All The Way

«LBJ, all the way! LBJ, all the way!»
Bryan Cranston’s fantastic acting aside, this play is a live-​action history lesson. I didn’t recall all the details of Lyndon B. Johnson’s presidency from high school history class, so this was a great way to get in touch with American politics while having a great time at the theater! The cast is splendid and all put on very impressive performances.
After the show, occasionally Bryan Cranston will sign autographs and take photos with fans. It was very simple to meet with him… all we did was wait on a gated line and he came out of the theater and addressed each person individually. A really cool guy! The wait time was about 40 minutes.
Even if you don’t get a celebrity meet and greet… this performance is incredible! Worth every penny even with the price hike post their Tony wins. Great!!!

The plays on Broadway this year have been exceptional. Politics is not something I’m very interested in, but All the Way was still very fun for me! Bryan Cranston was captivating, it was such a transformation from seeing him in Breaking Bad that I almost forgot it was the same actor. His portrayal as LBJ was hilarious and quirky, while also helping me appreciate the difficulties LBJ had in being President! Totally deserving of winning the Tony for Best Actor! If only I had time to see it again before it closes…

We were able to score some orchestra seats for next day. What a great decision! I agree with all the other reviewers. Bryan Cranston was magnificent. Just flat-​out magnificent. I am so happy that he got the Tony as it is well-​deserved.
The supporting cast was great, especially Brandon Dirdon as Martin Luther King Jr. One of the best performances I’ve ever seen in 50 years of theater-​going!

Bryan Cranston was amazing!!! I was clued to the stage the whole time! And this is coming from someone who used history textbooks as sleep aids back in highschool. I do agree with other reviewers that Vietnam War could’ve been delved into a bit more.

Not sure what I can say that hasn’t already been said by others. All The Way is an outstanding play. Bryan Cranston IS FULLY LBJ. His acting is incredible. He has embraced every detail, from the accent to the body language to the quirks to the cursing. The ~dozen other actors are very talented as well, especially the one who plays Martin Luther King. He had the character down pat. The stage is simple yet interesting; the actors are seated around the center podium/​desk and they take turns interacting with LBJ in various scenes. One criticism, as someone else said, was that they didn’t delve into the Vietnam War, and this is what I was waiting for. Another was that the first act was a bit slow for my friends and me. We were also up high in the mezzanine, so it was difficult to understand their heavy southern accents.
Spoiler alert: the play starts from JFK’s assassination and ends with LBJ winning the election, so it focuses most on the civil rights movement and Goldwater.

I had planned to see All The Way, but Adam D’s review hastened my ticket purchase
We were able to score front mezzanine tickets, using the App, TodayTix. Given the cast and the limited engagement, we were happy just to be in the theater. A little (obvious) tip. Like most theaters, the seats in the Neil Simon Theater are incredibly close together, so go for an aisle seat if you can. Your knees will thank you later…
Yes, my wife and I are big Brian Cranston and Breaking Bad fans. But we are also aware of Mr. Cranston’s general acting prowess. I am not overselling it when I say that his performance as LBJ, was one of the most masterful acting performances I’ve ever seen. He’s on stage for probably 85% of this 3 hour play. You absolutely see him as LBJ, and not Walter White. From the mannerisms, to the southern accent, to his body language, he is immersed in the character. A close second in his performance was Brandon Dirden playing Martin Luther King, Jr. He has the voice and cadence down perfectly. I also have to admit that it was pretty cool to watch Michael McKean play J. Edgar Hoover. I’ll admit that a Spinal Tap scene or two crept into my head
Everything about this show was perfectly done. The acting, the set, the time period (’63-’64), just everything.
Go get your tickets to this show. You will not regret it!

Absolutely fantastic play. The technical aspects of the play are extremely impressive, as a curtain is never dropped — the set and the plot works around this, which leads to a beat-​after-​beat pace which works well to convey the mania and the rising fervor of the time period. Cranston does an impeccable job, and more importantly blends into his role — I was surprised to find myself seeing LBJ instead of Cranston as the play went on, as I am a huge fan of Breaking Bad. The play examines the oftentimes very human sacrifices and backstabs that went into the passage of the Civil Rights Act and LBJ’s. What I appreciated the most in the plot was how it sympathetically and even handedly portrayed the anger of Africans Americans who felt left behind and disempowered by the back room politics on Capitol Hill — it was awesome seeing a non-​whitewashed, nuanced portrayal of this pivotal period in history. I would recommend this play to anyone.

Can you say Tony Awards!
The truth is, the real star of this performance is the screenplay written by Robert Shenkkan.

Come on New York elites! You’re leaving it to a Jersey resident to be the first to review this show?!
I preface this review by stating, in the interest of full disclosure, I’m a huge Bryan Cranston fan. Cranston, combined with my appreciation of the US presidency, and love of history, is why I coughed up just under $ 500 for two of us to sit front and center for this spectacle. The one downfall to sitting that close, however, was that we did get spit on quite a bit by the performers.
The acting was great. 20 performers, most of whom stick to playing one character, with the exception of a few notable actors playing dual roles. The guy playing Rev. Ralph Abernathy, for example, also plays a butler. But if you’re like me and choose to go mainly to see Bryan Cranston, he’s on stage for probably 75% of the 3 hour play.
The costume design is on point.
Hardly any noticeable slip-​ups from the actors.
The performance started promptly at 2:00. Intermission came around 3:20, the end around 4:50. Seats were comfortable, but tight. Also, if you know anything about LBJ, you should know to expect lots of swearing, so keep yourself and/​or the kids at home if you can’t hack it.
One criticism is that the play is heavily focused on LBJ’s first term and (spoiler alert) ends with his winning the election of 1964. So the focus is almost entirely on civil rights with little to no regard of the Vietnam War, which kind of surprised me.