Broadway's Cort Theater will have a new name: James Earl Jones
The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Friday, November 22, 2024


Broadway's Cort Theater will have a new name: James Earl Jones
The actor James Earl Jones accepts the lifetime achievement award at the Tony Awards in New York, June 11, 2017. The Shubert Organization, which is Broadway’s biggest landlord, will rename one of its 17 theaters after the actor James Earl Jones, fulfilling a promise made when Black artists pressed for greater recognition in the wake of the 2020 protests against societal racism. Sara Krulwich/The New York Times.

by Michael Paulson



NEW YORK, NY.- The Shubert Organization, which is Broadway’s biggest landlord, will rename one of its 17 theaters after the actor James Earl Jones, fulfilling a promise made when Black artists pressed for greater recognition in the wake of the 2020 protests against societal racism.

The organization said Wednesday that it would name the Cort Theater, a landmark 110-year-old house located on West 48th Street, after Jones, a two-time competitive Tony Award winner who, over six decades, has appeared in 21 Broadway shows.

“He’s an icon — he really is one of the greatest American actors, and this is just a perfect match,” said Robert E. Wankel, chairman and chief executive of the Shubert Organization.

In a telephone interview, the 91-year-old Jones said he was honored by the news. “It means a lot,” he said. “It’s too heavy for me to try to define.”

The James Earl Jones Theater will be the second Broadway house named for a Black artist; the August Wilson, operated by Jujamcyn Theaters, was renamed for the American playwright shortly after his death in 2005. The Shubert Organization last summer pledged to name a theater after a Black artist as part of an agreement with the advocacy organization Black Theater United; the Nederlander Organization has also promised to take such a step.

Jones, best known as the voice of Darth Vader in the “Star Wars” films, has had a long and illustrious career on Broadway. He first worked there in 1957, as an understudy in a short-lived play called “The Egghead,” and then starting in 1958 he had a role in “Sunrise at Campobello,” which ran for 16 months at the Cort Theater.

Jones recalled that in “Sunrise at Campobello” he had a line — “Mrs. Roosevelt, supper is served” — that he struggled to deliver because of a speech disorder. “I almost didn’t make it through because I’m a stutterer,” he said. “But it became a lot of fun eventually.”

Jones’ most recent Broadway performance was in a 2015 revival of “The Gin Game.” He won his two competitive Tonys for best actor, in 1969 for “The Great White Hope” and in 1987 for originating the role of Troy Maxson in Wilson’s “Fences.” In 2017 he won a special Tony Award for lifetime achievement.

The Cort, which seats 1,084 people, is among Broadway’s oldest theaters; it is currently undergoing a $45 million renovation and expansion, and is expected to reopen later this year, at which time there will be a rededication ceremony. Until now, the theater has been named for John Cort, a onetime vaudeville performer who, by the early 20th century, controlled multiple theaters across the country. Cort was the first operator of the Broadway house that has borne his name.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.










Today's News

March 3, 2022

Magritte record leads $297m auctions at Sotheby's London

Pace Gallery presents a brand new immersive installation by James Turrell

Rijksmuseum receives generous donations for research into women in its collection

Marina Abramović's Performative, a survey of the artist's crowning works, debuts at Sean Kelly Gallery

Exhibition of new colorful geometric paintings of sewn textiles at David Richard Gallery, New York

Millions for crypto startups, no real names necessary

Simon Lee Gallery opens an exhibition of new paintings by Garth Weiser

Cooke Latham Gallery opens a solo exhibition by Siro Cugusi

Thaddaeus Ropac retraces thirty years of the Japanese photographer Yoshi Takata's Parisian career

The exhibition Canada and Impressionism now on view at the National Gallery of Canada

Rhona Hoffman Gallery opens an exhibition of new paintings and sculptures by Martha Tuttle

Bertoia's presents antique toy collection of top Vogue model Monique Knowlton, March 11-12

Met curator Jeff Rosenheim wins AIPAD Award

Clark Art Institute names recipients of 2022 Clark Prize for Excellence in Arts Writing

Art Museum Riga Bourse opens an exhibition of works by Kawanabe Kyōsai

Ketterer Kunst announces online-only auction to benefit children in the Ukraine

Robert Hicks, blockbuster author and battlefield savior, dies at 71

Shirley Hughes, whose books depicted children's mini-dramas, dies at 94

Solo exhibition by Kay WalkingStick opens at Hales

Miller & Miller's online Music Machines, Toys & Advertising Auction, March 19

Christie's Post-War and Contemporary Art Day Sale realised a total of $18,802,183

Broadway's Cort Theater will have a new name: James Earl Jones

How To Start Playing the Guitar




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez
Writer: Ofelia Zurbia Betancourt

Attorneys
Truck Accident Attorneys
Accident Attorneys
Holistic Dentist
Abogado de accidentes
สล็อต
สล็อตเว็บตรง

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site Parroquia Natividad del Señor
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful