The Columnist

Last updated
The Columnist
Written by David Auburn
Date premieredApril 25, 2012
Place premiered Samuel J. Friedman Theatre
Original languageEnglish
SubjectA fictionalized biographical drama about journalist Joseph Alsop.
GenreDrama
Setting Washington, D.C.

The Columnist is a play by American playwright David Auburn. It opened on Broadway's Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, under the direction of Daniel J. Sullivan. [1] The play opened on April 25, 2012, and closed July 8, 2012, with John Lithgow starring as Joseph Alsop. The cast also included Margaret Colin, Boyd Gaines, Grace Gummer, Stephen Kunken, Marc Bonan and Brian J. Smith. [2]

Contents

Background

In researching journalists, David Auburn became interested in frequent references to Joseph Alsop. "I I realized here was this person who was so well known, so influential — almost a household name in his day — and now he's completely obscure," explained Auburn. "And, the play kind of came out of wondering, 'How does that happen? How do you go from being that central figure to being, at first, a kind of joke and then almost forgotten?' It was in digging into that that I found the story." [1]

Synopsis

Set between 1954 and 1968, American journalist Joseph Alsop finds his relevance fading as attention shifts from the Cold War to the Vietnam War.

Awards and nominations

Related Research Articles

<i>The Washington Times</i> American broadsheet newspaper published in Washington, D.C.

The Washington Times is an American conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., that covers general interest topics with a particular emphasis on national politics. Its broadsheet daily edition is distributed throughout Washington, D.C., and in parts of suburban Maryland and Northern Virginia. A weekly tabloid edition aimed at a national audience is also published. The Washington Times was one of the first American broadsheets to publish its front page in full color.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Brooks (commentator)</span> American journalist, commentator, editor

David Brooks is an American conservative political and cultural commentator who writes for The New York Times. He has worked as a film critic for The Washington Times, a reporter and later op-ed editor for The Wall Street Journal, a senior editor at The Weekly Standard from its inception, a contributing editor at Newsweek, and The Atlantic Monthly, in addition to working as a commentator on NPR and the PBS NewsHour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Friedman</span> American journalist and author (born 1953)

Thomas Loren Friedman is an American political commentator and author. He is a three-time Pulitzer Prize winner who is a weekly columnist for The New York Times. He has written extensively on foreign affairs, global trade, the Middle East, globalization, and environmental issues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Halberstam</span> American writer, journalist and historian (1934–2007)

David Halberstam was an American writer, journalist, and historian, known for his work on the Vietnam War, politics, history, the Civil Rights Movement, business, media, American culture, Korean War, and later, sports journalism. He won a Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting in 1964. Halberstam was killed in a car crash in 2007, while doing research for a book.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harvey Fierstein</span> American actor and playwright

Harvey Forbes Fierstein is an American actor, playwright and screenwriter, known for his distinctive gravelly voice. He is best known for his theater work in Torch Song Trilogy and Hairspray and film roles in Mrs. Doubtfire, Independence Day, and as the voice of Yao in Mulan and Mulan II. Fierstein won two Tony Awards, Best Actor in a Play and Best Play, for Torch Song Trilogy. He received his third Tony Award, Best Book of a Musical, for the musical La Cage aux Folles and his fourth, the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical, for playing Edna Turnblad in Hairspray, a role he revived in its live television event, Hairspray Live! Fierstein also wrote the books for the Tony Award-winning musicals Kinky Boots, Newsies, and Tony Award-nominated, Drama League Award-winner A Catered Affair. He was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Herrmann</span> American actor (1943–2014)

Edward Kirk Herrmann was an American actor, director, and writer. He was known for his portrayals of Franklin D. Roosevelt in both the miniseries Eleanor and Franklin (1976) and 1982 film musical Annie, Richard Gilmore in Amy Sherman-Palladino's comedy-drama series Gilmore Girls (2000–2007), and a ubiquitous narrator for historical programs on The History Channel and in such PBS productions as Nova. He was also known as a spokesman for Dodge automobiles in the 1990s.

David Auburn is an American playwright, screenwriter and theatre director. He is best known for his 2000 play Proof, which won the 2001 Tony Award for Best Play and Pulitzer Prize for Drama. He also wrote the screenplays for the 2005 film version of Proof, The Lake House (2006), The Girl in the Park (2007), and Georgetown (2019).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary-Louise Parker</span> American actress (born 1964)

Mary-Louise Parker is an American actress. After making her Broadway debut as Rita in Craig Lucas' Prelude to a Kiss in 1990, Parker came to prominence for film roles in Grand Canyon (1991), Fried Green Tomatoes (1991), The Client (1994), Bullets over Broadway (1994), A Place for Annie (1994), Boys on the Side (1995), The Portrait of a Lady (1996), and The Maker (1997). Among stage and independent film appearances thereafter, Parker received the 2001 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her portrayal of Catherine Llewellyn in David Auburn's Proof, among other accolades. Between 2001 and 2006, she recurred as Amy Gardner in the NBC television series The West Wing, for which she was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 2002. She received both a Golden Globe and a Primetime Emmy Award for her portrayal of Harper Pitt in the acclaimed HBO television miniseries Angels in America in 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mercedes Ruehl</span> American actress (born 1948)

Mercedes J. Ruehl is an American screen, stage, and television actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Tony Award, a Drama Desk Award, two Obie Awards, and two Outer Critics Circle Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Morse</span> American actor (born 1953)

David Bowditch Morse is an American actor. He first came to national attention as Dr. Jack "Boomer" Morrison in the medical drama series St. Elsewhere (1982–88). His film career has included roles in The Negotiator, Contact, The Green Mile, Dancer in the Dark, Disturbia, The Long Kiss Goodnight, The Rock and 12 Monkeys.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samuel J. Friedman Theatre</span> Broadway theater in Manhattan, New York

The Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, formerly the Biltmore Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 261 West 47th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1925, it was designed by Herbert J. Krapp in the neo-Renaissance style and was constructed for Irwin Chanin. It has 650 seats across two levels and is operated by the Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC). The auditorium interior is a New York City landmark, and the theater is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Since 2008, the theater has been named for Broadway publicist Samuel J. Friedman, whose family was a major donor to MTC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Braden</span> American CIA official and journalist (1917-2009)

Thomas Wardell Braden was an American CIA official, journalist, and co-host of the CNN show Crossfire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Alsop</span> American columnist

Joseph Wright Alsop V was an American journalist and syndicated newspaper columnist from the 1930s through the 1970s. He was an influential journalist and top insider in Washington from 1945 to the late 1960s, often in conjunction with his brother Stewart Alsop.

David Allen Friedman is a film and theatre composer, songwriter, author, lyricist and conductor based in New York City. He received a 1997 Backstage Bistro Award for Composer of the Year and a 1997 Johnny Mercer Award for Songwriter of the Year, and a Special Lifetime Achievement Award at the 26th Annual MAC Awards. His oratorio, King Island Christmas, won a Frederick Loewe Award and Dramatists Guild Award. David's musical Desperate Measures won the 2018 Drama Desk Award for Best Music and Best Lyrics as well as the Outer Critic's Circle Award for Best Off Broadway Musical and the Off Broadway Alliance Award for Best Musical.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Lithgow</span> American actor (born 1945)

John Arthur Lithgow is an American actor. He studied at Harvard University and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art before becoming known for his diverse work on the stage and screen. He has received numerous accolades including six Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and two Tony Awards. He has also received nominations for two Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, and four Grammy Awards. Lithgow has received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2001 and he was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen Kunken</span> American actor

Stephen Michael Kunken is an American actor. He is known for the roles of Ari Spyros on Showtime's Billions and Commander Putnam on Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale. His film work includes work with Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Woody Allen, Paul Greengrass, Ang Lee, Barry Levinson, Ron Howard and others. Graduating with top honors from The Juilliard School, Kunken has an extensive and celebrated theater career appearing on Broadway in 7 different Productions and countless off-Broadway and Regional productions. He is most readily known for playing Andy Fastow in the Broadway play Enron, for which he received a Tony Award nomination for Featured Actor in a Play. Other Broadway credits include Frost/Nixon and Rock 'n' Roll'.

Roger Friedman is an American journalist and gossip blogger. Friedman wrote the FOX411 news column on Fox News between 1999 and 2009. He now writes Showbiz411, an entertainment news and film review blog.

Bill Elliott is an American pianist, bandleader, Hollywood composer and Broadway orchestrator. In 2015, he won a Tony Award for best orchestration for the Broadway musical, An American in Paris. In 2012 he was nominated for both Tony and Grammy awards for Broadway's Nice Work if You Can Get It. Elliott won Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Orchestrations in 2017 for the Broadway Musical Bandstand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Susan Mary Alsop</span> American socialite and writer (1918–2004)

Susan Mary Alsop was an American writer and socialite active in Washington, D.C., political circles. She was the wife of columnist Joseph Alsop and a descendant of founding father John Jay. Her Georgetown home hosted dignitaries and publishers during the 1960s and 1970s ranging from John F. Kennedy, Phil Graham, Katharine Graham, and Isaiah Berlin, earning her the nickname "the grand dame of Washington society."

References

  1. 1 2 Jones, Kenneth (April 4, 2012). "John Lithgow Is David Auburn's The Columnist, Beginning Broadway Previews April 4". Playbill . Retrieved August 3, 2017.
  2. Brantley, Ben (April 25, 2012). "Revealing Naked Power Behind Mask: John Lithgow in 'The Columnist' at Friedman Theater". The New York Times . Retrieved August 3, 2017.