John Lithgow is coming back to Broadway in a role that won raves across the pond last spring.
The Emmy, Golden Globe and Tony Award-winning heavyweight will reprise his role as “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” author Roald Dahl in the Broadway transfer of Mark Rosenblatt’s Olivier Award-winning play “Giant.”
Producers announced Tuesday that two-time Tony Award winner Nicholas Hytner will helm the production, which will begin performances March 11, 2026, at a yet-to-announced Shubert theater in New York City. Tickets for “Giant” will go on sale to the public in October via the show’s official website.
With the logline of, “A world-famous children’s author under threat. A battle of wills in the wake of scandal. And one chance to make amends,” the play explores the dark side of a beloved children’s writer after he wrote a book review that was considered antisemitic.
Courtesy of Giant; Getty
John Lithgow (main and inset) as Roald Dahl in ‘Giant’ on Broadway. (Courtesy of Giant; Getty)
Lithgow, who turns 80 on Oct. 19, won the Best Actor prize at the Olivier Awards in April. Britain’s equivalent of Broadway’s Tony Awards also recognized the “Giant” as the Best New Play.
“Being a part of ‘Giant’ from its inception has been the most challenging and exciting stage experience of my career,” Lithgow said with Tuesday’s announcement.
“I play the central character of Roald Dahl, a man of dizzying complexity, on a day of crisis in his life. The story takes place forty years ago, but it resonates powerfully with events of our present day. No play I’ve ever been in has had such an impact on audiences. I am so proud and honored to play this part.”
The “3rd Rock from the Sun” star, also a two-time Tony Award winner for 1973′ s “The Changing Room” and “Sweet Smell of Success” in 2002, is returning to Broadway for the first time since 2019’s “Hillary and Clinton” — in which he portrayed former U.S. president Bill Clinton.
