Courtesy of publicists Richard Kornberg and Don Summa…
Panel Discussion Series for
Top Secret: The Battle for the Pentagon Papers
to include
Daniel Ellsberg, Jill Abramson, Carl Bernstein, Marcus Brauchli,
Todd Gitlin, Nicholas LeMann, Victor Navasky, Norman Pearlstine
New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW) Artistic Director James C. Nicola and Managing Director William Russo, L.A. Theatre Works (LATW) Producing Director Susan Loewenberg and Affinity Collaborative Theater founding members John Dias, Sheila Schwartz, and Diane Morrison have announced that a special panel discussion series held in conjunction with the production of Geoffrey Cowan and Leroy Aarons’ Top Secret: The Battle for the Pentagon Papers will feature a panel with Daniel Ellsberg, the former Defense and State Department official who gave the Pentagon Papers to the Washington Post, on Tues., March 16 at NYTW, 79 E. 4th St.
In addition to Mr. Ellsberg, speakers in the series include Carl Bernstein, former Washington Post reporter who broke the story of the Watergate break-in and author of All the President’s Men and The Final Days; Marcus Brauchli, Washington Post Executive Editor; Jill Abramson, The New York Times Managing Editor; and Nicholas Lemann, Dean of the Columbia School of Journalism.
The series is hosted by a variety of organizations and individuals with expertise in the fields of journalism, government, education, culture, and the law. These include The Asia Society, Joshua Beneh and Millie Harmon Meyers, The Center for Public Integrity, Columbia Journalism Review, Human Rights Watch, The NYU Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, The New York Institute for the Humanities at NYU, and USC Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership and Policy.
The panel discussions are held following select performances of Top Secret: The Battle for the Pentagon Papers and admission to the panels is included with a ticket purchase.
About the Play:
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 suspenseful Top Secret: The Battle for the Pentagon Papers 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.
Top Secret: The Battle for the Pentagon Papers is written by Geoffrey Cowan and Leroy Aarons, and directed by John Rubinstein. Opening night is scheduled for Tues., March 9, at 7pm. The production runs through Sun., March 28.
Tickets may be purchased online at www.ticketcentral.com or by calling 212-279-4200. For exact dates and times of performance, visit www.nytw.org.
The series schedule is:|
The NYU Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
Presents
A Conversation with Geoffrey Cowan and Robert Shrum
Geoffrey Cowan, Playwright, Top Secret: The Battle for the Pentagon Papers;
Director, Center on Communication Leadership & Policy
Robert Shrum, Senior Fellow, NYU Wagner; Political Consultant;
Author, No Excuses: Concessions of a Serial Campaigner
Mitchell Stephens, Author, The History of News; Professor of Journalism, NYU
New York Theatre Workshop, 79 East 4th St.
Feb. 25, 2010, 8pm performance, 9:30pm discussion
The Asia Society
Presents
The Learned and Unlearned Lessons of the Vietnam War and the Nixon Administration
Jonathan Schell, Author and Journalist
Orville Schell, Arthur Ross Director, Asia Society’s Center on U.S.-China Relations
New York Theatre Workshop, 79 East 4th St.
February 28, 2010, 7pm performance, 8:30pm discussion
USC Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership & Policy
Presents
Afterwords with the Cast
The cast of Top Secret: The Battle for the Pentagon papers discusses the process of creating the play
New York Theatre Workshop, 79 East 4th St.
March 2, 2010, 7pm performance, 8:30pm discussion
The New York Institute for the Humanities at NYU
Presents
The Language of Torturers: The Pentagon Papers, Then and Now
David Rudenstine, Author, The Day the Presses Stopped: A History of the Pentagon Papers; Former Dean, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law
Todd Gitlin, Author and Journalist
Panel moderated by Steve Wasserman, Fellow, New York Institute for the Humanities
New York Theatre Workshop, 79 East 4th St.
March 3, 2010, 8pm performance, 9:30pm discussion
Human Rights Watch
presents
An Evening with Human Rights Watch
Marcus Brauchli, Executive Editor, the Washington Post
Tim Weiner, Pulitzer Prize-winning Journalist and Author, The Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA
Brian Ross, Chief Investigative Correspondent, ABC News
Panel moderated by Carroll Bogert, Associate Director, Human Rights Watch
New York Theatre Workshop, 79 East 4th St.
March 4, 2010, 8pm performance, 9:30pm discussion
USC Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership and Policy
Presents
USC Annenberg Benefit
Jill Abramson, Managing Editor, The New York Times
Carl Bernstein, Legendary Investigative Reporter
Norm Pearlstine, Chief Content Officer, Bloomberg L.P.
Panel moderated by Geoffrey Cowan, Playwright, Top Secret: The Battle for the Pentagon Papers; Director, Center on Communication Leadership and Policy
Welcoming remarks by Stephen Graham, Founding Trustee of New York Theatre Workshop and son of Katharine Graham
New York Theatre Workshop, 79 East 4th St.
March 6, 2010, 8pm performance, 9:30pm discussion
Joshua Boneh & Millie Harmon Meyers
Present
A Salute to Roy Aarons
A special program celebrating the legacy of Leroy Aarons, acclaimed journalist, author, activist, and co-writer of Top Secret: The Battle for the Pentagon Papers.
A conversation with those who knew him best including Geoffrey Cowan, Playwright, Top Secret: The Battle for the Pentagon Papers; Director, Center on Communication Leadership and Policy
Charles Kaiser, Author, Full Court Press; Founder and Former President, New York Chapter of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association.
New York Theatre Workshop, 79 East 4th St.
March 7, 2010, 2pm matinee, 3:30 discussion
The Center for Public Integrity
Presents
Investigative Journalism, Then and Now
William E. Buzenberg, Executive Director, Center for Public Integrity
Sheila Coronel, Director, Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism, Columbia University; Founder, Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism
Bill Kovach, Chairman, Committee of Concerned Journalists
Geoffrey Cowan, Playwright, Top Secret: The Battle for the Pentagon Papers
New York Theatre Workshop, 79 East 4th St.
March 11, 2010, 8pm performance, 9:30pm discussion
USC Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership & Policy
Presents
Truth and Fiction in the Docudrama
Geoffrey Cowan, Playwright, Top Secret: The Battle for the Pentagon Papers; Director, Center on Communication Leadership & Policy
Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen, creators of the acclaimed 2002 docu-play The Exonerated and Aftermath, an original play drawn from interviews with Iraqi civilians, which premiered at NYTW in fall 2009
Gregg Pierotti, member Tectonic Theatre Project, co-creator of The Laramie Project
New York Theatre Workshop, 79 East 4th St.
March 12, 2010, 8pm performance, 9:30pm discussion
Columbia Journalism Review
presents
Columbia Journalism Review Benefit Performance
Daniel Ellsberg, former Defense and State Department official who gave the Pentagon Papers to the Washington Post
Leslie Gelb, Journalist; Diplomat; President Emeritus, Council on Foreign Relations
James Goodale, Former Vice Chairman and General Counsel, The New York Times
Nicholas Lemann, Dean, Columbia Graduate School of Journalism
Discussion moderated by Victor Navasky, Chairman, Columbia Journalism Review; Delacorte Professor of Journalism, Columbia Journalism School
New York Theatre Workshop, 79 East 4th St.
March 16, 2010, 8pm performance, 9:30pm discussion
USC Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership & Policy
Presents
Women and Leadership in the News Industry
Liza Gross, Executive Director, International Women’s Media Foundation
New York Theatre Workshop, 79 East 4th St.
March 17, 2010, 8pm performance, 9:30pm discussion
USC Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership & Policy
Presents
Confidential Government Information in the Internet Age: Roles and Responsibilities of Courts, the Executive Branch, and the Media
Featuring Chief Judge Mark L. Wolf, United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts
Professor Burt Neuborne, Inez Milholland Professor of Civil Liberties, New York University, and Legal Director, Brennan Center for Justice
New York Theatre Workshop, 79 East 4th St.
March 27, 2010, 8pm performance, 9:30pm discussion
