Giant on Broadway
John Lithgow as Roald Dahl in a serious play about legacy, scandal, and moral reckoning — here’s what to know before you decide.
Giant is a Broadway drama about Roald Dahl — specifically about the moment his antisemitism became impossible to ignore, and what happened when the people closest to him tried to make him account for it. Written by Mark Rosenblatt and directed by Nicholas Hytner, the play arrived on Broadway following a West End run that won the Olivier Award for Best New Play. John Lithgow stars as Dahl. It is playing at the Music Box Theatre through June 28, 2026.
This guide is for visitors deciding whether Giant belongs on their Broadway itinerary. It is a play, not a musical — verbal, morally uncomfortable by design, and built around an argument rather than a story arc. That makes it a particular kind of Broadway night. Here is an honest look at who it is right for and who would be better served by something else.
Why Giant Stands Out This Spring
The spring Broadway season has no shortage of serious drama, but Giant occupies distinct territory. It is not a biographical portrait in the familiar sense — not a cradle-to-grave account of Roald Dahl’s life and work. It is a focused confrontation: one period, one reckoning, one question that the play refuses to let anyone answer cleanly. That formal discipline, applied to genuinely difficult material, is what gives it a different weight from most prestige productions.
The West End production won the Olivier Award for Best New Play, which matters as context rather than as a marketing claim. It means the writing was recognized at the highest level before it crossed the Atlantic, and that the production Hytner brought to Broadway has already been tested against serious scrutiny.
In the final years of his life, Dahl’s repeated antisemitic statements — in interviews, in print, in private — became a public crisis for his publisher and his family. Giant dramatizes a confrontation between Dahl and Jessie Stone, a fictional Jewish editorial assistant, in which the full weight of that history is put on the table. The play does not soften Dahl or resolve him. It examines him.
John Lithgow playing Roald Dahl is not incidental casting. Dahl was physically imposing, verbally precise, used to being the most formidable presence in any room — and deeply resistant to moral accountability. Lithgow’s particular gifts as an actor, his ability to hold charm and menace in simultaneous suspension, make him an unusually well-matched choice for the role. What he does with it is the central theatrical event of the production.
What the Experience Is Actually Like
Giant is a talky play in the most serious sense: the drama is almost entirely in what people say to each other, how they say it, and what they refuse to say. There is no action in any conventional theatrical sense, no momentum built through plot mechanics. What there is, for two hours and twenty minutes across two acts, is argument — careful, escalating, and never fully resolved.
Nicholas Hytner is one of the most accomplished directors in the English-speaking theater, and his staging keeps the focus where it belongs: on the language and the performances. The Music Box Theatre, one of Broadway’s more intimate houses, suits the material exactly. You are close enough to the actors that the detail of what they are doing registers fully, which is the only way a play like this works.
Giant is morally uncomfortable by design. The play does not offer easy exits — not a villain who gets his comeuppance, not a hero who changes minds, not a resolution that lets the audience leave feeling settled. It is the kind of theater that generates real conversation, the kind where you are still working through what you think about it on the way home. For the right audience, that is exactly the appeal.
The intermission after the first act is well-placed. The play earns the break — the first act builds considerable pressure, and the pause before the second act gives that pressure somewhere to go. Unlike the recent wave of no-intermission productions, Giant uses the structural pause deliberately, and the second act lands differently because of it.
Who Giant Is Best For
The clearest service this page can offer is a direct answer to the question most visitors are actually weighing: is this the right Broadway night for my trip? Giant has a specific audience and serves that audience well. It is not built for anyone else, and pretending otherwise would waste your time.
If you come to theater for the writing, the argument, and the performance — and you want your Broadway night to stay with you — this is the spring pick.
Already seen the major musicals and looking for something more demanding? An Olivier-winning play with Lithgow in the lead role is exactly what to prioritize on a return trip.
Giant does not give you a clean ending. It gives you a question. For couples who want a Broadway night that turns into a longer conversation, that is the point.
This is a major stage performance from one of the most capable actors working today. If his work is the draw, the production justifies that entirely.
If you already know you love serious plays and difficult ideas, this works as a first Broadway show. If you are not yet sure Broadway is for you, start with something more immediately theatrical — and come back to Giant on a future trip.
The subject matter is antisemitism and legacy, the tone is adult throughout, and there is nothing celebratory about the experience. For families or visitors wanting a fun, music-driven Broadway night, there are better options in the current season.
If your group includes someone who needs the evening to be enjoyable in a straightforward sense, Giant will be a long two hours and twenty minutes for them. The first-time visitor guide covers the current season’s more accessible options and can help you find the right match for a mixed group.
The Cast and Why It Matters
A play built around argument lives or dies on its actors, and Giant has the cast its material demands. The production does not rely on theatrical spectacle to carry weight — it relies on what happens between people in a room, which means the performances have to be operating at a very high level throughout. They are.
- John LithgowRoald Dahl
- Aya CashJessie Stone
- Elliot LeveyTom Maschler
- Rachael StirlingFelicity Crosland
- Stella EverettHallie
- David ManisWally
Aya Cash, playing the fictional Jessie Stone — the character whose confrontation with Dahl is the engine of the play — carries as much of the dramatic weight as Lithgow. The play is structured as a two-hander in its most important scenes, and Cash’s performance in those scenes is not secondary. The dynamic between the two of them is where the play lives.
Nicholas Hytner directed the original West End production and brings it to Broadway intact. Mark Rosenblatt’s writing won the Olivier before it arrived here. The production has already been tested at the highest level, which is worth knowing when you are deciding whether to prioritize it over other spring options.
The run closes June 28, 2026. As with any limited engagement, verify current performance schedules and casting before booking.
Know Before You Go
The production contains theatrical haze and smoking on stage. The subject matter — antisemitism, public reputation, and moral reckoning — is handled directly throughout. The play does not soften or contextualize away from its central subject.
The intermission is after the first act — plan dinner accordingly
With one intermission and a total runtime of about two hours and twenty minutes, you have flexibility on dinner. Pre-show dining before a 7pm curtain works well, as does a late dinner after — the play ends at a reasonable hour. See the pre-show dining guide for timing strategy and the restaurants near Broadway guide for options near the Music Box Theatre on 45th Street.
The Music Box Theatre is one of Broadway’s better rooms for this kind of play
It seats around 1,000 and has a traditional proscenium layout with good sightlines throughout. It is intimate enough that the acting registers at the detail level Giant requires. The orchestra and front mezzanine are both strong choices — avoid the far rear of the upper mezzanine if proximity to the performance matters to you, and for this play it does.
Know what you’re walking into before the curtain
Giant covers antisemitism directly and without euphemism. It is not graphic or sensationalized, but it does not look away either. If anyone in your group is coming in cold, a brief heads-up beforehand will make for a better evening — the play rewards engagement, not surprise.
Plan the Night Around the Music Box Theatre
The Music Box Theatre sits on West 45th Street, squarely in the middle of the Theater District, with easy access to Hell’s Kitchen to the west and the broader Midtown dining grid in every other direction. It is one of the more central Broadway houses, which makes pre- and post-show logistics straightforward.
Getting there
The Theater District is among the best-served areas in the city for subway access, and 45th Street is a short walk from Times Square and the 42nd Street hub. If you are driving in from outside the city, parking is available in the area but fills quickly on weekend evenings — a garage reservation made in advance removes the stress. Our guide to getting to a Broadway show covers the best subway lines, timing from different parts of the city, and the closest garage options.
Dinner before or after
The one-intermission format means both pre-show and post-show dinner work equally well. If you are eating before, Hell’s Kitchen has the densest concentration of reliable options within walking distance of this part of 45th Street — and the neighborhood is practiced at handling theater-crowd timing. Post-show, the same options stay open late and are used to groups arriving after 10pm. See the restaurants near Broadway guide for specific picks and the pre-show dining guide for advice on timing and reservations.
If you’re making a night or weekend of it
The Music Box Theatre’s location puts it within walking distance of most Theater District hotels and a short ride from anywhere in Midtown. Our hotels near Broadway guide covers the best-positioned options at different price points. For a broader orientation to the neighborhood and how to plan around it, the Theater District neighborhood guide is the right starting point.
Frequently Asked Questions
Giant is a play about Roald Dahl and the scandal surrounding his antisemitism. Set in the later years of his life, it dramatizes a confrontation between Dahl and a fictional Jewish editorial assistant named Jessie Stone, in which his antisemitic statements — made publicly and repeatedly over many years — are put directly on the table. The play examines how genius, affection, and moral failure can coexist in the same person, and what, if anything, follows from that recognition.
No. Giant is a straight play — a drama, not a musical. There are no songs, no choreography, and no score. It is a performance-driven, dialogue-based work.
John Lithgow plays Roald Dahl. The supporting cast includes Aya Cash as Jessie Stone, Elliot Levey as Tom Maschler, Rachael Stirling as Felicity Crosland, Stella Everett as Hallie, and David Manis as Wally. The play is directed by Nicholas Hytner.
The current runtime is approximately 2 hours and 20 minutes, including one intermission.
Giant is playing at the Music Box Theatre, 239 West 45th Street in Manhattan, in the heart of the Theater District.
The production carries a recommended age guidance of 12 and up. The subject matter — antisemitism, reputation, and moral accountability — is handled in adult terms throughout. It is not appropriate for younger children, and most families would find better-matched Broadway options in the current season. The first-time visitor guide covers family-friendly picks.
It depends on what you want from your first Broadway experience. If you already know you respond to serious plays, difficult ideas, and high-level acting, Giant can be a genuinely memorable introduction to what Broadway can do at its most serious. If you are not yet sure Broadway is for you, or if you want your first experience to be more immediately theatrical — music, movement, scale — start with a musical and return to Giant on a future trip. The first-time visitor guide can help you find the right starting point.
The Bottom Line on Giant
Giant is the most intellectually demanding play in the current Broadway season, and that is a recommendation, not a warning — for the right audience. It is a precisely written, carefully directed examination of a complicated figure, performed by actors operating at a high level in a theater that suits the work. It will not make you comfortable, and it is not trying to.
For visitors who want a Broadway night that stays with them — that generates a real conversation on the walk back, that raises questions without resolving them cleanly — Giant is the spring choice that delivers that. The run closes June 28, 2026, and the production will not be reassembled on these terms.
For help planning the rest of the evening, the pre-show dining guide and the Theater District neighborhood guide are the right places to start.