Network Review – Paddy Chayefsky’s Acclaimed Film Comes to the Stage

When the controversial blockbuster film NETWORK premiered in 1976, little did anyone suspect that it would garner four Oscars (best original screenplay – Paddy Chayefsky; best actor – Peter Finch posthumously; best actress – Faye Dunaway; best supporting actress – Beatrice Straight). The Sidney Lumet movie inspired a stage adaptation by Lee Hall which premiered in London in 2017 and moved on to Broadway in 2018, both starring Bryan Cranston, who won the Tony Award for best actor (as well as Tonys for best actress – Tatiana Maslany and best supporting actor – Tony Goldwin). The stage presentation invited the audience into the action as diners of a three-course meal and the studio audience, effectively decreasing the distance between the audience and the performers, as well as the distance between fact and fiction in contemporary news media. The play received rave reviews – “Thrillingly inventive and chillingly prescient” – The Stage; “The depth of Chayefsky’s cynicism is so breathtaking, so full of existential despair that it makes today’s critical pundits look like weepy whiners” – Variety and brought fame to a catchy phrase: “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore.” In 2025, the Group Rep proudly presents NETWORK.

Linda Aznauer, Hudson Long, Michelle McGregor, Stevie Stern, Tack Sappington, and Idielis Hernandez – Photo by Doug Engalla

The place is New York City, and the time is September 1975. When television executives at UBS realize that long-time TV news anchor Howard Beale (Bert Emmett) isn’t pulling in the viewers anymore, they decide to give him the axe. Little do they suspect that Beale’s agenda for his next newscast is to share his plans to commit suicide with the shocked audience. His good friend and news program director Max Schumacher (Larry Toffler) finally manages to calm Beale down and talk him into backing off from his proposed suicide date – when exec Diana Christensen (Michelle McGregor) discovers that Beale’s flagging audience has been energized and is growing moment by moment – with ratings to match. Everyone is clamoring to know more, and Beale’s star is rising in the firmament. What Max sees as sad and depressing, Diana sees as a way for the network to regain its footing and kill the competition – and, incidentally, become a stepping stone to her lofty career aspirations. And so Beale gets his own program and becomes the outspoken TV guru for the dissatisfied and disenfranchised in New York and beyond. What could possibly go wrong?

Tack Sappington, Michelle McGregor, and Hudson Long – Photo by Doug Engalla

Skillfully helmed by Tom Lazarus (who doubles as set designer), NETWORK does an incisive job of bringing this thought-provoking and controversial tale to the stage. The cast numbers over 20, with multiple scenes, costume changes, and technical issues which make NETWORK a highly complex production with newly emerging problems the norm. This is a huge production, and Lazarus proves up to the task – as do the many cast members who bring the story to life. Kudos to Bert Emmett, who never lets up on his psychotic merry-go-round – the perennial moving target. Special notice as well to Toffler as Max and McGregor as Diana. But in reality the entire ensemble cast works as one in this excellent and entertaining show. Each member of the cast and creative and production teams clearly give their all to make NETWORK one of the best productions in The Group Rep’s long history. This is an exciting, gripping, and not-to-be-missed drama which – despite being written nearly 50 years ago – remains eerily timely and frighteningly contemporary.

NETWORK cast and creative time during talk-back after the show – Photo by Elaine L. Mura

NETWORK runs through June 29, 2025, with performances at 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and at 2 p.m. on Sundays. The Group Rep performs at the Lonny Chapman Theatre, 10900 Burbank Blvd., North Hollywood, CA 91601. Tickets are $36 (students/seniors $30; groups of 10+ $25). For information and reservations, call 838-763-5990 or go online.