The Great Society
Photo credit: Evan Zimmerman
Although The Great Society is closing at the end of this month, it is well worth seeing this play which chronicles a significant past, and highlights figures who are so much a part of our American history.
The characters that inhabit The Great Society are important to remember. A follow up to his All the Way, playwright Robert Schenkkan introduces us to those individuals who shaped our country during an extremely volatile time, from 1965-1968.
The Great Society serves as a history lesson, and one that generations should know. It showcases an incredible cast, lead by Brian Cox as LBJ, Grantham Coleman as Martin Luther King, Jr., Richard Thomas as Hubert Humphrey and Mark Kudisch, Bryce Pinkham and Frank Wood in various roles. In fact many in the talented cast portray numerous characters.
A word of caution, though. The play is extremely long and over-written. Clocking in at nearly 3 hours, this piece would surely be better served were it shorter and more concise, ultimately rendering it more powerful.
The producers of The Great Society have done a fine job of engaging their audiences, including placing voting booths in the vast lobby of the Vivian Beaumont Theater where you could cast your “vote” for the candidate of your choice to win the 2020 Presidential Primary.
Their website provides an educational timeline of the years represented in the play. Click on the photos and find out what those images represent.
Additionally, in The Great Society’s final weeks, they are participating in the fabulous Broadway Bridges program, initiated by the Broadway League, offering $10 tickets to 10th graders and their teachers to see the production. Now to November 30.
For more theatre news, conversation and information, tune in to “Bagels and Broadway with Valerie Smaldone” Saturday mornings from 9-10 on WNYM radio, online, Alexa and podcast.
Valerie Smaldone is a 5-time Billboard Magazine Award winner and is well known for her unprecedented success holding the #1 on-air position in the New York radio market on 106.7 Life-FM, an iHeart station. She has hosted, produced, and created several award-winning nationally syndicated programs featuring in-depth interviews with stars like Paul McCartney, Celine Dion, Rod Stewart, Elton John and Mariah Carey among others. Her radio talk show "Bagels and Broadway" highlighted theatre and food personalities. She is an accomplished interviewer and voice artist heard on commercials, narrations, promos and audiobooks, as well as a sought after live announcer.
Most recently, Valerie produced and directed a film, The Thursday Night Club, featuring pop diva Gloria Gaynor in her movie acting debut. She is one of the creators and producers of a docu-series, Divine Renovation, starring Erik Estrada, on streaming networks soon.
