PAW takes on The Columnist
Journalist Joseph Alsop of The New York Herald Tribune and later The Washington Post, wrote weekly columns that appeared in almost 400 newspapers. He coined the term “missile gap” and was spectacularly influential during the Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson administrations. While fearlessly manipulating public figures from Joe McCarthy to John Kennedy, Alsop guarded a secret — he was a homosexual.
Playwright David Auburn, author of Proof, takes on Alsop’s story in The Columnist, which closed on Broadway a year ago and will be performed by Performing Arts of Woodstock (PAW) on three weekends from May 31 to June 16.
Directed by Tony award winner Nicola Sheara, the show features Farrell Reynolds as Joseph Alsop and Doug Koop as his brother Stewart, also a powerful journalist. The cast includes Anna Remet, Kendra Cornelis, Gregor Trieste, Joe Bongiorno, and Brandon Hargrove.
The Alsop brothers were New Deal liberals who eventually developed a hawkish approach to the Cold War and U.S. involvement in Vietnam. They were on the inside and the top of Washington society, especially during the Kennedy years, and were intimates of the CIA’s top bureaucracy. In fact, they were used to spread CIA “facts” through their columns. Joe, in particular, was loved, feared, and courted in equal measure. He even urged Kennedy to persuade Johnson to join his ticket.
The Columnist reveals Alsop’s bold and witty management of a secret that would have devastated his career if exposed, all the while navigating his course through intense political drama.
Violet Snow
Performing Arts of Woodstock presents The Columnist by David Auburn at the air-conditioned, newly renovated Woodstock Town Hall, 76 Tinker Street. Performances are May 31 and June 1, 2, 7, 8, 9, 14, and 15 at 8 p.m. The June 16 matinee is at 3 p.m. Tickets are $17 general admission, $14 for seniors and students. Group rates are available. For reservations, call (845) 679-7900. See the PAW website at www.performingartsofwoodstock.org.
