How long is lombardi playing on broadway

Following their matinee performance, the cast of the Broadway show "Lombardi" made an end run to Emmett O'Lunney's bar across the street from the theater to catch the second half of the Packers-Bears matchup.

Then he and 20 of the cast and crew made a break for it. Lauria commanded the audience to do likewise. He could tell the audience was itching to see the game. Lauria and the cast began living and studying the history of "Lombardi," a drama about Green Bay's patron saint, before the show opened in October. The force of Packerdom has hit them as hard as a Clay Matthews sack. For example, Bill Dawes had stopped paying much attention to football before he was cast as Paul Hornung in the show.

Now he sees a kind of synchronicity between the underdog play he's performing in and the Packers. Yet, of the dramatic shows that opened on Broadway in the fall, "Lombardi" is the only one left standing. Milwaukee native Eric Simonson wrote the play, which is based on David Maraniss' biography of the coach. Robert Christopher Riley, who plays Dave Robinson in "Lombardi," was among those who took over a small room at the bar to see the big game.

My name was mentioned for the lead in the play "Lombardi" from the outset, in part because I looked a little bit like him and had played football in high school and college.

Some, however, did not think I was a big enough name. It also was noted that this would be my first Broadway play. But I'm a theater rat. It was my 58th play. I hadn't gone a year without doing a play in quite some time. I knew the young director, Tommy Kail, and he wanted me for the role.

The producer, Tony Ponturo, was concerned that theater owners wouldn't accept me. But when I read for the writers, they also wanted me. So the producer said, "What do we do next? I did, and afterward, they said if I wasn't cast in the role of Lombardi, they wouldn't support the play.

I owe a lot to Roger Goodell. I have never had an easier time preparing for a role, because of the help provided by the NFL. They all said Starr won't talk about the coach. The Hall of Fame quarterback's secretary said it was too difficult for him to talk about Lombardi, too emotional for him. My conversations with former Packers greats -- Jerry Kramer, Forrest Gregg, all of them -- were pretty consistent.

They'd go into a humorous story, but eventually they'd all be in tears. Willie Wood could not go one minute without crying. They all had great stories.

I'd ask them what they would want to see in the show. More than one emphasized the coach's sense of humor. He had a great laugh and liked to kid around, especially the Saturday before a game. The work had been done and the game plan was in place. Offense will be ready to play for whoever's "slinging it". Timing of David Bakhtiari's return to lineup remains uncertain.

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Veteran linebacker made high-impact plays in a number of different games. Multiple position groups will be called upon to fill tight end's void.