This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:00] Robert Bannon: Are you ready? It's The Roundtable with me, Robert Bannon.

[0:30] John Harney: Definitely, definitely needs to check out the writer. He's way smarter than me.

[0:35] Robert Bannon: He whenever I say, look, I went I'm in English. Are you here?

[0:40] John Harney: Yeah. You sort of froze. Oh, I froze. Oh, I'm sorry.

[0:45] Robert Bannon: We could. My apologies. Is it better?

[0:52] John Harney: Not better. Now you're frozen.

[0:58] Robert Bannon: Yes. Are you there?

[1:05] John Harney: I hear you. Yeah, I can I can hear you now.

[1:09] Robert Bannon: OK, you hear me now? Oh, and I'm John Harney, not David Harney.

[1:13] Robert Bannon: Oh, I'm sorry. And I want to say, well, no, it's David's computer.

[1:18] John Harney: And I see. And I see. I know your name's John. But as I'm looking at it, I'm like, that's David.

[1:22] Robert Bannon: So I must be wrong. But I know the show is by you. OK, that makes.

[1:27] John Harney: Hi, David. He's he's off camera. He's a little he's he's a little he stays in the background.

[1:33] Robert Bannon: That's good. I have. Listen, I get it at my own house. So I understand.

[1:38] John Harney: Let's try it again. Can we try it again?

[1:43] Robert Bannon: Sure. All right. Well, welcome to The Roundtable, everybody. My name is Robert Bannon. You're listening to us on Broadway World over here on the Broadway Podcast Network, iHeart and Spotify. I have a show for you to check out. Everybody is a show that our guest is way too smart for me. When you talk about writing, when you talk about editing, when you talk about news, when you talk about putting things together, add that all together and make a brand new show. That's what John has done with coming to New York. You need to get a ticket is accessible to everybody. How did he come up with it? Who's in it? What is this story? John, welcome to The Roundtable.

[2:13] John Harney: Thank you very much, Robert. When did you know you wanted to write?

[2:19] Robert Bannon: You mean you mean this or no in general? Like what would make you want to go into the world of words?

[2:24] John Harney: Oh, that's a good question. My father told great stories and about his life. I mean, I'm in northern New York right now and our family home. And he grew up a little bit west of here and told stories about this village, you know, where his father ran a store and owned farms and was involved in politics as well. And stories as well about about his great uncle, who rode at Gettysburg and was in the 1st Vermont Cavalry and lost a leg or lost a leg eventually after, you know, because because of a wound he suffered in the war. My son is named for that soldier, David. So, you know, so that was one thing. And then also I noticed that when I was a boy and there were gatherings, women would sit in one room, the men in another.

So that was part of it. And I just always been attracted to narratives, what people do, what they've done, what the past is, what their memories are. So that's, you know, that's what I guess lured me into that. And then after college, I started in journalism. I said I was I worked at The New York Post, then The Daily News and The New York Times. Now I'm in Washington.

[4:09] John Harney: It's incredible, an incredible journey doing news and doing theater to me is very similar because they're both scandalous and full of drama. And so I see the connection there. What made you want to venture into writing a play in particular?

[4:23] John Harney: You know, I have been writing plays for a very long time. I took classes years ago with Albert Interado at Playwrights Horizons, who was a fascinating, you know, he was a good teacher. But he was a fascinating character and his classes could be wild, tumultuous affairs. And then I also took classes with Kurt Dempster, the founder of Ensemble Studio Theater, of course, and James Ryan, a fine playwright. And I took classes from him at both Ensemble Studio at EST and Playwrights Horizons. I had readings, a few readings in New York, but it wasn't until I moved to Washington, I finally got something on stage in the Capitol Fringe. And this is what, you know, I think one of the great things about regional theater.

I just never felt in New York where, you know, I was, I worked in, I was not of the theater. I was not in show business. And I was, you know, so I always felt you had to have, you had to be sort of in that to have these opportunities. But in Washington, the wonderful Julianne Brienza, who for 20 years ran the Capitol Fringe, took a chance and put one of our shows on stage three years ago and then another one the year after that. And so, and then this year, I, you know, I tried, you know, I finished this play and submitted it to the TNC Dream Up Festival. So that's pretty much the story. I mean, I started, you know, to get it on stage, you know, took a long time. But, you know, here we are.

[6:14] Robert Bannon: Here you are. Here we are, everybody. And listen, this show, you can get your tickets. You can see it. It's going to be in New York City. And it's incredible that it's going to have this incredible run. And I hope people, everybody needs to go on and get a ticket. How did the idea of Somewhere Virginia come to you? How do you describe what it's about?

[6:33] John Harney: It's about, you know, it's a gathering, a strange gathering of people who used to work, who worked for a congresswoman on Capitol Hill. Three of them get an invitation, a summons, really, to go out to this old house in Virginia, in the Virginia countryside, from their former boss, a very driven young woman who was a chief of staff, a rising star in Washington and in Washington politics and on Capitol Hill, who abruptly, without, without, without any explanation, disappeared after the event. After the 2024 election and retreated to this house in Virginia, where her age, where her disabled mother lives and is now taking care of her. And she, she, when they arrive, these, these three other, these three other characters, they discover that she's, she's undergone some sort of mysterious transformation.

But she seems to have made some life altering decision. Now, all of their lives have been disrupted by the election, upended. One is, one, one woman has lost her job at the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau. Another is working for a public relations company that may lose a government contract and his job is in jeopardy. And the main character, Claire is the main character, her former friend, has switched sides and he's now working for the Trump White House.

[8:10] Robert Bannon: It sounds like a juicy, it sounds like a juicy evening of theater. I know that real life is theater. We talked about that before, but we're in crazy times for sure. So what is the inspiration? Where, where were you when you thought, like, I see a story here I can put together? Is it inspired by real life? Is it inspired by your imagination? Where did the idea come from?

[8:30] John Harney: Well, I mean, I've been, I consider myself, at least since I got to Washington, I came to Washington in 2017. And I find the place fascinating. It's, it's, I mean, there are a lot of, there are a lot of New Yorkers there, obviously, as I'm sure you know. And there's, and, you know, there's, it's, people come to New York, I think, to get into various lines of work. You know, finance, show business, theater, publishing, journalism, also all sorts of things. In Washington, basically, it's, it's still a company, it's a company town. And the company is, of course, the government. And people either work for the various branches of government, or they work for contractors, they work for lobbyists, they work for public relations firms, think tanks, etc. So, and, and the kind of people who come are very interested in policy and, you know, in politics.

And you look, you know, you look at the thoroughfares, the great thoroughfares, you see throngs of people. And it looks like every weekend, it looks like a homecoming for former sorority club presidents and debate team captains. And, and there are all these bright young things who, who materialized in Washington and want to be there. So that, that fascinated me. And I wanted to, I wanted to write about them. And I have, I have touched on that in previous plays. But the focus was this house. And Anna, our director, said the house is really a character and it's based on a real house that belongs to distant relatives in the, in the, in the Virginia countryside. And they haven't, they haven't lived there that long, but the house is very old, and has a strange history.

Supposedly, a Union soldier was, was hanged from the front porch by Mosby, the Confederate guerrilla leader in retaliation for executions of Union soldiers by, of Confederate soldiers by George Armstrong Custer, of all people. And the whole, that whole part of Virginia is just, you can feel the history in the air and see that in the landscape. And so that, and that's very much part of it, too. Because they have these characters, not only are concerned about politics in 2026, they, they, they must also deal with America's history as it has unfolded in Virginia. And so it's all those things. And, and, you know, so what I want to write about, I've been fascinated, you know, I've always been interested in faith.

[11:24] John Harney: And this play tries to, attempts to maybe explain how those things affect people's lives, influence people's lives and their decisions. I think it's pretty neat because, you know, it's Rainy Day Plays is in production with the New York City Emergency Management and the Waterfront Alliance presented this show. And New York Climate Week is performances in public spaces around the city. So what's, what's, what this, this, these shows that are done in New York and around the country and in the city and putting, putting on shows in New York City is a big step because it's not just, you know, they put shows in all around New York City and they put shows in these performance places. What's it feel like to have a run in New York City?

[12:19] Robert Bannon: Oh, it's great. I mean, you know, cause I, I, this will, we were going to be at Theater for the New City. And I, I must've walked by, I used to live in the East Village on East 14th Street. And I, when it, when it wasn't, when it wasn't cool, believe me. And when, you know, when you, you know, it was, it was a, it was, it was a pretty scary neighborhood when I first got there. But I must've walked by that building 2,000 times and never went, never went in. And I, the first time, the first time I went in was last year when we, when we did the Fresh Fruit Festival. And so it's a thrill and it's, it's like a homecoming, you know, my children grew up in New York and they're going to be coming back.

David will be an usher at the show. He's, he's helped me in all these shows. And my daughter Mary has done some of the artwork. So it was a very much a family, a family outing. And you know, it's, it's, it's, and, and you know, Washington, and I, I know I, when I talk, I think regional theater is wonderful. And the theater in Washington, I can't say, I can't say how good it is, but New York is New York, and New York is New York theater. There's nothing else like it.

[13:35] John Harney: Theater for the New City on 155 First Avenue in New York, New York, you can get tickets. John, $18, a hamburger is more than $18 in New York City. So people are going to be able to get to see this show. What, what is important about it? A lot of people have made conversations about Broadway and theater not being accessible anymore. It's become something that people cannot afford to go. Anybody can afford to go and bring a date, bring a partner, bring somebody, bring a friend. It is, you're doing the God's work here. And the fact that you're able to get people to see art and culture in New York City for a price that we all can afford in these times and days.

[14:10] Robert Bannon: Yeah, that's great. I mean, you know, I've just been, well, I mean, the prices in New York, I did, I just, of anything, you know, not, not just theater. I mean, yes, apartments. Things are a little more reasonable in Washington, and Virginia, and, and some of, some of the theaters in the, in the DMV, the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia. But yeah, I mean, theater should be, theater should be available to everybody. I think it's, it's so, it's so important. And I've, you know, and I've been blessed enough, fortunate enough, whatever, to, to see it firsthand and watch these things unfold. I mean, you know, I'm, I'm amazed at what I've, you know, things that I've written, how much, how enhanced, how, how, you know, marvelous they can become with the efforts of other people, directors, lighting people, actors, of course.

And I'm, and I'm still, and I'm still, I find it so remarkable that people are, find the courage to get up on stage in front of other people. I mean, it's, you know, I, I, I was never, I was never an actor. But I, I am, have an immense admiration for them, for the actors, and for everybody else who works in theater full time. You know, and maybe I will too one of these days, I don't know.

[15:48] Robert Bannon: John, you're doing a good job. If you're, if you're trying to do it, you're doing a good job. You have an incredible cast of four. You have Jake, you have Janelle, you have Chase, you have Laura. Have you seen them yet? Have you started rehearsals? And what can you tell us about the cast of your show?

[16:01] John Harney: Well, we have, we have, you know, we, we have started rehearsals. I have not been present physically at any of them. I'm going to be, I'm going to be going up to New York late next week to see the, to see the rehearsal, to see a rehearsal for the first time, when everybody is supposed to be off book. I mean, we, you know, I got them through various ways. Oriana Ng, who was my director in, for the Fresh Fruit, the Fresh Fruit play, it was just called the Cocktail Bench. I mean, she, she knew some of these people. She's very, you know, she's a graduate of the NYU film school, although has, also has quite a bit of experience in theater. She helped, she led me to several of these actors. One of them I got just with an ad on Playbill, that was Laura.

And she sang and, and, and in some of her audition tapes or, or she sang some Sondheim and it was from Into the Woods. And, and, you know, my kid, my kids like love Into the Woods and I do too. I saw the original production or no, I'm sorry. No, I did not see the original production. I saw the, I saw the one Laura Benanti was in. And, and Vanessa, Vanessa Williams. So, you know, and I, and I was, I was just, I was just thrilled. And, and, you know, she was great. She was great. And, you know, all of them, I think I'm going to be wonderful. And I, you know, and, and again, I've already seen what they, you know, that they make what I've written better, you know, and it's not, it's not like with a novel, you know, like a novelist or a short story writer or whatever, or even a journalist, you know, it's, it's, it's always a collaborative effort theater, you know, and, and it's not just one person or one star or one writer or one director who could move, even though it may seem that way to the general public, it's, it's everybody.

[18:06] Robert Bannon: It's going to be a special week. You got to get your tickets. Everybody's going to be from September 8th to the 12th. There's, there's all different times. You can go see a nine o'clock show. There's days where it's at 6:30. There's a matinee on Saturday at two o'clock. You got to get in and out in 90 minutes with no intermission. So it's perfect. So my, you know, my ADD won't kick in too much before the show's over and you get to see it's as timely as ever. It's as important as ever to hear art. Art mirrors culture and society. And in these times, what's going to come out of the times we're living in is great art. And this is one of the examples of that. So you can go to the theater for the new city, you can get a ticket and you can see a brand new play called Somewhere Virginia. Who do you hope before I let you go, who do you hope goes and sees this show? Who, when you envision the audience, what, what are the people that should come out and buy a ticket?

[18:52] John Harney: Oh, well, I mean, I mean, I hope, I hope, you know, obviously, I would hope theater people would go and also we might have some bit of, you know, opportunities beyond here. But, you know, but, you know, people in New York, I've invited a lot of people who, who, you know, who I've known over the years, journalists, of course. And, and some few, a few pundits. Not too many, not too many pundits came to the play in Washington. But, you know, I mean, I want, I want people to be talking about this, you know, because it's, you know, it's, it's, this is about this country in 2026, from the perspective of Washington, D.C., which I don't think, you know, I was, I was, you know, I think The Best Man by Gore Vidal is one of the great, is the great political play.

And I don't, I don't, I'm not trying to compare my play to his, to what he's done. But I mean, I don't think we, I don't think we do enough of plays about the people who actually work in Washington and, and do this, you know, and, and, and, you know, work on policy, work on, you know, the campaigns and things like that. And, and, you know, people who are not the senators and congresspeople or presidents, but those who make them, who, you know, who, who are essential to that, to all these processes. So I want, I want, and I want some of them too. And, and, and, you know, but the, you know, theatergoers, people who want to see theater, I mean, those are the people I hope to see there. You know, you know, maybe a few critics, maybe a few critics. I don't know, is Michael Riedel still around?

[20:45] Robert Bannon: He is. He is around.

[20:50] John Harney: Maybe he'll show up. I don't know. We'll see.

[20:52] Robert Bannon: Well, I think anybody should get.

[20:55] John Harney: I hope you're there too, Robert, certainly.

[20:56] Robert Bannon: John, I'm coming. I want to see that. Firstly, I'm a poli-sci major who got it in political science and show business, the same thing. And I love when people take a play or a movie or a television show, put it up, put it about theater, about theater, about politics, because I think it's something we all could learn from in an entertaining way. There's nothing funnier than politics. There's nothing more interesting and necessary than politics. And I'm grateful to have spent some time with you today. I hope everybody goes out and gets a ticket, experience a brand new show, go experience a beautiful theater space and go experience incredible actors and great writing. And John, my show's your show when you write the next one, because he writes fast. Man, he was writing shows. He's popping out shows. Come back and talk about it anytime.

[21:38] John Harney: Okay. The next one might be about a murder that happened up here in northern New York about 40 years ago.

[21:45] Robert Bannon: Sounds good to me. It sounds scary and juicy and entertaining.

[21:51] John Harney: It was a tragedy. And I think it's something that's haunted me all these years. I wasn't involved with it personally, but it's one of these things in a small community that just is scary.

[22:09] Robert Bannon: Yeah, it is scary. You're right.

[22:11] John Harney: Well, then we need to hear it. Then we need to see it. So I hope you do it. And I hope you come on and talk about it.

[22:17] John Harney: I certainly will. Thank you, Robert.

[22:19] Robert Bannon: Thank you so much for being here, everybody. Go get your tickets. Go check it out. The show is called Somewhere Virginia. It's coming to New York City this September, and you have to be there. Thank you so much for being here, John. Much love to you and the family. Break legs. Have an incredible run here in New York.

[22:32] John Harney: Thank you very much.