CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF First Preview Review (No Spoilers)- Page 2

[Depaultheatrekid]

Posted: 2/13/08 at 1:24am

Just respond here sorry I cant seem to fix it

[Depaultheatrekid]

Posted: 2/13/08 at 1:24am

DOUBLE POST Updated On: 2/13/08 at 01:24 AM

[scaryclowns223]

Posted: 2/13/08 at 1:24am

Two thirds.

[pc1145N2]

Posted: 2/13/08 at 1:25am

Now that's you've seen the play, I recommend that you watch the movie. It's brilliantly acted and written. If you've never seen this movie you probably don't get why Elizabeth Taylor was such a huge movie star. She was never more beautiful nor a better actress.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 2/13/08 at 1:38am

Was there a show curtain? I can't wait to see pictures from the show.

[KJisgroovy]

Posted: 2/13/08 at 1:41am

The movie is not really well written at all. It takes the whole Brick issue... and clouds it to the point that you really can't make out what is happening. The acting and the writing AROUND the central Brick business is quite lovely... but... I would not say on a whole that the movie is BRILLIANTLY written.

Also, it's odd to me that a "theater fan" hasn't read/seen Cat on a Hot Tin Roof... it's so important... I don't know how you could avoid it. I don't mean that as a knock... I just don't see how you could have avoided it.


kmc

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 2/13/08 at 1:41am

There is no show curtain. The set is out in the open when you enter the theatre.

Thanks, scaryclowns223. Yes, Sueleen, 66% is two thirds.

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 2/13/08 at 1:43am

That's why I don't like movie adaptations of plays on controversial issues.

They did the same thing for SUDDENLY, LAST SUMMER and A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE.

They cover up the real story, because they have to keep the censors happy.

I think I'll pass on the movie.

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 2/13/08 at 1:45am

How could I have avoided it?

Well, unless someone produces a production near where I live, I can't make a production appear out from nowhere.

I initially had a ticket to the last revival, but it closed early because Ashley Judd broke her leg.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 2/13/08 at 1:48am

Is there dancing in this production? Did Debbie Allen add hula hoops, a real cat or an actual tin roof to the procedings?

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 2/13/08 at 1:50am

No dancing, hula hoops, real cat, or tin roof.

However, the start of each act begins with a real live saxophone player jazzing out a tune.

And then the saxophone player plays once more before curtain call.

[thetinymagic2]

Posted: 2/13/08 at 1:51am

Tonya: Do you know anything about Tennessee Williams' work, or are you just angry tonight? In MY opinion, the use of "non-traditional" actors in a dramatically historic play of the segregated south of mid-century America decidedly changes the "milieu" and "racist southern background" of the play. In MY opinion it's a very ill advised "idea". Nobody, including me, is saying that these actors aren't fine actors. But not in these "particularly white southern" roles. Don't turn this into a race thing, it's a "casting" thing. "Mendacity, Lies".....(remember)?
Read the play.
The F word has been discussed here ad nauseum and has been banned by the moderators. Thanks for you CAPS!

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 2/13/08 at 1:58am

Tiny - I think what you are saying is probably true but the show is so iconic, has been done so many times, has had so many Broadway revivals - who cares. This production is an excuse to do something different with it and to give black actors a chance to perform a classic Tennessee Williams piece. As such, there has to be some suspension of belief in the historical accuracy in deference to artistic experimentation.

[BigFatBlonde]

Posted: 2/13/08 at 2:00am

And the play really isn't about race relations in the South.. at least that is not where any of the drama comes from. It has much more to do with lust, avarice, latent homosexuality.. issue all humans regardless of race can relate to.


****

"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."

Point taken... please insert an "if the show is a" before the word failure in my previous post.

There now.. everyone feel better?

Updated On: 2/13/08 at 02:00 AM

[thetinymagic2]

Posted: 2/13/08 at 2:16am

One still has to understand how Mr. Williams crafted and developed characters very specific to time and place. I guess this could be done in "our time - Now-however, the very strong subtext would be lost.
Ok, so Brick's on the lo down, what about Gooper and Mae, and the "no neck monsters. " Would Big Daddy' and Mama's family dynamics change? That's one severely dysfunctional family to begin with.....
And what about the money? $$$$$$$$$$ they're all fighting for? Waiting for BiG D? I still don't get the black cast. Situational.
And would Brick and Maggie NOT be sleeping together in this production,... making sense? I guess Brick on the lo down would shock the audience, or would it still be directed as a vague scene?

[BigFatBlonde]

Posted: 2/13/08 at 2:40am

Ok.. tiny..we get "it" you can't see past race.

Understood.

But the rest of us misguided people can. Now..go find a "white only in this role" or "black only in this role" sandbox to play in.

Updated On: 2/13/08 at 02:40 AM

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 2/13/08 at 3:09am

Finally I was able to get on my laptop.
WannaBe, it was great to discuss the play with you during both intermissions, and yes there are two intermissions in the play.
First of all, may I say that Debbie Allen does not disappoint the way people think she would with this play. She actually gets the play and somehow makes the all black cast work. Unfortunately, she also seems to want everyone to have a good time and so she seemed (and this is a guest) to direct her cast to play for the laughs.
As WannaBe said, James Earl Jones, Phylicia Rashad and even Terrence Howard go for laughs rather than the heart-breaking, incredibly wrenching drama that the play can be.
Having said that, I had a great time at the play. What Allen does manage to do is bring out a certain uniqueness to the play. This is CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF like you've never seen it, though I guess it could have been like this in the Virginia production that featured an all-black cast, including Tamara Tunie as Maggie, the cat.
From the beginning, we do get a sense of a certain racial culture. Allen does not try to make this play universal, and I really appreciated that. She makes it very specifically to the African-American culture. The sexuality issues (from the homosexuality to Maggie's inability to conceive) deeply resonate with this cast, and when Big Daddy talks about working like a "n*" in the plantation, it truly resonates.
I have to agree with WannaBe that the reason to see this play is Anika Noni Rose. I haven't seen the film, but I can't imagine Maggie being played any other way. From the beginning Anika Noni Rose commands the stage and basically steals the show. Her Maggie is extremely sexy, painful, miserable, and touching all at once. Even when the audience laughed (I really hated the fact the audience laughed at ALL the inappropriate moments), when she hugs Big Momma you can feel a certain kind of solidarity between these two women who have gotten nothing from the men they have been devoted to. And at the end, you just have to pull for her. Her Maggie is brilliant and she truly is a force to be reckoned with. I didn't see the Roundabout production but I can't imagine Ashley Judd being half the Maggie than Anika Noni Rose is.
Terrence Howard starts rather wooden, IMO. I thought he was gonna be awful, but by Act II he really turned in a great performance. Tony-worthy? Hardly. But after Act I, you forgot that this was his stage debut. I'm guessing that since this was the first preview he needed time to adjust, but really he made for a great Brick in acts II and III, he really understands his character, it's just a matter of time since he gets more used to being on stage.
James Earl Jones and Phylicia Rashad were the weak links, unfortunately. Jones simply has become too much of a persona to make the audience become fully engaged to Big Daddy. It was clear to me that they saw James Earl Jones on stage, not anyone else, and saw they simply laughed at a lot of scenes that were meant to be anything but funny. I enjoyed Rashad in Act I, but her cartoonish performance (to borrow WannaBe's words) completely made for the heart-breaking discussion with Big Daddy in Act II not as great as it could have been. Also, her over the top acting in Act III left much to be desired.
I will say that Lisa Arrindell Anderson was spectacular in the show. Her Mae was everything that I could expect from a Mae: annoying, pretentious, greedy, and fierce. Giancarlo Esposite, as her husband, didn't disappoint either. But I will say that in my eyes, the stage didn't shine bright enough until Anika Noni Rose and Lisa Arrindell Anderson shared the stage. They truly seemed to get the play, their roles, and the production.
Overall, I highly recommend this show, it was my favorite show that I saw in my NY trip out of: DEAD MAN'S CELL PHONE, SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE, and APPLAUSE.

[bschneid76]

Posted: 2/13/08 at 7:00am

Wanna be. You should definitely see the film version. The films I have seen of Tennesee Williams shows are top notch. With brilliant actors, and though the directors and those involve had to bow to the censors they certainly got away with a lot of stuff in the 50's and 60's. It is worth checking out!

[jaystarr]

Posted: 2/13/08 at 8:15am

Thanks guys! WBaF & Ray- I just printed the thread and will read it on my break. I got to work late today ..I mean woke up late.

J*

[amoni]

Posted: 2/13/08 at 10:20am

Hey thetinymagic2, it a play not a documentary. Nothing has to be literal. It's a story about a dysfunctional family, which comes in every color. I hope you don't produce a production of "Wicked" one day. You might be nonplussed to find an actress who can actually fly.

[thetinymagic2]

Posted: 2/13/08 at 11:39am

Wrong, BigFAt....don't dare play the race card with me.

[thetinymagic2]

Posted: 2/13/08 at 11:46am

Who said the play is about race relations in the south? I'm talking about "context". It informs the characters, plot and dialogue of the play. Not EVERY play can be produced with a "non-traditonal) cast. Some, CAN, some CAN"t.

[robbiej]

Posted: 2/13/08 at 11:54am

Someone has to explain to me how this play CAN'T be about a black family. The only actual point someone made was that there wouldn't be a black sportscaster in that time. I thought about it and thought it was too small a point to actually care.

I mean...we're not talking about old money and Southern aristocracy here. Big Daddy was a man...a vagrant, really, who was taken in by a gay couple who owned a plantation. He worked hard for them and in return, he was left the plantation by the men. Right? I mean...that's the given circumstances of the piece. How does that not work with black actors?

Updated On: 2/13/08 at 11:54 AM

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 2/13/08 at 12:09pm

I personally LOVE the MGM film adaptation with Paul Newman, Elizabeth Taylor, and Big Daddy... er Burl Ives, but others keep harping on the modifications done to it (which Tennessee Williams did himself).

But for the purists, the excellent 1984 TV film (that originally aired on Showtime) is available on DVD. It contains the full text of the original Broadway production plus some additions Tennessee Williams added to his work.

With a cast like: Jessica Lange, Tommy Lee Jones, Rip Torn, Kim Stanley, Penny Fuller and David Dukes... that should speak for itself.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 2/13/08 at 12:13pm

Which version are they using? Does Big Daddy appear in Act 3?