Peter Strauss to Play Ben Bradlee in Top Secret: The Battle for the Pentagon Papers at NYTW

Emmy winner Peter Strauss (The Jericho Mile, Rich Man Poor Man) will play Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee in Top Secret: The Battle for the Pentagon Paper, a joint production of New York Theatre Workshop and L.A. Theatre Works. An off-Broadway run of the play, by Geoffrey Cowan and Leroy Aarons, will begin on February 24 and open on March 9 at NYTW, directed by Tony-winning actor/director John Rubinstein. The production is scheduled to run through March 28.

The cast of Top Secret also includes Diane Adair (Meg Greenfield), Larry Bryggman (John Mitchell/Chal Roberts/Lamont Vanderhall), John Getz (Ben Bagdikian/Robert Mardian), Jack Gilpin (Brian Kelly), James Gleason (Murry Marder/Judge Martin Peel), Roberta Maxwell (Katharine Graham), Matt McGrath (George Wilson/Eugene Patterson), Larry Pine (Richard Nixon/Dennis Doolin), Russell Soder (Soldier/Darryl Cox/Clerk & Bailiff/Ron Ziegler) and Peter Van Norden (Fritz Beebe/Henry Kissinger).

As Top Secret begins, it’s 1971 and the nation is at war. 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 become known as the Pentagon Papers. Featuring a cast of 11 representing the real life characters at the center of this historic event—from Bradlee to Graham to Nixon—this is a true story about one of the great "stand up and cheer" moments in American journalism.

Set and lighting design for Top Secret: The Battle for the Pentagon Papers is by David Lander and costume design is by Holly Poe Durbin.