BWW Review: Playhouse Stages a Large Scale ALL THE WAY
'I am in blood stepped in so far that should I wade no more, / Returning were as tedious as go o'er,' says Macbeth in William Shakespeare's tragedy of the same name. I have always felt that these lines could have described President Lyndon Johnson as he doggedly followed his disastrous course in Vietnam. Now, certainly, Johnson was no villain as such; however, to countless Americans, his term in office will be forever marred by his hubristic determination to succeed. For some families touched by tragedy, his very name will be forever reviled. However, in recent years, many historians (such as Doris Kearns Goodwin) have tried to see 'the forest' beyond 'the trees' and have lauded Johnson for effecting legislation that culminated in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and in voting rights for Blacks. Playhouse on the Square's current production of Robert Schenkkan's ALL THE WAY (recalling LBJ's campaign slogan 'All the way with LBJ') focuses on Johnson's political maneuvers in that arena -- especially as they factor in his desire to be elected as something more than an 'accidental President.'
Playhouse on the Square to Stage Tony-Winning ALL THE WAY
Playhouse on the Square presents the regional premiere of Robert Schenkkan's political drama All The Way. The winner of the 2014 Tony Award for Best Play, All The Way takes us to November 1963. An assassin's bullet has just catapulted Lyndon Baines Johnson into the presidency. A man with a towering ambition and appetite, LBJ finds himself embroiled in passing the Civil Rights Act as he campaigns for re-election, and searches for the recognition he so desperately wants.
FROST/NIXON Closes at Playhouse On The Square, 4/3
British talk-show host David Frost has become a lowbrow laughing-stock. Richard M. Nixon has just resigned the United States presidency in total disgrace over Vietnam and the Watergate scandal. Determined to resurrect his career, Frost risks everything on a series of in-depth interviews in order to extract an apology from Nixon. The cagey Nixon, however, is equally bent on redeeming himself in his nation's eyes. In the television age, image is king, and both men are desperate to outtalk and upstage each other as the cameras roll. The result is the interview that sealed a president's legacy. This Tony Award-winning play was hailed as 'a thoroughly modern Shakespearean tragedy.' -CurtainUp.
Playhouse On The Square Presents FROST/NIXON, 3/19-4/3
British talk-show host David Frost has become a lowbrow laughing-stock. Richard M. Nixon has just resigned the United States presidency in total disgrace over Vietnam and the Watergate scandal. Determined to resurrect his career, Frost risks everything on a series of in-depth interviews in order to extract an apology from Nixon. The cagey Nixon, however, is equally bent on redeeming himself in his nation's eyes. In the television age, image is king, and both men are desperate to outtalk and upstage each other as the cameras roll. The result is the interview that sealed a president's legacy. This Tony Award-winning play was hailed as 'a thoroughly modern Shakespearean tragedy.' -CurtainUp.
