George Clooney set for Broadway debut in ‘Good Night, and Good Luck’ adaptation

George Clooney returns to the stage as legendary TV journalist Edward R. Murrow in adaptation of the 2005 movie.


Pop Culture & Art May 14, 2024

George Clooney is set to make a dramatic return to the stage, this time on Broadway, in the play adaptation of the 2005 drama ‘Good Night, and Good Luck’. 

Clooney will step into the shoes of the legendary journalist Edward R. Murrow, the role originally portrayed by David Strathairn in the film. 

Clooney, who directed and co-starred in the film, will also contribute to the play's script alongside his long-time collaborator Grant Heslov.

The production, slated to open in spring 2025 at a yet-to-be-named Shubert Theatre, will be directed by Tony winner David Cromer. Producers include the notable teams of Seaview, Sue Wagner, John Johnson, Jean Doumanian, and Robert Fox.

Clooney expressed his excitement about his Broadway venture, stating, “I am honored, after all these years, to be coming back to the stage and especially, to Broadway, the art form and the venue that every actor aspires to.”

The story, set during the tense times of Senator Joseph McCarthy's anti-Communist campaign, centers on CBS News head Edward R. Murrow as he and his team challenge McCarthy's controversial tactics. 

“When Senator Joseph McCarthy began his foolhardy campaign to root out Communists in America, CBS News impresario Edward R. Murrow dedicated himself to exposing the atrocities being committed by McCarthy’s Senate ‘investigation’,” the film's logline explains.

Murrow, alongside his producer Fred Friendly (originally played by Clooney), confronts significant pressure from corporate sponsors yet strives to reveal the truth.

Director David Cromer highlighted the historical and ethical significance of Murrow’s work, stating, “Edward R. Murrow operated from a kind of moral clarity that feels vanishingly rare in today’s media landscape. There was an immediacy in those early live television broadcasts that today can only be effectively captured on stage, in front of a live audience.”

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