; Shockheaded Peter - Little Shubert; All's Well That Ends Well, Coriolanus - TFANA; Pericles - TFANA at BAM; Bill W. and Dr. Bob - New World Stages) will comprise the cast. A Walk In The Woods will have scenic design by Scott Bradley, lighting design by Josh Bradford, costume design by Jennifer Paar, and sound design by M.L. Dogg.

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