SJU and L.A. Theatre Works present Top Secret: The Battle for the Pentagon Papers

Fine Arts Programming presents L.A. Theatre Works’ production of Top Secret: The Battle for the Pentagon Papers at 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 20, and at 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 21, in the Stephen B. Humphrey Theater, Saint John’s University.

This historical docudrama, written by Geoffrey Cowan and Leroy Aarons, takes an inside look at The Washington Post’s controversial decision to publish a top secret study detailing U.S. involvement in Vietnam.

This riveting production explores the tension between the public’s right to know and the government’s need for secrecy in the name of national security. In 1966, United States Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara commissioned a study on the history of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. The report was completed on Jan.15, 1969, and included information about the administration efforts to manipulate military information. In 1971, one of only 15 copies was leaked to The New York Times newspaper.

The Times published the story on June 13, 1971, and the Nixon administration quickly silenced the newspaper with a restraining order two days later. The Pentagon Papers were then leaked to The Washington Post, whose editors had only one day to read the two million-word document and determine if the sensitive material should be published.

L.A. Theatre Works brings these important days to life in Top Secret: The Battle for the Pentagon Papers. This play highlights the struggles The Washington Post faced in making the decision to publish classified documents and the legal repercussions that followed. The resulting trial led to the historic decision that re-affirmed First Amendment rights.

This production was originally scheduled to star Stacy Keach but due to scheduling conflicts, this production will star John Heard. Heard, who burst on the New York theater scene in the mid-1970s grabbing plum roles in some of the most talked about productions of the decade, including "Warp" with Chicago's Organic Theater, Vietnam dramas "G.R. Point" and "Streamers," Iago in a New York Shakespeare production of "Othello," and Broadway productions "Split," "The Glass Menagerie," "Total Abandon" and "The Last Yankee." Director Joan Micklin Silver cast the youthful Heard in "Between the Lines" (1977), a highly engaging story about the staff of a Boston underground paper dreading their impending sale to a print magnate. His association with Micklin Silver continued with "On The Yard" (1978), and "Head Over Heels/Chilly Scenes of Winter" (1979). Coveted parts followed: beat icon Jack Kerouac in "Heart Beat" (1979), a boozy angry Vietnam vet in "Cutter's Way" (1981), a mysterious zoo curator in Paul Schrader's remake of "Cat People" (1982), the seemingly helpful bartender who befriends Griffin Dunne in Martin Scorsese's "After Hours" (1985), and the unsympathetic son in Horton Foote's "The Trip To Bountiful" (1986).

In 1988, Heard lightened up in such comedies as "Big," playing Tom Hanks' bullyish rival at the toy company, and "Beaches," as director of an avant-garde theater company. But it was the unflappable buttoned-down father in "Home Alone" (1990) and it's sequel "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York" (1992) that moved Heard into blockbuster territory. He also turned in memorable performances in other hits, including "Awakenings" (1990), and Martha Coolidge's "Rambling Rose" (1991). Heard has continued to work in features, turning in small but pivotal performances in "The Pelican Brief" and "In the Line of Fire" (both 1993), "My Fellow Americans" (1996), "Snake Eyes" (1998), "Pollock" (2000), "Animal Factory" (2000), "White Chicks" (2004) and dozens of other films. He assumed the Tommy Lee Jones role of Roy Foltrigg in the TV series adaptation of "John Grisham's 'The Client' " (CBS, 1995-96). He was especially effective in the recurring role of the corrupt police detective Vin Makazian, kept in the pocket of mob boss Tony Soprano, in the 1999 season of "The Sopranos" and was amusing as ABC executive Roone Arledge in the telepic "Monday Night Mayhem" (2002). He had a recurring role on "CSI: Miami" as Duke Duquesne and appeared in several episodes of the various "Law & Order" incarnations.  Heard more recently co-starred in the independent film “Sweet Land” (2005). Please note, cast is subject to change.

Under the leadership of producing director, Susan Albert Loewenberg, L.A. Theatre Works (LATW) has been the foremost radio theater company in the United States for two decades. Broadcast in America on NPR and X-M Satellite Radio, internationally on the BBC, CBC, Voice of America and many other English language networks, LATW has single-handedly brought the finest recorded dramatic literature into the homes of millions. The company records the majority of its productions annually in Los Angeles before an enthusiastic and loyal audience of season subscribers. Works by Eugene O’Neill, David Henry Hwang, Athol Fugard, Wendy Wasserstein, Neil Simon, David Mamet, Charlayne Woodard, Arthur Miller and others have been performed and recorded by LATW with casts of the most critically acclaimed film and stage actors.

On the road, LATW has delighted audiences with its unique live radio theater style performances in over 100 small towns and major cities, including New York, Boston, Washington and Chicago. L.A. Theatre Works was at SJU in 2006 for “The Great Tennessee Monkey Trial.” An L.A. Theatre Works performance is immediate and spontaneous, and features a first-rate cast, live sound effects, and a connection to the audience rarely felt in a traditional theater setting.

Tickets to Top Secret: The Battle for the Pentagon Papers are $20, Senior (60+)/Youth (5-21) $17 and CSB/SJU ID $10. For tickets, call the Stephen B. Humphrey Box Office at 320-363-3577 or 320-363-5777 or order online at the Fine Arts Web site.  

This presentation is supported by the Performing Arts Fund, a program of Arts Midwest funded by the National Endowment for the Arts with additional contributions from General Mills Foundation and Land O’Lakes Foundation. The Fine Arts Series is made possible in part by a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, through an appropriation by the Minnesota State Legislature and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.