Good Night, and Good Luck (play)
| Good Night, and Good Luck | |
|---|---|
 Playbill cover | |
| Written by | George Clooney Grant Heslov |
| Based on | |
| Directed by | David Cromer |
| Characters | Edward R. Murrow Don Hollenbeck |
| Date premiered | March 12, 2025 |
| Place premiered | Winter Garden Theatre |
| Original language | English |
| Genre | Historical drama |
Good Night, and Good Luck is a historical drama play written by George Clooney and Grant Heslov. It is adapted from their 2005 film Good Night, and Good Luck and focuses on the conflict between veteran CBS journalist Edward R. Murrow and U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy. The play's Broadway premiere in March 2025, directed by David Cromer, stars Clooney as Murrow, making his Broadway debut.[1][2]
The play received mostly positive reviews with critics praising it's themes, direction, lead performance and scenic design, with some questioning whether it improved on the film. The production has enjoyed strong box office returns.
Plot
[edit]![[icon]](/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (April 2025) |
The play is based on 2005 film whose screenplay by George Clooney portrays the conflict between veteran CBS journalist Edward R. Murrow and U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin regarding the Senator's investigations and use of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations to blacklist people suspected of being communist.
Conception
[edit]The film was a direct response to the United States' involvement in the Iraq War.[3] According to Clooney, the Broadway production is a response to the attack on free speech and journalism by President Donald Trump and his administration. Clooney says he wrote the film as a way to open the discussion of an era "when the press held their government to account". The film and the play's co-writer Grant Heslov says of the story that it will remain relevant and "stand the test of time".[4]
In the film, Clooney portrayed Fred W. Friendly, a friend of Murrow's and producer of See It Now. On Broadway, Clooney plays Murrow; the role was portrayed by David Strathairn in the film. Clooney said about taking the role, "Murrow had a gravitas to him that at 42 years old I wasn't able to pull off".[5] It is Clooney's first role on stage since the 1986 American play Vicious about the life of Sex Pistols musician Sid Vicious,[2] where he played a male prostitute drug dealer.[2][6]
Promotion
[edit]
During the promotion for the play, Clooney gave a wide-ranging interview to 60 Minutes, where he discussed the role of journalism and a free press in a democracy.[7][8] He noted similarities between the events portrayed in Good Night, and Good Luck and the modern-day challenges journalists encounter in seeking the truth, including lawsuits brought against news organizations by Donald Trump and his administration.[9][10] Richard Alvin of Business Matters agreed, calling the play "worryingly relevant. ... [W]hat struck me most was ... that somewhere between Murrow’s smoky sign-off and the arrival of TikTok news, we lost the fourth estate. ... It started with fear."[11]
Productions
[edit]The play began previews at the Winter Garden Theatre on March 12, 2025, starring George Clooney, in his Broadway debut as Edward R. Murrow, Ilana Glazer, Paul Gross, Christopher Denham, Glenn Fleshler, Fran Kranz,[12] Mac Brandt and Carter Hudson.[13] It had its opening night on April 3. The production is scheduled to run through June 8.[14] Those who attended opening night included journalists and news anchors such as Lesley Stahl, Chris Wallace, Gayle King, Jake Tapper, Pamela Brown and George Stephanopoulos.[15]
The play has enjoyed strong box office grosses, setting the historical Broadway weekly record.[16]
Cast and characters
[edit]| Characters | Broadway |
|---|---|
| 2025 | |
| Edward R. Murrow | George Clooney |
| Shirley Wershba | Ilana Glazer |
| Fred W. Friendly | Glenn Fleshler |
| Don Hollenbeck | Clark Gregg |
| Joseph Wershba | Carter Hudson |
| William S. Paley | Paul Gross |
| John Aaron | Christopher Denham |
| Palmer Williams | Fran Kranz |
| Colonel Anderson | Mac Brandt |
| Don Hewitt | Will Dagger |
| Ella / Jazz Singer | Georgia Heers |
Critical reception
[edit]The production received mostly positive reviews, with critics praising Clooney's performance and the play's faithfulness to the source material, timely subject matter, and lavish scenic design. Jesse Green of The New York Times selected the production as a Critics' Pick, describing it as "a slender, swift and healthy exercise in hagiography". Green praised David Cromers "suave direction" and Clooney's performance as being full of "wit, integrity and charming modesty."[17] Frank Rizzo of Variety wrote, "This transfer from screen to stage is as intense and laser-focused as the penetrating gaze coming from its star and co-writer, George Clooney."[18] Sara Holden of Vulture wrote, "there's undeniably something bracing about Clooney's revisitation" and added "Clooney – probably the closest thing contemporary Hollywood has to a Cary Grant – carries [a] sense of responsibility onto the stage".[19]
Some mixed or negative reviews questioned the play's theatricality and high ticket prices. Adam Feldman of Time Out wrote, "consumers should be warned that nothing in this perfectly pleasant production is better than what you can get at home by renting the movie for $3.99."[20] Frank Scheck of New York Stage Review opined that "there's nothing inherently theatrical" about the production" and that it "pretty much replicates the film".[21] David Gordon of TheaterMania described it as an "empty reassembly of their screenplay" which lacks tension, adding that "the play doesn’t trust the audience to see the parallels between past and present, creating little more than a well-intentioned echo chamber instead of a gripping 90-minutes of theater."[22]
Accolades
[edit]2025 Broadway production
[edit]| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Drama League Award | Outstanding Production of a Play | Good Night, and Good Luck | Pending | [23] |
| Outstanding Direction of a Play | David Cromer | Pending | |||
| Distinguished Performance | George Clooney | Pending | |||
| Outer Critics Circle Award | John Gassner Award (new American play) | George Clooney and Grant Heslov | Pending | [24] |
References
[edit]- ^ Culwell-Block, Logan (May 13, 2024). "George Clooney Will Star in Broadway Adaptation of Good Night, and Good Luck". Playbill.
- ^ a b c Quinn, Dave (February 19, 2025). "George Clooney Admits Memorizing His Lines for Broadway's Good Night, and Good Luck Is 'a Nightmare': 'I'm Scared!'". People.
- ^ Wertheim, Jon; Chasan, Aliza. "George Clooney, gearing up to play Edward R. Murrow on Broadway, defends freedom of the press". CBS News. Retrieved April 25, 2025.
- ^ "George Clooney makes Broadway debut, telling the story of pioneering journalist Edward R. Murrow". CBS News. 23 March 2025. Retrieved April 4, 2025.
- ^ "George Clooney: The 2025 60 Minutes Interview". Youtube. 23 March 2025. Retrieved April 4, 2025.
- ^ Dowd, Maureen; Traff, Thea (February 20, 2025). "Being George Clooney Is Harder Than It Looks". The New York Times.
- ^ Sharf, Zack (24 March 2025). "Donald Trump Calls George Clooney a 'Second Rate Movie Star' After Clooney Calls Out the Government for Trying to 'Make Journalists Smaller': 'They Don't Like the Press'". Variety. Retrieved April 4, 2025.
- ^ Mayer, Chloe (24 March 2025). "Donald Trump Trashes George Clooney: 'Second Rate Movie Star'". Newsweek. Retrieved April 4, 2025.
- ^ Shoard, Catherine (24 March 2025). "'A second-rate movie star and failed political pundit': Donald Trump criticises George Clooney after comments on press freedom". The Guardian. Retrieved April 4, 2025.
- ^ Bernstein, Jacob (4 April 2025). "At Good Night Opening, the Stars Came Out for Clooney". The New York Times. Retrieved April 4, 2025.
- ^ Alvin, Richard. "The slow death of the fourth estate – and why George Clooney’s Broadway revival hits harder than he thinks", Business Matters, April 18, 2025
- ^ Baron, Tricia; Gordon, David (2025-02-07). "Ilana Glazer, Clark Gregg, Paul Gross Joining George Clooney on Broadway in Good Night, and Good Luck". Retrieved 2025-03-01.
- ^ Sharpe, Josh (March 24, 2025). "Video: George Clooney Explains Why Good Night, and Good Luck Still Resonates". BroadwayWorld.
- ^ Huston, Caitlin (2024-11-14). "George Clooney Appears as Edward R. Murrow in New Trailer for Broadway Play". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2024-11-15.
- ^ "George Clooney, Jennifer Lopez and More Stars Hit the Red Carpet for Opening of Broadway's Good Night, and Good Luck". People Magazine. Retrieved April 4, 2025.
- ^ Huston, Caitlin. "Broadway Box Office: Good Night and Good Luck Breaks Weekly Record for Highest Grossing Play", The Hollywood Reporter, April 15, 2025
- ^ Green, Jesse (4 April 2025). "Review: Clooney, Fair and Balanced, in 'Good Night, and Good Luck'". The New York Times. Retrieved April 4, 2025.
- ^ "'Good Night, and Good Luck' Review: George Clooney Makes an Impressive Broadway Bow in Taut Film-to-Stage Transfer". April 4, 2025. 4 April 2025.
- ^ "This I Believe: George Clooney in Good Night, and Good Luck". Vulture. 4 April 2025. Retrieved April 4, 2025.
- ^ Feldman, Adam. "Good Night, and Good Luck review". Time Out. Retrieved April 4, 2025.
- ^ "Good Night, and Good Luck: Movie-to-Stage-to-Video". New York Stage Review. 4 April 2025. Retrieved April 4, 2025.
- ^ "Review: George Clooney's Good Night, and Good Luck Has Good Intentions but Lives in an Echo Chamber". Theater Mania. Retrieved April 4, 2025.
- ^ "Drama League Announces 2025 Award Nominees". TheaterMania. Retrieved April 22, 2025.
- ^ "'Death Becomes Her' Broadway Musical Leads Outer Critics Circle Award Nominees – Complete List". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 25, 2025.
External links
[edit]
 | This article on a play is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |