Photo Flash: Winston Churchill's Granddaughter Visits CHURCHILL Off-Broadway

The hit Off-Broadway play CHURCHILL offered a special performance to benefit The Actors Fund on May 17th. Among the attendees was the internationally acclaimed artist and sculptor Edwina Sandys, granddaughter of Sir Winston Churchill. CHURCHILL, a new play adapted and performed by Ronald Keaton, opened at New World Stages on February 18th to unanimous rave reviews led by The Wall Street Journal which declared, "Fifty years after his death, Winston Churchill has emerged as a star!" Under the direction of Kurt Johns, CHURCHILL is based on the life and writings of one of the greatest wartime leaders of the 20th Century. Due to overwhelming demand, the show''s producers recently put a new block of seats on sale through September 13th.

Edwina Sandys is the second child of Lord Duncan-Sandys and Diana Churchill (Churchill''s eldest daughter). Ms. Sandy''s sculpture and paintings have reached a wide audience far beyond the realm of the private collector. Early in her career, for the 1979 United Nations'' Year of the Child, she created three monumental sculptures, which are now installed at UN centers in New York, Geneva and Vienna. A decade later, she used dismantled sections of the Berlin Wall to create an extraordinary sculpture, BREAKTHROUGH, now permanently displayed at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, where Winston Churchill gave his historic "Iron Curtain" speech.

In this highly charged new play, Ronald Keaton as Winston Churchill discusses his failures and his successes; his love of art, liquor and women; and the bravery of Britain's finest hour.

Over the past four decades, Ronald Keaton has established himself as one of Chicago's most dependable and versatile character actors at the Goodman, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Drury Lane Oakbrook Terrace, First Folio Theatre, Theater at the Center, Oak Park Festival Theatre, Porchlight Music Theatre, and Mercury Theatre, among many others. His regional credits include roles at the Indiana Repertory Theatre, Houston's Alley Theatre and the Coconut Grove Playhouse in Miami.

CHURCHILL is a joint production of the Greenhouse Theater Center, SoloChicago, and the Wendy & William Spatz Charitable Foundation, with the support and permission of The Churchill Centre.

Performances are Mondays at 7pm, Wednesday through Saturday evenings at 8pm, with matinees Thursday and Saturday at 2:30pm and Sunday at 3pm at New World Stages, 340 West 50th Street. Tickets are $65 and are available at www.Telecharge.com or by calling 212-239-6200.

For more information, visit www.ChurchillThePlay.com.