Top Secret: The Battle for the Pentagon at NYTW

New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW) presents Top Secret: The Battle for the Pentagon Papers, written by Geoffrey Cowan and Leroy Aarons, and directed by John Rubinstein, opening at the New York Theatre Workshop on 9 Mar 2010, following previews from 24 Feb and running through to 28 Mar 2010.

Top Secret: It's 1971 and the nation is at war. The intractable conflict escalates in Vietnam while here at home the battle for public opinion rages. A federal court blocks The New York Times from publishing the top-secret history of U.S. involvement in Vietnam. Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham has a single day to decide whether to print these documents, which quickly became known as the Pentagon Papers. When the Nixon administration closes in and charges treason, the fight for a free press explodes.

Geoffrey Cowan and Leroy Aaron's Top Secret animates the frontline clash between the government's need for secrecy and the public's right to know. Featuring a cast of eleven representing the real life characters at the center of this historic event—from Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee to Post publisher Katharine Graham to President Richard Nixon—this is a true story about one of the great "stand up and cheer" moments in American journalism.

The cast of Top Secret includes Diane Adair (Meg Greenfield), Larry Bryggman (John Mitchell/Chal Roberts/Lamont Vanderhall), John Getz (Ben Bagdikian/Robert Mardian), Jack Gilpin (Brian Kelly), James Gleason (Murry Marder/Judge Martin Peel), Roberta Maxwell (Katharine Graham), Matt McGrath (George Wilson/Eugene Patterson), Larry Pine (Richard Nixon/Dennis Doolin), Russell Soder (Soldier/Darryl Cox/Clerk & Bailiff/Ron Ziegler), Peter Strauss (Ben Bradlee) and Peter Van Norden (Fritz Beebe/Henry Kissinger).

Top Secret holds special interest for New York Theatre Workshop. Stephen Graham, son of late Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham, is NYTW's founding trustee.

Set and lighting design is by David Lander, costume design is by Holly Poe Durbin.

Top Secret was first developed and produced by L.A. Theatre Works.