D.B. Woodside

24 star D.B. Woodside will play Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Tony winner John Cullum has been cast as President Lyndon Johnson in Keen Company’s upcoming off-Broadway production of The Conscientious Objector. This new play by Michael Murphy will begin performances at the Clurman Theatre on Theater Row on March 4 and open on March 18. The limited engagement is scheduled to continue through April 19, directed by the company’s artistic director, Carl Forsman.

In early 1967, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. informed his advisors that he intended to play a major role in the anti-war movement, advocating immediate withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Vietnam. No major figure of Dr. King’s stature had yet been willing to take such a dramatic stand, and King knew he would be turning past allies like President Johnson into powerful enemies. His inner circle feared he would trigger a political backlash that could undo the progress made in civil rights. Drawing from the historical record, including the FBI’s relentless and often illegal surveillance, and the White House’s infamous secret telephone recordings, The Conscientious Objector tells a troubling story of dissent in America during a time of war.