CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF First Preview Review (No Spoilers)

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 2/12/08 at 11:14pm

Debbie Allen has directed the new revival of Tennessee Williams' classic drama, CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF, like it is an episode of a sitcom.

The audience was howling with laughter tonight. Allen has directed her ensemble -- with two exceptions who have seemed to escape this directorial choice bravely on their own -- to deliver every line for laughs, like one-liners, regardless of whether other characters on stage are in tears or are have just made life altering revelations.

Phylicia Rashad equals her recent CYMBELINE performance in level of campiness, and duplicates -- no, multiplies -- her characterizations from RAISIN IN THE SUN, GEM OF THE OCEAN and BERNARDA ALBA, to the point where the Big Mama we see on stage lends itself less to CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF than it does to "Big Momma" from Big Momma's House.

James Earl Jones is at the point in his career as an actor where, as listed in his bio long after his two Tony Awards, his most recognizable credits to today’s audience being that of the voice of Verizon, a role he played for 18 years, and the voice of Darth Vader in the Star Wars films, his audience receives every line as “James Earl Jones: The Character” as opposed to as a separate character he is trying to inhabit on stage in a specific play. The most serious lines get a laugh. Almost every line gets a laugh, in fact.

Terrence Howard fares beautifully in his stage debut. He starts out a bit restrained, but eventually turns out a Brick that works as remarkably potent contrast to Anika Noni Rose’s stage-stealer Maggie.

Anika Noni Rose is the reason to see this production. Act I is essentially a long monologue for Maggie, and from the instant she steps on stage, Ms. Rose has the audience’s enamored attention. She is charming, heartbreaking, and remarkably luminous with every move she makes, every emotion she exposes. This is a truly three-dimensional characterization in a production severely lacking much of a sense of humanity.

The production reads like one Sofia “Hell No!” line after another, and it is difficult to take many of the sensitive directions in which Williams’ play leads to in a very serious manner.

The set is beautiful, as are the costumes.

It was only the first preview of course, but from the audience’s reactions tonight, I can’t imagine Ms. Allen making any attempts to humanize her production from here on out, as the crowd was having a ball from start to finish.

Updated On: 2/12/08 at 11:14 PM

[RyToast1]

Posted: 2/12/08 at 11:16pm

This makes me so so so so so excited to see this!!

[BustopherPhantom]

Posted: 2/12/08 at 11:23pm

Ah, hell... I was really hoping all the naysayers out there would shut up after the first preview.

But yay Anika! And Foster, here's my question: have you seen Crash? Did Terrence Howard's performance seem to echo his performance in that film at all?

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 2/12/08 at 11:24pm

I saw CRASH when it first came out, but I don't remember much about it, except for disliking it.

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 2/12/08 at 11:28pm

RyToast, how does that response fit with Wanna Be's review?

[Depaultheatrekid]

Posted: 2/12/08 at 11:29pm

Foster, was it the direction as well as the audience contributing to the laughter? I have seen many plays on broadway where audiences laughed at what was said to be an inappropriate moment. Some audiences are different

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 2/12/08 at 11:37pm

Depaultheatrekid, the audience only contributed in that they likely had preconceived notions of James Earl Jones as his own entity, but Allen should have worked on breaking away from the same character everyone is used to, instead of having him just deliver every line the way everyone expected from him.

Allen is also responsible for the inappropriate laughs because she has directed the production like it is a farce. The blocking is very physically comedic, and reads like a cartoon, instead of a group of human beings coping with serious, hard, real issues.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 2/12/08 at 11:39pm

I like how a review that basically says the production misses the entire point of the play can make someone want to see it more.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 2/12/08 at 11:45pm

Thanks, Wanna Be A Foster. For all the good or bad Debbie Allen's done to the piece, I'm quite excited now to see this reinvention of CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF.

This is NOTHING from what I was expecting (I was expecting the standard interpretation), so kudos for La Allen for giving Tennessee Williams' gem a new twist.

I guess La Allen must be pissed she couldn't use the gifted talents of Martin Lawrence, Mo'nique or even Cedric the Entertainer in this.

[BigFatBlonde]

Posted: 2/12/08 at 11:46pm

Anyone with eyes and two brain cells could have seen this coming from 100 miles.

What from Debbie Allen's previous directorial efforts suggested that she could successfully handle this material... on Broadway, no less?

My fear is that on some level people will attribute the show's failure to the non-traditional casting instead of the putting blame squarely on Debbie Allen's shoulders.

Let us hope for some miracle. This cast deserves to be in a quality production.

[wickedfan]

Posted: 2/12/08 at 11:48pm

I'm seeing this only because of Anika Noni Rose. I have no doubt Howard will be great. But I have no faith in Allen, Rashad or even Jones for that matter.

[thetinymagic2]

Posted: 2/12/08 at 11:49pm

..that this "concept" actually got produced is way too laughable. Thank G-d Tennessee is no longer with us...

[RyToast1]

Posted: 2/12/08 at 11:54pm

orangeskittles, the part about Anika

[TonyaFanatic]

Posted: 2/13/08 at 12:17am

'that this "concept" actually got produced is way too laughable'

WHAT THE F*CK IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?

[amoni]

Posted: 2/13/08 at 12:59am

"My fear is that on some level people will attribute the show's failure to the non-traditional casting instead of the putting blame squarely on Debbie Allen's shoulders."

What the Hell are you talking about? ONE person's opinion about the FIRST preview and you are already deeming it a failure? Good God.

[Depaultheatrekid]

Posted: 2/13/08 at 12:59am

Yeah, somehow I am terribly offended by that comment....on many levels!

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 2/13/08 at 1:04am

you'll get my review tomorrow evening...just to let you know, i have never seen this play, read it, or seen the movie...so i have no clue what it is about. that might make my reaction different...we'll know tomorrow.

[BrianIdol]

Posted: 2/13/08 at 1:07am

was the audience predominently black?

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 2/13/08 at 1:09am

For the record, before tonight, I had never seen or read the play, or seen the movie.

I wasn't familiar with the story at all.

But from hearing the text in this production, it's pretty evident that this is supposed to be a drama, not a comedy.

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 2/13/08 at 1:10am

The audience was about 66% black.

[CapnHook]

Posted: 2/13/08 at 1:13am

Everyone's a little bit racist!

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 2/13/08 at 1:15am

oh ok, foster. i thought you knew the play beforehand...

i guess we're both going in blind...

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 2/13/08 at 1:15am

Actually, Williams has some of the funniest dialogue in this play, so to say it got laughs is not entirely surprising. Now the director may have chosen to punch them up in an inappropriate way, but this is a very funny play underneath all the heartache.

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 2/13/08 at 1:17am

Depaultheatrekid, it says you don't accept private messages, so I can't respond.

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 2/13/08 at 1:22am

the audience was about 66% black? How did you determine THAT percentage? I mean, that is just such an odd number to pick for an estimate.