AMERICANWAY

BRIEF: Q&A D EC ADE S AGO, play wright Rober t Schenk kan won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his one-act-play series The Kentucky Cycle. In the years that followed, he worked on such blood-and-guts fare as TV's The Pacific, produced by Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg and Gary Goetzman. Last season, Schenkkan roared back to Broadway with Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston, who played President Lyndon B. Johnson in All the Way — shattering box-office re- cords and earning Tony Awards for both Schenkkan and his leading man. With the play's sequel, The Great Society, having wrapped up its run at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Schenkkan talks to American Way about LBJ, the Golden Age of Televi- sion and why theater remains so vital. AMERICAN WAY: What was it like to break box-office records with a historical play? R O B E R T S C H E N K K A N : I t w a s fantastic. We actually broke records twice — we broke our own record. The audience response on Broadway and everywhere else we played has been wildly enthusiastic. I think we were all a little stunned at the extent of the success in New York. I'm grateful and proud of it, but I think it's also good for the theater. It makes it easier for plays of similar size and ambition to get produced on Broadway. AW: You won the Pulitzer Prize for The Kentucky Cycle and have continued to write in a variety of genres. Did you ever think that would remain the pinnacle of your career? RS: Certainly the Pulitzer was a highlight and something that I remain very proud of. And you're right, I have continued to write in a variety of genres and styles in the last 22 years. You hope that lightning will strike twice, so it's extremely gratifying to win the Tony. AW: When you worked on TV projects like The Pacific, did you find the same sense of fulfillment as you did while you were writing plays? RS: I certainly enjoy the film and TV aspects of my career, but theater is my first and longtime love. And my control of the finished project is much more profound in theater than in film and television. That distinction is an important distinc- tion, and it certainly affects my sense of achieve- ment. As a playwright, I retain the copyright as my complete artistic control as much as I can in a collaborative art form. AW : Would you agree with the premise that film is a director's medium and theater is a writer's medium? RS: In film and theater, that's true, but TV — series TV — feels very much like a writer's medium these days. It's kind of a Golden Age of TV, with some extraordinary work. AW: What was it like to work with Bryan Cranston? R S : He was and remains a real pleasure to work with. He's a con- summate professional, extremely disciplined, very hardworking — and a very funny, very relaxed, easygoing, self-effacing type of guy. AW: Why was LBJ so interesting to you? RS: I'm very interested in the inherent tension between the acquisition and exercise of power and morality, and LBJ is a brilliant lens in which to view these issues. There's hardly anyone who pursued power so relentlessly and exercised it so gleefully with such mixed results. AW : In our virtual society, why is theater so important? RS: It's interesting because theater is the antith- esis of where the technology, seemingly, is moving — or the popular consumption of that technology, which is smaller and smaller narrative arcs and less and less personal contact. But I think, in contrast to that, the theater experience becomes even more unique, more precious and more vital. To hear a story in real time with a community becomes even more important of an experience, and I think that will always be true. Going All the Way Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright ROBERT SCHENKKAN continues to prove he's a box-office force to be reckoned with. "I certainly enjoy the film and TV aspects of my career, but theater is my FIRST AND LONGTIME LOVE." To learn more about All the Way, visit www.allthewaybroadway.com To learn more about The Great Society, visit www.broadway.com/ shows/great-society Photogr a ph y by Dustin Cohen By Dr ew Limsk y 4 0 D EC E M B E R 2 01 4 A A .CO M/A M E R I C A NWAY

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