BWW Reviews: Square One Theatre Company Invites You to A WALK IN THE WOODS

Square One Theatre Company is opening its 25th anniversary season with a new production of the play A Walk in the Woods, by Leo Blessing. Directed by Square One Artistic Director, Tom Holehan, this play combines comedy and drama to give an intelligent and compelling look at the delicate art of arms negotiations between Russian and American diplomats.

A Walk in the Woods is set on a park bench, in a forest on the outskirts of Geneva, where the two negotiators can talk informally after hours at the negotiation table. As envisioned by set designers Greg Fairbend and Robert Mastroni, and with lighting by Clifford Fava, this pleasant little respite place is peaceful and inviting.

This was the first play to be produced by the company in 1990 and its revival is still relevant today. The surprise twist to this production is that actor Pat Leo, who played the American negotiator in the 1990 production, is back, this time cast as the older Russian diplomat, Andrey Botvinnik. Making his Square One debut as the American negotiator, John Honeyman, is Damien Long.

A Walk in the Woods can be challenging for the actors chosen to fill the roles of the play's only 2 characters. With all the dialogue and action of the play resting on their shoulders, Mr. Leo and Mr. Long prove themselves to be more than up to the task. Their embodiment of the adversaries on both sides of the negotiating table, each with a different history, level of experience, and negotiation style, is superb and they both give finely nuanced performances that clue us in to their distinct personalities and developing relationship.

Mr. Leo's Botvinnik is far from the hard-lined Soviet that we might expect. On one hand, he is a little world-wearier and a lot more cynical when it comes to the negotiating game but on the other hand, he is also personable, like an experienced old uncle who is willing to share stories, tell jokes, and serve as a guide with the press an in the political arena to the relatively inexperienced Mr. Honeyman. He is able to gain audience sympathy and trust early on, with his simple request that he and Mr. Honeyman become friends. Botvinnik's negotiation bag-of-tricks includes dissembling, abruptly changing the subject, feigning to forget things, telling jokes, and being charming.

Mr. Long's Honeyman is a compelling contrast to the easy-going, comfortably familiar Botvinnik. Where Mr. Leo gets all the funny lines, Mr. Long delivers some of the play's most spirited monologues. Honeyman, while an advocate of facts, numbers, and data, embodies youthful passion and idealistic virtue. He does not want to be friends; he wants to get down to the business of saving the world. Nuclear disarmament is not a game to him, and his frustration at the lack of reaching an agreement is palpable.

This important play is not only a compelling piece of dramatic literature, it touches on issues of nuclear disarmament, arms negotiation, and the political history and relationship between the United States and Russia. It is also a piece about forming relationships, whether it is a working relationship between adversaries or a genuine friendship that can cross idealist divides. At the end of this play, heated words are spoken out of disappointment and frustration but I like to believe that ultimately friendship prevails.

A Walk in the Woods runs through November 22 at the Stratford Theatre in Stratford, Connecticut. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays, November 14, 15, 21, 22 at 8:00 pm, Sunday, November 16 at 2:00 pm and a special twilight matinee on Saturday, November 22 at 4:00 pm. Tickets are $20 for adults, $19 for seniors and students. Call 203-375-8778 or visit www.squareonetheatre.com for tickets.

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