Show Finder

John Lithgow: Stories by Heart

First Preview: Dec 20, 2017
Opening Date: Dec 20, 2017
Closing Date: Mar 4, 2018
Running Time: 02:15
John Lithgow: Stories by Heart

Share on Social Media

Playing @
Todd Haimes Theatre
227 W 42nd St, New York, NY 10036
Virtuosity and imagination combine in one utterly unique event, as Tony and Emmy Award winner John Lithgow creates a singularly intimate evening.

With equal measures of humor and heart, he evokes memories of family, explores and expands the limits of the actor’s craft, and masterfully conjures a cast of indelible characters from classic short stories by Ring Lardner and P. G. Wodehouse.

Lithgow elevates the magic of storytelling to masterful new heights, with a performance The New York Times calls “a tour de force.”

directed by Daniel Sullivan 
BroadwayPlay - ComedyPlay - Drama
Show Notes: 1 Intermission
Age Guidance: 13
Audience Advisory: 7 PM Performance Week Jan 23 - 27 Jan 30 - Feb 3

Performance Schedule

TUESDAY thru SATURDAY @ 8 PM
WEDNESDAY & SATURDAY @ 2 PM
SUNDAY @ 3 PM


Written By
  • Adapted by John Lithgow

Director
  • Daniel Sullivan

TDF Tickets Offers:

Listed at

Never

Full-price tickets:

$29.00 - $129.00

Video

Reviews

  • .... give him one for spiritual effects, because “Stories by Heart” is delightful: illuminating the stories, uplifting us. I have to admit I didn’t expect to enjoy such an old-fashioned show; delight, illumination and uplift feel like debased currencies in 2018, purchasing nothing. 
  • It is hard to imagine who, aside from John Lithgow, could fashion a Broadway show from a pair of bedtime stories and not make everyone fall asleep. Yet there the actor is in Stories by Heart, alone on a stage whose simple wood furnishings and paneling evoke the absence of John Lee Beatty’s usual grand sets for the Roundabout Theatre Company, with nothing to keep us on the hook but Lithgow’s masterly cultivation, confidence and warmth—and a relic-like 1939 anthology called Tellers of Tales, edited by W. Somerset Maugham.
  • John Lithgow is the most personable of performers, and his chatty solo piece “John Lithgow: Stories by Heart” finds him in a mellow mood, sharing loving memories of his family and of the stories they used to read to one another. The two stories he tells in Roundabout Theater Company’s Broadway staging of the show — Ring Lardner’s “Haircut” and “Uncle Fred Flits By,” by P.G. Wodehouse – are charming examples of the ones that his dramatically disposed father recited to his audience of four spellbound children.
  • .... give him one for spiritual effects, because “Stories by Heart” is delightful: illuminating the stories, uplifting us. I have to admit I didn’t expect to enjoy such an old-fashioned show; delight, illumination and uplift feel like debased currencies in 2018, purchasing nothing. 

Accessibility

  • Wheelchair Info

    Designated, flexible wheelchair seating area behind the last row of the center orchestra and the last row of the mezzanine.
  • Entrance

    Primary entrance from street, through double doors into outer lobby with box office, through double doors into main lobby, through 2 sets of double doors (each 31") into orchestra.
  • Box Office

    227 West 42nd St between 7th and 8th Avenues
  • Restroom

    Accessible restrooms are located on the lobby level (Level 1) and in the Penthouse Lobby (Level 5).
  • Assisted Listening System

    Assisted listening devices available: infrared headsets free at coatcheck. A photo ID is required to check out a headset.
  • Elevator/Escalator

    Elevators are available to all levels of the theatre.
  • Folding Armrests

    Six (6) seats are available with folding armrests.
  • Water Fountain

    Several accessible water fountains are located throughout the theatre, all reachable by elevator.

TDF Social Feed

TDF
TDF2 days ago
Christine Andreas at 54 Below, Inter Alia from National Theatre and more are available to stream this weekend.
TDF
TDF3 days ago

We spoke with Tony nominee Julia Lester about her journey from Disney+’s High School Musical: The Musical: The Series to Broadway and beyond, and her latest role in the dark...

tdfnyc3 days ago
We spoke with Tony nominee Julia Lester about her journey from Disney+’s High School Musical: The Musical: The Series to Broadway and beyond, and her latest role in the dark...
TDF
TDF
TDF4 days ago

Celebrating the opening night of The Winter’s Tale at Shakespeare in the Park with a look back at TDF’s Spanish Open Caption performance of Romeo & Juliet earlier this summer....

tdfnyc4 days ago
Celebrating the opening night of The Winter’s Tale at Shakespeare in the Park with a look back at TDF’s Spanish Open Caption performance of Romeo & Juliet earlier this summer....
TDF
TDF5 days ago

Thanks for helping us kick off our new season of Autism Friendly Performances at Ragtime at Lincoln Center Theater on Sunday. This is the first of 10 Autism Family Performances...

TDF
TDF6 days ago

This afternoon, we rode on the "wheels of a dream" at our Autism Friendly Performance of Lincoln Center Theater's Ragtime. Here are some initial highlights. Ragtime reminds us about the...

TDF
TDF1 week ago

The Northeast proves to be a mecca for talented artists to put fresh spins on beloved classics and debut exciting new works. Make your summer getaway a theatrical one by...

tdfnyc1 week ago
The Northeast proves to be a mecca for talented artists to put fresh spins on beloved classics and debut exciting new works. Make your summer getaway a theatrical one by...
TDF
TDF2 weeks ago

We’re so proud to be nominated in collaboration with Ordinary Sunday for a 69th Annual New York Emmy Award in the Diversity/Equity/Inclusion – Short Form Content category for our Maybe...

tdfnyc2 weeks ago
We’re so proud to be nominated in collaboration with Ordinary Sunday for a 69th Annual New York Emmy Award in the Diversity/Equity/Inclusion - Short Form Content category for our Maybe...
TDF
TDF2 weeks ago
London Road from National Theatre, Ann Hampton Callaway and Liz Callaway at 54 Below, The Metropolitan Opera's I Puritani and more stream this weekend.
tdfnyc2 weeks ago
A look back at our 2026 TDF Wendy Wasserstein Project End-of-Year Celebration! Students, mentors and teachers shared moving reflections about how the program has shaped their lives and creative journeys....
TDF
TDF3 weeks ago
Matthew Morrison at 54 Below, Summerfolk from National Theatre, National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene' Amid Falling Walls and more are available to stream this weekend.
TDF
TDF3 weeks ago

In our latest interview, “Tempress” Chasity Moore, Garnet Williams and Teddy Wilson Jr. reflect on their journeys to Broadway, the impact of representation and the future they hope to help...

tdfnyc3 weeks ago
Tony Award winner Debbie Gravitte and her son, Sam Gravitte, are spending the summer performing just four blocks apart in NYC. Read our conversation about family, theatre, and the special...
tdfnyc3 weeks ago
In our latest interview, “Tempress” Chasity Moore, Garnet Williams and Teddy Wilson Jr. reflect on their journeys to Broadway, the impact of representation and the future they hope to help...
TDF
TDF4 weeks ago
Staying inside to beat the heat? Catch these 🎭 Our top 5 picks for stage performances to stream this holiday weekend, no sunscreen required.
tdfnyc4 weeks ago
July is Disability Pride Month! This annual event commemorates the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) on July 26, 1990, which prohibits discrimination based on disability and helps...
tdfnyc1 month ago
What began as an unexpected collaboration has become an acclaimed new play. We spoke with playwright Eliya Smith and actor Amalia Yoo about “Dad Don’t Read This”, creative trust, and...
tdfnyc1 month ago
Catch a new musical with a Tony nominee, a two-hander with two TV stars, a Planet of the Apes parody and more—all for $40 or less this summer! Read our...
TDF
TDF
TDF1 month ago

Tomorrow is the last day of NYC public school, so it's the perfect moment to revisit this year’s Grad Gift celebration! Last month, TDF treated more than a thousand 2026...

tdfnyc1 month ago
TDF treated more than a thousand 2026 grads to a fabulous and FREE trip to Broadway’s CATS: The Jellicle Ball! 🐱 Every year, TDF gives NYC public and charter high...
tdfnyc2 months ago
CATS: The Jellicle Ball co-director Zhailon Levingston shared what he hopes audiences take away from the production during Pride Month and beyond. “If you can’t find this kind of queer...