Edward Albee. Terrence McNally. Horton Foote. Mike Tyson?
The ear-gnawing former heavyweight champion will bring his one-man-show to Broadway’s Longacre Theater (which, yes, has staged all those playwrights’ work) for a limited engagement. And it will come courtesy of an unlikely director: Spike Lee.
“Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth” will premiere on July 31 for a six-night run on the Great White Way, producers announced Monday, with Lee working closely with Tyson to make the show Broadway-ready. The provocateur filmmaker will make his Broadway debut with the piece, which he will direct before moving on to helm his next project, a remake of the cult Asian hit “Oldboy,” in the fall.
Tyson debuted his show at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas this spring. The show recounts the embattled boxer’s triumphs but mostly focuses on his lows, including his alcoholic mother, his own battle with addiction and the domestic abuse and rape charges he faced. Though he takes responsibility for much of what has happened to him, he denies culpability in the alleged rape incident that resulted in a three-year jail term for the fighter.
“There’s a lot of things I could have gone to jail for and I deserved to go to jail for,” he said. “But this wasn’t one of them. I didn’t do it and I will never admit doing it.”
Tyson wrote the show with his wife, Kiki.
“Truth” got positive if not gushing reviews when it played at the MGM Grand; the Chicago Sun-Times noted that the fighter’s “thin, high-pitched voice isn’t made for the stage, but the tales he tells are compelling and he delivers them with a showman’s flair.”
Producers said Monday that, as with the Vegas version, the Broadway show will have a musical element that will supplement Tyson’s monologue.The former boxer, who gave a one-man performance of sorts in James Toback’s documentary “Tyson,” has a penchant for the theatrical: his press conferences and appearances have routinely featured jaw-dropping moments, such as the ringside interview in which he famously said he wanted to eat Lennox Lewis’ children.
ally. Horton Foote. Mike Tyson? The ear-gnawing former heavyweight champion will bring his one-man-show to Broadway’s Longacre Theater (which, yes, has staged all those playwrights’ work) for a limited engagement. And it will come courtesy of an unlikely director: Spike Lee. “Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth” will premiere on July 31 for a six-night run on the Great White Way, producers announced Monday, with Lee working closely with Tyson to make the show Broadway-ready. The provocateur filmmaker will make his Broadway debut with the piece, which he will direct before moving on to helm his next project, a remake of the cult Asian hit “Oldboy,” in the fall. Tyson debuted his show at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas this spring. The show recounts the embattled boxer’s triumphs but mostly focuses on his lows, including his alcoholic mother, his own battle with addiction and the domestic abuse and rape charges he faced. Though he takes responsibility for much of what has happened to him, he denies culpability in the alleged rape incident that resulted in a three-year jail term for the fighter. “There’s a lot of things I could have gone to jail for and I deserved to go to jail for,” he said. “But this wasn’t one of them. I didn’t do it and I will never admit doing it.” Tyson wrote the show with his wife, Kiki. “Truth” got positive if not gushing reviews when it played at the MGM Grand; the Chicago Sun-Times noted that the fighter’s “thin, high-pitched voice isn’t made for the stage, but the tales he tells are compelling and he delivers them with a showman’s flair.” Producers said Monday that, as with the Vegas version, the Broadway show will have a musical element that will supplement Tyson’s monologue. The former boxer, who gave a one-man performance of sorts in James Toback’s documentary “Tyson,” has a penchant for the theatrical: his press conferences and appearances have routinely featured jaw-dropping moments, such as the ringside interview in which he famously said he wanted to eat Lennox Lewis’ children.
