Woodwalk Welcomes Eleanor Roosevelt

Eleanor Roosevelt (portrayed by Claudia Wilkens) will be presented at Woodwalk Gallery on Oct. 10-11 at 7:30 pm.

Based on the novel Eleanor by Rhoda Lerman, the play Eleanor Roosevelt: Excursions was adapted by Lerman, Wilkens and Bain Boehlke, founder and director of the Jungle Theater in Minneapolis. It was first performed by Wilkens in 1996 and since then, Wilkens has presented the piece as a 60-minute monologue/reading across the Midwest.

Focusing on the years between the young Eleanor’s marriage to Franklin Roosevelt in 1905 and 1921 when Franklin was stricken with Polio, the play is a meditation on Eleanor’s insecurity regarding her marriage after her husband’s affair with Lucy Mercer and her resilience when their relationship, forever changed, enables her to form a unique bond with Franklin.


Wilkens is no stranger to Door County, having performed with Door Shakespeare for four seasons, including this summer in King Lear and The Comedy of Errors. She lives in the Twin Cities and has performed at the Guthrie and many other theaters in Minneapolis, New York, Phoenix and Seattle, as well as in film, most recently A Serious Man, directed by Joel and Ethan Coen.

Woodwalk Gallery presents Eleanor Roosevelt: Excursions in partnership with Theatre M productions. Tickets are $18. If it is chilly, sweaters are encouraged and a limited number of wrap-around blankets are available. For reservations, call 920.868.2912. Woodwalk is located at 6746 County Rd. G, just off Highway 42, two miles north of Carlsville and five miles south of Egg Harbor.