The Front Page

“The son of a bitch stole my watch!” That memorable last line comes from the oft-revived, Hollywood-ized 1928 comedy The Front Page, written by Chicago reporters Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur. Writing about what they knew best, the authors capture the glory days of the newspaper business, with a cast of hungry reporters sitting around a newsroom, chain-smoking cigarettes, playing poker and waiting for a hot story to come in—which, in this play, one quite literally does. This production, directed by multiple-Tony winner Jack O’Brien, is jam packed with heavy hitters. Nathan Lane and Mad Men’s John Slattery face off as the newspaper’s manipulative managing editor Walter Burns and star reporter Hildy Johnson, respectively. John Goodman, Holland Taylor, Jefferson Mays, Robert Morse and Sherie Rene Scott round out the veteran cast.