All the Way
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Cititour.com Review
In between the drama that marked JFK’s and Richard Nixon’s years in the White House, Lyndon Johnson’s presidency tends to get lost. But a new play starring multiple Emmy winner Bryan Cranston (of Breaking Bad fame) salutes the crafty Texan for the major accomplishment of his tenure: the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The knotty path that led to that landmark law comes alive over a mostly engrossing three hours thanks to Pulitzer-winning author Robert Schenkkan (The Kentucky Cycle), director Bill Rauch and a capable cast of 20.
Following Johnson from JFK’s 1963 assassination through the 1964 presidential election, Schenkkan depicts him as firmly committed to equal rights and to ending the prejudice that was still rampant in the South. To get there, the Democrat had to charm, cajole, even threaten supporters and rivals, including Martin Luther King Jr. (Brandon J. Dirden), Senator Hubert Humphrey (Robert Petkoff) and FBI director J. Edgar Hoover (Michael McKean). It’s a star turn for Cranston, who’s making his Broadway debut. He completely loses himself in Johnson’s wrinkled countenance, wiry body and bold personality, balancing the wily politician with the committed citizen. Cranston may be accepting another major acting award come June.
Johnson isn’t portrayed as a saint. Even though he would soundly defeat Barry Goldwater for the presidency, fear that he wouldn’t be able to carry the South, then staunchly Democratic, pushed him to disown loyal colleagues and align himself with powerful adversaries like Hoover. But he counted on the end justifying the means, and ended up altering the American landscape in the process.
Rauch’s large-scale production, which originated at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, always reminds us of the many sides Johnson had to appease. Christopher Acebo’s set is a congressional chamber with three sections, and different factions fill the dark rows, surrounding and dwarfing Johnson at center stage.
At times all the lengthy political maneuverings can weigh the play down, but All the Way also has heart. In one of Johnson’s occasional monologues, he recounts the joys and sorrows he experienced teaching the children of Mexican immigrants. A later scene has Roslyn Ruff, playing a civil-rights organizer, revealing the imprisonment and abuse she endured for her activism. It’s moments like these, which remind us how far we’ve come and how much work is still be done, that demonstrate who the real winners were 50 years ago.
By Diane Snyder
Visit the Site
http://allthewaybroadway.com
Cast
Bryan Cranston, Michael McKean, Rob Campbell, James Eckhouse, Brandon J. Dirden, John McMartin, Robert Petkoff, Roslyn Ruff
Open/Close Dates
Opening 3/6/2014
Closing 6/29/2014
Preview Open/ Preview Close Dates
Preview Opening 2/10/2014
Closing Open-ended
Box Office
877-250-2929
Theatre Info
Neil Simon Theatre
250 West 52nd Street
New York, NY 10019
Map
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