As theater fans mourn the loss of Philip Seymour Hoffman, the Broadway community has announced that it will dim its lights this week in memory of the celebrated actor.
At exactly 7:45 p.m. on the night of February 5, the Great White Way will turn down the bulbs of theater marquees, going dark in New York City for one minute, according to a statement released by the Broadway League. The tribute comes just days after the actor was discovered dead in his Manhattan apartment of an apparent drug overdose.
Hoffman is widely known for his award-winning performance in the 2012 production of "Death of a Salesman." He earned his third Tony Award nomination for his portrayal of the iconic traveling salesman, Willy Loman.
"That Mr. Hoffman is one of the finest actors of his generation is beyond dispute," Ben Brantley wrote in his New York Times review. "Mr. Hoffman does terminal uncertainty better than practically anyone, and he’s terrific in showing the doubt that crumples Willy just when he’s trying to sell his own brand of all-American optimism."
"Of the half dozen or more Willys that I have seen, including the most recent Broadway incarnations, the only one to instill genuine sympathy for this otherwise deluded blowhard is... Philip Seymour Hoffman," theater critic Wilborn Hampton noted in a blog for The Huffington Post.
Hoffman was also nominated for his acting roles in Sam Shepard’s "True West" and Eugene O’Neill’s "Long Day's Journey into Night."
"Philip Seymour Hoffman, a three-time Tony Award nominee, was a true artist who loved the theatre," Charlotte St. Martin, Executive Director of the Broadway League, wrote in a press statement. "His prolific body of work encompassed various mediums including theatre, film, and television, and we'll always be grateful for his boundless and profound talent that he shared with us on the Broadway stage. Our thoughts go out to his family, friends, and fans."
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