Pictured: Nick Wyman and Denise Cormier as LBJ and Ladybird Johnson. Courtesy of: Asolo Repertory Theatre.

Asolo Repertory Theatre opens its winter repertory season with a production of All The Way, the 2014 Tony Award winner for Best Play written by Pulitzer Prize winner Robert Schenkkan that tells the story of Lyndon B. Johnson’s first year thrust into the American presidency, where he would navigate a political hotbed of cultural titans and powerhouses such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and J. Edgar Hoover in his bid to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Gripping, moving, smart and funny, director Emily Sophia Knapp, who served as associate director for All The Way’s Broadway production and world premiere, debuts at the Asolo with stage and film veteran Nick Wyman as Johnson and Denise Cormier, seen last season in Good People, as Lady Bird Johnson.

Not just an entertaining story, the artist's contest, in the current political climate with a year dominated by Black Lives Matter, conversations of institutional racism and stories of police brutality, All The Way is an important story to tell modern audiences. “It feels so relevant,” said Knapp. “There are parts where they could be talking about 2015.” When a character says he’s tired of attending the funerals of black men murdered by white men, “that’s a sadly resonant line,” said Hyman, who chased the part of Johnson across the country, looking for a production not already cast. But the stage is still a stage, not a pulpit, Cormier assures. “Bottom line? It’s a great story with twists and turns and love and tragedy.”

The story propels forward in episodic fashion, giving glimpses and highlighting moments before continuing on the broader arc, relying on not a moment wasted constructing the overarching narrative of this tumultuous year. “It’s challenging to still present a fully-fledged and understandable person,” said Cormier, needing to make the most of every moment to give Lady Bird her character.  And with a cast of 25 actors, “the biggest [challenge] with a show like this is the size of it,” admitted Knapp. “You have to orchestrate all these people and you have one fixed set trying to create many locations.” And it can’t all land on one person’s shoulders, she said; it’s not just the director. “The entire cast has to breathe together and create the arc together.” A big part of that, as Cormier mentioned, is bringing realized characters to the stage.

“I’m still trying to figure out why [Johnson] does what he does,” jokes Wyman. Having played the man before and having lived through his presidency, Wyman had previous research to draw from, “and it’s useful, but ultimately it’s the script, the character in here, that I have to bring to life” he said, jabbing the script next to him. Cormier reports a similar process, listening to tracks of Lady Bird narrating the diary she kept through her life. “But you do all that and then play the play, and it filters in,” she said.

A fitting continuation of the Asolo’s American Character Project, “It’s a challenge,” said Wyman. “It’s funny and vastly entertaining, but I hope the audience feels challenged by what’s happening on stage.” Knapp concurred, calling the sacrifice illustrated by the story as inspiring. “We’re at a time of resignation, and resignation is deadly,” she said. Or, as Schenkkan said in a note to the production, “If this production doesn't feel like it’s ripped from the headlines, you’re doing it wrong.”

All The Way opens at the Asolo Repertory Theatre Jan. 8 and runs through Apr. 9.

Pictured: Nick Wyman and Denise Cormier as LBJ and Ladybird Johnson. Courtesy of: Asolo Repertory Theatre.