Now showing at the Music Box Theatre, following a much-praised Olivier-winning debut in London, Mark Rosenblatt's staggering portrait of Roald Dahl and his vicious anti-semitism is a near clean sweep with the critics.

Directed by Nicholas Hynter (The History Boys, War Horse), Giant stars John Lithgow as the once-beloved great of children's literature. Taking place over one sunny day in 1983 at Dahl's country house, the author has just published a book review that lays bare his controversial opinions for the first time. As his publicists, friends, and family scramble to mollify the fallout, Dahl doubles down with increasingly alarming rhetoric, delivered in a career-best performance from Lithgow. 

See my own five-star London review here.

On to the critics' reviews:

"As Roald Dahl, John Lithgow is a study in monstrosity
for the the most part, though, Lithgow's Dahl is the sole repository of Rosenblatt's perception, which is shifting and multivalent and, even in moments of extremity, sympathetic. He weaves in insight after insight. He hints at the way adolescent misogyny might have shaped Dahl's nastiness, and the way that our deference to the elderly, to the famous, even to the loved can accelerate their radicalization. Audience members should therefore attend with their mental cudgels poised, prepared to be the opposition that Dahl doesn't really encounter onstage.
New York Times

"John Lithgow is superb as Roald Dahl in show about his revolting anti-semitism.
...Lithgow's ability to be quiet and sweet and seconds later booming and scary that makes us squirm in our seats over our own feelings toward the writer. At times, we really do like him. The actor's well-rounded, seismic Roald will be on the defensive, weaponizing his over-6-foot frame, massive intellect, and huge temper. All giant, indeed. And right away, he'll snap into a kindhearted old man the nurturing papa who Dahl readers dream is behind the prose. A camouflage, perhaps."
New York Post

"John Lithgow as a Venomous Roald Dahl Animates a Staggering Production. 
It's a credit to the direction of Nicholas Hytner of "War Horse," "The History Boys" and other magisterial slices of Brittania that Lithgow's titanic performance doesn't unbalance the show. The actor relishes all aspects of Dahl's childishness, and the humanity within the beast emerges in small moments."
Variety

"Giant on Broadway, How Roald Dahl Accepted His Antisemitism
Nicholas Hytner directs a riveting production that feels much shorter than its two-hour, 15-minute run time, with the supporting cast rising to the high bar Lithgow sets."
TheatreMania

"Mark Rosenblatt's trenchant Broadway drama explores a beloved author's antisemitism scandal in the 1980s.
Lithgow's portrayal of Dahl is ultimately fearsome, but the play's moral complexity marks it as more than a portrait of the artist as a difficult man. It's a provocative study in the ongoing challenge of asking giants to watch their step."
Time Out

Giant is currently booking at the Music Box Theatre through June 28. Book your tickets here.