managed to avoid the curse of uncomfortable Broadway theater seats at last week’s opening night performance of August Wilson’s play The Piano Lesson.
The 63-year-old Lakers legend had the seat in front of him at the play removed when he attended on Thursday with his wife Cookie Johnson, 63, and son EJ Johnson, 30, sources told on Monday.
According to the sources, Magic didn’t request the accommodation, but ‘thoughtful’ producers who knew he was likely to attend had the set disassembled in advance.
Leg room: Magic Johnson, 63, got a surprise treat when producers removed the seat in front of the 6ft9in former athlete at Thursday’s opening night of The Piano Lesson on Broadway, sources told Page Six; seen with wife Cookie and son EJ
The producers were also cognizant of the fact that Johnson was jetting into New York City between playoff games featuring the LA Dodgers — of whom he is a part owner — and the San Diego Padres.
A source said the producers went the extra mile ‘[Since he was] a special guest and all, and since he made the day trip between Dodgers playoff games.’
The current production of The Piano Lesson stars Samuel L. Jackson with Denzel Washington’s son John David Washington and Orange Is The New Black star Danielle Brooks.
The play, which premiered in 1987, is part of Wilson’s acclaimed Pittsburgh cycle. The story is set in the 1930s, at the tale end of the Great Depression, as members of a Black family disagree over piano decorated with engravings from an enslaved ancestor and whether or not they should sell it in order to buy their own land or keep it to preserve their memory.
A-listers: The current production of The Piano Lesson stars Samuel L. Jackson with Denzel Washington’s son John David Washington and Orange Is The New Black star Danielle Brooks
Thinking ahead: A source said the producers went the extra mile ‘[Since he was] a special guest and all, and since he made the day trip between Dodgers playoff games’; seen October 9 in LA
Earlier this year, Johnson’s exploits on the Showtime-era Los Angeles Lakers of the 1980s was chronicled in the HBO series Winning Time.
The show, which starred newcomer Quincy Isaiah as Johnson, traced the sports star’s rise to fame alongside more established athletes, including Kareem Abdul-Jabar.
John C. Reilly starred on the series as the former Lakers majority owner Jerry Buss.
