John Lithgow to return to Broadway in a Roald Dahl play that's not for
kids
[September 17, 2025]
By MARK KENNEDY
NEW YORK (AP) — John Lithgow is returning to Broadway in a play that
might change the way we read bedtime stories to our kids.
The two-time Tony Award-winner will star as Roald Dahl in “Giant,” which
explores accusations of antisemitism against the beloved writer of
“Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” Matilda” and “James and the Giant
Peach.”
“You go back and read his writing after seeing the play and you see dark
strains in it, which you knew were there,” says Lithgow. “But you
suddenly see it in a different light when you see this play.”
“Giant,” by director-turned-playwright Mark Rosenblatt, won the Olivier
Award earlier this year for best new play in London and earned Lithgow
his first Olivier. Performances begin in New York on March 11.
Set over a single afternoon at the Dahl family home in the summer of
1983, “Giant” presents the author on the eve of publication of his book
“The Witches.”
He is facing outcry after making antisemitic comments and Dahl is being
forced to choose between making a public apology or risking his name and
reputation. Jewish representatives from Dahl’s British and American
publishers visit his home to chart a course.
“He was a loved writer for very good reasons, and it was really only
after his death that so much of this information about his antisemitisms
came into focus. He was sort of spared the era of cancel culture,” says
Lithgow.
The play will arrive in New York amid swirling accusations of
antisemitism over the war in Gaza, a debate over cancel culture and
questions about the place of politics in children’s literature.
“It’s not a play that wants to tell people what to think. It just
invites people to think,” says Rosenblatt, who was inspired to write
“Giant” after learning of antisemitism in Britain's Labor Party.
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John Lithgow poses for a portrait during the Sundance Film Festival
in Park City, Utah, on Jan. 28, 2019. (Photo by Taylor Jewell/Invision/AP,
File)
 “It's a play about a complex person,
a complex human being who created some of the great treasures of my
childhood and whose work I still read to my own kids,” says
Rosenblatt. “I guess it’s asking people in some ways to hold two
truths in their heads at the same time.”
The play premiered at the Royal Court Theatre before transferring to
the West End. It is directed by Nicholas Hytner and features set
designs by Bob Crowley
Variety called it “a powerhouse play whose time has most definitely
come.” The Times was equally enthusiastic: “Are we likely to see a
more enthralling play in the West End this year? I very much doubt
it. In fact, we’ll be lucky to encounter a more thought-provoking
piece in the next decade.”
Lithgow — who also is a children’s book author and writes songs for
kids — is deep into children's literature these days. In addition to
“Giant,” he's also signed on to play Albus Dumbledore in HBO’s
“Harry Potter” TV series.
“It’s kind of extraordinary that I’ve ended up playing these two
characters at such a moment concurrently,” he says. “So here I am
doing a variation on a theme.”
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