Golden Boy — Nominee for Best Revival of a Play

Opened
December 6, 2012

Closed:
January 20, 2013

Author
Clifford Odets

The Story
This drama follows Joe Bonaparte, the son of Italian immigrants living in New York City, who dreams of fame, fortune and a better life and decides that he will achieve those dreams through professional boxing. The only problem is Joe is a violin prodigy who could lose it all if he damages his hands.

Show History
Odets wrote Golden Boy to keep the Group Theatre alive. It opened at Broadway's Belasco Theatre on November 4, 1937, and ran for 250 performances. The play was revived only once before, in 1952, with a production directed by the playwright. The Lincoln Center Theater production returned Golden Boy to the Belasco for its second Main Stem revival.

Producers:
Lincoln Center Theater (André Bishop: Artistic Director; Bernard Gersten: Executive Producer).

Other Honors:
—Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Revival of a Play
—Outer Critics Circle nomination for Outstanding Revival of a Play
—Drama League nomination for Outstanding Revival of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Play

Fun Fact:
Sammy Davis Jr. became the highest paid actor in Broadway history for the musical adaptation of Golden Boy in 1964. In the musical, Joe Wellington is a young African American man looking to pull himself out of the Harlem ghetto through boxing.