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SoloChicago Presents:

CHURCHILL, The Play

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About Churchill, the play

It is March 1946. In the past year, Winston Churchill has led Britain and the Allies to victory in the European Theatre of World War II. He has also shockingly been defeated for re-election as Prime Minister.

Sitting in forced retirement with his wife Clementine at their Chartwell home, Churchill receives an invitation from President Harry Truman to speak in the States…at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, where he will deliver his legendary, emphatic “Iron Curtain” speech. He arrives in Fulton to an informal and esoteric gathering of friends and supporters, and shares his life in flashback and in storytelling.

Experience the man who famously proclaimed, "I am ready to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter..."

In CHURCHILL, the influential Nobel Prize laureate discusses his failures and his successes; his love of art, liquor and women; and the bravery of Britain's finest hour.

CHURCHILL THE PLAY RUNS 1 HOUR 50 MINUTES INCLUDING INTERMISSION.

Our Story

Chicago Opening

Churchill premiered at the Greenhouse Theater Center and played to sold-out houses and was extended several times which eventually warranted an unprecedented move downstairs to the larger proscenium theater at the Greenhouse where it continued to play to sold-out houses and multiple extensions.

New York Engagement

After the Chicago triumph, Churchill opened a successful run off-Broadway, at the Shubert owned New World Stages beginning in February. The originally limited run was immediately extended an additional eight weeks due to ticket demand. It wasn’t long till it was extended yet again till mid July. After garnering favorable reviews and attention from publishers, licensing groups and touring agencies, Churchill closed its New York production on July 12.

Famous Caracature

Renowned caracaturist Ken Fallin honors Ronald Keaton with a portrait to hang on New World Stages Wall of Fame.
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Broadway Top Ten

CHURCHILL named "Top Ten NY Theater of 2015"
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Dueling Churchills

Winston Churchill On and Off-Broadway -WSJ ‘The Audience’ at the Schoenfeld Theatre and ‘Churchill’ at New World Stages
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Churchill's Granddaughter's Visit

Winston Churchill's Granddaughter, Celia Sandys, attends the Actor's Fund benefit performance at New World Stages in New York City.
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PLAYBILL Interview

Ronald Keaton is interviewed on PLAYBILL.COM.
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2015 Jeff Award

Ronald Keaton wins 2015 Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Solo Performance for CHURCHILL

Showcase

Churchill the play Videos.

video

Enjoy our video put together with highlights, SLides, comments, and reviews.

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Churchill Actor/playwright Ronald Keaton and Director Kurt Johns discuss creating the character and the production.

What The Critics Say About Us.

  • Fifty years after his death, Winston Churchill has emerged as a star!

    The Wall Street Journal
  • "Engaging! Entertaining! Excellent!"
    “Ronald Keaton makes an imposing ‘Churchill’!”
    “Fascinating and provocative!”
    “Rewarding!”
    “Churchill never failed to inspire -- and Keaton's excellent rendition explains why.”
    Huffington Post

  • Ronald Keaton's Churchill is surprisingly warm, witty and inviting and the play is an utter delight!”
    “I didn’t want it to end!”
    “You honestly believe you are watching Winston Churchill reincarnated before your very eyes!”
    “A flawless performance!”
    “I guarantee this will be one of the top performances you will see all year!

    NY TheaterNow

  • Britain's wartime leader gets a compelling portrayal from Ronald Keaton!”
    “It’s a kick to see a world leader behave in such a very silly and human way.

    NY Daily News

  • Ron Keaton's very enjoyable and surprisingly emotional new one-man show, "Churchill," Keaton — who wrote the piece for himself to perform under the direction of Kurt Johns — sets his biographical exploration of the great man in 1946. Keaton is blessed (and maybe occasionally cursed) with being eminently likable on stage. Thus his Churchill is neither gruff nor imposing, but human. And, in that way, great company for a couple of hours of straightforward summer theater.

    Chris Jones CHICAGO TRIBUNE

  • Keaton, a veteran Chicago actor who has performed everything from musicals to Shakespeare, arrives on stage in the iconic Churchillian suit, with bow tie and watch fob, and the more you watch him and listen to him, the more he becomes the man himself. It is a triumphant performance (expertly directed by Kurt Johns), capturing the essence of the man without mimicry of any kind.

    Hedy Weiss Chicago Sun-Times

  • This is no dry fact-choked schoolroom lecture. Assisted by Paul Deziel's projections that locate us in time and place, Keaton has authored a brief glimpse of the "British Bulldog"—100 minutes with an intermission—rich in the acerbic wit and stirring rhetoric that renders Churchill's aphorisms quoted to this day. Under the deft direction of Kurt Johns, the results constitute an auspicious debut for the newly-founded SoloChicago Theatre series.

    Windy City Times
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