Photos: Ethan Hawke, Mark Ruffalo, & More at ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN Reading

On Friday, January 3, the Stella Adler Academy of Acting and Theatre presented a sold-out, one-night staged benefit reading of All the President’s Men, led by Mark Ruffalo and Ethan Hawke. Check out photos from the all-star event below.

Held at the Harmony Gold Theater in Los Angeles, the screenplay by William Goldman, based on the book by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, was directed by Ethan Silverman and produced by Julianne Hoffenberg, with the event benefiting the Academy’s foundation.

In addition to Ruffalo and Hawke in the roles of Woodward and Bernstein, the cast featured Amy Brenneman (The Bookkeeper), Don Cheadle (Ben Bradlee), Kaley Cuoco (Debbie Sloan, Kay Eddy), Laurence Fishburne (Deep Throat), Spencer Garrett (Harvey Rosenfeld), Rob Morrow (Howard Simons), Tom Pelphrey (Hugh Sloan, Barker, National Editor), Missy Yager (Martha Mitchell), Susan Traylor (Katharine Graham), and more.

The post-performance talk back was moderated by Elsa Walsh, Moderator, Pulitzer Prize nominee, wife of Bob Woodward, Kevin Merida, panelist, former Executive Editor of the LA Times (four Pulitzer Prizes for the media organization during his tenure) Christian Williams, former Washington Post editor during Watergate, Tessa B Wick, Committee for the First Amendment, the Cast, and Director Ethan Silverman.

Speaking to how the film inspired a new generation of journalists and people who wanted to do investigative reporting and hold power accountable, Ruffalo said, “This script and film are about the hunt for the truth and the importance of journalism. In this script, we tell the story of journalism: how journalists find the story and the story finds them. It’s not lost on us how journalism is under attack, and tonight was a night to celebrate where journalism and our business meet.”

“Tonight, we honored journalists and the iconic Stella Adler by bringing an important script to life, bringing curiosity and importance to the story,” said director Silverman. “We wanted to present this script with the scenes that had been cut from the film and share the message of the tenacity of journalism and uncovering the truth.”

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of All the President’s Men. Mark Ruffalo brought this cast together after hosting a reading last summer in East Hampton, with Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein in attendance, and realized how powerfully the story still resonates.

While planning a benefit for the Stella Adler Academy, Ruffalo proposed this special reading, assembling this cast in just three weeks. The script combined Goldman’s original screenplay, the final shooting script, and the released film version.  The performance included scenes that had been cut from the film, including original material with Katharine Graham and Martha Mitchell that was never filmed. The first time this screenplay was staged this way was in 2006, produced by Julianne Hoffenberg, with Carl Bernstein performing as his own editor, Howard Simons.

Founded in 1985 by Stella Adler, Joanne Linville, and Irene Gilbert, the Stella Adler Academy is a non-profit arts organization dedicated to developing artists as both performers and engaged citizens. Nearly half of all students attending receive scholarships, with proceeds from this event directly funding the Academy’s scholarship program, ensuring world-class training remains accessible to artists from all backgrounds.

Photo Credit: Arnold Turner