8 / 10
Director Nicholas Hytner has staged a boxing match for today’s discourse, without changing a line from a pre-Oct. 7 script. What makes the work sing is its refusal to resort to caricature, humanizing Dahl through his fiancée Liccy Crossland (Rachael Stirling), the tragedies of his dead daughter and disabled son and, yes, his genuine concern and justified anguish for the Lebanese and Palestinians, particularly the children.
6 / 10
Still, Giant spends some two hours playing is-he-or-isn’t-he before a mic drop finale that conclusively proves (by dramatizing an actual interview he gave to The New Statesman) that he is. Or, in the most undeservedly graceful reading, that his stubbornness so blinds him to consequence that he’d be willing to sound like he is. It’s a terrific character study. The issue is that Giant also spends those two hours playing cat and mouse with the broader question of whether anti-zionism equals antisemitism; Dahl being the only character to firmly decry the invasion and take issue with Israel’s governance. He dodges the main accusation by bringing up valid concerns over war, displacement and colonialism, which erroneously and irresponsibly intertwines the two thoughts as the play goes on. Closing the play on a confirmation of Dahl’s antisemitism, Rosenblatt bangs the gavel on the conflation: if Dahl was lying about the roots of his anti-zionism, surely so must others be guilty of that masquerade. For all its dramatic pleasures and gestures towards nuance, Giant winds up feeling like the latest example of a type of weaponized censorship that deems any criticism of governments as human-scale hate speech.
For his performance as Roald Dahl in Giant, John Lithgow has broken records with his third Tony Award, making him the oldest man to ever receive an award in an acting category.
John Lithgow took home a Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play for GIANT. After leaving the stage at Radio City Music Hall, he checked in with BroadwayWorld's Richard Ridge to share his initial reaction! Watch in this video.
The Drama Bookshop is partnering with the Broadway production of GIANT to give students a free copy of Mark Rosenblatt's Tony-nominated play with a valid student ID, while supplies last.
John Lithgow has won the 2026 Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play for GIANT.
The Authors Guild Foundation (AGF) will launch “Page to Stage”, an intimate salon series on bringing literary works and the figures behind them to the stage with bestselling author Harlan Coben in conversation with playwright Mark Rosenblatt.
Watch in this video as 2026 Tony Awards nominee John Lithgow chats more about seeing old friends, his giant journey with the company of Giant, and so much more.
Watch in this video as 2026 Tony Awards nominee Aya cash chats more about her bonkers Giant cast, what an honor it is to be in this Broadway season, and so much more.
Four-time Tony nominated and Olivier Award-winning Best Play, GIANT, has recouped its $5.6 million Broadway capitalization just 10 weeks into its planned 16-week limited engagement on Broadway.
Giant, the new play starring John Lithgow as Roald Dahl, will be released in cinemas later this year. The Olivier Award-winning and Tony-nominated play was recorded at London’s Harold Pinter Theatre.
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Lead Performance in a Play | John Lithgow |
| 2026 | Drama League Awards | OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION OF A PLAY | Giant |
| 2026 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Lead Performer in a Broadway Play | John Lithgow |
| 2026 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding New Broadway Play | Giant |
| 2026 | Tony Awards | Best Direction of a Play | Nicholas Hytner |
| 2026 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play | John Lithgow |
| 2026 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play | Aya Cash |
| 2026 | Tony Awards | Best Play | Giant |
| 2026 | Tony Awards | Best Sound Design of a Musical | Walter Trarbach |
