Stage Version of ‘Network,’ Starring Bryan Cranston, Sets Broadway Opening

[edjames]

Stage Version of ‘Network,’ Starring Bryan Cranston, Sets Broadway Opening

 

Are audiences ready to get mad as hell all over again?

 

The National Theater’s stage version of “Network,” Paddy Chayefsky’s searing film satire about

and the manipulative executives who seek to use him for their advantages, will transfer to Broadway in the fall.

 

As in its London production, the Broadway play will be directed by Ivo van Hove and will star Bryan Cranston as Howard Beale, the anchorman of the fictional UBS channel, whose troubling on-air diatribes earn him the title of “mad prophet of the airwaves.”

 

“Network,” the original 1976 motion picture written by Chayefsky and directed by Sidney Lumet, starred Peter Finch as Howard Beale; William Holden as the depleted news president Max Schumacher; and Faye Dunaway as Diana Christensen, a cynical programming executive who becomes Schumacher’s lover as well as his workplace rival.

 

At its release, “Network” earned the disdain of the TV news business for depicting the industry as an arena where furious passion and uninhibited anger could supplant sober fact. The film nonetheless became a commercial and critical success, winning Academy Awards for Chayefsky’s screenplay and the performances of Beatrice Straight, Ms. Dunaway and Finch (who died two months before the Oscars ceremony).

 

The National’s production was adapted by Lee Hall (“Billy Elliot”) from Chayefsky’s script, and opened to acclaim last November. Reviewing the play for The New York Times, Ben Brantley praised it as “a bravura exercise in torturously applied pressure,” adding that it “feels as pertinent to our time as it did to its own.”

 

Mr. Cranston, a Tony Award winner for “All the Way” and four-time Emmy Award winner for “Breaking Bad,” said in a statement that, in a “post-truth era,” the Chayefsky film “shines a spotlight on today’s society with prescient clarity.”

 

He added, “I’m thrilled to be able to continue ‘Network’ in New York where the story originated over 40 years ago. It’s remarkable to see how things have changed … and what has not.”

 

Mr. van Hove is also directing a new Broadway version of “West Side Story,” with choreography by Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, that is planned to begin performances in December 2019 and open in February 2020. He won the Tony for directing his recent Broadway revival of “A View From the Bridge,” which ran in the same season as his revival of “The Crucible.”

 

Press representatives for the Broadway production of “Network” said in a statement that it will be presented at the Cort Theater. The limited 18-week run will begin previews on Nov. 10 with an opening night scheduled for Dec. 6. Its producers include David Binder, who next year will become artistic director for the Brooklyn Academy of Music

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

I saw this at The National. It's going to be a tough ticket when it transfers. Cranston is a shoe-in for the TONY.

 

I bet Paddy would be proud of this production

[foxy]

Cranston was brilliant as Lyndon Johnson in All the Way. And Breaking Bad stands as one of the best shows ever. This show is high on my list to see.

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

Got tix for opening night. The cast changes are small, but interesting.

 

I think this show will be a very tough ticket through the holidays.

[+ beethoven]

I got a ticket the other day, via Telecharge. Evidently, the entire center section of the orchestra and the first four or five seats off the aisle in both side sections are NOT for sale at $150 (approximately). I bought one of the "cheap" seats in the orchestra, J 10, for about $163 with all those extra charges. If you want a GOOD seat, you will pay thru the nose. I just hope that this lives up to its hype.

[Cooper]

Saw Network. Bryan Cranston does an amazing job in the role of news anchor Howard Beale. He definitely gives what should be a Tony Award winning performance. He is so believable & makes a great connection with the audience.

 

The play is based on the 1976 movie with the famous line: “I'm mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it anymore!”

 

The show is scheduled to close June 8th.

 

Two other movies are now shows on Broadway: Tootsie & Beetlejuice.

[Cooper]

Here’s Bryan Cranston discussing Network.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2juPyPuy-U

 

FYI: It’s a long 2 hr play with no intermission. Mad dash to the restrooms... Discount tickets are occasionally available at TKTS.

Edited April 11, 2019 by Cooper

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

Saw Network. Bryan Cranston does an amazing job in the role of news anchor Howard Beale. He definitely gives what should be a Tony Award winning performance. He is so believable & makes a great connection with the audience.

 

The play is based on the 1976 movie with the famous line: “I'm mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it anymore!”

 

The show is scheduled to close June 8th.

 

Two other movies are now shows on Broadway: Tootsie & Beetlejuice.

 

Cranston gives one of those performances you remember long after you leave the show. His ability to go from near-silent to full on breakdown in a matter of two monologues is really impressive.

 

The design of Network is interesting, if not a little over-kinetic. I believe that was the point.

 

I'm seeing it again at the end of the month before it closes. Hoping that Tony Goldwyn has settled into the role. Wasn't a fan of Titiana Maslany at all and based on her resume, she's more natural on film than on stage.