Broadway Sets Light Dimming Date For Dame Maggie Smith

Broadway will dim its marquee lights for the late Dame Maggie Smith at 6:45 pm/ET on Thursday, November 7, theater owners announced today.

“Maggie Smith was a singular talent, whose artistry graced stages and screens alike with unmatched depth and wit,” said Robert E. Wankel, Chairman & CEO of the Shubert Organization, on behalf of his fellow theatre owners. “Her legacy as a remarkable actor and an inspiration to countless performers is indelible. Broadway joins her admirers worldwide in mourning her loss and celebrating her remarkable contributions. Our thoughts are with her family, friends, and all who were touched by her work.”

Smith died September 27 at the age of 89.

The announcement today from the Broadway Theatre Owners Committee of the Broadway League marks the second scheduling for the three recent Broadway deaths that drew controversy when two of the passings – Adrian Bailey and Gavin Creel – were initially to be honored with dimmings at only select theaters.

After major backlash, particularly over the partial dimming planned for the very popular Creel, the Committee announced last month that lights at all Broadway theaters would be dimmed for the trio, and that the Committee would review its “current dimming policy and procedures.”

The lights were dimmed for Bailey on Thursday, October 17. The dimming date for Creel has yet to be announced as the timing is being coordinated with his family, as it was for Smith.

Smith’s stage career included notable London performances in Private Lives, Hedda Gabler, Three Sisters, The Way of the World, and The Lady in the Van. On Broadway, she was acclaimed for her performances in New Faces of 1956, Private Lives, Night and Day, and Lettice and Lovage, which earned her a 1990 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play.

Smith won Academy Awards for the films The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969) and California Suite (1978) and won new audiences worldwide as Professor McGonagall in the Harry Potter film franchise. Her role as the Dowager Countess in Downton Abbey earned her three Emmy Awards.