By Robert Schenkkan
Directed by Bill Rauch
1963. An assassin’s bullet catapults Lyndon B. Johnson into the presidency. A Shakespearean figure of towering ambition and appetite, this charismatic, conflicted Texan hurls himself into the Civil Rights Act, a tinderbox issue emblematic of a divided America. In the Pulitzer Prize–winning playwright’s vivid dramatization of LBJ’s first year in office, means versus ends plays out on the precipice of modern America. This searing, enthralling exploration of the morality of power, premiered at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in 2012.
Inspired by the themes surrounding the play All the Way, we asked members of our A.R.T. community to tell us their stories and share their memories from 1963 and 1964. Click here to learn more about and share our My Story project.
All the Way Audios
My Story – Ann Jimerson
Need to know
Recommended for grades 9 and up.
The play is an intense drama that takes place in 1960s America. It would be suitable for well-prepared high school students 14 and up who can handle frequent strong profanity and racial epithets.
Latecomers will be seated at the discretion of the House Management. Patrons that arrive late are not guaranteed access to their seats until intermission. Please make all members of your party aware of the prompt start.
PLEASE NOTE: The run of this production cannot be extended past its original end date of Oct 12.
Notable dates
ASL Dates:
October 1, 7:30PM
October 6, 2:00PM
Audio Described Dates:
October 2, 7:30PM*
October 5, 2:00PM*
*Touch tour 1 hour prior
Discussions
All the Way Discussions
The A.R.T. will host special panel discussions with Harvard scholars and members of the A.R.T. community:
September 23, 4:00PM: All the Way: The Civil Rights Act From 1964 to Today. Click here for more information.
September 29, following the matinee performance: The A.R.T. will participate in “Towards E Pluribus Unum”—An Initiative of the National Center for Race Amity (NCRA) at Wheelock College. This discussion will be hosted by Dr. William Smith, Founding Executive Director of the NCRA.
October 6, following the matinee performance: The A.R.T. will host a discussion with Alex Keyssar, Matthew W. Stirling Jr. Professor of History and Social Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School. Click here to learn more.
There will also be regularly scheduled talk-backs after the following matinee performances:
Saturday, September 21
Wednesday, September 25
Saturday, September 28
Wednesday, October 2
Saturday, October 5
Wednesday, October 9
Thursday, October 10* (11AM performance)
THE BLANCHE AND IRVING LAURIE FOUNDATION
& Newbury Comics
Photos & Videos
Press
Credits
Creative team
Cast

Bob Moses/ David Dennis
Eric Lenox Abrams

Bob Moses/ David Dennis
Eric Lenox Abrams
A.R.T.: Debut. Off-Broadway: The Piano Lesson, Signature; Hoodoo Love, Cherry Lane. Regional: Polk County, McCarter Theatre, Berkeley Rep; The Dinosaur Within, Austin State Theatre; Comedy of Errors, Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival; Mahalia, Vineyard Playhouse. Film/Television: Noise, Honeydripper, To Place in All Races, N.Y.C. Underground, Never Forever, “Unforgettable,” “Law & Order,” “Law & Order: SVU,” “Law & Order: CI,” “Boardwalk Empire,” “White Collar,” “Fringe,” “One Life to Live.” M.F.A. University of Texas at Austin. @tigerlenard

Lady Bird Johnson/Katharine Graham/Katharine St. George
Betsy Aidem

Lady Bird Johnson/Katharine Graham/Katharine St. George
Betsy Aidem
A.R.T.: 1000 Airplanes on the Roof. Off-Broadway: Nikolai and the Others, Road, Lincoln Center; Celebration, Dreams of Flying..., Atlantic; Mary Rose, The Metal Children, Vineyard Theatre; Stone Cold Dead Serious, Edge; Crooked, Women’s Project; Good Thing, New Group; The Butterfly Collection, Playwrights Horizons; Steel Magnolias, Lortel; Balm in Gilead (Drama Desk Award), Circle Rep; A Lie of the Mind, Promenade. Regional: Huntington, Long Wharf, George Street, Williamstown Theatre Festival. Film: Margaret. TV: “The Americans,” “The Big C,” “Rescue Me,” “Nurse Jackie.” OBIE for Sustained Excellence.

Hubert Humphrey/ Strom Thurmond
Reed Birney

Hubert Humphrey/ Strom Thurmond
Reed Birney
A.R.T.: Debut. Broadway: Gemini, Picnic (Howard Bevins). Off-Broadway: Uncle Vanya (Vanya, Drama Desk nomination), Blasted (Ian, Drama Desk nomination), Soho Rep; Circle Mirror Transformation (Shultz, OBIE, Drama Desk Awards), Playwrights Horizons; Tigers Be Still (Joseph), The Dream of the Burning Boy (Larry, Outer Critics Circle, Drama League nominations), Roundabout Underground; Bug (Dr. Sweet, OBIE Award), Barrow Street; Stuff Happens (Tony Blair), Public Theater. Film: The Girl Most Likely; Changeling; Morning Glory. TV: “House of Cards” (Donald Blythe).

Robert McNamara/ James Eastland/ William Moore McCulloch/Paul B. Johnson, Jr.
Arnie Burton

Robert McNamara/ James Eastland/ William Moore McCulloch/Paul B. Johnson, Jr.
Arnie Burton
A.R.T.: Debut. Broadway: Peter and the Starcatcher, The 39 Steps, A Free Man of Color, Amadeus. Off-Broadway: The Explorers Club, MTC; The Temperamentals (Drama Desk Award), New World Stages. UK: The Merchant of Venice, RSC. Regional: I Am My Own Wife (Kevin Kline Award, Helen Hayes nomination); The Seagull, The Taming of the Shrew, Old Globe; All in the Timing, Geffen Playhouse. Film: The Invention of Lying, Igby Goes Down. TV: “Frasier,” “Law & Order,” “White Collar,” “Blue Bloods.”

George Wallace/ James Corman/ Joseph Alsop/ Mike Mansfield/ Walter Reuther
Dan Butler

George Wallace/ James Corman/ Joseph Alsop/ Mike Mansfield/ Walter Reuther
Dan Butler
A.R.T.: WARHOLCAPOTE. Broadway: Twentieth Century, Biloxi Blues, The Hothouse. Off-Broadway: The Weir; Olive and the Bitter Herbs; Beast; The Only Thing Worse You Could Have Told Me… (Drama Desk/Outer Critics nominations); Lisbon Traviata; Widow Claire; Emerald City. Film: Crazy, Stupid Love; Pearl; Karl Rove, I Love You (co-writer/co-director); Chronic Town; Fixing Frank; The Fan; Enemy of the State; Silence of the Lambs. TV: “Frasier,” “Prayers for Bobby,” “Hey Arnold.”

Ralph Abernathy/ Butler
J. Bernard Calloway

Ralph Abernathy/ Butler
J. Bernard Calloway
A.R.T.: Debut. Broadway: Memphis the Musical (Delray Farrell). Off-Broadway: The Good Negro (Henry), Public Theater. Regional: Jitney (Booster), Two River Theater. Film: The Taking of Pelham 123, Man on a Ledge, Big Words. TV: “Person of Interest,” “White Collar,” “Rescue Me.” National Commercials: AT&T, Dr. Scholl’s, K-Mart. M.F.A. in Acting from Brandeis University.

Lyndon Baines Johnson
Bryan Cranston

Lyndon Baines Johnson
Bryan Cranston
A.R.T.: Debut. Theater credits: The Steven Weed Show (Drama-Logue Award); The God of Hell, Geffen Playhouse; The Taming of the Shrew; A Doll’s House; Eastern Standard. Film: Godzilla (2014); Oscarwinning Best Picture Argo (Screen Actors Guild Award); Rock of Ages; Drive; Contagion; Little Miss Sunshine; Saving Private Ryan. TV: “Breaking Bad” (Three consecutive Emmy Awards, 2013 Emmy nomination, three Golden Globe nominations, SAG Award); “Malcolm in the Middle” (Three Emmy Awards, Golden Globe nomination); “Seinfeld”; “From the Earth to the Moon.”

Coretta Scott King/ Fannie Lou Hamer
Crystal A. Dickinson

Coretta Scott King/ Fannie Lou Hamer
Crystal A. Dickinson
A.R.T.: Debut. Broadway: Clybourne Park (Theater World Award). Off-Broadway: The Call, Clybourne Park, Playwrights Horizons; Broke-ology, Lincoln Center; The First Breeze of Summer, Signature; Born Bad, Soho Rep; Sun Down Names and Night Gone Things, Negro Ensemble Company; Bottom of the World, Atlantic. Regional: Contemporary American Theater Festival, Center Stage, 7 Stages, Georgia Shakespeare, Illinois Shakespeare, Synchronicity. TV: “Tyler Perry’s House of Payne.” M.F.A. University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana and a proud volunteer at the 52nd Street Project.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
Brandon J. Dirden

Martin Luther King, Jr.
Brandon J. Dirden
A.R.T.: Debut. Broadway: Clybourne Park, Enron, Prelude to a Kiss. Off-Broadway: The Piano Lesson (OBIE, Theater World Award, Lortel and Drama League nominations), Signature; Detroit ’67, Public Theater/Classical Theatre of Harlem; Peter and the Starcatcher, NYTW; Bottom of the World, Atlantic. Regional: Topdog/Underdog, Jitney, Two River Theater; Trouble in Mind, Arena Stage; Magnolia, Goodman Theatre; Fences, Huntington, South Coast Repertory. B.A. Morehouse College and M.F.A. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Proud volunteer at the 52nd Street Project.

Roy Wilkins/ Shoeshiner/ Aaron Henry
Peter Jay Fernandez

Roy Wilkins/ Shoeshiner/ Aaron Henry
Peter Jay Fernandez
A.R.T.: Debut. Broadway: Cyrano de Bergerac, Julius Caesar, Henry IV, Jelly’s Last Jam, The Merchant of Venice. Off-Broadway: CQ/CX, Atlantic; Richard III, Epic Theater Ensemble; The Pain and the Itch, Playwrights Horizons; Thunder Knocking on the Door, Minetta Lane; As You Like It, Spell #7, Henry VIII, Public Theater; Macbeth, Theatre for a New Audience. TV: “House of Cards,” “Deception,” “Damages,” “Fringe,” “The Good Wife,” “Blue Bloods,” “Law & Order.” Graduate Boston University School for the Arts.

James Harrison/ Stokely Carmichael
William Jackson Harper

James Harrison/ Stokely Carmichael
William Jackson Harper
A.R.T.: Debut. Off-Broadway: A Family for All Occasions, Labyrinth Theatre Company; Modern Terrorism, Second Stage; The Total Bent, Titus Andronicus, Measure for Measure, Public Theater; A Cool Dip in the Barren Saharan Crick, Playwrights Horizons; Ruined, MTC; Queens Boulevard, Paradise Park, Signature; Massacre, Rattlestick. Film/TV: All Good Things, “Law & Order,” “Law & Order: CI,” “The Electric Company,” “The Share,” “30 Rock,” “Unforgettable,” “True Story.”

Richard Russell/ Emanuel Celler/ Jim Martin
Dakin Matthews

Richard Russell/ Emanuel Celler/ Jim Martin
Dakin Matthews
A.R.T.: All the Way. Broadway: The Audience, (Winston Churchill), Rocky (Mickey), The Best Man (Senator Carlin), A Man for All Seasons (Cardinal Wolsey), Henry IV (Warwick/Glendower, Bayfield and Drama Desk Award). Off-Broadway: Measure for Measure, All’s Well That Ends Well, Public Theater; Where’s Charley, Encores!; Freedomland, Playwrights Horizons. Regional: Prince of L.A., A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Old Globe; Three Sisters, Uncle Vanya, A.C.T.; Shadowlands, Misalliance, South Coast Repertory. Film: Lincoln, True Grit, Zero Charisma. TV: “Gilmore Girls,” "Desperate Housewives,” “King of Queens.”

J. Edgar Hoover/ Robert Byrd
Michael McKean

J. Edgar Hoover/ Robert Byrd
Michael McKean
A.R.T.: Debut. Broadway: The Best Man; Superior Donuts; The Homecoming; The Pajama Game; Hairspray; Accomplice (Theatre World Award). Off-Broadway: Our Town; A Second Hand Memory. L.A.: Yes, Prime Minister, Randy Newman’s Harps & Angels. Film includes: This is Spinal Tap; Clue; Best in Show; A Mighty Wind. TV: “Family Tree,” “Homeland,” “Law & Order: SVU,” “Laverne & Shirley.” Grammy for “A Mighty Wind”; Oscar nomination for song “A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow,’” written with Annette O’Toole.

Walter Jenkins/ William Colmer
Christopher Liam Moore

Walter Jenkins/ William Colmer
Christopher Liam Moore
(he/him) A.R.T.: Becoming a Man, Fingersmith (dramaturg), All the Way, Olympian Games, Alcestis, the CIVIL warS, The King Stag (1984). Broadway: All the Way (Walter Jenkins). Off-Broadway: The Far Country, Atlantic Theater Company. Regional: Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Guthrie, Yale Rep, South Coast Rep, Arena Stage, Mark Taper Forum, Berkeley Rep, Old Globe, Long Wharf. TV/

Stanley Levison/ John McCormack/ Seymore Trammell/ Edwin King
Ethan Phillips

Stanley Levison/ John McCormack/ Seymore Trammell/ Edwin King
Ethan Phillips
A.R.T.: Debut. Broadway: November, My Favorite Year. Off-Broadway: Golden Age, MTC; Measure for Measure, Public Theater; Lips Together, Teeth Apart, Lortel; Eccentricities of a Nightingale, Playwrights Horizons; Modigliani, Astor Place. Regional: The Imaginary Invalid, Bard SummerScape; Side Man, Pasadena Playhouse; Lloyd’s Prayer, Actors Theatre of Louisville; Ms. Ever’s Boys, Center Stage; You Can’t Take It With You, Geffen Playhouse; Inspecting Carol, Seattle Rep; Comedy of Errors, McCarter Theatre. Film: Inside Llweyn Davis, The Island, Glory.

Cartha DeLoach/ Howard Smith/ Everett Dirksen/ Carl Sanders
Richard Poe

Cartha DeLoach/ Howard Smith/ Everett Dirksen/ Carl Sanders
Richard Poe
A.R.T.: Debut. Broadway: Journey’s End, M. Butterfly, Our Country’s Good, The Pajama Game, Present Laughter. Off-Broadway: Why Torture is Wrong…, Public Theater. Regional: The Outgoing Tide (2012 Barrymore Award), Philadelphia Theatre Company; Tales of the City (Bay Area Critics nomination), A.C.T. Film: Teresa Is A Mother (Best Actor, NY Independent Film Festival), Burn After Reading, Transamerica, Born On The Fourth Of July, The Jackal. TV: “Star Trek,” “Frasier,” “Ed,” “Law & Order.”

Secretary/ Lurleen Wallace/ Muriel Humphrey
Susannah Schulman

Secretary/ Lurleen Wallace/ Muriel Humphrey
Susannah Schulman
A.R.T.: Debut. National Tour: Picasso at the Lapin Agile. Regional: The Winter’s Tale, Rough Crossing, All’s Well That Ends Well, Yale Rep; You, Nero, Arena Stage; How Shakespeare Won the West, Huntington; Rabbit Hole, Hudson Stage; Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Syracuse Stage; Bad Dates, Geva Theatre; South Coast Repertory; Berkeley Rep; OSF; Barbican Theatre; Magic Theatre; Shakespeare Santa Cruz; Cal Shakes.
Additional staff
HARVARD UNIVERSITY SUMMER INTERNS 2013 WITH SUPPORT FROM THE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT AND PROVOST AND IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE OFFICE OF CAREER SERVICES
Katherine Agard, Anna Kelsey, Joey Longstreet, Mark Mauriello, Brenna McDuffie, Sam Moore, Jumai Yusuf
SPECIAL THANKS
Mark McCullough
Original OSF cast : Kenajuan Bentley, Wayne T. Carr, Gina Daniels, Richard Elmore, Peter Frechette, Jonathan Haugen, David Kelly, Kevin Kenerly, Terri McMahon, Christopher Liam Moore, Mark Murphey, Daniel T. Parker, Douglas Rowe, Erica Sullivan, Derrick Lee Weeden, Jack Willis, Tyrone Wilson.