ROBERT SCHENKKAN

PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING PLAYWRIGHT & SCREENWRITER

News

The Great Society Begins Broadway Performances September 6

September 13, 2019

The second play in Robert Schenkkan’s dramatic take on President Lyndon Baines Johnson, The Great Society, begins preview performances September 6 at Broadway’s Vivian Beaumont Theater ahead of an official opening October 1.

Schenkkan’s All The Way bowed on Broadway in 2014, winning the Tony Award for Best Play and Best Actor in a Play for star Bryan Cranston. The Great Society stars Brian Cox (Succession) as LBJ and picks up where All The Way left off—with Johnson’s Presidential campaign in 1964. The drama chronicles his landslide victory but devolving presidency as the Vietnam War takes hold. To read more, click here.

The Great Society, starring Brian Cox, begins performances on Broadway

September 13, 2019

LBJ on the Great White Way... again! The Broadway premiere of The Great Society begins previews at the Vivian Beaumont Theater tonight, ahead of an official opening on October 1 and a limited engagement through November 30, 2019.

Written by Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner Robert Schenkkan as Part II of the LBJ Plays, following the success of his Tony Award-winning "Best Play" All the Way, which starred Bryan Cranston in a 2014 Tony Award-winning performance, The Great Society is directed by Bill Rauch. To read more, click here.

Broadway Fall 2019 Preview - The Plays

September 1, 2019

As the Broadway season shifts up a gear and we head gleefully into the autumn, the emphasis seems to be on new plays in the coming months. Of course, there will also be a delightful sprinkling of musicals and genre-defying entertainment shows (check back in with us next week) alongside a couple of revivals, but what's really got us excited is seeing brand new works and recent transfers given the green light to find wider audiences on the Great White Way. To read more, click here.

Broadway Shows To Get Ready For September to December

September 1, 2019

The play I have been looking forward to all year starts previews September 6th. The Great Society is the sequel to Robert Schenkkan’s All the Way. The show picks up after President Lyndon B. Johnson landslide victory in the 1964 election, exploring his full four-year term against the backdrop of the Vietnam War and Civil Rights Movement. Brian Cox, stars as well as Tony nominee Marc Kudisch as Richard J. Daley, Grantham Coleman making his Broadway debut as Martin Luther King Jr., Richard Thomas as Hubert Humphrey, Barbara Garrick as Ladybird Johnson, Bryce Pinkham as Robert Kennedy and David Garrison as Richard Nixon. Opening October 4th at the Vivian Beaumont. To read more, click here.

See The Great Society Celebrate Lyndon B. Johnson’s Birthday with the NAACP, FairVote, Motivote, and NYC Votes

August 29, 2019

In honor of President Lyndon B. Johnson's birthday August 27, The NAACP, Fairvote, Motivote, and NYC Votes joined The Great Societyto launch The Great Society Primary, its initiative to register audience members to vote. In a ceremony at the Vivian Beaumont Theater, playwright Robert Schennkan and members of the cast welcomed the civic partners to inaugurate the show’s lobby display and voting program. At each performance, audience members will have the opportunity to "vote" for the candidate they would like to see win the 2020 presidential election. Additionally, before select performances, representatives from the voter registration organizations will be available to register new voters in the lobby. To read more, click here.

Photo Coverage: Brian Cox, Bryce Pinkham, Mark Kudisch, And The Cast of THE GREAT SOCIETY Meets The Press

August 22, 2019

The Broadway cast of Robert Schenkkan's THE GREAT SOCIETY, his new play celebrating Lyndon B. Johnson's legacy, met the press this week! Check out the stars of the new political play before they hit the stage! To read more and see the photographs, click here.

BWW TV: The Cast and Creatives of THE GREAT SOCIETY Meet the Press

August 22, 2019

The cast and creatives of Robert Schenkkan's THE GREAT SOCIETY, his upcoming Broadway play celebrating Lyndon B. Johnson's legacy, met the press this week! Check out the video below of the stars discussing what the show means, and what all the hype is about, before they hit the stage! To read more and see the video, click here.

See Broadway’s The Great Society Meet the Press

August 22, 2019

The Great Society, Robert Schenkkan’s sequel to his Tony-winning play All The Way, is set to begin performances at the Vivian Beaumont Theater September 6 ahead of an October 1 opening night. The production, directed by Bill Rauch, is set to play a 12-week limited engagement through November 30.

While All the Way depicted Johnson’s year-long presidency in the aftermath of the assassination of John F. Kennedy, The Great Societypicks up after his landslide victory in the 1964 election. The play explores his full four-year term against the backdrop of the Vietnam War and Civil Rights Movement. To read more and see photos, click here.

Broadway-Bound ‘The Great Society’ Completes Casting With Richard Nixon, Lady Bird Johnson & Coretta Scott King Roles Filled; Opening Night Set

August 12, 2019

Robert Schenkkan’s Broadway-bound The Great Society, his second LBJ play following the celebrated All The Way, has completed casting and set an opening night for Tuesday, October 1 at the Vivian Beaumont Theater.

Joining the previously announced Brian Cox (as Lyndon B. Johnson) will be Marchánt Davis as Stokely Carmichael, Brian Dykstra as Adam Walinsky, Barbara Garrick as Lady Bird Johnson, David Garrison as Richard Nixon, Ty Jones as Reverend Ralph Abernathy, Christopher Livingston as James Bevel, Angela Pierce as Pat Nixon, Matthew Rauch as Robert McNamara, Nikkole Salter as Coretta Scott King and Tramell Tillman as Bob Moses. To read more, click here.

Brian Cox To Play Lyndon B. Johnson in The Great Society

July 21, 2019

Tony Award & Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Robert Schenkkan will return to Broadway with the second of his two exhilarating dramas celebrating Lyndon B. Johnson’s legacy: The Great Society. This new play is the companion piece to Schenkkan’s Tony Award winning All The Way, depicting the tumultuous times that led to the conclusion of the Johnson presidency in 1968.

Director Bill Rauch (All The Way) reunites with Schenkkan after directing the premiere of The Great Society at Oregon Shakespeare Festival in 2014 and Seattle Rep in 2015.

Presented at the Vivian Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center, this striking theatrical event features a brilliant cast portraying over fifty characters in two-dozen locations. The cast will include Brian Cox as LBJ, Marc Kudisch as Richard J. Daley, Grantham Coleman as Martin Luther King Jr., and Richard Thomas as Hubert Humphrey. The actors playing the roles of Richard Nixon, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, Coretta Scott King, Lady Bird Johnson, J. Edgar Hoover, Governor George Wallace and Robert McNamara among many others, will be announced soon. To read more, click here.

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