George Clooney to make Broadway debut in stage version of ‘Good Night, and Good Luck’
ByNatalie Dreier, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
On Broadway FILE PHOTO: George Clooney attends "The Boys In The Boat" New York screening at Museum of Modern Art on December 13, 2023 in New York City. Clooney will be appearing as Edward R. Murrow in the Broadway production of "Good Night, and Good Luck." (Photo by Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images) (Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images)
ByNatalie Dreier, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
George Clooney has made a name for himself on television and in films, but there is one stage he hasn’t yet appeared on — Broadway.
But that will soon change after he agreed to play Edward R. Murrow in a stage production of his Oscar-nominated film “Good Night, and Good Luck,” making his Broadway debut, The Associated Press reported.
“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,” Clooney said in a statement.
David Strathairn played Murrow in the movie, with Clooney the film’s co-writer and director. He also appeared in the feature as Fred W. Friendly, Murrow’s collaborator.
Clooney will not be directing the stage version. That job will be handed to Tony Award-winning director, David Cromer, who directed “The Band’s Visit.”
“Good Night, and Good Luck” will hit the stage next spring at a Shubert theater, but no other details on a premiere, a specific theater or how long the show will run were released, according to The New York Times.
The play will focus on the period when Murrow’s reporting clashed with Sen. Joseph McCarthy, R-Wis., who tried to uncover alleged Communists in America during the 1950s. It was called the “Red Scare” or “McCarthyism,” according to the Eisenhower Presidential Library. McCarthy was eventually censured by the Senate in 1954, and he died less than three years later.
The title “Good Night, and Good Luck” comes from Murrow’s signoff from his series “See It Now.”
Murrow, who the AP described as “one of the architects of U.S. broadcast news,” died in 1965.
“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,” Cromer said.
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George Clooney through the years 1996 GEORGE CLOONEY IN THE TV HIT SERIES "ER" (Getty Images/Getty Images)
George Clooney through the years 1991: Sebastian Junger, right, author of "The Perfect Storm" poses with actors Mark Wahlberg, center, and George Clooney on "The Perfect Storm" film set. The movie is based on an actual storm that occurred in October 1991 off the coast of Nova Scotia which took the lives of six crew members onboard the Andrea Gail, a seventy-foot fishing boat. (Photo by Claudette Barius/Warner Bros via Online USA) (Getty Images/Getty Images)
George Clooney through the years 2000: In The Depression-Era Deep South (From L-R), Three Escapees From A Mississippi Prison Chain Gang: Pete (John Turturro), Delmar (Tim Blake Nelson) And Everett Ulysses Mcgill (George Clooney), Embark On The Adventure Of A Lifetime As They Set Out To Pursue Their Freedom And Return To Their Homes, In Touchstone Pictures/Universal Pictures' Drama, "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" (Tentative Title). (Photo By Getty Images) (Getty Images/Getty Images)
George Clooney through the years 2002: Actor George Clooney (R) and his father Nick attend the Rosemary Clooney's Life And Career Celebrated by her family at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on December 10, 2002 in Beverly Hills, California. The gala benefits the Mayo Clinic Rosemary Clooney Pulmonary Research Fund. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images) (Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)
George Clooney through the years 2003: Actor George Clooney and actress Catherine Zeta-Jones arrive for a press conference at the 60th Venice Film Festival on September 3, 2003 in Venice, Italy. Clooney is in Venice to present the Joel Ethan Coen's film "Intolerable cruelty". (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images) (Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)
George Clooney through the years 2006: (L-R) Actor George Clooney, Deputy Ambassador Jackie Sanders, Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton and Elie Wiesel address the United Nations Security Council on Dafur at the UN September 14, 2006 in New York City. (Photo by Scott Wintrow/Getty Images) (Scott Wintrow/Getty Images)
George Clooney through the years 2007: Actors Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Matt Damon attend the premiere for the film 'Ocean's Thirteen' at the Palais des Festivals during the 60th International Cannes Film Festival on May 24, 2007 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Peter Kramer/Getty Images) (Peter Kramer/Getty Images)
George Clooney through the years 2007: Actor George Clooney places his hands in cement during the hand and footprints ceremony at the Grauman's Chinese Theatre on June 5, 2007 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images) (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
George Clooney through the years 2008: George Clooney and Renee Zellweger, stars of the film 'Leatherheads', speak to the press at the Historic Salisbury Station, on the third stop on a "Whistle Stop Express" tour on March 26, 2008 in Salisbury, North Carolina. (Photo by Peter Taylor/Getty Images) (Peter Taylor/Getty Images)
George Clooney through the years 2009: Actor George Clooney arrives at the "The Men Who Stare At Goats" premiere during the Toronto International Film Festival held at Roy Thomson Hall on September 11, 2009 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Malcolm Taylor/Getty Images) (Malcolm Taylor/Getty Images)
George Clooney through the years 2011: Actor George Clooney arrives to the premiere of Fox Searchlight's "The Descendants" at AMPAS Samuel Goldwyn Theater on November 15, 2011 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images) (Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)
George Clooney through the years 2014: Amal Alamuddin and George Clooney attend the Celebrity Fight Night In Italy Benefitting The Andrea Bocelli Foundation and The Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center Gala on September 7, 2014 in Florence, Italy. (Photo by Andrew Goodman/Getty Images for Celebrity Fight Night) (Andrew Goodman)
George Clooney through the years 2015: Amal Clooney (L) and actor George Clooney attend the premiere of Disney's "Tomorrowland" at AMC Downtown Disney 12 Theater on May 9, 2015 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images) (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
George Clooney through the years 2016: Actor George Clooney (R) and wife Amal Clooney attend a Leaders Summit for Refugees during the United Nations 71st session of the General Debate at the United Nations General Assembly on September 20, 2016 in New York, New York. (Photo by Peter Foley - Pool/Getty Images) (Pool/Getty Images)
George Clooney through the years 2018: George and Amal Clooney attend the wedding of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle on May 19, 2018, in Windsor, England. Prince Henry Charles Albert David of Wales marries Ms. Meghan Markle in a service at St George's Chapel inside the grounds of Windsor Castle. Among the guests were 2200 members of the public, the royal family and Ms. Markle's Mother Doria Ragland. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images) (Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
George Clooney through the years 2019: Amal Clooney and George Clooney speak to Prince Charles, Prince of Wales as they attend a dinner to celebrate The Prince's Trust, hosted by Prince Charles, Prince of Wales at Buckingham Palace on March 12, 2019 in London, England. The Prince of Wales, President, The Prince’s Trust Group hosted a dinner for donors, supporters and ambassadors of Prince’s Trust International. (Photo by Chris Jackson - WPA Pool/Getty Images) (Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
George Clooney through the years 2019: (L-R) Kyle Chandler, Christopher Abbott, and George Clooney attend the U.S. premiere of Hulu's "Catch-22" at TCL Chinese Theatre on May 07, 2019 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images) (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
George Clooney through the years WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 04: Honoree George Clooney (R) and Amal Clooney attend the 45th Kennedy Center Honors ceremony at The Kennedy Center on December 04, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images) (Paul Morigi/Getty Images)
George Clooney through the years LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 09: George Clooney attends Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona joins George Clooney for tour of Roybal film and television production magnet school at the Edward Roybal Learning Center on January 09, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for Roybal Film and Television Production Magnet School) (Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for Roybal Film an)
George Clooney through the years LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 14: George Clooney speaks onstage at the screening of "Ocean's Eleven" during the 2023 TCM Classic Film Festival on April 14, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images for TCM) (Charley Gallay/Getty Images for TCM)
George Clooney through the years George Clooney attends "The Boys In The Boat" New York screening at Museum of Modern Art on December 13, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images) (Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images)