George Clooney Makes History as He Wraps Broadway Show

George Clooney is about to say “Good Night and Good Luck” to Broadway as he wraps his play about journalist Edward R. Murrow Sunday, June 8.

But before he closes that final curtain, the actor will make a little history.

The night before his final performance, Clooney and cast will team up with CNN to do something no one has ever done before.

On Saturday, June 7, CNN will air the Tony-nominated play starring George Clooney live from New York’s Winter Garden Theater.

A live Broadway performance has never been televised before, but 64-year-old Clooney says now is the time to make history.

“I can’t tell you how exciting it is to do something that’s never been done,” Clooney shared in a statement. â€œCNN is the perfect place to bring this story of courage to so many more people than we could have ever hoped. Live TV. No net. Buckle up everyone.”

“’Good Night, and Good Luck’ is not just a celebration of a golden age in TV journalism,” added Chairman and CEO of CNN, Mark Thompson. “It’s also about the importance of the free press and the need for strong news organizations to report the facts in a fair-minded way. That’s something we still care deeply about.”

How CNN Plans to Pull Off History-Making Performance

According to the Hollywood Reporter, production company Den of Thieves is executive producing the live broadcast.

It plans to use 20 cameras, with 14 camera operators, positioned in the aisles around the live audience in the 1,500-seat theater Saturday night. The idea is to film the production as it appears on stage, which means sometimes the audience will be visible. 

“It was very critical for George that we capture this as a theater experience,” said Jesse Ignjatovic, co-founder of Den of Thieves. 

CNN will be airing the production without commercials. 

The team will shoot the Friday evening show and the Saturday matinee as rehearsals, which Clooney will review before the live broadcast.

The production team’s director has reportedly already seen the show 12 times in preparation. 

George Clooney Is Passionate About the Message of ‘Good Night, and Good Luck’

The Broadway show has always been a passion project for George Clooney. That’s is why he wants to give the nation a chance to see it.

“One of the reasons that George came to Broadway with this show is because the story is deeply, deeply meaningful to him,” said lead producer Sue Wagner. “It was really important to him to stand on stage every night and say to people, ‘This isn’t about power unchecked. It’s about ‘What are you prepared to do? How are you prepared to save us?’” 

The show is an adaptation of Clooney’s 2005 movie by the same name. Both tell the story of legendary newsman Edward R. Murrow’s exposé of Senator Joseph McCarthy.

McCarthy is the Wisconsin senator whose name spawned the word “McCarthyism” when he launched a campaign falsely accusing people of being Communists in the 1940’s and 50’s.

In the movie version, Clooney played Murrow’s producer Fred Friendly. Clooney said he didn’t have “the gravitas” to take on the Murrow role in his 40’s. Fast forward 20 years and all of that changed, with Clooney stepping into Murrow’s shoes on the stage.

As in the film, the play uses actual footage of Senator McCarthy on television screens alongside the live actors.

How to Watch ‘Good Night, and Good Luck’ on CNN

“Good Night, and Good Luck” will air live on CNN and CNN International at 7:00p.m. ET Saturday, June 7. It will also stream on the CNN website and live on Max.

CNN is also airing a preshow outside the theater, hosted by anchor Pamela Brown. It will also offer a post-show discussion with Anderson Cooper about the play and the state of journalism. 

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