STAGE TUBE: The Pentagon Papers: NYTW's TOP SECRET Primer

New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW) begins performances for Top Secret: The Battle for the Pentagon Papers tonight, Wednesday, February 24 at 8pm. Written by Geoffrey Cowan and Leroy Aarons and directed by John Rubinstein, opening night is scheduled for Tuesday, March 9, 2010, at 7:00pm. The production runs through Sunday, March 28.  BroadwayWorld brings you NYTW's primer for the production, detailing the events surrounding this fascinating piece of history.

In Top Secret, it's 1971 and the nation is at war. The intractable conflict escalates in Vietnam while here at home the battle for public opinion rages. A federal court blocks The New York Times from publishing the top-secret history of U.S. involvement in Vietnam. Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham has a single day to decide whether to print these documents, which quickly became known as the Pentagon Papers. When the Nixon administration closes in and charges treason, the fight for a free press explodes. Geoffrey Cowan and Leroy Aaron's suspenseful Top Secret: The Battle for the Pentagon Papers animates the frontline clash between the government's need for secrecy and the public's right to know. Featuring a cast of eleven representing the real life characters at the center of this historic event-from Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee to Post publisher Katharine Graham to President Richard Nixon-this is a true story about one of the great "stand up and cheer" moments in American journalism.

The cast of Top Secret: The Battle for the Pentagon Papers includes Diane Adair (Meg Greenfield); Larry Bryggman (John Mitchell/ChAl Roberts/Lamont Vanderhall); John Getz (Ben Bagdikian/Robert Mardian); Jack Gilpin (BrIan Kelly); James Gleason (Murry Marder/Judge Martin Peel); Roberta Maxwell (Katharine Graham); Matt McGrath (George Wilson/Eugene Patterson); Larry Pine (Richard Nixon/Dennis Doolin); Russell Soder (Soldier/Darryl Cox/Clerk & Bailiff/Ron Ziegler); Peter Strauss (Ben Bradlee); and Peter Van Norden (Fritz Beebe/Henry Kissinger).

The set and lighting design for Top Secret: The Battle for the Pentagon Papers is by David Lander; costume design is by Holly Poe Durbin. The production stage manager is Jennifer Grutza.

Top Secret: The Battle for the Pentagon Papers was first developed and produced by L.A. Theatre Works.

Top Secret: The Battle for the Pentagon Papers plays at New York Theatre Workshop, 79 East 4th Street, between Second Avenue and Bowery. The regular performance schedule is Tuesday at 7:00pm, Wednesday through Friday at 8:00pm, Saturday at 3:00pm and 8:00pm, and Sunday at 2:00pm and 7:00pm. Top Secret: The Battle for the Pentagon Papers runs through Sunday, March 28, 2010. Tickets are $65 and may be purchased online at www.ticketcentral.com or by phoning Ticket Central at (212) 279-4200. For more information, visit www.nytw.org.

 

 

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