George Clooney is currently making his long-awaited Broadway debut in Good Night, and Good Luck, which opened April 3 at the Winter Garden Theatre. The play centers around a historic and unprecedented moment during the golden age of broadcast journalism.
To celebrate, here are other Broadway (and Off-Broadway!) shows related to journalism.
Good Night, and Good Luck
It’s the golden age of broadcast journalism. Edward R. Murrow invites Republican Senator Joseph McCarthy on to CBS News for an on-air showdown regarding McCarthy’s accusations of communism and disloyalty in government and beyond. The play chronicles a moment in American history when truth and journalistic integrity stood up to fearmongering and disinformation — and won.
Two-time Academy Award winner George Clooney stars as the CBS journalist. The play is based on the 2005 movie of the same name that was directed by and starred Clooney.
The Connector
Two talented young journalists are on diverging paths during the late 1990s. Rising reporter Ethan Dobson and assistant copy editor Robin Martinez work at the prestigious magazine The Connector. Ethan is soon tested on how far he will go to earn the big exclusive scoop, and Robin is forced to consider how far she’ll go to stop him.
The Connector featured music by Jason Robert Brown (The Last Five Years) and made its world debut at MCC Theatre Off-Broadway in January 2024. Ben Levi Ross starred as Ethan opposite Hannah Cruz as Robin.
Network
Fictional anchorman Howard Beale is struggling to pull in TV viewers. During his live broadcast, he has a mental breakdown at the anchor desk. Ratings soar and the network seizes on its newfound populist prophet.
Ivo van Hove directed the stage adaptation by Lee Hall. It is based on the Oscar-winning film of the same name. Bryan Cranston played Howard Beale, earning him a Tony Award for his performance. The play opened on Broadway at the Belasco Theatre in December 2018.
Ink
It’s 1969. Rupert Murdoch buys a struggling London newspaper, The Sun. Murdoch wants to make it the must-read news source and hires editor Larry Lamb, who goes on to recruit an unlikely team of underdog reporters.
Ink, by James Graham, debuted on Broadway in April 2019 at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre through Manhattan Theatre Club. Bertie Carvel won a Tony Award for his portrayal as Murdoch, and Jonny Lee Miller played Larry Lamb.
Newsies
Seize the day! Struggling newspaper delivery boys go on strike after the publisher raises the prices on them. It’s based on the real-life Newsboys Strike of 1899 in New York City.
Newsies: The Musical premiered at New Jersey’s Paper Mill Playhouse in 2011 before making its Broadway debut in 2012 at the Nederlander Theatre. The show, starring Jeremy Jordan as Jack and John Dossett as newspaper tycoon Joseph Pulitzer, played for more than 1,000 performances. It featured music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Jack Feldman, and a book by Harvey Fierstein.
The show was based on the 1992 movie musical of the same name.