This is an entirely black cast that features Danielle Brooks (Orange is the New Black and the upcoming Clemency where she gives a staggering performance) and Grantham Coleman (currently portraying Martin Luther King, Jr. in The Great Society on Broadway) in the roles of Beatrice and Benedick.

As Jesse Green in New York Times pointed out in his rave review, “…They and the rest of the cast are black — and not in a colorblind-casting way, which would suggest they were pretending to be white.

Rather, the actors play specifically black characters, drawing on their own resources of emotion and style to make those characters rich. Yes, there are interpolations of jive, hip-hop and the occasional “okurr!” in a production that has the loose-limbed feeling of a ’70s variety show. (The music is by Jason Michael Webb and the dances are by Camille A. Brown.) But sticklers for historical plausibility are just going to have to get over that, because the result is a convincing and thoroughly enjoyable reframing for our time.”

Yes, this is a version of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing of and for our times. For those, like myself, who didn’t get a chance to see this production in New York, this is a great opportunity to see what should be a thoroughly entertaining show.

Photo: Margaret Odette, Tiffany Denise Hobbs, Olivia Washington and Danielle Brooks/Courtesy of PBS

Note:  As with all PBS programming, I recommend you check your local listings for details in your area.

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All the Way depicted Johnson up to and immediately after President Kennedy’s assassination. The Great Society will follow Johnson as he begins his administration, navigates turmoil at home and the growing war in Vietnam. The play follows Johnson up to his decision not to run for re-election.

Schenkkan, who won a Pulitzer Prize for The Kentucky Cycle in 1992, has spent a lot of time working and re-working The Great Society. There have been at least six productions of the play prior to its New York opening. Bill Rauch, who also directed All the Way, helmsThe Great Society.

Starring as Johnson is Brian Cox (currently seen in HBO’s Succession). Richard Thomas (The Americans) plays Hubert Humphrey. Grantham Colman, who appeared in Choir Boy at the Geffen Playhouse, plays Martin Luther King, Jr. Marc Kudisch (Assassins) plays Richard J. Daley. Bryce Pinkham (A Gentlemen’s Guide to Love and Murder) plays Robert Kennedy. Frank Wood, most recently seen in Network on Broadway, plays Everett Dirksen. The rest of the sizable cast includes Gordon Clapp, Marchánt Davis, Brian Dykstra, Barbara Garrick, David Garrison, Ty Jones, Christopher Livingston, Angela Pierce, Matthew Rauch, Nikkole Salter, Tramell Tillman, Ted Deasy and Robyn Kerr.

In a New York Times story about the play coming to Broadway, Schenkkan is quoted as saying about the difference between his two plays, “All the Way is a drama and The Great Society is a tragedy.”

With these two plays and Robert Caro’s detailed study of Lyndon Johnson, the 36th President is getting more than his share of attention these days.

The official opening night for The Great Society is October 1st. The play will run through November 30th.

For tickets go here.

This post will be updated once production photos have been released.

The post The Great Society appeared first on Cultural Attaché.