''The Columnist'' is a play by American

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

David Auburn. It opened on Broadway's Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, under the direction of

Daniel J. Sullivan Daniel John Sullivan (born June 11, 1940) is an American theatre and film director and playwright. Life and career Sullivan was born in Wray, Colorado, the son of Mary Catherine (née Hutton) and John Martin Sullivan. He was raised in San Franc ...

. The play opened on April 25, 2012 and closed July 8, 2012 with

John Lithgow John Arthur Lithgow ( ; born , 1945) is an American actor. Lithgow studied at Harvard University and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art before becoming known for his work on the stage and screen. He has been the recipient of numerous ...

starring as Joseph Alsop. The cast also included Margaret Colin,

Boyd Gaines Boyd Payne Gaines (born May 11, 1953) is an American actor. During his career, he has won four Tony Awards and three Drama Desk Awards. Gaines is best known for playing Mark Royer on '' One Day at a Time'' (1981-1984). Early life and education ...

Grace Gummer Grace Jane Gummer (born May 9, 1986) is an American actress. She received a Theatre World Award for her Broadway debut in the 2011 revival of '' Arcadia''. Her television work includes recurring roles in '' The Newsroom'' and '' American Horror ...

, Stephen Kunken, Marc Bonan and

Brian J. Smith Brian Jacob Smith (born October 12, 1981) is an American actor, known for his role as Will Gorski in the Netflix-produced series '' Sense8,'' Lieutenant Matthew Scott in the military science fiction television series '' Stargate Universe'', an ...

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 finds his relevance fading as attention shifts from the Cold War to the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, 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 Vie ...

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 ...

nominee for

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Columnist, The 2012 plays Broadway plays Plays by David Auburn