''The Columnist'' is a play by American
playwright David Auburn. It opened on
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
's
Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, under the direction of
Daniel J. Sullivan.
The play opened on April 25, 2012 and closed July 8, 2012 with
John Lithgow starring as
Joseph Alsop
Joseph Wright Alsop V (October 10, 1910 – August 28, 1989) 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 196 ...
. The cast also included
Margaret Colin,
Boyd Gaines,
Grace Gummer,
Stephen Kunken,
Marc Bonan and
Brian J. Smith.
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."
Synopsis
Set between 1954 and 1968, American journalist
Joseph Alsop
Joseph Wright Alsop V (October 10, 1910 – August 28, 1989) 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 196 ...
finds his relevance fading as attention shifts from the
Cold War to the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
.
Awards and nominations
* 2012
Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play
The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play is an honor presented at the Tony Awards, a ceremony established in 1947 as the Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, to actors for quality leading roles in a Broadway p ...
nominee for
John Lithgow
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Columnist, The
2012 plays
Broadway plays
Plays by David Auburn