SARASOTA – On Friday, the Asolo Repertory Theatre's long-awaited production of Robert Schenkkan's Lyndon Johnson historical drama All the Way opened to a full house in the Mertz Theatre at the FSU Center for the Performing Arts in Sarasota.
When All the Way debuted at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (which had commissioned the play) in 2012, it was immediately remarked how relevant the tumultuous events of the play mirrored modern times. When an award-winning run on Broadway opened in 2014 with television star Bryan Cranston in the lead role, the statement echoed even louder.
As impossible as it would have seemed, the play's subject matter and social tone is dramatically more relevant in 2016. Schenkkan's script is largely concerned with Johnson's efforts to get Congress to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and civil rights leaders–most notably Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.–to support it.
The play opens just after the assassination of John F. Kennedy and continues through Johnson's landslide reelection in 1964, taking its title from his campaign slogan: All the Way with LBJ. Johnson, who remains one of the most underrated Presidents in U.S. history in terms of both historical significance and political savvy gets his due from Schenkkan, who mines LBJ's trove of famous quotes and idioms to paint a skilled horse trader with a Herculean reservoir of political will he's never afraid to spend on a cause.
photo by Cliff Roles
Asolo benefits from director Emily Sophia Knapp, who served as associate director during the play's Broadway run. The enormous ensemble cast includes such historical luminaries as J. Edgar Hoover, Robert McNamara, Strom Thurmond and George Wallace (played to the nines by stellar Asolo vet David Breitbarth), but the heart and soul consists of Johnson (Nick Wyman) and King (A.K. Murtadha).
Wyman is nothing short of brilliant as LBJ, endowing the big Texan with both the physical and charismatic gravity of a man who could coerce, cajole and even bully men into acquiescence on the most divisive and politically-dangerous issues.
Murtadha's counter rhythm brings a chemistry to the many scenes the two actors share, which are without question the ones during which it is easiest to forget that you are watching a theatrical reenactment and not the historical figures themselves.
Denise Cormier turns in a wonderful performance as Lady Bird Johnson, and Karl Hamilton is delightful as Johnson VP Hubert Humphrey. Brian Keyes gives a powerful performance as SNCC's Bob Moses, while Sean Michael is also memorable as his cohort Stokely Carmichael.
photo by Cliff Roles
Third-year FSU/Asolo Conservatory student Kevin Barber is excellent as Walter Jenkins, Johnson's personal confidante and top White House aide, and Tyal Abercrumbie stands out both as Corretta Scott King and Fannie Lou Hamer.
Steve Kemp's inventive set provides a stage that winds up seeming as big as the colossal production and Sarah Smith's era-accurate costumes help bring the well-known historical figures to life. All the Way runs through April 9. Visit the Asolo Rep's website for more information.
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