Broadway’s spring season is poised for a seismic jolt as John Lithgow returns to the stage in Mark Rosenblatt’s provocative new play, Giant. Opening March 23, 2026, at the historic Music Box Theatre, the production thrusts the complex legacy of children’s author Roald Dahl into the spotlight, exploring the scandal and antisemitism that threatened to overshadow his celebrated literary career. For theatergoers and fans of Dahl’s work, this is no ordinary biographical drama—Giant is a daring, unflinching examination of personal responsibility, prejudice, and the tangled web of public and private morality.
John Lithgow, a two-time Tony Award winner, reprises his Olivier Award-winning portrayal of Dahl, a role that critics have called "career-defining." According to Playbill, Lithgow’s performance in the West End run was met with rapturous acclaim, earning him the coveted Best Actor award and cementing his reputation as one of the most versatile actors of his generation. Now, New York audiences will have the chance to witness Lithgow’s nuanced interpretation of a man both beloved and reviled—a literary giant forced to reckon with the darkness in his own story.
The play, written by Mark Rosenblatt and directed by the celebrated Nicholas Hytner, is no stranger to accolades. Its London premiere at the Royal Court Theatre in 2024 quickly became one of the venue’s best-selling shows in its seventy-year history, according to The New Yorker. The production’s subsequent 14-week, sold-out West End run at the Harold Pinter Theatre was crowned by three 2025 Olivier Awards, including Best New Play, Best Actor for Lithgow, and Best Director for Hytner. The creative team—rounded out by set and costume designer Bob Crowley, lighting designer Anna Watson, and sound designer Darron L West—has crafted a visually and emotionally immersive experience that elevates Rosenblatt’s incisive script.
But what exactly sets Giant apart? Unlike traditional biographical plays, Rosenblatt’s work delves deep into the moral ambiguities and public controversies that defined Dahl’s later years. The drama imagines a tense visit from Dahl’s English and American publishers—both Jewish—shortly after his infamous 1983 review in which he made antisemitic remarks about Israel’s invasion of Lebanon. The play’s action unfolds in the author’s Buckinghamshire home, where institutional power collides with personal accountability and the stakes are nothing less than the preservation of Dahl’s legacy.
As The New Yorker recounts, Rosenblatt’s script is "at once uncomfortable and thrilling," trading in paradox rather than polemics. The dialogue crackles with wit and tension as the publishers, played on Broadway by Elliot Levey (reprising his Olivier-winning role as Tom Maschler) and Aya Cash (as U.S. publisher Jessie Stone), confront Dahl about the consequences of his words. Rachael Stirling appears as Dahl’s fiancée, Felicity Crosland, with Stella Everett and David Manis rounding out the principal cast. The ensemble’s performances, honed under Hytner’s direction, bring emotional depth and urgency to a story that refuses easy answers.
"Giant is all that theatre should be. Essential viewing," declared the Daily Mail during its London run. The play’s impact is heightened by its willingness to address uncomfortable truths, including the prejudice embedded in many of Dahl’s stories—a subject that has sparked renewed debate in recent years. According to Playbill, hundreds of words were altered or omitted from Dahl’s books in 2023 to remove negative references to race, gender, disabilities, and more, reflecting the ongoing cultural conversation about the author’s legacy.
Rosenblatt, whose own family history is marked by the trauma of the Holocaust, brings a personal urgency to the material. His mother, Linda, has spoken about the importance of remembering the Shoah and the impact of inherited trauma. Rosenblatt’s earlier work, including the Oscar-longlisted short film "Ganef," explored how prejudice and fear can be passed down through generations. In Giant, he channels these themes into a play that is as much about the corrosive effects of bigotry as it is about the possibility of redemption.
The production arrives on Broadway at a moment when debates over antisemitism, political correctness, and the boundaries of artistic legacy are more charged than ever. Rosenblatt’s script, as he told The New Yorker, "destabilizes the idea of right and wrong. It allows an audience to sit with different possibilities and ambiguities." The play’s drawing-room setting—a single, tension-filled room in Dahl’s house—becomes a crucible for these debates, mirroring the traditional English drama while subverting its conventions at every turn.
For theatergoers eager to experience this landmark production, Giant offers multiple avenues for access. According to Playbill, a limited number of $45 rush tickets are available at 10 AM each day at the Music Box Theatre box office (or 12 PM on Sundays starting March 29), with a two-ticket limit per person. Digital lottery tickets, priced at $49, can be entered the day before each performance at Rush.Telecharge.com, with winners notified after morning and afternoon drawings. The Broadway run is strictly limited to 16 weeks, closing June 28, 2026—a fact that has already generated significant ticket demand.
The show’s arrival is part of a broader trend of major stars taking to the Broadway stage this season. As Broadway.com and Playbill report, the 2026 lineup includes performances by Daniel Radcliffe, Lea Michele, Darren Criss, and Megan Thee Stallion, among others. Yet Giant stands out for its combination of star power, critical acclaim, and the weighty questions it poses about history, identity, and the responsibilities of celebrated figures.
For Mark Rosenblatt, seeing his first play reach Broadway is both a personal and professional triumph. After years of working as a director and grappling with the challenges of the theater industry, he found his voice as a playwright by confronting the most difficult aspects of his own and his society’s history. As director Nicholas Hytner put it, "He should have been a writer all along. He didn’t know that. I didn’t know that. But that’s plainly what he needed to be."
With Giant, Rosenblatt, Lithgow, and the entire creative team invite audiences to grapple with the complexities of legacy, prejudice, and forgiveness. For those willing to engage with its uncomfortable questions, the play promises not just entertainment, but a rare opportunity for reflection and dialogue—before the curtain falls on June 28.