Obie winner and Tony nominee Kathleen Chalfant (Wit, Angels in America) stars in a benefit stream of Joan Didion's The Year of Magical Thinking March 13 for Off-Broadway's Keen Company.
Adapted from Didion’s best-selling memoir, the performance is directed by Keen Artistic Director Jonathan Silverstein.
The Year of Magical Thinking paints a vivid and heartfelt picture of a family dissolving while Didion struggles to maintain security through her grief and memories. Didion relives the death of her husband of 40 years, writer John Gregory Dunne, as the couple sat down for dinner in their New York City apartment. Complicated by Didion's ailing comatose daughter, Quintana, who Didion would also lose, the events of one night—and the year that followed—are recounted in a candid and intimate manner.
"I am thrilled and honored to be reunited with Kathleen Chalfant on this beautiful play. Working with Kathleen for A Walk in the Woods was a highlight of my career, and she is a brilliant match for Joan Didion's moving text. Didion’s words are clear-eyed, inspiring, and resonate on this one-year anniversary of the pandemic. We will be coming to you remotely, yet this intimate reading of Didion’s play will make you feel you’re in conversation with Chalfant and Didion,” said Silverstein in an earlier statement.
The world premiere of The Year of Magical Thinking, starring Tony and Oscar winner Vanessa Redgrave, played a limited Broadway engagement in 2007. Redgrave was Tony-nominated for her portrayal of Didion and won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Solo Performance.
The event, which begins at 7 PM ET, features a talkback with the artists. The stream will be available for viewing through March 17 at 7 PM ET. Benefit tickets are $25 and are available at KeenCompany.org.
