BroadwayRadio Review Recap: Broadway Premiere of 'Giant'

Host: Matt Tammanini
Date: March 24, 2026

Episode Overview

Matt Tammanini delivers a swift, thorough roundup of early critical response to the Broadway premiere of Giant, a new play by Mark Rosenblatt, directed by Nicholas Heitner, and starring John Lithgow as Roald Dahl. The episode focuses on critics’ takes immediately following the review embargo, offering insights into the play’s tonal complexity, performance highlights, and award season prospects.

Main Theme

Giant explores the scandal that marred the legacy of beloved children’s author Roald Dahl. Following Dahl’s anti-Semitic comments after publishing a review about the Israeli-Lebanon conflict, the play is cast as a “battle of wits in the wake of a scandal,” centering on the fallout among his closest associates. The focus is on Dahl’s inability or unwillingness to self-reflect, and the consequences when “a giant oversteps.”

Key Discussion Points & Critical Insights

Critical Reception Overview

• Aggregated Score: 14 reviews (11 positive, 2 mixed, 1 negative)
  “It certainly feels like it will be a contender, not a frontrunner, for the Tony Award for Best Play this year.” [00:01]

Highlights from Notable Critics

Helen Shaw, New York Times (Critic’s Pick)

• Surface vs. Depth:
  “On its surface, Giant looks like an acerbic drawing room comedy, but its undercarriage is an Ibsen play, a talky oppositional drama though it has only one three dimensional combatant.” [02:10]
• Lithgow’s Performance:
  “Lithgow's Dahl is the sole repository of Rosenblatt's perception, which is shifting and multivalent and even in moments of extremity, sympathetic.” [02:45]
• Audience Engagement:
  “Audience members should therefore attend with their mental cudgels poised, prepared to be the opposition that Dahl doesn't really encounter on stage. ...The implication in Giant is that Dahl, unchecked by those closest to him, oversteps. And when a giant oversteps, he crushes lives.” [03:20]

Sara Holdren, Vulture

• Lithgow’s Range:
  “Lithgow so nimble and charismatic and then suddenly so imposing with no aversion to the grotesque, knows how to bring out the insecurity that almost always festers at the center of any performatively self certain action. His Dahl is constantly goading people, driving them right up to the edge of their tolerance.” [04:35]

Daniel D’Addario, Variety

• Balance of Performance & Direction:
  “It's a credit to the direction of Nicholas Heitner 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.” [05:00]

Adam Feldman, Time Out New York (4/5 stars)

• Moral Complexity:
  “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.” [05:25]

Mixed and Negative Reviews

Juan A. Ramirez, Theaterly (Mixed)

• Concerns over Censorship:
  “Giant is brilliantly structured, quite funny and in Nicholas Hytner's production, superbly acted by a cast led by John Lithgow. I wish it didn't irk me the way it did. 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.” [06:05]

Robert Hoefler, The Wrap (Negative)

• Dramatic Pacing Critique:
  “Rosenblatt is too good at his job. He's only about 20 minutes into his play and he already delivers a great ending. Unfortunately, there is no place for the drama to go for the next two hours.” [06:45]

Additional Praise

Greg Evans, Deadline

• Awards Potential & Ensemble:
  “Lithgow's remarkable Olivier Award winning performance — at this point in the far from over Broadway season — he and Every Brilliant Thing’s Daniel Radcliffe seem headed for a showdown. It is a terrifically nuanced affair, as indeed are Rosenblatt's play and the note perfect direction of Nicholas Heitner. Any cast of co-stars would be deemed successful merely for holding its own, and this one does so much more than that. Giant, thrilling and abrasive, is full of rewards.” [07:11]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “They [the conversations after seeing Giant] are the necessary third act to this two act play.” — Helen Shaw, New York Times [03:00]
• “When a giant oversteps, he crushes lives.” — Helen Shaw, New York Times [03:43]
• “…no aversion to the grotesque, knows how to bring out the insecurity that almost always festers at the center of any performatively self certain action.” — Sara Holdren, Vulture [04:45]
• “The actor relishes all aspects of Dahl's childishness and the humanity within the beast emerges in small moments.” — Daniel D’Addario, Variety [05:13]
• “Giant winds up feeling like the latest example of a type of weaponized censorship…” — Juan A. Ramirez, Theaterly [06:19]
• “He's only about 20 minutes into his play and he already delivers a great ending. Unfortunately, there is no place for the drama to go for the next two hours.” — Robert Hoefler, The Wrap [07:00]
• “Giant, thrilling and abrasive, is full of rewards.” — Greg Evans, Deadline [07:24]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Episode Introduction, Play Summary: 00:01–01:00
• Breakdown of Reviews & Critical Themes: 01:30–07:24
• Notable Quotes: Interspersed, see above
• Show Info, Where to Find Reviews: 07:25–08:00

Tone & Host Commentary

The tone throughout is measured yet enthusiastic, with Matt positioning the play as serious Tony contender and emphasizing Lithgow’s tour-de-force performance. He remains neutral, letting critics’ words frame the debate over the play’s artistic risk-taking and provocative subject matter.

Summary for New Listeners

This episode will bring you up to speed on what makes Giant one of the most talked-about new plays on Broadway: a fearless examination of Roald Dahl’s darker legacy, a forceful lead performance by John Lithgow, and a production that has critics both praising its complexity and interrogating its moral stance.
If you want a taste of the critical conversation around this buzzy, controversial show—or if you’re wondering if Giant lives up to its name—this episode offers concise, curated perspectives straight from New York’s theater press.