FLASH FRIDAY: James Earl Jones' Riveting Tony Award Performance in THE GREAT WHITE HOPE

Strange as it may seem, there once was a time when the Tony Award broadcast would be willing to devote seven minutes of air time to showcase a scene from a straight play.

Of course, it helps when that play is Howard Sackler's Pulitzer Prize winning THE GREAT WHITE HOPE, which would take the Best Play Tony in 1969, and the scene features James Earl Jones, who would be that evening's recipient of the Best Actor in a Play Tony.

Jones appeared as Jack Jefferson, a fictionalized version of boxing legend Jack Johnson, who infuriated whites in 1908 by becoming the sport's first black heavyweight champion. The search for a "great white hope" to regain the belt for their race ended with a controversial win by Jess Willard in 1915.

If that story sounds familiar, it's because a fictionalized version of Jack Johnson is also the central character of Marco Ramirez's acclaimed new play, THE ROYALE, now playing at Lincoln Center's Mitzi E. Newhouse Theatre. Khris Davis has earned raves for his portrayal of Jay Jackson, in a play that explores the world of early 20th Century prizefighting from a different perspective.

Take a look at this scene from the past, and then check out the video of scenes from THE ROYALE.

Lincoln Center Theater welcomes McKinley Belcher III, Khris Davis, Montego Glover, John Lavelle, and Clarke Peters to the stage in its production of The Royale, a new play by Marco Ramirez, directed by Rachel Chavkin, opening tonight, March 7, at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater (150 West 65 Street).

Loosely based on the real-life experiences of Jack Johnson, the first African-American heavyweight world champion, The Royaletells, in six rounds, the fictional story of Jay "The Sport" Johnson (played by Khris Davis), a charismatic Negro Heavyweight Champion.

It's 1905 and as Johnson faces his opponents -- and confronts his demons -- he exposes the troublesome events in his life that have propelled him into the ring with a burning desire to become the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.