Broadway Features and Reviews
Lombardi Set To Tackle Broadway
By Angelo Franco, Broadway Magazine
American football on a Broadway stage? In celebration of sportsmanship, American legends, and good ol' theatre fun, Lombardi concocts a blend of tradition and contemporary play writing when it opens on Broadway this fall. This new American play is centered on the life of legendary football coach Vince Lombardi, who headed the Green Bay Packers during their glory years in the 1960s.
Shining a light on Vince Lombardi's life, this play offers a true and honest portrayal of what made the man a legend. Lombardi's influence is seen everywhere today: a 14-feet statue of him stands at the plaza of the Lambeau Field Atrium, home to the Packers, attributed to have mystical powers – rubbing Lombardi's nose is the equivalent of rubbing Buddha's belly; he's enshrined in the NFL's Football Hall of Fame; and the coveted Lombardi Trophy, given annually to the winner of the Super Bowl, is named after him.
In the title role is Dan Lauria, best known for portraying Jack Arnold, the laconic, grumpy dad in ABC's The Wonder Years. In Lombardi, Lauria will take on another father figure – one who has been reported by many to be particularly belligerent when leading his football team, while others affirm that what Vince Lombardi prized most was nothing but excellence.
The play also stars Judith Light as Marie Lombardi, the coach's wife. Light is best knows for ABC's series Who's the Boss? and she has most recently appeared in the TV hit Ugly Betty. Keith Nobbs, Bill Dawes, Robert Christopher Riley, and Chris Sullivan also star.
Producers Tony Ponturo and Fran Kirmser (who are behind the Broadway hits In the Heights and the revival of Hair) have partnered with the National Football League (NFL) to bring Lombardi to life. This marks the NFL's first blitz on Broadway, pun intended. Thomas Kail takes on the job of director. Kail was nominated for a Tony Award in 2008 for best direction of In the Heights.
Adapted by Academy-Award winner filmmaker Eric Simonson from a biography written by Pulitzer-Prize winner author David Maraniss, Lombardi first played at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, for a short pre-Broadway engagement.
"Winning isn't everything; it's the only thing," is the most famous quote often attributed to Lombardi, and this new play offers a look into that philosophy that resonates as so uniquely American, and traces the rise to power of a man that became legend through the complexities and conventions of an American tradition as is the sportsmanship and fanaticism of football. This play comes in a timely fashion, as this year marks the 40th anniversary of Lombardi's death, who died of colon cancer on September 3, 1970, at the age of fifty-seven. Lombardi opens at the Circle in the Square Theatre on October 21, with previews beginning September 23.
Catch additional features on Lombardi and all the new shows of the 2010-2011 Broadway season right here on Broadway.tv, and read our features in the pages of Broadway Magazine.
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