Broadway’s Cort Theatre to Be Renamed After Actor James Earl Jones

After a career that spans over 60 years, EGOT acting legend James Earl Jones will have the honor of having his legacy immortalized with the renaming of Broadway’s Cort Theatre today. During a special dedication ceremony, the Cort Theatre will officially be renamed The James Earl Jones Theatre, according to the Shubert Organization.

Jones began his career on Broadway in 1957 and made his official Broadway debut the following year in 1958 in the Broadway play Sunrise at Campobello at the Cort Theatre. Throughout his career, Jones has achieved EGOT status winning Emmys, a Grammy, an Oscar, and multiple Tony Awards. Jones’s Tony Awards for his work on Broadway include Best Actor in a Play for The Great White Hope (1969) and the original production of Fences (1987), as well as a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017. He has additionally won seven Drama Desk Awards and has been awarded the National Medal of Arts and the Kennedy Center Honors award. Jones has appeared in fourteen Broadway productions at Shubert theatres, including two at the Cort Theatre. Most recently he starred opposite late actress Cicely Tyson in the 2015 Broadway revival of Donald L. Coburn’s The Gin Game at the Golden Theatre. His film work includes the film Claudine alongside Diahann Carol, and voicing Darth Vader in the Star Wars film franchise.

“The dedication of the James Earl Jones Theatre honors one of the most beloved Broadway and film actors of all time. 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. 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,” said Shubert Chairman and CEO, Robert E. Wankel said.

The dedication ceremony will be open to invited guests and members of the press and will include special performances, tours of the renovated theatre, and an unveiling of the new marquee.