Lombardi
is a
play
by
Eric Simonson
, based on the book
When Pride Still Mattered: A Life of Vince Lombardi
by
Pulitzer Prize
-winning author
David Maraniss
.
Synopsis
[
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]
The play follows
Green Bay Packers
coach
Vince Lombardi
through a week in the
1965 NFL season
as he attempts to lead his team to the championship. (The Packers won the NFL championship that year, which would be the last season before the introduction of the Super Bowl.)
[1]
A "Look Magazine" reporter, Michael McCormick, wants to "find out what makes Lombardi win".
[2]
However, players on the team refuse to be interviewed, wary of giving up information. He goes instead to Lombardi's wife,
Marie
, for answers. Meanwhile, in a flashback, Lombardi frets over his lack of promotion and contemplates quitting football. His wife reveals that the family had an emotional move to
Green Bay, Wisconsin
when Lombardi joined the Packers.
Lombardi ends up yelling at Michael in front of the team, prompting both to storm off. Linebacker and place kicker
Dave Robinson
comforts Michael at a local bar, sharing stories about his initial impressions of the coach, the "honor of being barked at" by Lombardi, and the equality established on the team. After more positive insight from running back, option quarterback and kicker
Paul Hornung
and fullback
Jim Taylor
, Michael decides to attend the next game. As he narrates what happened at the game, the Packers win.
After he writes his news story, Michael reveals to Lombardi that he is quitting "Look Magazine" to form his own publishing company. Lombardi congratulates him on his move to independence and celebrates the win with Michael and Marie. Michael realizes that Lombardi is "the most imperfect, perfect man" he ever met.
Original Broadway cast
[
edit
]
History and background
[
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]
The Broadway production of
Lombardi
was conceived by Fran Kirmser and produced by Kirmser and Tony Ponturo. Kirmser and Ponturo met with David Maraniss to base the play on his book
When Pride Still Mattered
. Maraniss introduced Kirmser and Ponturo to Eric Simonson who was them contracted to write the original play.
[
citation needed
]
Simonson created an earlier version of the play entitled
Lombardi: The Only Thing
, which was produced in 2007 by the Madison Repertory Theatre at the
Overture Center
in
Madison, Wisconsin
. The play then had a successful run at the Next Act Theatre in
Milwaukee
in 2008. After some interest surfaced in a
Lombardi
play for
Broadway
, Simonson "developed an entirely new play leaving only one five-minute scene from the original script."
[3]
Productions
[
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]
Great Barrington (2010)
[
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]
The production had a pre-Broadway tryout at the
Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center
in
Great Barrington, Massachusetts
, playing from July 22 to July 28, 2010. The production featured
Dan Lauria
and
Judith Light
as Vince and Marie Lombardi, respectively.
[4]
Broadway (2010?2011)
[
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]
Lombardi
officially premiered on
Broadway
at the
Circle in the Square Theatre
on October 21, 2010, after previews beginning on September 23.
[1]
The creative team includes direction by
Thomas Kail
, sets by David Korins, costumes by
Paul Tazewell
, and lighting by
Howell Binkley
.
[5]
[6]
This production is being produced by Tony Ponturo and Fran Kirmser.
[7]
Lombardi
closed on May 22, 2011, after 30 previews and 244 performances.
[8]
Due to the Packers winning
Super Bowl XLV
in 2011, their fourth Super Bowl but their second since Lombardi was head coach, the show's producers were "hoping for a halo effect at the box office."
[9]
Patrick Healy wrote in
The New York Times
: "The Packers’ victory on Sunday lent "Lombardi" plenty of visibility before and after the Fox broadcast of the game. One FOX commentator,
Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders
Hall of Fame defensive end
Howie Long
, who had seen the play, talked up the play before kickoff and during the postgame show he said, 'I think
Lombardi
the play just got an extension on Broadway.' "
[9]
Healy also wrote that the show had not recouped its $3 million investment, and while producer Tony Ponturo said that the show was scheduled to run until June 19, 2011,
[9]
it ended its run early. Producers would not comment on whether or not the play had earned back its production budget.
[10]
The original Broadway cast included
Dan Lauria
as
Vince Lombardi
,
Judith Light
as
Marie Lombardi
,
Keith Nobbs
as Michael McCormick, Bill Dawes as
Paul Hornung
, Robert Christopher Riley as
Dave Robinson
, and Chris Sullivan as
Jim Taylor
. Light was nominated for a 2011
Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play
for her performance in
Lombardi
.
[11]
Milwaukee (2011)
[
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]
The regional premiere of
Lombardi
began in
Milwaukee
,
Wisconsin
at the
Milwaukee Repertory Theater
. The production starred Lee E. Ernst as Vince Lombardi and ran from October 11, 2011 to November 13, 2011. Simonson said in a statement, "I grew up in Wisconsin, so [Lombardi] was always a part of the ether. When I started doing a play on him, it was not just to recount a famous man's life story, it was really to find out and unearth the reasons why this man was famous. He's a fully dimensional man, a complicated man, more complex than people realize."
[3]
Fish Creek (2012)
[
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]
Lombardi
continued its professional run in Wisconsin at Peninsula Players Theatre in Fish Creek (Door County) September 5, 2012, to October 14, 2012.
Fish Creek, Wisconsin
, is 70 miles north of Green Bay.
[12]
Response
[
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]
The show received mixed reviews from New York critics, garnering a "B+" rating on
StageGrade
.
[13]
Charles Isherwood said the show "seems to depend heavily on a playbook that emphasizes the importance of team effort. In examining the life of the title character . . . this workmanlike drama often keeps him offstage for long stretches, almost relegating Lombardi to a supporting role in his own story."
[14]
Most critics were in consensus that Lauria's performance was the highlight of the show.
[15]
Variety
'
s Marilyn Stasio emphasized that "[Lauria] brings that endearing quality to his scrappy portrait of Lombardi . . . Working off his own bulldog physique and gap-toothed grin, Lauria achieves an eerie physical resemblance to Lombardi, who used his whole body to speak his mind."
[16]
However,
The New Yorker
added that "Lauria would do well to tone down the yelling."
[17]
The response from the football community has been very positive. The 2010 Broadway premiere was attended by NFL commissioner
Roger Goodell
, Packers president Mark Murphy and
New York Giants
president John Mara (son of
Wellington Mara
, who was Giants co-owner when Lombardi was the Giants' offensive coordinator), as well as Susan Lombardi ? daughter of Vince and Marie ? and a number of Lombardi's former players. The real-life Dave Robinson spoke of getting chills and feeling as if he were back in Green Bay when Lauria as Lombardi turned and looked at him in the audience, while the real-life Jim Taylor was also present and guard
Jerry Kramer
was seen in tears at the end. Goodell and Long hosted a special performance the month after the premiere to benefit the NFL's Player Care foundation, providing support to retired players in need.
[18]
Lauria also played Lombardi in
NFL Network
promotional material for the
2010-11 NFL Playoffs
, including Super Bowl XLV.
[19]
See also
[
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]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
"N.F.L. Gets Behind 'Lombardi'
"
.
nytimes.com
. 2010-08-20. Archived from
the original
on 2010-08-24
. Retrieved
2010-09-16
.
- ^
Bernardo, Mary Rose (2010). "Gridiron Gang: The team behind Lombardi".
Playbill
(
Broward Center for the Performing Arts
).
- ^
a
b
Jones, Kenneth.
"Lombardi Will Have a Wisconsin Homecoming, Making Regional Premiere at Milwaukee Rep"
Archived
2012-10-21 at the
Wayback Machine
playbill.com, May 17, 2011
- ^
Murray, Larry (2010-05-18).
"
Lombardi
"
. Berkshire On Stage
. Retrieved
2010-12-11
.
- ^
"
Lombardi
, IBDB: The Official Source for Broadway Information"
.
The Broadway League
. Retrieved
2010-12-11
.
- ^
Gans, Andrew and Jones, Kenneth.
"
Heights
Director Kail to Direct Football-Themed
Lombardi
at Broadway's Circle in the Square"
Archived
2010-06-19 at the
Wayback Machine
playbill.com, April 14, 2010
- ^
Kaye, Kimberly.
"NFL Stages Surprise Marketing Play with Broadway's
Lombardi
"
.
The New York Observer
. Retrieved 2010-12-11.
- ^
"Broadway Sports Drama Lombardi to Close May 22"
Archived
2011-05-07 at the
Wayback Machine
, playbill.com, May 4, 2011.
- ^
a
b
c
"Producers Hope Packers’ Championship Glow Shines on ‘Lombardi'"
New York Times
, February 8, 2011.
- ^
"Winning Isn't Everything 'Lombardi to Close On Broadway"
New York Times
, May 4, 2011
- ^
"Tony Award nominees, 2010?11"
. 2011-05-03
. Retrieved
2011-05-03
.
- ^
[1]
ppulse.com
- ^
Lombardi
Archived
2010-10-25 at the
Wayback Machine
.
StageGrade
. Retrieved 2010-12-02
- ^
Isherwood, Charles (2010-10-21).
"On Further Review, the Coach Stands"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
2010-12-09
.
- ^
Hague, Jim. "'Lombardi' on Broadway is a smash hit". "Tasty Tidbits".
The Union City Reporter
; October 24, 2010; Pages 12 & 13
- ^
Stasio, Marilyn (2010-10-21).
"
Lombardi
Review"
.
Variety
. Retrieved
2010-12-09
.
- ^
Goings On About Town:
Lombardi
.
The New Yorker
. Retrieved 2010-12-07
- ^
Lombardi: The Man, The Myth, The Broadway Play
by Craig Ellenport
NFL.com
- ^
Dan Lauria (
Lombardi
) as Vince Lombardi ? Super Bowl XLV on NFL Network
YouTube (originally broadcast by NFL Network)
External links
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Franchise
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Records
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Stadiums
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Training facilities
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Culture
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Lore
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Rivalries
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Division championships (21)
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Conference championships (9)
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League championships (13
†
)
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Media
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Current league affiliations
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†
does not include
1966
or
1967
NFL championships
|