Actor Bryan Cranston Steps Into LBJ's Shoes for Broadway Debut

[SecularMotion]

Source: NY Times

NEW YORK — After five acclaimed seasons and multiple Emmys for playing a meth-making chemistry teacher on television's "Breaking Bad," actor Bryan Cranston is stepping into the shoes of President Lyndon B. Johnson for his Broadway debut in "All the Way."

The play, which begins previews on February 10 and opens at The Neil Simon Theatre on March 6, chronicles the first year of Johnson's presidency after he was catapulted into the White House following the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963.

It is not the first opportunity that Cranston, 57, has had to star on Broadway, but he said other plays were not quite right.

"I wanted to wait for something that had meaning, that really had resonance, that was historically important, socially important and entertaining," he said in an interview. "And 'All the Way' is all of that."

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2014/01/22/arts/22reuters-theater-alltheway-cranston.html?hp

[JeffHead]

1. I saw a preview during a recent Breaking Bad marathon on AMC

He does a pretty good LBJ. Looks just like him. Cranston is one hell of an actor, he can pull it off but, he's gotta do at least one scene in his tighty whiteys, maybe when Johnson orders some new pants.

[Bluenorthwest]

2. The play is outstanding and the follow up play 'Great Society' premiers this summer

at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, which commissioned and originated both plays in conjunction with Seattle Rep.
Fighting for the dream

The tumultuous beginning of Lyndon Johnson’s presidency that Robert Schenkkan presented in "All the Way" (2012) continues in part two, "The Great Society." In the years from 1965 to 1968, LBJ struggles to fight a “war on poverty” even as his war in Vietnam spins out of control. Besieged by political opponents, Johnson marshals all his political wiles to try to pass some of the most important social programs in U.S. history, while the country descends into chaos over the war and backlash against civil rights. This American Revolutions–developed world premiere is an unflinching examination of the morality of power.
http://www.osfashland.org/productions/2014-plays/the-great-society.aspx


Cranston will be great, the rest of the cast is also great, I highly recommend NYC area DUers make a bee line for The Neil Simon Theater.

[DreamGypsy]

3. We were fortunate enough to attend a performance of "All the Way" at OSF...

...and I second your promotion. The play is an astounding summary of the realities of politics.

DU New Yorkers, get your act together and see this play.

ps: We haven't yet scheduled our Ashland visit for "The Great Society", but it will happen.