A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

The Great White Hope

Full-Length Play, Drama  /  3w, 10m

Howard Sackler

Howard Sackler's celebrated play, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the Tony Award, explores racism and segregation in a fictionalized portrait of boxing champion Jack Johnson.

The Great White Hope

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    3w, 10m
  • Duration
    Duration
    More than 120 minutes (2 hours)
Accolades
Accolades
  • Winner! 1969 Pulitzer Prize for Drama
    Winner! Three 1969 Tony Awards, including Best Play
    Winner! Two 1969 Drama Desk Awards

Details

Summary
A fictional, idealized life story of boxing champion Jack Johnson, here called Jack Jefferson. Acting as a lens focused on a racist society, The Great White Hope explores how segregation and prejudice created the demand for a "great white hope" who would defeat Johnson and how this, in turn, affected the boxer's life and career.
History
The Great White Hope opened on Broadway at the Alvin Theatre on October 3, 1968, starring James Earl Jones and Jane Alexander, under the direction of Edwin Sherin.
Keywords
Performing Groups
  • Time Period 1910s / WWI
  • Features Period Costumes
  • Additional Features Stage Combat
  • Duration More than 120 minutes (2 hours)
  • Cautions
    • Intense Adult Themes

Media

“Great theatre. Broadway at its very best.” – Associated Press

“A great part – a tragic hero, cheated, degraded, and at last brutally beaten. Mr. Sackler has used his hero, a figure based on the first Black heavyweight champion of the world, Jack Johnson (played by James Earl Jones), as a symbol in part of Black aspiration... [it] has an epic scope and range.” – The New York Times

“A highly theatrical and hugely rewarding evening.” – Daily News

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: $110 per performance

Scripts

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Authors

Author

Howard Sackler

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