ALL THE WAY
The Stage Theatre: 1/29 –
2/28
L-R: C. David Johnson and Mike Hartman
Photo credit: Adams Visual Communications
There is much to recommend
about the DCPA Theatre Company’s production of Robert Schenkkan’s “All the Way.”
It’s 1964, the year after JFK
was assassinated, and LBJ and MLK are working hard to pass the Civil Rights
Act. Written by Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Robert Schenkkan (“The
Kentucky Cycle”), the script is sensational.
The show stars C. David
Johnson as a hard-driving, charismatic and profane LBJ. His performance alone
is worth the price of a ticket.
The characters played by Mike
Hartman and Phillip Pleasants are so brilliantly and passionately put forth you
may think you’re at a show on Broadway.
Although Terence Archie is
convincing as a centered and poised Martin Luther King, one might have wished
for a bit more passion in scenes in which he’s taken to task by members of his
own race who are crying for quick action in a process that was slow in coming.
Todd Cerveris portrays an
Alabama Governor George Wallace I wanted to hate a LOT more. Seeing the news
footage of Wallace’s vicious bigotry on black and white television when I was
in High School made my blood boil.
Among the other fine actors
in the cast are :Cajardo Lindsey, Laurence Curry, Sam Gregory, Kathleen McCall,
Tracey Conyer Lee and Jessica Robblee. Josh Robinson stepped in at
the last minute, nailing his roles with true professionalism.
The company of "All the Way"
Photo credit: Adams Visual Communications
The technical achievements in
sound, lighting, scenic design and projection are exceptional.
Playwright Schenkkan’s
observations of LBJ’s conflict with George Wallace and J. Edgar Hoover and his
(LBJ’s) manipulative moves in controlling the ever-waffling Hubert Humphrey are
key and core and …riveting!
Anthony Powell directs.
For tickets go online at denvercenter.org or call the Box Office at 303-893-4100
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