On stage
Canada Lee as Bigger Thomas in the original Broadway production of Native Son (1941), produced and directed by Orson WellesNative Son was adapted for the stage by Wright and Paul Green, with some conflict between the authors affecting the project.[26] The initial production, directed by Orson Welles and with Canada Lee as Bigger, opened at the St. James Theatre on March 24, 1941.[27]
The book was newly adapted and directed again by Kent Gash (in conjunction with the Paul Green Foundation) for Intiman Theatre in Seattle, Washington, in 2006.[28] The production, featuring Ato Essandoh as Bigger Thomas, was a more literal translation of the book than the 1941 version and was a critical success.[29]
In 2014, a stage adaptation by Nambi E. Kelley played the Court Theatre in Chicago with Jerod Haynes starring as Bigger Thomas. Directed by Seret Scott, the show was the highest grossing straight play in the theatre's 60-year history, went on to win multiple awards, and has had celebrated productions across the country, most notably at Yale Repertory Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut. The play can be purchased through Samuel French Publications.[30][31]
In films
Native Son has been adapted into a film three times: once in 1951, again in 1986 and a third released in 2019. The first version was made in Argentina. Wright, aged 42, played the protagonist despite being twice the age of 20-year-old Bigger Thomas. The film was not well received; Wright's performance was a particular target of critics.[32]
