It has been nearly 50 years since James Earl Jones and Cicely Tyson last shared a stage on Broadway, but the American icons are about to bring that streak to an end. Jones and Tyson will be taking to the stage together for an adaptation of the 1977 Pulitzer Prize-winning play “The Gin Game.”
Back in 1966, Jones and Tyson came together as they both starred in “A Hand Is on the Gate.”
It marked the beginning of a long list of acting roles the pair came together for both on and off the Broadway stage.
Tyson and Jones have also teamed up in the past for the Off Broadway piece “The Blacks” as well as the film “The River Niger.”
In September, 90-year-old Tyson and 84-year-old James will play two residents of a retirement home who become fast friends as they bond over servings of gin and stories of their life experiences.
The preview is scheduled for September 21 while the actual opening won’t happen until October 13 at the Golden Theater.
The revival of D.L. Coburn’s original play, which featured Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn, is sure to cause a lot of buzz and excitement as it brings together two of the acting world’s greatest stars.
Tyson is a critically acclaimed actress across multiple platforms earning a Tony for her 2013 role in “The Trip to Bountiful,” a Primetime Emmy for her 1994 role in “Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All” and another one for her 1974 role in “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman.”
She has also taken home a number of Black Reel awards, NAACP Image Awards and Women Film Critics Circle Awards.
All together she is the owner of more than 30 coveted awards for TV, film and Broadway roles.
Her partner for “The Gin Game” has also been known to be an award season favorite.
Cicely Tyson and James Earl Jones in a scene from the Off-Broadway production of the play The Blacks, 1961
Jones’ extensive list of honors and awards include multiple Emmy nominations and two wins in 1991 for his roles in “Gabriel’s Fire” and “Heat Wave.”
Much like Tyson, he holds several NAACP Image Awards and was the 2009 recipient of the Screen Actors Guild’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
Those major successes still don’t even account for his Tony-winning performances in “The Great White Hope” and “Fences.”
In addition to its 1978 Pulitzer Prize win, “The Gin Game” is a theater classic that has often garnered nominations for the creatives behind the play as well as the actors who bring the work to life on stage.
Tandy won the Tony for Best Actress in a Play for her original role in “The Gin Game” and the play received a Tony nomination for Best Revival of a Play in 1997.
Reports have not yet revealed who will be the creative team behind the upcoming revival of this Broadway classic.
