A Walk In the Woods

Set against the backdrop of the Cold War, Lee Blessing’s A Walk in the Woods is an imagined version of real events with hints of the humor that’s characteristic of Blessing’s work. Between 1981 and 1984, American Paul Nitze and Russian Yuli Kvitsinsky met in the mountains along the Swiss and French border for unofficial negotiations to limit the nuclear weapons arsenals in the United States and Russia (then the Soviet Union). What followed was a political and diplomatic back and forth as both countries attempted to save face and emerge as dominant. Blessing’s two-man play is a sharp, engaging look at what might have transpired during those secret meetings in the woods. While the themes specific to the Cold War may not resonate as strongly today, audiences will still recognize the perspectives of the two men, and the play remains a viable launchpad for contemporary conversations.