The Shubert Organization recently announced that they’ll officially rename Broadway’s Cort Theatre to the James Earl Jones Theatre in honor of the legendary actor in an official ceremony on Sept. 12.
In 2020, the company pledged to change the name to show their support for the Black Lives Movement as part of the New Deal for Broadway by nonprofit Black Theatre United, promising to honor a BIPOC actor who’s impacted theatre throughout their career.
Scheduled to take place at the building in Manhattan’s Theater District, the event will now officially unveil the new marquee and will provide entertainment, such as performances and tours of the theatre, to special guests and members of the press, according to an official statement.
The name change also comes after $47 million of work was conducted on the theatre as part of its restoration and expansion program. Throughout the COVID-19 shutdown, the Shubert Organization worked alongside architects to add more dressing rooms and space for rehearsals as well as ways to increase accessibility with a new annex.
“It’s fitting that the renaming of this beautifully restored building also be a moment in which to recognize the tremendous contribution of BIPOC people to Broadway,” said Robert E. Wankel, the CEO and chairman of the Shubert Organization, in a press release. “Mr. Jones’s name quickly rose to the top of the Shubert Organization’s list due to his illustrious career performing in Shubert houses, his status in the Black community, and his worldwide reputation as one of the most celebrated performers to ever grace the Broadway stage.”
Jones’ theatre work first began in 1957 when he took the stage on Broadway as an understudy for lead actor Lloyd Richards in Molly Kazan’s “The Egghead.” Just a year later, in 1958, he made his debut at Cort Theatre in an adaptation of “Sunrise at Campobello.”
Throughout the next decades, Jones would go on to star in 21 Broadway shows, winning two Tony Awards for Best Actor in a Play for his work in the 1969 adaptation of “The Great White Hope” and the 1987 adaptation of “Fences.” Jones also went on to win the Tony’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017.
With the renaming, the theatre celebrates not only the onstage work of the actor but his overall legacy as well as he’s one of a handful of actors to hold an EGOT title.
After making his film debut as Lt. Lothar Zogg in “Dr.Strangelove,” Jones went on to star in a number of successful films, including “Coming to America,” “Star Wars” and “The Lion King.”
“For me standing in this very building 64 years ago at the start of my Broadway career, it would have been inconceivable that my name would be on the building today,” said Jones in a statement back in March when the renaming was announced. “Let my journey from then to now be an inspiration for all aspiring actors.”
