It is the story of the man behind America’s favorite game, the face of football especially during the ‘60s, the man whose name is now synonymous with the NFL’s culminating and most anticipated game and its most prized trophy, Vince Lombardi.

“Lombardi” is a new play by Academy Award winning short documentary director Eric Simonson who adapted the script for the play from the Lombardi biography, “When Pride Still Mattered: A Life of Vince Lombardi” from Pulitzer winning writer and journalist, David Maraniss. The play will run at the Circle in the Square Theatre beginning on October 21 with preview performances set to begin on September 23.

The play will star Dan Lauria as the title role, Judith Light as Marie Lombardi, Keith Nobbs as Michael McCormick, Robert Christopher Riley as Dave Robinson, Chris Sullivan as Jim Taylor and Bill Dawes as Pro Football and Green Bay Packers Hall of Famer Paul Hornung, for whom Lombardi designed the popular “Packer power sweep” play where the halfback like Hornung would “run to daylight” – as the famed coach would put it – or to the direction opposite to where the defenders were moving. The Broadway production is directed by Thomas Kail.