By Cantor Sheldon Foster Merel
SOLANA BEACH, California — A Walk in The Woods at the North Coast Rep is engaging, informative and entertaining with a fine script and superb acting. The history of the play goes back the Cold War when Russia controlled Eastern Europe, half of Germany, and half of Berlin, while the United States and its Allies controlled Western Germany and West Berlin.
With West Berlin an enclave surrounded by East Germany, the United States, France and England flew essential supplies into a small section of the city to sustain the population in an operation known as “The Berlin Air Lift. “
The play recalls the time when Russia and the United States had the world trembling with the threat of a nuclear war — a nightmare that is too familiar even today.
In 1982 during a meeting in Genèva between the two super powers, their respective arms negotiators, Yuli A Kvitsinsky for Russia and Paul Nitze for the U.S., left the formal sessions for an unofficial walk in the woods to try to find common grounds for a peace settlement .
The two negotiators in the play go by the names of Andrey Botvinik (David Ellenstein) and Jonathan Honeyman (J.Todd Adams).
Lee Blessing’s dramatic-comedy was written in 1987 and was based on actual conversations between the negotiators.
The play was nominated for a Pulitzer and a Tony Award.
Show time! Lights up! Enter Andrey Bovtvinick (David Ellenstein) and John Honeyman (J.Todd Adams.)
You’ll have no problem recognizing the Russian with his slight but effective accent. Both actors are on stage together for 90 minutes of continuing conversation. They hold the audience in the palm of their hands with a script both serious and funny.
Andrey is older, charming, patient, and experienced; John is less so and eager to quickly make a settlement. Andrey purposely annoys his counterpart by changing the subject often to cut through John’s veneer.
Several meetings take place in the same woods over a period of months and years as we watch their relationship slowly mellow. Their banter has the audience laughing throughput the performance.
Richard Baird’s direction is flawless, and David Ellenstein, also Director of the North Coast Rep and J.Todd Adams are brilliant.
How they managed to remember their lines for 90 minutes of uninterrupted conversation is amazing.
Following the Friday evening performance the audience was invited for a special treat to meet and ‘”Talk back” with the a visiting author, Lee Blessing, David Baird, David Ellenstein and J.Todd Adams., with Cris Williams as moderator.
Blessing told us that A Walk in the Woods had played in several countries including Russia, and he found that each cast and director brought new insights to their performances. Ellenstein and Adams shared their delight in playing their roles and the challenges involved in its preparation. Questions from the audience were welcomed ,and finally we reluctantly left the theater having enjoyed the “Icing on the cake.”
Before seeing the show , I did some research on Wikipedia and learned that the character of the Soviet diplomat had previously been played (with permission of Lee Blessing) by a woman in the production at the Northern Stage in Vermont. The production transferred to London at the Tricycle Theatre in October 2011.
Press releases for this production stated “the director’s decision to cast a woman in the role keeps the production topical, reflecting the more recent appointments of women such as Madeleine Albright, Condoleezza Rice and Hillary Clinton to positions of diplomatic global power.”
Special kudos to the North Coast Rep design team for a first rate production Marty Burnett (Scenic Design), Matthew Novotny (Lighting), Elisa Benzoni (Costumes), and Phillip Korth (Props). Aaron Rumley is the Stage Manager and Sound Designer.
The show will run through Sunday, June 23.
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Merel is cantor emeritus of Congregation Beth Israel. He may be contacted via sheldon.merel@sdjewishworld.com