‘The Great Society’: Continuing saga of LBJ

‘THE GREAT SOCIETY’: Brian Cox. Photo: Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade, 2019

THE GREAT SOCIETY
Written by Robert Schenkkan
Directed by Bill Rauch
Through November 30, 2019
Vivian Beaumont Theatre
150 West 65th Street
(212-239-6200), www.ltc.org

By David NouNou

The Great Society is a continuation of Robert Schenkkan’s 2014 Tony Award-winning play All the Way, which focused on Lyndon Baines Johnson’s first-term presidency taking over for the assassinated John F. Kennedy. The triumph of that play was Bryan Cranston’s outstanding Tony-winning performance as LBJ which gave the show its gravitas. Mr. Cranston may not have looked like LBJ, but his stature and tone gave us the essence of the man.

All the Way ended in 1964 where LBJ wins the presidency and the beginning of his wheelings and dealings, especially when it came to working with Martin Luther King, Jr. and the civil rights movement. It centered on a critical juncture in American history and was focused on the subject. The Great Society picks up in January 1965 with LBJ (Brian Cox) giving his inaugural speech. His message dealt with civil rights, healthcare, welfare and education. Does that sound familiar 54 years later?

The Great Society, in addition to dealing with MLK (Grantham Coleman), now goes into the riots in Selma, Alabama, Watts in Los Angeles and the advent of “Black Power” as well as Chicago and its corrupt mayor Richard Daley (Marc Kudish). LBJ has his supporter, Hubert Humphrey (Richard Thomas) and rival Bobby Kennedy (Bryce Pinkham). It goes further in depth with the involvement of America in Vietnam and its strong advocate, Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara, (Matthew Rauch). It all leads up to 1968 as the death toll and casualties in Vietnam escalate and LBJ decides not to run for a second term as president, and the chilling conclusion of Richard M. Nixon (David Garrison) being elected president. Of course, the audience gets a chuckle because we all know how that turned out.

Mr. Schenkkan has certainly crammed a lot of American history into one night. He has shown us a parallel perspective of the chaos then, that seems almost parallel but tame to the chaos ensuing these days on a daily basis. The fatigue quotient is overwhelming. Because of the abundance of material here, the subject matter is unfocused and the multitude of scenes seem more like vignettes than actual historical moments. He is not aided by his director Bill Rauch. Mr. Rauch could have edited the play more and added focus to the scenes instead of having them all run into each other.

Brian Cox, the renowned British actor, is an odd choice to follow Mr. Cranston as LBJ. He lacks the stature and the tone of the 36^th president of the United States and what you are left with is a gruff exterior and blustery caricature, thus starting the evening on a wrong note. What you do have are admirable performances by Marc Kudish as Mayor Daley, Richard Thomas as Hubert Humphrey, Bryce Pinkham as Robert Kennedy, Matthew Rauch as Robert McNamara and David Garrison as Richard Nixon as smarmy as ever. Since Nixon plays a central figure in the end of The Great Society, one has to wonder if Mr. Schenkkan is planning a third part for a trilogy?

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published October 3, 2019
Reviewed at October 2, 2019 press performance.

‘THE GREAT SOCIETY’: Marc Kudisch & Brian Cox. Photo: Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade, 2019

‘THE GREAT SOCIETY’: (left to right) Brian Cox, Richard Thomas, Gordon Clapp. Photo: Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade, 2019

‘THE GREAT SOCIETY’: (left to right) Marchant Davis, Brian Cox, Bryce Pinkham. Photo: Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade, 2019

‘THE GREAT SOCIETY’: Grantham Coleman & cast. Photo: ‘THE GREAT SOCIETY’: Brian Cox. Photo: Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade, 2019

‘THE GREAT SOCIETY’: Barbara Garrick & Brian Cox. Photo: Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade, 2019