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George Clooney braved the New York City cold for one very special reason.
Appearing outside the Winter Garden Theatre where next month, he’ll make his Broadway debut in Good Night, and Good Luck, the Oscar-winning actor led a special press conference to announce the full cast and creative team joining him in the stage adaptation of the 2005 film.
Alongside him was Grant Heslov. The two both co-wrote the play together after collaborating on the screenwriting of the original film, about CBS news journalist Edward R. Murrow’s legendary exposé on Senator Joseph McCarthy.
On screen, Clooney played news producer Fred Friendly. But on stage, he’ll step into the shoes of Murrow, the role that earned David Strathairn a 2006 Oscar nomination.
Ironically, that was the same year that Clooney won his Oscar, though not for Good Night, and Good Luck. Despite Clooney being nominated for directing the film, its original screenplay and the film being nominated for best picture, he took home the prestigious trophy for his supporting acting work in Syriana.
Clooney will be joined in Good Night, and Good Luck by Mac Brandt as Colonel Anderson, Will Dagger as Don Hewitt, Christopher Denham as John Aaron, Glenn Fleshler as Fred Friendly, Ilana Glazer as Shirley Wershba, Clark Gregg as Don Hollenbeck, Paul Gross as William F. Paley, Georgia Heers as Ella, Carter Hudson as Joe Wershba, Fran Kranz as Palmer Williams, Jennifer Morris as Millie Green, Michael Nathanson as Eddie Scott, Andrew Polk as Charlie Mack and Aaron Roman Weiner as Don Surine.
R. Ward Duffy, Joe Forbrich, Imani Rousselle, Greg Stuhr, JD Taylor, and Sophia Tzougros round out the ensemble.
Aside from Clooney, ten actors will be making their Broadway debut in Good Night, and Good Luck. They include: Brandt, Dagger, Duffy, Glazer, Heers, Hudson, Morris, Rousselle, Taylor and Tzougros.
Glazer, 37, has actually won a Tony Award, theater’s biggest honor, as one of the producers on the 2022 best musical A Strange Loop.
The comedian, who uses she/her and they/them pronouns, is known to audiences for her breakout role in 2009’s Broad City, the Comedy Central series she co-created with Abbi Jacobson. Last year, Glazer co-wrote and starred in the acclaimed comedy, Babes.
Tony winner David Cromer will direct Good Night, and Good Luck on stage.
Clooney, one of the biggest stars in the world, co-wrote the show, and spoke about his personal connections to journalism, and about tackling big challenges on Broadway.
“It’s actually a story about us at our best”
“Journalism is always challenged. Power doesn’t like journalism. Never has, and didn’t like it when it was Jefferson and Adams, and they don’t like it now,” Clooney said. “My father has been, was an anchorman for 40 years. And we really believe in the idea of holding truth to power.
“It’s actually a story about us at our best as Americans, which is holding ourselves accountable, which I think is good,” Clooney added.
So why do Broadway now?
“Well, it’s scary. But, you know, I haven’t done a play in 40 years, so it’s one of those things where, and I’ve never done the Broadway play, so I’m, of course, you know, petrified to do it. But it’s not such a bad thing being 63 and doing something that you don’t feel both your feet are firmly on the ground. That’s not such a bad thing to do,” Clooney said.
The creative team includes Tony winner Scott Pask (scenic design), Heather Gilbert (lighting design), David Bengali (video/projections design), Daniel Kluger (sound design), Brenda Abbandandolo (costume design), Leah J. Loukas (hair & wig design), Gigi Buffington (voice & dialect) and Daniel Kluger and Bryan Carter (music supervision).
“Good Night And Good Luck” begins previews on March 12 at the Winter Garden Theatre.
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