Lombardi ( play ) Lombardi is a play by Eric Simonson , based on the book " When Pride Still Mattered : A Life of Vince Lombardi " by Pulitzer Prize - winning author David Maraniss . Synopsis . The play follows Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi through a week in the 1965 season , as he attempts to lead his team to the championship . A " Look Magazine " reporter , Michael McCormick , wants to " find out what makes Lombardi win " . However , players on the team refuse to be interviewed , wary of giving up information . He goes instead to Lombardi ' s wife , Marie , for answers . Meanwhile , in a flashback , Lombardi frets over his lack of promotion and contemplates quitting football . His wife reveals that the family had an emotional move to Green Bay , Wisconsin when Lombardi joined the Packers . Lombardi ends up yelling at Michael in front of the team , prompting both to storm off . Dave Robinson , a player from the Packers , comforts Michael at a local bar , sharing stories about his initial impressions of the coach , the " honor of being barked at " by Lombardi , and the equality established on the team . After more positive insight from Paul Hornung and Jim Taylor , Michael decides to attend the next game . As he narrates what happened at the game , the Packers win . After he writes his news story , Michael reveals to Lombardi that he is quitting " Look Magazine " to form his own publishing company . Lombardi congratulates him on his move to independence and celebrates the win with Michael and Marie . Michael realizes that Lombardi is " the most imperfect , perfect man " he ever met . History and background . Simonson created an earlier version of the play entitled " Lombardi : The Only Thing " , which was produced in 2007 by the Madison Repertory Theatre at the Overture Center in Madison , Wisconsin . The play then had a successful run at the Next Act Theatre in Milwaukee in 2008 . After some interest surfaced in a " Lombardi " play for Broadway , Simonson " developed an entirely new play leaving only one five - minute scene from the original script . " Productions . Great Barrington ( 2010 ) . The production had a pre - Broadway tryout at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington , Massachusetts , playing from July 22 to July 28 , 2010 . The production featured Dan Lauria and Judith Light as Vince and Marie Lombardi , respectively . Broadway ( 2010 - 2011 ) . " Lombardi " officially premiered on Broadway at the Circle in the Square Theatre on October 21 , 2010 , after previews beginning on September 23 . The creative team includes direction by Thomas Kail , sets by David Korins , costumes by Paul Tazewell , and lighting by Howell Binkley . This production is being produced by Tony Ponturo and Fran Kirmser . " Lombardi " closed on May 22 , 2011 , after 30 previews and 244 performances . Due to the Packers winning the 2011 Super Bowl , the show ' s producers were " hoping for a halo effect at the box office . " Patrick Healy wrote in " The New York Times " : " The Packers ’ victory on Sunday lent “ Lombardi ” plenty of visibility before and after the Fox broadcast of the game . One of the network commentators , Howie Long , who has seen “ Lombardi , ” talked up the play before kickoff and during the postgame show he said , ' I think ‘ Lombardi ’ the play just got an extension on Broadway . ' " Healy also wrote that the show had not recouped its $ 3 million investment , and while producer Tony Ponturo said that the show was scheduled to run until June 19 , 2011 , it ended its run early . Producers would not comment on whether or not the play had earned back its production budget . The original Broadway cast included Dan Lauria as Vince Lombardi , Judith Light as Marie Lombardi , Keith Nobbs as Michael McCormick , Bill Dawes as Paul Hornung , Robert Christopher Riley as Dave Robinson , and Chris Sullivan as Jim Taylor . Light was nominated for a 2011 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play for her performance in " Lombardi " . Milwaukee ( 2011 ) . The regional premiere of " Lombardi " will begin in Milwaukee , Wisconsin at the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre . The production will star Lee E . Ernst as Vince Lombardi and run from October 11 , 2011 to November 13 , 2011 . Simonson said in a statement , " I grew up in Wisconsin , so [ Lombardi ] was always a part of the ether . When I started doing a play on him , it was not just to recount a famous man ' s life story , it was really to find out and unearth the reasons why this man was famous . He ' s a fully dimensional man , a complicated man , more complex than people realize . " Response . The show received mixed reviews from New York critics , garnering a " B + " rating on " StageGrade " . Charles Isherwood said the show " seems to depend heavily on a playbook that emphasizes the importance of team effort . In examining the life of the title character . . . this workmanlike drama often keeps him offstage for long stretches , almost relegating Lombardi to a supporting role in his own story . " Most critics were in consensus that Lauria ' s performance was the highlight of the show . " Variety " ' s Marilyn Stasio emphazised that " [ Lauria ] brings that endearing quality to his scrappy portrait of Lombardi . . . Working off his own bulldog physique and gap - toothed grin , Lauria achieves an eerie physical resemblance to Lombardi , who used his whole body to speak his mind . " However , " The New Yorker " added that " Lauria would do well to tone down the yelling . "