Audience Guide
Photos courtesy of LBJ Presidential Library
The Texas Premiere of Robert Schenkkan’s
Directed by Dave Steakley | Musical Direction by Allen Robertson | Starring Steve Vinovich as LBJ Content compiled by Production Dramaturg Russell M. Dembin with contributions from the LBJ Presidential Library
Lyndon Johnson became President when an assassin’s bullet killed John F. Kennedy on November 22,1963. Shortly after assuming the Presidency, Johnson used his legislative prowess to pass two bills that Kennedy had endorsed but was unable to get through Congress at the time of his death: a tax cut and a civil rights act. The latter, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, became the first effective civil rights law since Reconstruction, outlawing segregation and discrimination throughout American society. Next, Johnson articulated his own agenda, urging the Nation “to build a great society, a place where the meaning of man’s life matches the marvels of man’s labor.” In 1964, with Hubert Humphrey as his running mate, he won the Presidency against Republican challenger Barry Goldwater, garnering 61 percent of the vote and the widest popular margin in American history—more than 15,000,000 votes.
Johnson used his 1964 mandate to bring his vision for a Great Society to fruition in 1965, pushing forward a sweeping legislative agenda that would become one of the most ambitious and far-reaching in the nation’s history. Congress, at times augmenting or amending LBJ’s legislation, rapidly enacted his recommendations. As a result, his administration passed more than sixty education bills, initiated a comprehensive attack on the causes of poverty, began federal support of the arts and humanities, championed urban renewal, consumer protections, and environmental beautification and conservation, spurred development of depressed regions, and pushed for prevention and control of crime and delinquency. Millions of elderly people were also given the means for proper medical care through the 1965 Medicare Amendment to the Social Security Act. Johnson’s Great Society also included the continued advancement of civil rights. He tirelessly led
Kathleen and Harvey Guion Carolyn and Marc Seriff Carl and Claire Stuart Executive Producers
the effort for passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which removed poll taxes and tests that represented an obstacle to the ballot among many Americans of color, and the Civil Rights Act of 1968, outlawing discrimination in housing sales and rentals. Additionally, he appointed the first African-American cabinet member, Robert Weaver, and the first black U.S. Supreme Court Justice, Thurgood Marshall. Nevertheless, two overriding crises had been gaining momentum since 1965. Despite the beginning of new anti-poverty and antidiscrimination programs, unrest and rioting in black ghettos troubled the Nation. President Johnson steadily exerted his influence against segregation and on behalf of law and order, but there was no early solution. The other crisis arose from the war in Vietnam, the defense of which the U. S. had committed to under Eisenhower and Kennedy. Despite Johnson’s efforts to end Communist aggression
by increasing U.S. troop involvement to bring about a negotiated settlement, fighting continued. Controversy and protests over the war—and Johnson—had become acute by the end of March 1968, when Johnson again suspended the bombing of North Vietnam to initiate peace negotiations. At the same time, he startled the world by withdrawing as a candidate for re-election so that he might devote his full efforts, unimpeded by politics, to the quest to achieve an honorable peace. When Johnson left office, peace talks were underway. He died suddenly of a heart attack at his Texas ranch on January 22, 1973. The day before his death, he had learned that peace was at hand in Vietnam. Today Americans continue to feel the impact of Johnson’s legislative legacy in nearly every aspect of American life. Contributed by Anne Wheeler, Communications Director LBJ Presidential Library
Mindy Ellmer Brian McCall Producers
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Robert Schenkkan. Photo: Joshua Schenkkan
Author’s Perspective: A conversation with playwright Robert Schenkkan
Russell M. Dembin: The Great Society covers more ground than your first play about President Johnson, All the Way; how did your process for creating the second play compare with the first? Robert Schenkkan: Even while I was writing All The Way, I was thinking ahead to The Great Society, and of course I had the benefit now of all the research
and writing I had previously done. This meant that I had already established a certain aesthetic in terms of text and production. The primary difference between the two plays is that All The Way is a drama, and The Great Society is a tragedy. The primary challenge of The Great Society of course is the length of time being covered— one year in ATW compared to four years in The Great Society— and the substantially increased numbers of characters and events which needed to tracked. We are not just following LBJ’s political career and the startling national shift in party allegiance but also the breakup of the Civil Rights movement and the foreign policy tragedy of Vietnam. My process of development remained very much the same: a series of readings followed by workshops as the script developed, both at the
Oregon Shakespeare Festival and at the Seattle Repertory Theatre. RMD: The piece has been staged in Seattle and Oregon, as you mentioned, and it’s currently running in Florida—what does it mean for you to have it produced in Austin? RS: I would be very disappointed if the play wasn’t produced here in Austin, which was so central to LBJ and to his family. And of course, the level of production at ZACH was so high on ATW, it left me very eager to see what director Dave Steakley and company would bring to the second play. RMD: The script has remained mostly the same since The Great Society opened at Seattle Rep in late 2014, though elements
of the political climate have certainly changed. Have your feelings about the play changed at all since it premiered? RS: If anything, the story of LBJ, Dr. King, and America during these four years seems even more critical than ever in our understanding of the tremendous challenges the country is facing now. The Great Society is in some ways an “origin story” for the America of today. So many of the issues which now bitterly divide us first arose during this period. The play offers us the example of how strong leadership with bipartisan support can create enormous positive change, while at the same time it is a sobering reminder that the enormous power of the presidency, if left unchecked, can create tremendous problems.
1963 1 9 64 1 965 1966 1967 1 9 6 8 1 969 January 20
Johnson took the Oath of Office as President of the United States. The “Great Society” program became the agenda for Congress:
November 22
LBJ became the 36th President of the United States after the assassination of John F. Kennedy in Dallas. He was sworn in on Air Force One at 2:38 p.m.
November 25
LBJ called Martin Luther King Jr. and told him that enacting some of the “great progressive policies that Kennedy sought to initiate” was a way to honor his memory.
February 6
Cuban President Fidel Castro cut the water supply to the U.S. naval base at Guantánamo to protest U.S. seizure of Cuban fishing boats. Johnson took steps to give the base a self-sufficient supply of water and labor.
July 2
As part of his vision for a Great Society, LBJ signed into law the Civil Rights Act of 1964, guaranteeing freedoms and rights for all Americans.
• Aid to education • Protection of civil rights, including the right to vote • Urban renewal • Medicare • Conservation • Beautification • Control and prevention of crime and delinquency • Promotion of the arts • Consumer protection
March 7
Selma protest marches organized by activists demonstrated the desire of African-American citizens to exercise their constitutional right to vote. State troopers and possemen attacked the unarmed marchers with billy clubs and tear gas after they passed over the county line, and the event became known as Bloody Sunday.
March 7
French President Charles de Gaulle informed LBJ that France would end its participation in the military aspects of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The move threatened the future of NATO and U.S. policy in Europe.
July 4
President Johnson signed the Freedom of Information Act giving Americans the right to access information from the federal government.
January 27
January 30
June 5-10
March 31
LBJ signed the Treaty on Outer Space The Six Day War was fought in the Middle East between Israel and Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. The “Hot Line” was used for the first time between LBJ and Soviet Premier Alexsei Kosygin.
June 13
LBJ appointed the first African American, Thurgood Marshall, to the Supreme Court.
July 12 and 23
Riots erupted in Newark July 12; in Detroit on July 23; LBJ ordered 4,700 Federal troops to Detroit.
October 21-22
Protests against the war in Vietnam reached a high point as the “March on the Pentagon” drew over 50,000 protestors
Top: Signing the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Right: LBJ at the signing ceremony for the Voting Rights Act.
Enemy forces began the Tet Offensive in Vietnam
LBJ announced he would not run for another term.
April 4
Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated
May
Vietnam Peace Talks began in Paris.
June 6
Senator Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated.
July 1
LBJ signs the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
August 26- 29 Riots disrupt the Chicago Democratic National Convention
October 25
LBJ ordered a halt to all bombing of North Vietnam.
January 20
Johnson returned to Texas and the LBJ Ranch, following the inauguration of President Nixon.
July 16
LBJ had exercised strong leadership in the U.S. space program, and at Nixon’s request, attended the launching of Apollo 11 at Cape Kennedy, carrying astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, and Michael Collins to the moon.
July 20
While Michael Collins circled in the Columbia, Neil Armstrong and “Buzz” Aldrin became the first men to land on the moon. The flight represented the fulfillment of the goal, set in 1961 and reaffirmed by LBJ, of reaching the moon in the 1960s.
November 5 Richard M. Nixon was elected 37th U.S. President.
Excerpts pertinent to The Great Society taken from the timeline at: lbjlibrary.org/lyndon-baines-johnson/timeline. Visit the archives for more detailed history.
Meet the Key Players President Lyndon Baines Johnson (LBJ) U.S. President November 1963 -January 1969
Boy from rural Texas turned behind-the-scenes master of Congress; the “accidental” President was thrust into the public eye with the assassination of John F. Kennedy. At one of the most volatile moments in American history, suddenly politicians, journalists, soldiers, and activists were all asking, “What does LBJ want?” LBJ Loyalists and Allies _________________________________________________________
Lady Bird Johnson First Lady A shrewd manager of LBJ’s campaigns, she was also a lifelong advocate for beautifying the nation’s cities and highways.
Hubert Humphrey Vice President Liberal Democrat A strong advocate for civil rights and social programs, he ardently supported LBJ, at least in the public eye. Behind the scenes, the two argued about Vietnam War policies.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Civil Rights Leader
Ralph Abernathy Civil Rights Leader
From his 1963 “I Have a Dream” speech to the Nobel Peace Prize, King galvanized a nation to fight racial oppression using nonviolent resistance. A master of activism and political strategy, he also advocated for urban poverty relief and was against the war in Vietnam.
A close associate of MLK, Abernathy helped lead the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the 1968 March on Washington.
Fair-Weather Friends ___________________
Staunch Opponents ____________________
J. Edgar Hoover First Director of the FBI
Everett Dirksen Senator from Illinois Conservative Republican
George Wallace Alabama Governor Southern Democrat
Robert F. Kennedy Senator from New York Liberal Democrat
Though often a political opponent of Johnson’s, Dirksen played a crucial role in getting the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to pass. He was an acclaimed orator, and he and Johnson were drinking buddies.
Wallace threatened civil rights from the governor’s mansion while challenging Johnson in the 1964 Democratic Primary.
The younger brother and closest advisor to late President John F. Kennedy, Robert was a powerful and charismatic Democratic leader—and no fan of Johnson’s.
Hoover ran the Federal Bureau of Investigation for 48 years under six presidents. A keeper of personal and political secrets, his agenda was his own.
Adapted from Seattle Rep program content by Tom Bryant, Emma Watt, and Rose Woodbury, with additional material by Russell M. Dembin
Daily Diary Lyndon Johnson’s secretaries began compiling the Daily Diary in 1959, when Johnson was the Senate Majority Leader. As meetings and telephone calls occurred, the secretary “working” the Diary would note them. At right is page 11 from the Daily Diary on April 4, 1968, the day Martin Luther King was assassinated in Memphis. View all the Daily Diaries on the LBJ Presidential Library website: http://lbjlibrary.net/collections/ daily-diary.html.
Johnson’s Dream: LBJ’s vision for the U.S. was rooted in equality. He wanted to create a nation with the highest standard of living in the world and equal access to safe housing, education, and health care. His Great Society programs represent the largest expansion of social services since Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal programs of the 1930s.
Johnson’s pet project was his War on Poverty, over 40 bills to improve living and working conditions for America’s poorest citizens. During his five-plus years in office, LBJ passed thousands of bills including:
Civil Rights
Education
Public Broadcasting
Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1968 LBJ’s first civil rights legislation outlawed most forms of racial segregation. Four years later, another bill provided equal housing opportunities.
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 funded primary and secondary schools, enforced equal opportunity, established high standards but forbade a uniform national curriculum.
Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 provided funds for educational radio and TV programs, eventually leading to the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and National Public Radio (NPR).
Voting Rights Act of 1965 regulated the administration of elections so voters would not be discriminated against based on race.
Environment Clean Air Act of 1963 to control air pollution on a national level, the act put regulations in place to protect the public from hazardous airborne contaminants. Fish and Wildlife Conservation Protection Act (1966) protected some 35 species of mammals and 30-40 species of birds. Official Healthcare Sponsor
Higher Education Act of 1965 increased federal money given to universities, created scholarships, gave low-interest student loans, established a National Teachers Corps. National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities Act of 1965 established the National Endowments to promote artistic progress and scholarship.
Adapted from Seattle Rep program content by Tom Bryant, Emma Watt, and Rose Woodbury.
Poverty and Healthcare Head Start Program (1965) provided early childhood education, nutrition, and parent services to low-income children. Medicare (1965) guaranteed health insurance for Americans age 65 and over who have worked and paid into the system, and younger people with disabilities. Medicaid (1965) provided health care for low income families and individuals of all ages.
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This project is funded and supported in part by a grant from the Texas Commission on the Arts and by the Cultural Arts Division of the City of Austin Economic Development Department.