Good Night, and Good Luck

When I tuned into the CNN showing of the Broadway play Good Night, and Good Luck this past Saturday, June 7, I was surprised to discover that it was an historic event. It was the first time a production was broadcast live on national television from a Broadway theater in front of an audience during its scheduled run.

What surprised me was that I have seen other Broadway shows on television. It turns out they didn’t meet all the criteria of Saturday night’s event. Most of the shows were taped, often in front of a live audience (giveaway: laughter and applause at appropriate times). Some live performances aired before or after the Broadway run or were staged specifically for television rather than the theater. Others were livestreamed, a different process technologically than broadcasting. So the CNN production was truly the first of its kind.

Good Night, and Good Luck is about the legendary newsman Edward R. Murrow and his public challenge of Senator Joseph McCarthy’s anticommunist hearings. The title of the show was Murrow’s signature signoff on his broadcasts. George Clooney played Murrow in the limited-run Broadway production. It was based on the 2005 film of the same name, which Clooney wrote with Grant Heslov. Clooney also appeared in the film, not as Murrow but as his producer Fred Friendly.

Anyone who was so impressed with the televised play that they hoped to see it in person will be disappointed. It had only one more performance, closing with Sunday’s matinee. Perhaps because of its star power, Good Night, and Good Luck was the highest grossing play in Broadway history and the first to top $4 million in ticket sales in one week.