Contra Costa Civic Theatre Presents ALL THE WAY

Contra Costa Civic Theatre (CCCT) today announced the cast for its upcoming production of All the Way, directed by CCCT Artistic Director Marilyn Langbehn. Pulitzer Prize winner Robert Schenkkan's "action-packed, thoroughly gripping...jaw-dropping political drama" (Variety) about the first year of Lyndon Johnson's presidency plays April 12 through May 5 at CCCT. For tickets and information visit the theatre's website at www.ccct.org.

The company of All the Way features John Hale as LBJ and Khary L. Moye as Martin Luther King, Jr. Both actors have worked with director Langbehn on portrayals of historical figures of previous productions; Hale as ex-President Richard Nixon in the Bay Area premiere of Frost/Nixon at Douglass Morrison Theatre, and Moye as Dr. King from CCCT's critically-acclaimed production of The Mountaintop.

Others in the 21-person ensemble include Mick Renner as Sen. Richard Russell, Kim Donovan as Lady Bird Johnson, Jeremy Cole as Walter Jenkins, David Bogdonoff as Hubert Humphrey, David Ghilardi as J. Edgar Hoover, Terrance Smith as Ralph Abernathy, Michael Sally as George Wallace, Kimberly Ridgeway as Coretta Scott King/Fanny Lou Hamer, Laszlo Horner as Robert S. McNamara, Susan Monsøn as Muriel Humphrey, Umi Grant as Stokely Carmichael, Edward Pieczenik as Strom Thurmond, Richard Friedlander as Everett Dirksen, Aaron Jones as Bob Moses, Jay Krohnengold as "Judge" Smith, James McGarry as Deke DeLoach, Jason Berner as Stanley Levison, Will Robinson as Roy Wilkins, and Ben Knoll as Sen. James Eastland.

The production's design team includes scenic designer Katie Whitcraft, costume designer Dedra Britt, lighting designer Courtney Johnson, sound and projections designer Michael Kelly, and props designer Devon LaBelle. Stage Manager for All the Way is Mackenzie Laurel Orvis.

Commissioned by the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and winner of the Tony and Drama Desk awards for Best Play, Robert Schenkkan's All the Way is a riveting look at the morality of power as it chronicles the critical year in American politics from the assassination of John F. Kennedy in November 1963 to the landslide election of Lyndon Johnson in November 1964. Johnson's masterful manipulation of the rules of the Senate in the passage of the landmark Civil Rights Bill; the murder of Andrew Goodman, James Chaney, and Michael Schwerner during Freedom Summer; the Gulf of Tonkin incident; and the defection of the Southern states, led by Strom Thurmond, to the Republican party; test the mettle of the "accidental" president as he works feverishly to enact his legislative agenda before time runs out.

Robert Schenkkan is a Pulitzer Prize-winning, Tony award-winning, Writer's Guild Award-winning, three-time Emmy nominated writer of Stage, Television, and Film. He is the author of fourteen original full-length plays, two musicals, and a collection of one-act plays. He co-wrote the feature film, Hacksaw Ridge (six Academy Award nominations) and The Quiet American, and his television credits include All The Way, The Pacific, The Andromeda Strain, and Spartacus.

MARILYN LANGBEHN is in her sixth season as Artistic Director at CCCT. Previous productions include Ragtime, All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914; Cabaret; the world premiere of The Lost Years; You Can't Take It With You; The Mountaintop; The Sound of Music; The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)(revised); and August: Osage County, which received "Best Production" and "Best Director" nods at the inaugural Theatre Bay Area (TBA) awards in 2014. Since moving to the Bay Area, she has directed numerous productions including the West Coast premiere of David Mamet's Race ("Best Director", The Inlander), Rabbit Hole ("Top Ten Bay Area Productions of the Year", Theater Dogs); Driving Miss Daisy ("Top Ten Bay Area Productions of the Year", Contra Costa Times); Superior Donuts (San Francisco premiere); Frost/Nixon (Bay Area premiere); Looking for Normal (Bay Area premiere); and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Tickets for All the Way range from $11 to $32, with discounts available for groups of 15 or more. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm, and Sundays at 2 pm. There will be a post-show talkback following the Sunday, April 14 performance. All performances take place at CCCT's intimate and fully accessible theatre in the Flynn building located at 951 Pomona Avenue (cross street Moeser) in El Cerrito. Free parking is available in the adjoining lot. Tickets may be purchased online at www.ccct.org or by phone at 510.524.9012.

Contra Costa Civic Theatre, established in 1959 by Louis and Bettianne Flynn and a group of dedicated volunteers and now under the artistic direction of Marilyn Langbehn, is a non-profit community theatre with its permanent home in El Cerrito, CA. Our mission is to provide affordable, high-quality entertainment to residents throughout the East Bay and provide training in performing arts for children and adults. We are proud to be an independent, self-sufficient organization presenting five Main Stage and thirteen youth productions annually in our intimate two hundred-seat theatre.

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