On Thursday, September 26 at 6:45 p.m., the lights of the theaters on Broadway will be dimmed in honor of the memory of stage and screen icon James Earl
Jones, who died on September 9 at the age of 93. One of those theaters will be the James Earl Jones Theatre. Formerly the Cort Theatre, the venue on 48The first time I saw Jones onstage was at that theater in a 2005 revival of Ernest Thompson’s tranquil family drama “On Golden Pond.
I am not going to argue that Jones’ appearances in these productions could compare with his earlier performances in substantial dramas such as “The Great White Hope” and “Fences” , for which he won Tony Awards, as well as “The Iceman Cometh” , “A Lesson from Aloes” , “Othello” , all of which preceded my time.
Among them, Jones’ most endearing performance was likely as a zany, loving grandfather in “You Can’t Take It With You,” George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart’s silly and sentimental 1937 ensemble comedy. It was a zippy and giddy revival in which Jones was joined by the likes of Rose Byrne, Elizabeth Ashley, Kristine Nielsen, Julie Halston, Mark Linn Baker, and Annaleigh Ashford. Jones stood out with his character’s climactic monologue defending his quirky views and individuality.
The last time I saw Jones onstage was in 2016 in a week-long concert production at City Center of “Kurt Vonnegut’s God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater,” a long-forgotten adaptation of Vonnegut’s 1965 novel about an inebriated millionaire/volunteer fireman. Jones arrived at the end in a sort of deus ex machina twist.
There can be no doubt that Jones enriched Broadway during his final years through these appearances and is deserving of the Broadway theater named in his honor. Speaking of which, another stage luminary who returned to Broadway at the end of a long and illustrious career was Angela Lansbury, making appearances in “Deuce” , “Blithe Spirit” , “A Little Night Music” , and “The Best Man” .
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