The Tug of War

The judgment of an untested president is all that stands between us and WWIII. As Soviet nuclear missiles move ever closer to Cuba, President John F. Kennedy must chart a course between conflicting counsel and unparalleled emotional stakes to prevent nuclear annihilation. The newly-minted U.S. President is put to the ultimate test in this riveting original commission from playwright David Rambo (Empire, C.S.I.) Includes a panel discussion about the Cuban Missile Crisis with playwright David Rambo; Bob Stern, the past president of the LA-based Center on Governmental Studies; Richard Anderson, a Professor of Political Science at UCLA and former CIA analyst; and Geoff Cowan, a University Professor at USC.An L.A. Theatre Works full-cast production starring: Matthew Arkin as Llewellyn Thompson, First Reporter Hugo Armstrong as Lyndon Johnson, Anatoly Dobrynin Seamus Dever as Robert McNamara Matthew Floyd Miller as Robert F. Kennedy James Morrison as John McCone, TV Floor Manager David Selby as Dean Rusk Rich Sommer as McGeorge Bundy Josh Stamberg as John F. Kennedy Nick Toren as Ted Sorenson, Second Reporter, General Curtis LeMay John Vickery as Nikita Khrushchev, General Taylor Jules Willcox as Jackie Kennedy, Mrs. Lincoln, Third Reporter Directed by Brian Kite and recorded live in performance at UCLA’s James Bridges Theater in May 2017.Sound Effects Artist, Aaron Lyons. Production Manager, Katie Friesen. Music Supervisor, Ronn Lipkin. Assistant to the Director, Michelle Gong. Historical Research, Nick Fanego. Associate Producer, Anna Lyse Erikson. Editor, Mitchell Lindskoog. Recording Engineer, Sound Designer, and Mixer, Mark Holden for The Invisible Studios, West Hollywood.

For LATW: God’s Man in Texas, Adam’s Rib (adapting the Garson Kanin-Ruth Gordon screenplay). Other plays include The Lady With all the Answers (off-Broadway Cherry Lane Theatre starring Judith Ivey; Lortel nomination), God’s Man in Texas, The Ice-Breaker, Babbitt, and an all-new book for Lerner and Loewe’s Paint Your Wagon. His work has been widely produced at theatres throughout the country, including The Old Globe, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Geffen Playhouse, Denver Center Theatre, Alliance Theatre and Pasadena Playhouse. For television, he has written and produced CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (7 seasons), V, NYC-22, Revolution, the record-smashing premiere season of Empire and the upcoming TNT series Will. He has adapted several screenplays for live performance, including Sunset Boulevard, All About Eve, and Casablanca. He is the screenwriter of Tracy and Hepburn, a feature currently in development. He holds an Honorary Doctorate from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.