Back in the days when I had both disposable income and frequent travel, I was determined to squeeze in a Broadway show on every New York business trip of more than 48 hours. At one time the most prominent ticket broker in the theatre district just happened to be named Leblang’s Tickets, and an old college classmate of mine who was an aspiring actor just happened to be one of the managers. Now, even my extended family had not a thing to do with this business; the only tickets any Leblang in my family ever dealt with were parking violations. But using persuasive logic that having a surname this uncommon had to mean I had some connection, I could stroll in on any given night and at least be able to purchase house seats to otherwise sold-out shows. Sometimes, I even was able to call it a business expense. Boy, did I learn to love Broadway.
These days, the only Broadway I have anything to do with is an alternative to busier east-west thoroughfares in Santa Monica, and the only theatre on it is a second story walkup typically used for rehearsals. So I’d be lying if I said I had any knowledge of who will be walking the red carpet tonight when the Tony Awards are handed out or even what shows are nominated–save for one. And for that, I owe a debt of gratitude a TV network I’m doing my best to avoid of late.
As PEOPLE’s Sharareh Drury penned yesterday:
George Clooney‘s play Good Night, and Good Luck just made Broadway history. The Tony-nominated play starring Clooney, 64, as journalist Edward R. Murrow had its penultimate performance from the Winter Garden Theatre broadcast live on CNN and CNN.com on Saturday, June 7. This marks the first time a live Broadway performance has ever been simultaneously televised, according to the network.
“I can’t tell you how exciting it is to do something that’s never been done,” Clooney previously said in a statement about the televised event. “CNN is the perfect place to bring this story of courage to so many more people than we could have ever hoped. Live TV. No net. Buckle up, everyone.”
And it took a perfect storm of unprecedented success, prior experience and timing to make this happen. As Drury expounded, Good Night, and Good Luck has become the highest-grossing play in Broadway history, and the first play to surpass a gross of $4 million in a single week. With Clooney and his production partners as the backers, they were already more than golden, and with tonight being its closing performance there was virtually no risk to future box office. And it’s not like Clooney hasn’t done live TV before–he had previously starred in a live episode of ER as well as a live staging of another politically charged epic, FAIL SAFE.
As a student of broadcasting history, the subject matter and staging were also compelling reasons to watch. And with the network and Clooney’s approach to how this was shot, a viewer had the POV of a theatergoer. Wide shots during transition scenes where a lounge singer would croon mood-appropriate songs of the mid-50s era which this takes place in showed how multiple sets on two tiers were interchanged through the show, with multimedia and modern big screens adding to the intensity when appropriate. The play, as was the 2005 movie, is set around Murrow’s crusade to investigate the notorious Joseph McCarthy, the leader of the Red Scare that ultimately blackballed numerous entertainers of the era having any association with anyone with the remotest ties to Communism. This time around, having aged into the role of the grizzled, chain-smoking champion of CBS News in an era before Walter Cronkite, Dan Rather and even Scott Pelley, Clooney has the lead role, ceding the role of his producing partner, Fred Friendly (who eventually rose to become president of CBS News), to a larger-than-life and emotionally investing Glenn Fleshler. There’s also some wonderful portrayals of other familiar names out of broadcasting history, including Emilio Madrid as the generally supportive but ultimately bottom-line driven owner/founder of the Columbia Broadcasting System, William S. Paley.
And it is those stark contrasts between the CBS of seventy-something years ago and today, as well as the parallels between the trailblazing newsmagazines SEE IT NOW and 60 MINUTES, that makes this all the more relevant and timely–and a natural for a network in the crosshairs otf today to become an outlet for.
As the DETROIT FREE PRESS’ Julie Hinds opined earlier this week:
After reviewing McCarthy’s unsubstantiated accusations and false claims for viewers, Murrow notes that the politician didn’t create the climate of fear that exists in 1950s America, the era of the Red Scare. McCarthy is just exploiting it.
Quoting from Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar,” Murrow says, “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves,” an eloquent way of saying that most people are too afraid of becoming his next target to confront McCarthy about his smear tactics.
The acclaimed movie starring and co-written by George Clooney is a stirring tribute to journalism and a cautionary tale of what leaders will do in their quest for power. The script is peppered with references to due process under the law, the right of habeas corpus and freedom of speech, all principles mentioned in the Constitution that were under assault by McCarthy.
And at a time when the network carrying this and the institutions they portray are under almost constant attack from an even more powerful and paranoid politician this seminal work becomes all the more newsworthy and relatable. The fact that the remarkable attention to detail–the 50s-era control room and microphones, the liberal usage of restored original footage from McCarthy’s rebuttal to a fully integrated interview with Liberace from Murrow’s groundbreaking PERSON TO PERSON where he interviewed celebrities live via satellite (seeing Liberace make a sly reference to having a fondness for young women during Pride Month was a dogwhistle worthy of an ovation unto itself) is a mere cherry on a sundae–er, Saturday–performance that is a treat in every sense of the word.
I only wish I could have actually seen it on Broadway. I may not quite go back to the era of Murrow, but I go back far enough to remember when that was an experience within my means. For far too many others, it never has been. A whole lot of them could benefit by watching this with an open mind and a sense of perspective. It’s likely not to be quite as exciting as watching it live, but I can’t more strongly endorse it’s something you should get around to. Sooner than later.
Until next time…