Lombardi's Robert Christopher Riley and Bill Dawes React to Green Bay Packers' Super Bowl Win

As the Green Bay Packers emerged victorious at this year’s Super Bowl, the cast of Broadway’s Packers-themed drama Lombardi gathered after their Sunday matinee at nearby restaurant Robert Emmett’s to cheer the team on. Needless to say, the actors who portray football players themselves were especially excited about the game.

“I claim full responsibility,” Lombardi cast member Bill Dawes (Paul Hornung) joked with Broadway.com about the win. “I think everyone felt a part of this in a way that I’ve never felt part of a team winning before. It was very surreal. It’s almost too serendipitous. During the season, the games happened during Sunday matinees and we'd always be backstage following them on our phones.”

Dawes' co-star Robert Christopher Riley (Dave Robinson), agrees, noting, “The fact that this play is going on right now celebrating their historic coach, the man that the Super Bowl trophy is named after, and the team gets to bring that trophy home? You couldn’t write a better script. A lot of the Packers [staff] have seen the show, so hopefully we can get the champs themselves here now.”

As for the show’s title star, Riley says Dan Lauria remained calm throughout the game, but did briefly channel Vince Lombardi's signature hothead behavior when he yelled at the TV after questionable plays. “He barked a couple of lines from the show like, ‘What the hell is going on out there?’ That was pretty funny.”

After the win, Riley felt compelled to get a new piece of Packers memorabilia to commemorate the day. “I capped off the win by ordering a Green Bay Packers Snuggie,” he reveals. So, will he ever wear it onstage? “I don’t think so. I’ll have to write my own play where that happens, but it will definitely be featured prominently in my backstage antics.”