Seattle Rep's Epic LBJ Play The Great Society Tries to Contain Too Much History in Too Little Time

Comments

I assume you weren't born when all this happened. If you had been you might have a different perspective on it.

crone on December 18, 2014 at 9:16 PM

My entire understanding of LBJ was as the Vietnam president. After seeing All the Way and The Great Society back to back last Saturday, I was introduced to a complex character that did more to change - no, improve - this country than any president since. I was astonished. Perhaps I just wasn't paying attention in History, but I'm sure I'm not alone.

The plays were both tremendous. Hats off to the Rep for staging them, hats off to Robert Schenkkan for crafting them.

NTOx on December 18, 2014 at 11:16 PM

I was born before all of this happened. I witnessed these events as a conscious and thinking person, and I find this to be an excellent critical review of a what appears to be a very "worth reviewing" play. I'm glad we do not ask reviewers to have witnessed all of the history informing the art they review.

Matthew Stadler on December 19, 2014 at 9:54 AM

"American Berserk" I love that phrase to describe the time. As some forgotten sage said, History can rhyme, it does not repeat. The spirit of our time is not the civil unrest of race inequality; the protest today is a segment on Cable News, a topic for talk radio. Our Zeitgeist is not civil rights, it is obsessions with smartphones and data packages and NFL teams...it is about want, not need.

William of Seattle on December 20, 2014 at 9:54 AM