It Took John Lithgow Less Than 24 Hours to Know He Needed to Play Roald Dahl in Giant
There were giants in the skyscraper last night as guests gathered at Moss New York to fête Giant, one of the theater season’s most gripping shows. The play stars Tony winner John Lithgow as Roald Dahl, the iconic children’s author behind beloved titles like Matilda and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, as he navigates the fallout from a controversial and antisemitic book review he wrote condemning Israel after its 1982 invasion of Lebanon. Despite—or perhaps because of its touchy subject matter—Giant has earned four Tony nominations, including citations for best actor, best featured actress, best direction of a play, and best play.
“The success of it is astonishing, but actually not surprising,” Lithgow told Vanity Fair of Giant. “I have always believed in this play, from the first time I read an early draft of it. And I just think everybody involved has felt the same way.”
Lithgow wasn’t lying. According to Giant director Nicholas Hytner, Lithgow signed on to star as Dahl within 24 hours of reading the script. “Most people don’t read things that quickly, let alone make their minds up,” says Hytner, who first worked with Lithgow on the Broadway flop Sweet Smell of Success. When Lithgow signed on to Giant, “that was when I knew it was a great play,” says Hytner.
He had reason to doubt at first. Giant is the very first play written by Mark Rosenblatt, a director by trade. “I wrote this play on spec and during COVID,” Rosenblatt says. “To be standing at a party that Vanity Fair has thrown to celebrate our Broadway run is just beyond any kind of sane expectation that I could have had at that time.”
Lithgow stars opposite The Boys star Aya Cash, who makes her Broadway debut as Jessie Stone, a Jewish marketing representative who suggests to Dahl that his fierce support of Palestinians may also be tinged with antisemitism. “It’s a testament to John that I don’t think about that ever,” Cash says. “I don’t think, Oh, I’m going up against John Lithgow, one of the greatest actors of our generation. I’m just getting to go play with a friend.”
For that play, she’s earned her first Tony nod. “Since the nomination, I just feel like joy,” says Cash. “It’s just very sweet and lovely. I keep going to these parties and running into people I’ve worked with for 20 years, and that’s such a gift.”
Guests celebrating Giant included American Vogue editor Chloe Malle as well as theater producers Tom Kirdahy, Lucas McMahon, and Greg Nobile, who sipped on wine and Champagne and dined on light bites whilst mingling and talking Tony prospects. Last year’s belle of the ball, Oh, Mary! creator and star Cole Escola, showed up to the function fresh off the news that they will be reprising their Tony-winning role on the West End this summer. Now back in the States after shooting a television series abroad, Escola also revealed that they are presenting at the Tony Awards June 7. “I’m excited to go and not be nervous,” they said. “It’ll be nice to just be there as a celebrant.”
Escola was excited to catch up on New York theater and see one performance in particular: Laurie Metcalf, currently starring as Linda Loman in a celebrated Death of a Salesman revival. “I saw her twice in A Doll’s House, Part 2, and in Three Tall Women,” says Escola. “I think she’s my favorite stage performer working right now.” Which doesn’t mean they aren’t head over heels with Maya Rudolph, who currently stars in Escola’s hit play Oh, Mary, and Meg Stalter, who will take over the role next on Broadway. “I just keep thinking that, well, now no one will want to do it,” said Escola, since each Mary has been so strong. “Every person that does it, I’m like, well now people don’t want to do it.” Clearly, Escola is wrong.
Although the mood at Moss was light and amiable, Giant’s subject matter is rather heavy, speaking directly toward ongoing strife in the Middle East—even though it takes place more than 40 years ago. “It’s simply incredible how immediate the subject is, how urgent the subject is, and how eloquently the play deals with it, with all the different arguments, all of them energized by emotion,” said Lithgow.
During his remarks, Vanity Fair global editorial director Mark Guiducci highlighted this, calling Giant a Rorschach test that “exposes and challenges the preconceptions of everyone who sees it.” He continued, “The play resists easy answers, pushing audiences to hold contradiction,” before turning his attention to Lithgow’s fearless performance. “In his long and decorated career, Lithgow has masterfully rendered everyone from King Lear to Lord Farquaad. I can’t think of anyone else so totally equipped to play Rudy Giuliani, Roger Ailes, and Roald Dahl.”
Playing someone both beloved and despicable didn’t scare Lithgow off: It intrigued him. “It’s that duality of him that I find fascinating—his humanity and inhumanity,” said Lithgow. “Hopefully, the play gives people new ways of thinking about these issues. I mean, from my own mind, Roald Dahl, to the extent that he was a poor bigoted man, I feel so much of that comes out of the damage he has suffered himself.” And with that, Lithgow was off to prep for that night’s performance of Giant.