Anthony Mackie will play Martin Luther King, Jr.; Aisha Hinds is Fannie Lou Hamer, leader of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party; and Mo McRae plays Stokely Carmichael in HBO’s adaptation of Robert Schenkkan’s Broadway play, “All the Way,” which centers on then President Lyndon B. Johnson’s efforts to maneuver members of the 88th United States Congress to enact, and Martin Luther King, Jr. to support, the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Bryan Cranston stars as LBJ, the 36th president of the United States, who assumed the position during a turbulent period that included the passage of Civil Rights legislation in Congress, up to his landslide re-election victory.
The play apparently takes its name from Johnson’s 1964 campaign slogan, “All the Way with LBJ.” It premiered on Broadway in March 2014, in a production directed by Bill Rauch, which won the 2014 Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play.
Bryan Cranston won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his performance as LBJ.
The HBO film adaptation is directed by Jay Roach, and executive produced by Steven Spielberg.
In the Broadway production, Martin Luther King, Jr. was played by Brandon J. Dirden.
“All the Way” is set to premiere on May 21 at 8PM on HBO.
Trailer below (posters above):
