Asolo Rep Proudly to Stage ALL THE WAY

Asolo Repertory Theatre proudly kicks off its winter repertory season with the 2014 Tony Award winner for Best Play, Pulitzer Prize-winner Robert Schenkkan's political drama ALL THE WAY. Asolo Rep's production will be directed by Emily Sophia Knapp, who served as the associate director of the Broadway, American Repertory Theatre, Seattle Rep and world premiere Oregon Shakespeare Festival productions. Hailed by NPR as a "sensational night of theatre," previews for ALL THE WAY are January 6 and 7 at 8pm, opening night is January 8 at 8pm, and the production runs in rotating rep through Saturday, April 9.

1963. An assassin's bullet catapults Lyndon Baines Johnson into the presidency. As Air Force One lands in Washington, D.C. just hours after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, a frightened nation looks desperately to "accidental" President Lyndon Baines Johnson for answers, hope and strength. And so begins Robert Schenkkan's gripping look at the first chapter of LBJ's presidency, from his indomitable determination to pass the 1964 Civil Rights Act, his wavering views of American's future in Vietnam, and his drive to erase "accidental" from his legacy and win the 1964 presidential election.

"ALL THE WAY takes place in 1964; in that year, lives, movements and political parties were torn apart in an effort to write the civil rights movement into the books of law," said Director Emily Sophia Knapp. "Fifty years later, I am continually astounded at how directly these events speak to our current moment. Asolo Rep's production will occur on the eve of a presidential election and in the midst of the Black Lives Matter movement. I cannot think of a better time to dive back into a period when, with extraordinary sacrifice, major political change was possible."

Broadway veteran Nick Wyman leads Asolo Rep's talented cast as the iconic LBJ, returning to Asolo Rep after portraying John Barsad in the theatre's pre-Broadway production of A Tale of Two Cities. Mr. Wyman's other Broadway credits include Catch Me If You Can, LES MISERABLES, Phantom of the Opera, and more. On television, he has appeared on VEEP, Boardwalk Empire, and more. Sarasota favorites including 20-year Asolo Rep artist David Breitbarth (Asolo Rep's 2014-15 productions of The Matchmaker, Both Your Houses and Our Betters), Tyla Abercrumbie (Asolo Rep's 2014-15 productions of Good People and The Matchmaker), and Denise Cormier (Asolo Rep's 2014-15 productions of Good People and Our Betters) star as Governor George Wallace, Coretta Scott King and Lady Bird Johnson, respectively. Chicago actor William Dick portrays one of LBJ's greatest opponents J. Edgar Hoover. L.A.-based actor A.K. Murtadha, who was most recently seen in Ensemble Theatre Company's Intimate Apparel, plays the visionary Martin Luther King, Jr.

Commissioned by the Oregon Shakespeare Festival as part of its 10-year American Revolutions: The United States History Cycle, ALL THE WAY premiered at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in 2012 and was directed by the theatre's acclaimed Artistic Director Bill Rauch, who also directed the subsequent Seattle Rep, American Repertory Theatre and Broadway productions. Asolo Rep's production will be based on the original Bill Rauch production. ALL THE WAY opened on Broadway in March 2014 with Emmy Award-winning actor Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad) as LBJ. He received a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his electric portrayal. Cranston will reprise his role in the highly anticipated HBO film adaptation of ALL THE WAY, scheduled to air in 2016.

This engrossing political drama is the second production of the fourth season of Asolo Rep's American Character Project, a captivating examination of this country's past, present and future through contemporary and classic works, and provocative new musical theatre experiences. This critically acclaimed drama brilliantly captures one of the most dynamic chapters in American history and the man at the center of it all.

"Following our innovative production of the groundbreaking American musical West Side Story, ALL THE WAY is the perfect production to continue the fourth season of Asolo Rep's American Character Project," said Michael Donald Edwards, producing artistic director of Asolo Rep. "ALL THE WAY is a thrilling night in the theatre with immense contemporary resonance. It is a play that makes you feel like you are living through one of the most tumultuous, defining moments in the great American story."

To post a comment, you must register and login.