World Champion Long Distance Swimmer, Diana Nyad, Swims “Onward!” In Her First-Ever One Woman Show After Completing The 111-Mile Swim From Cuba To Florida!
The 90-minute show “ONWARD! THE DIANA NYAD STORY” was so well received at The NoHo Arts Center during a workshop production in August that it garnered a full-length production before the after-party was complete. It will be performed for two nights again at the NoHo Arts Theatre on January 16th and 17th. The show will begin its national tour with its world premiere in Key West Florida February 19th, 2015; the very shores where Nyad made landfall after swimming 111 miles non-stop from Cuba at the age of 64!
After directing and co-writing the mega-hit, “Wishful Drinking,” Carrie Fisher’s tell-all show, Josh Ravetch now adapts The Diana Nyad story for the stage and directs, with Nyad writing and starring in her first-ever one woman-show.
At the age of 64, World Champion long-distance swimmer, Diana Nyad, was the first and only person to ever swim the 111 miles across the remarkable Straits of Florida from Cuba to Key West without a shark cage, a swim which she achieved on her fifth attempt at the age of sixty-four.
Her tale of triumph and perseverance takes audiences to the middle of the Florida Straits in the middle of the night in the middle of a swarm of deadly jellyfish. Funny, touching, even shocking at times, “Onward” is less about long distance swimming and more about the age-old debate of the journey vs. the destination; the value in sticking with something; and the emotional, physical and intellectual forces that drive the trajectory of any life toward achievement.
And in case anyone is wondering, Nyad’s one woman show, like her swim, will be performed — without a shark cage!
Diana Nyad: 25 million people worldwide rooted for Diana as she approached the Florida shore, at long last achieving her 35-year-old dream of becoming the first person to swim from Cuba to Florida. Diana is not one to quit. On her fifth attempt, speaking the words “Never Ever Give Up” to the wildly cheering crowd on a Key West beach on September 2, 2013, Diana may have been dazed and physically spent, but she showed the world what persistence and belief can manifest.
Diana stroked the amazing 110.86 miles in 52 hours, 54 minutes, 18 seconds. A worldwide response of inspiration came flooding toward Diana, from personal messages from President Obama and Hillary Clinton to literally millions of people who felt their own lives lifted with Diana’s “Find a Way” philosophy. From her first attempt to cross, back in 1978, through her years as a non-swimmer, from age 30 to 60, when Diana was a noted sports journalist, Diana never forgot the Xtreme Dream that tugged at her imagination—-The Cuba Swim.
Daring to reach for the stars, this swim beginning to seem impossible (after her four attempts and other strong swimmers trying and failing since 1950), Diana has motivated the world at large to be bold, to live fearlessly, to chase one’s dreams with unwavering commitment. The second statement the victorious 64-year-old made on that Key West beach? “You’re never too old to chase your dreams.” And her third statement on that historic day: “It looks a solitary sport, but it’s a TEAM.”
Courage, bold vision, and the ability to articulate her life philosophies have propelled Diana through an inspiring life.
A prominent sports broadcaster, filing for National Public Radio, Fox Sports, ABC’s Wide World of Sports, The New York Times, et al, for thirty years, Diana has carved her place as one of our compelling storytellers. She is currently writing a Memoir of Inspiration for Knopf.
In the summer of 2016, with her Cuba Swim Head Handler and best friend Bonnie Stoll, Diana will walk across the United States, from San Diego to Washington, D.C., and invite a million people to join them. The Walk will inspire America to become a nation of walkers. Obesity and heart disease and diabetes will all decline over the coming years, with Diana and Bonnie leading the way.
**** For information on Los Angeles theatre, tickets to theatre in North Hollywood’s NoHo Arts District, theatre reviews, the NoHo Event Calendar, restaurants, news and local businesses in NoHo, or anything and everything about the NoHo Arts Community, bookmark nohoartsdistrict.com.