Printer Friendly - First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by WhizzerMarvin TrinaJasonMendel 2012-12-18 23:20:31
Scarlett bursts onto the stage and by the time she's uttered the words "no-neck monsters" you know this is going to be good. She was brilliant tonight, and luckily Benjamin Walker is every bit her equal. Best scene partners of the season so far.
Debra Monk and Ciaran Hinds were great too. Hinds is playing Big Daddy like a bastard and not the almost hokey comic relief that the role seems to have become. Monk's scene where she finds out about the cancer was awesome- her, "what's that word Big Daddy uses? Crap. Well that's what I say: Crap!" was terrific.
Ashford has added a ghost Skipper who skulks around the stage (!), but really it's not as distracting as it sounds. This revival is all about the performances they are not to be missed. Scarlett is proving again that she is one of the best actress of her generation.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by EricMontreal22 2012-12-18 23:26:25
Thank the review. I saw a so/so regional production about a decade back that had a ghost Skipper too. I find it way too literal an idea to work--but I'm glad to hear the rest of the show is in good shape.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by RippedMan 2012-12-18 23:27:40
Best Actress of Our Generation? Have you seen her film work? Have you seen her firggin' Avengers? She was terrible.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by bjh2114 2012-12-18 23:30:01
Best scene partners of the season so far.
Including Amy Morton and Tracy Letts? I have a feeling a few people would disagree with you.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by WhizzerMarvin TrinaJasonMendel 2012-12-18 23:38:32
Oops- I did forget about Morton and Letts! I liked both pairs, but maybe it's just because I prefer Cat to Virginia Woolf that I liked tonight's scene work more.
Ripped Man- I love her film work! She was good in The Avengers!
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by TalkinLoud 2012-12-18 23:38:42
You're going to try and use The Avengers as proof someone is a bad actress? Ha.
She's not everyone's cup of tea. She's more subtle and quiet than most big awards performances. Anyways...
Ghost World
Lost in Translation
A Love Song for Bobby Long
Match Point
The Other Boleyn Girl
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
I don't think "one of the best" of her generation is terribly far off. Oh yeah, also VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE.
She's got a BAFTA, a Tony, and 4 GG noms.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by TalkinLoud 2012-12-18 23:39:38
Anyways, here's my thoughts on the production...
I normally wouldn't go to a first preview. I fully understand the "well if I'm paying full price, I can criticize it" mentality, but I tend to be more forgiving at the beginning. And that's where I stand with this production. It's definitely not there yet. BUT...I think in a few short weeks it will be there, very, very much so.
Walker and Monk are the closest of the main 4 to being there. Hinds goes in spats. Sometimes he's magnificent, and sometimes it doesn't seem like he knows what he's doing (or what accent he's doing).
I'm a big, big Scarlett Johansson fan, so I was anxious to see how she'd follow up her VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE performance. The first act, she's great (using a southern accent). The third act, it seems like she was doing her Brooklyn accent from VIEW! It was quite odd. But I'm sure that will be taken care of after a week or so of performances.
This was my first time seeing the play so I don't have anything to compare it to. But I am very anxious to revisit in a few weeks.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by RippedMan 2012-12-18 23:44:47
"You're going to try and use The Avengers as proof someone is a bad actress? Ha."
Exactly. If she's terrible in that... well then..
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by TalkinLoud 2012-12-18 23:46:33
Because super hero movies are ideal showcases for talented actors?
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by Kad 2012-12-18 23:54:47
I have to say, a part of me was afraid that Hinds would be reprising his role as Not Bill Clinton from Political Animals in this.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by EricMontreal22 2012-12-18 23:58:38
I admit it's easy to assume that he was cast in this largely due to the slightly Big Daddy-ish character on P Animals.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by Kad 2012-12-18 23:59:24
I'm typically a Hinds fan, but god he was awful in that.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by RippedMan 2012-12-19 00:35:47
TalkinLoud. You've missed my point completely.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by Michael Bennett 2012-12-19 00:47:03
Was there tonight as well and thought for the most part it was an excellent production.
Rob Ashford's direction does indeed get a little heavy handed - including the completely unnecessary gimmick of including the physical presence of Skipper- which is a distraction from the poetic lyricism of the text-but there is lots that gets it right - in particular the work of Johannson, an earthy, coarse Maggie, who nails already the complicated cadence of Maggie's first act 'monologue'- and Ben Walker who is probably the most consistently fine Brick I've witnessed ( a near impossible role). Debra Monk and Ciaran Hinds also do nice work.
This script utilized an adaptation that seemingly combined some elements from all three versions of the text- with an ending more sympathetic towards Brick and Maggie than I've encountered.
I think arguably this production could reach a little further into the poeticism of Williams' words- it's earthy quality is occasionally at the expense of the more lyrical passages of the piece- but it's definitely overall a very strong production of CAT and I recommend it strongly.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by LimelightMike 2012-12-19 00:51:33
What's the set like? Is the stage high?
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by musicman_bwayfan 2012-12-19 01:20:19
Did anyone stage door the show? Was there any merchandise there tonight (ex. posters)?
What was the running time this evening? I know it's on the longer end.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by ray-andallthatjazz86 2012-12-19 04:29:15
It's so easy to dismiss Johansson because she's one of the biggest stars of the world, and she's the kind of performer who acts so natural on screen/stage that she makes it look effortless. First of all, I thought she was great in THE AVENGERS, she could sell the action sequences (something where a lot of actresses fail), she had great chemistry with the guys, and she got the humor of the show. Woody Allen brought out the best in her in MATCH POINT and VICKY CHRISTINA BARCELONA (where she's great and perfectly subdued in the least showy role). But it was her performance as Catherine in A VIEW...that proved she is indeed one of the best actresses of her generation, it wasn't a star turn, she disappeared in the role and worked so beautifully, was completely comfortable with letting it be Liev Schreiber's play, and still managed to provide so much complexity to her role. That was just a magical production, I can't wait to see what she does with Maggie in this production, it sounds very promising.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by Michael Bennett 2012-12-19 05:56:34
Johannson has more innate stage craft than I ever would have expected from her bases on her film appearances. On screen, I've often felt like she is prone to a certain bag of actors tricks- including a tendency towards a rather flat monotone line delivery (which would have potentially been disastrous for Maggie's vocal demands in Act One) but happily none of that was on display last night; and I suspect when its all said and done, she will probably be the best Maggie we've had on Broadway since Elizabeth Ashley-- no small feat.
The set is beautiful and airy- there are some pictures on Instagram.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by canmark 2012-12-19 06:45:35
How does this production compare with the last Broadway revival, which featured Anika Noni Rose and Terrence Howard? I saw that production (although I saw it the week Terrence Howard was out and Boris Kodjoe was in) and thought it was rather conventional in direction and design (I did quite like Phylicia Rashad as Big Mama, though).
The casting for this production sounds good (and I'm glad to hear positive early reports). I'm curious about the costumes and the set.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by TalkinLoud 2012-12-19 08:25:53
musicman_bwayfan, I stage doored. I left at Scarlett came out. Debra has already come out. Not sure about Ben and Ciaran.
No merch yet.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by AC126748 2012-12-19 08:28:22
I can't imagine that the Ghost of Skipper Past is any worse than the godawful sax player in the last revival.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by Auggie27 2012-12-19 08:48:31
The idea of a ghost Skipper would be giggle-inducing if it didn't seem so maddeningly contrary to the specific way Williams creates this particular world. This play's use of the unities -- it's performed in real time in one evening -- is its strength, one Williams was especially proud of and discussed*. It's actually one of his few attempts to adhere to the strictures of realism (and yes, I'm well aware he was not a naturalistic writer; CAT was his attempt to work with Aristotelian craft issues.) Though STREETCAR invites poetic flourishes -- the depiction of the French Quarter in the text is poetically textured -- CAT is built on putting real people in that bedroom in real time. A ghost on the periphery of the action sounds intrusive in extreme.
Such touches suggest direction that doesn't trust the text. Skipper's very much alive in the discussion, vivedly so, but who he was is part of the emotional suspense in the story. Part of the audience's journey is imagining how important Skipper was to Brick and Maggie. Seeing him -- rather than extending the theatricality -- actually hinders it.
Is this a new trend? Didn't Cromer drag in Blanche's dead husband in Chicago? Though I'm not in support of that intrusion either, in a strange way that at least makes some dramatic sense, as Blanche's hold on her mind and memory are a critical part of the story, and she is literally haunted by the man. Also, stylistically, Williams documents her efforts (the sound effect of the bullet is a haunting stage direction).
I'm sure someone has staged MENAGERIE with the father who fell in love with long distance lurking on the fire escape. Increasingly, it seems as if it takes artistic courage to let the play speak for the play.
*"...The play comes closest to being both a work of art and a work of craft. It is really well put together ... and all its characters are amusing and credible and touching ... it adheres to the valuable edict of Aristotle that a tragedy must have unity of time and place and magnitude of theme... Its running time is exactly the time of its action, and I know of no other modern American play in which this is accomplished..." Tennessee Williams, MEMOIRS, page 168.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by best12bars 2012-12-19 09:00:12
Auggie, I think these are symptoms of directors not trusting modern audiences. It's not the playwright or the play itself that makes them doubtful.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by madbrian 2012-12-19 09:01:52
I have to disagree, at least a little. I think it is the directors needing to somehow put their personal stamp on an iconic piece.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by best12bars 2012-12-19 09:03:14
But it's the same literal-minded stamp occurring over and over again. It's hardly personal or unique to be so demonstrative, at this point.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by After Eight 2012-12-19 09:04:05
"Increasingly, it seems as if it takes artistic courage to let the play speak for the play. "
I would say it takes respect for the author and a deflation of some gargantuan, presumptuous egos.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by After Eight 2012-12-19 09:04:32
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by best12bars 2012-12-19 09:11:24
I think it's the "music video" generation who think people can't "see" the music without help from a video production company.
Nobody sits and imagines anymore.
I disagree with that myself, but I think plenty of people feel this way.
The directors are putting the responsibility of completing the circle on the audience by giving them the rest of it in literal terms. That's actually easier (and lazier) than evoking it themselves through their vision and the production they are guiding.
"Here! See? This is what they're talking about on stage!" Now it's on you, audience, to "get" it.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by followspot 2012-12-19 09:11:45
Not usually an early preview goer, but the opportunity was there, and wow you would never have know that this was a first preview. Very strong all around, and I'm excited to think how much stronger it will become. Being only familiar with Johansson's film work (I wasn't in the city for View From The Bridge), I was absolutely floored by her complete command of Act One (essentially a one-hour Maggie monologue). But the entire ensemble is excellent. (And it is an ensemble piece 18 in this production. Kudos for the deserved full-ensemble bow I hope it stays that way.) I was truly drawn in by Rob Ashford's directorial choices the stage pictures are exquisite from the mezzanine, the rising Act Three storm wonderfully ominous and unbalancing but what I especially liked was the choice to not make anyone a buffoon (even Gooper, Mae, and those no-neck little monsters). This is my first time seeing this play (and I've seen many productions) in which it's clearly shown that every character is trapped in their own lost orbit around the dead star called Brick all illuminated over the course of one very forced birthday celebration. Already this production has made me want to re-read the text(s) I'm amazed all over again at all that Williams accomplishes.
Clearly the lightning rod here will be the spectral inclusion of Skipper. I liked it. Yes, Ashford is adding an unreal Streetcar/Menagerie aspect that isn't called for by Williams in Cat, but it felt perfectly in keeping with the overall "house of the dead" tone of this production.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by Auggie27 2012-12-19 09:12:57
Of course he's putting his personal stamp on an iconic piece; a given. I believe these flourish-laden "stamps" are also part of the new disdain for the well-made play. If it's too "real," add projections, video, surreal touches, "irony" (oh, how they love added irony) -- and ghosts. Williams's pride (see the citation from his MEMOIRS) was in his craft, the idea that time itself is critical to CAT's achievement. A "ghost" is contrary to time, space. (And who sees this Skipper? Brick? Or only the audience? Not that I care.) The lack of trust is in craft itself, that a great play can be built from the ground up on ideas as old as drama, and those ideas are best served in production.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by Michael Bennett 2012-12-19 10:39:26
Ashford actually includes the ghost of Alan Gray in his production of STREETCAR at the Donmar; so he is obviously treading familiar territory with the device here. Auggie already perfectly explains why it's not a good idea, particularly in CAT which is not a play about illusion and fantasy.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by darion 2012-12-19 11:09:58
these reviews sound very encouraging! Elizabeth Taylor is a hard act to follow but Im sure Scarlett will do her justice. Not sure about Big Daddy though, i dont think anyone can come close to Frosty the Snowman
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by WiCkEDrOcKS 2012-12-19 11:37:16
If anyone rushes this any time soon, please report back! :)
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by EricMontreal22 2012-12-19 21:01:47
I dunno, if a Ghost Skipper fits into a House of the Dead concept (and I don't disagree with you that there's an element of that), why not just go full hog and have the ghosts of the probably gay former plantation owners Big Daddy mentions too?
How is Ghost Skipper directed? Does Brick or anyone else ever see him? Does he moon over Brick the whole time? I dunn, I know Williams (for a variety of reasons) like to maintain how ambiguous their relationship was anyway, whenever he was asked about it, and it just seems weird to me.
Auggie said:"Such touches suggest direction that doesn't trust the text. Skipper's very much alive in the discussion, vivedly so, but who he was is part of the emotional suspense in the story. Part of the audience's journey is imagining how important Skipper was to Brick and Maggie. Seeing him -- rather than extending the theatricality -- actually hinders it. "
Without having seen it--and otherwise I really think I'd love this production, I have to agree.
Williams was no stranger to using innovative and even surreal effects on stage (Camino Real being the obvious early example, and I guess is next play with Kazan, Sweet Bird of Youth which used some, at the time, groundbreaking projections), but clearly he didn't need or want them in Cat (and even with his fighting over Kazan about Act III, and some other elements, Kazan had no interest in them either).
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by broadwayjim42 2012-12-19 22:39:19
Thanks for the early reviews...looks like this is going on my short list for January.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by vegas2 2012-12-19 22:39:32
How high is the stage? Would the front row be too close?
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by Michael Bennett 2012-12-20 08:03:00
Eric, I had that same thought too, that if Ashford was trying to make the physical presence of Skipper represent something of the 'haunting of the past',' that he should arguably also show Jack Straw, Peter Ochello, Susie McPheters and all the other characters described in memory by the various characters.
As is, I'm not exactly sure what the 'Ghost of Skipper Past' is supposed to represent, or who exactly is supposed to be able to see him. The best I could tell is that he's simply being used as an omnipresence to illustrate (hammer over the head?) the subtext of Brick's relationship with Maggie.
The character appears three times: in Act One during the 'fantasia' sequence of Maggie's monologue ("the moon is out tonight...they're playing croquet...you were such a wonderful lover...") of course, during Brick's monologue in Act Two recalling the 'late night phone call,' and most perplexingly, during Big Mama's monologue in Act Three ("Brick, give Big Daddy a son"), in which his appearance is accompanied by music, I kid you not, that sounds almost exactly like the Varsouviana Polka from STREETCAR.
For me, these three moments are indeed the height of Williams' most emotional writing in the play, but having that physical presence onstage is just a complete distraction from the power of those words and a misinterpretation of the central theme of CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF, which isn't really about Skipper...
I think Ashford is likely trying to heighten the lyricism of the piece, but it really does do a disservice to what is otherwise a quite excellent interpretation of the play.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by Auggie27 2012-12-20 08:26:15
In Williams's preferred version of the text, published in '75 by New Directions (Ashley's Maggie famously on the cover) he addresses this issue. Yet it's written very specifically to the designer. Here Williams does indeed make specific reference to the original owners, Jack Straw and Peter Ochello. It's the playwright's intention that the set itself is haunted by the presence of two "bachelors" who were lovers there.
To my thinking, that's a lovely, poetic way to inspire the imagination of a collaborative designer, not trigger a literalized presentation of dead people (particularly dead people who never lived in or even visited this turf).
Those two spirits who hover over the proceedings have earned their place; it was their love in their house. Skipper, on the other hand, is here dragged into a home he cannot "haunt," by a director who wants to shoehorn a visual explication of a relationship already vividly discussed. I would argue that our "seeing" Skipper denies an audience a rich theatrical pleasure -- imagination. It also robs the actors of a chance to do their job. The actors playing Brick and Maggie "create" a Skipper for us. If we can already "see" him, why should they conjure his memory -- establishing the emotional impact of Skipper on their lives -- in performance?
I'd probably find the "bachelor" ghosts far more organic (and far subtler) but they would require a very deft hand by a director.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by supersam1026 2012-12-23 00:34:25
Just coming back from the show tonight, I absolutely LOVED it!! My first experience with "Cat" and I was very happy! I was up front and very well may have missed it, but I think Ashford may have already gotten rid of "Ghost Skipper". I didn't see him at all. The only flashback character was Brick in Act II and briefly Act III
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by eperkins 2012-12-23 08:38:50
Supersam, I saw the show at yesterday's matinee, and Skipper appeared three times. That was not Brick in flashback. Not only that, but Skipper was actually singing - at least two of the three times - "By The Light Of The Silvery Moon." Very distracting. I'm hoping that Rob Ashford will come to his senses and cut Skipper before the show opens.
Other than that, I liked the show very much except for a couple of things Brick did. First of all, I'm not so sure he would have gotten naked in front of Maggie. Maybe, maybe not - and I didn't mind seeing Ben Walker briefly naked. There were two other things. Very early on in the play, Brick lights Maggie's cigarette. I don't think he would have done that - he pretty much hates her for most of the play. Then in the last act, he pats his brother on the back in a very friendly way. They don't like each other either -- so that was strange. Both actor choices or director, I don't know, but wrong, IMHO.
One last thing - the set is HUGE! Too big, I think; both Act One and Act Two get pretty lost in it. And even though there is plenty of room for it, it is lacking the couch that is referred to twice that Brick sleeps on instead of in the bed with Maggie.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by Luv2goToShows 2012-12-23 09:23:22
supersam1026, how close were you to the stage? Not knowing how high or wide the set would be I did not want to take a chance sitting in the front row so I opted for 3rd row aisle. Hopefully I will not miss anything.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by Auggie27 2012-12-23 09:37:38
Skipper sings? I'm speechless.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by supersam1026 2012-12-23 09:45:46
Yup, COMPLETELY missed that then!! I was the sixth row (row D) all the way to the side during Act I and then we moved to the center of the second row. It was great to see it that close up, I didn't feel like I missed anything, but I guess I did. I took it as Brick in the flashback (the kid in the sports jacket), guess I was wrong!
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by Jane2 2012-12-23 10:33:55
I wouldn't call Johannson a great actress of any generation. In fact, I think she's weak. Don't get me wrong-I first saw her in Ghost World and was kind of mesmerized. She's interesting to look at, but in hindsight, that role was no stretch, I thought.
Lost in Translation is a favorite film of mine. Again, Scarlett was great to look at, but that role, I also thought, was Scarlett being Scarlett.
Since those two performances, anything I saw her in were, in my mind, flat and uninteresting. I'm hoping to get to see Cat because maybe I'll change my opinion.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by Luv2goToShows 2012-12-23 10:37:49
Thanks for the feedback on the seating supersam1026. Hopefully my seat will be fine.
One of the reasons I like to revisit shows to see if and what I missed, which is easily done when it is something I have never seen, there is depth to the storyline and/or more than one thing going on. I find these message board discussions very helpful too, it is great to read other's perspective. I respect those who are more knowledgeable of a show & appreciate that they share.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by bjh2114 2012-12-23 11:30:50
I was there last night, and I thought the whole thing was incredibly heavy handed. It was like Ashford was in Directing 101 and this was a final exam project. Between ghost Skipper SINGING (I actually laughed out loud...) and the way the Act 3 storm was executed during the argument, the whole thing felt as though Ashford were saying "Hey... do you get the symbolism here? DO YOU?!" Honestly, I think Scarlett comes off the best here. I 100% disagree with Whizzer about Scarlett and Ben being good scene partners. Ben basically disappears into Act 1 (his best act of the 3), and then he completely goes over the top in Acts 2 and 3. Ciaran Hinds slipped into an Irish accent a few times, which was so weird (why cast an Irishman as a Southern estate owner?). Debra Monk barely makes an impact as Big Mama, a role that I feel often steals the show. The whole thing felt very amateur to me. The only thing I LOVED was the set.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by Kad 2012-12-23 12:17:54
How was the storm executed? Because, to be completely honest, the symbolism in the show ain't exactly subtle to begin with.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by eperkins 2012-12-23 13:14:58
The storm is lightning, lots of thunderboomers, and wind blowing the curtains.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by johnmichael 2012-12-23 13:22:28
I thought the production was great. particularly Scarlett, Ben and Deb Monk, but i do think you're being very unfair on the set, its really beautiful. The scale of it heightens and emphasizes the drama, not diminishes it. It is Williams after all, not Pinter. Its both feminine, with its soft drapes, and curvaceous furniture, yet cage like, with its tall vertical framing doors. The floor boards blossom outward from the bed at its center like petals on a flower, yet the ceilng (neither hot, nor tin) suggests a spiders web, a trap that none of the characters below seem truly able to escape. Worth saying, the lighting is also very beautiful. And to the other poster noting the absence of ghostly figures other than the Skipper character, I felt these were actually suggested, in a beautifully subtle way, when the household servants sing a vey beautiful spiritual silhouetted behind the soft drapes in the french windows as Maggie declares her phantom pregnancy, it is like the ghosts of the previous occupants of the house willing life to continue there.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by bjh2114 2012-12-23 13:28:04
How was the storm executed? Because, to be completely honest, the symbolism in the show ain't exactly subtle to begin with.
Fair. But for instance, as the argument was getting more and more heated, the thunder crashes were getting louder and louder. By the end of it, the characters were screaming at each other and the storm sounded like the world was ending. It was way too theatrical to be taken seriously at all.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by eperkins 2012-12-23 14:04:22
johnmichael, I get what you are saying - the set does look beautiful. I just think it is too big, and the drama, particularly in the first and second acts, gets somewhat lost in it. I don't think the set in any way enhances the drama. At all. To each his own.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by greatwhiteway72 2012-12-23 15:48:12
Wait when does Ben Walker get naked? and how much?
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by eperkins 2012-12-23 16:44:32
Ben gets naked in the first act when Maggie insists he change out of his towel. She convinces him to put on a pair of pajamas. He is facing upstage when he removes his towel and pulls up the pj bottoms. It's brief and is just his backside.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by After Eight 2012-12-23 21:31:02
Re, the set.
The theatre is too big for the play; the stage is too big for the set; the set is too spread out to accommodate the stage.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by justoldbill 2012-12-23 22:50:38
I predict the actor playing Skipper is a shoo-in for a Tony Award next spring! And why not? No one questions a stage filled with phantoms in FOLLIES. Shouldn't he be called Young Skipper?
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by Addison D. 2012-12-23 23:12:18
I understand Skipper as very much the third person in Brick & Maggie's marriage--Brick is obsessed with his memory and Maggie is fighting with him for Brick's attention. I see where the idea of putting Skipper on-stage comes from, but I think it's a bad idea. As others have said quite eloquently already in this thread, it is the job of the actors to evoke Skipper and his importance and the job of the audience to understand how large he looms in the action.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by followspot 2012-12-24 09:45:20
"...and above all, the designer should...give the actors room to move about freely (to show their restlessness, their passion for breaking out), as if it were a set for a ballet." Williams' CAT stage directions
Granted, Williams' wishes for CAT seemed to change annually, but I found this interesting in light of the current revival set, which is as close to the above as I've ever seen.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by henrikegerman 2012-12-27 01:02:13
This is a bitter take on this life-affirming and wonderful play. And sadly it doesn't work at all. Where is the love? Scarlett speeds through the first act like she was on benzadrine, with little modulation and a complete lack of likability. It's Brick who is supposed to find her annoying. Not us. Never has there been a Maggie with so little vulnerability. Is it really Ashford's intent to make Maggie as mendacious and soulless as Gooper and May? To keep not only Brick but the entire audience wondering if she really loves him? On top of which I couldn't hear half of what she was saying. I admire her work in film and loved her in A View From the Bridge so I was very surprised at how off her mark she is here. If you don't care about Maggie from the get go, there is nothing at stake and this becomes a very long evening.
Ghost Skipper, for reasons many have already stated, is atrocious but it was the least of my problems. Walker and Monk do the best they can under the circumstances. The best thing I can say about Hinds is that he isn't replicating his Political Animals character as Big Daddy (which was my fear); but he also mostly fails to connect with the love that has to be underneath all of Big Daddy's bluster (apart from with Brick).
The set is flouncy and pretty. The spaciousness provides the requisite mobility but the centrality of the bed was wearing (topped off with Skipper right behind it at curtain call - Jesus Christ!). And someone is going to have to explain to me the backdrop curtains behind the room curtains.
Do yourself a favor, stay home and watch Newman, Taylor and Ives.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by vegas2 2012-12-27 01:07:39
That's a discouraging report.
I still have fond memories of the Liz Ashley revival. Maybe I should just hang onto them.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by followspot 2012-12-27 09:54:43
This production is using Williams' original script, in which Maggie is less sympathetic. As Williams told it, a sympathetic Maggie was imposed by Kazan in the original production, and then the film adaptation made her even more so. Especially because of the film, this is now what audiences expect. In the original script, although she laments having become so on her climb from poverty to that hot tin roof, Maggie as we meet her is a pretty soulless creature.
MARGARET: I do love you, Brick, I do!
BRICK: (smiling with charming sadness) Wouldn't it be funny if that was true?
[The Curtain Comes Down]
THE END
Such a wonderful closing paradox is the tragedy that Maggie does love Brick, but he can no longer believe in anyone? or is the tragedy that Brick can see quite clearly that Maggie (unlike his perhaps fantasized memory of Skipper) has become part of or has always been part of the mendacity in which he feels he is drowning? Or is there a tragedy at all? Has, perhaps, every character gotten exactly what they deserve? (Mae is actually the most straight-up honest character in the play a character turned into a cartoon in the film in order to make Maggie more sympathetic, when it's actually Maggie's fixated hatred of her that we should be questioning.)
For better or worse [and ghost Skipper aside], this production in which we purposefully never have a firm grasp on who to believe or sympathize with has very much followed Williams' original intentions.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by susie777 2012-12-27 10:54:18
I totally agree with you. Richard Ashford decided to go with the original script. If you are going to compare it to a movie which by the way was shot many times and edited to the extreme it can never compare. To me Maggie was a gold digger who unfortunately married her football hero who didn't live up to her dreams but still has the chance to inherit all the money. I don't even think she was sympathetic in the movie. I just found it different. I know that many have no idea that Brick was sexually "confused" after watching the flick. They just think he's not into Maggie. It was of the times and these are new times. It will be difficult for viewers to compare them so I think the people who didn't see the movie may enjoy it best. I thought it was very good, albeit long but that's how it was written.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by henrikegerman 2012-12-27 10:57:15
Point taken. Perhaps Kazan was right and Williams wrong. Perhaps earlier productions have successfully presented this paradox even while giving us an appealing Maggie. Is this appeal, this zest for life, this "life in her body," merely on the surface? Or is she a woman truly worthy of love? These questions have always been there. They can't help be there. Susie, you seem to offer proof of this by the fact that even in the film you saw in Taylor's Maggie an unsympathetic gold digger.
Or perhaps Williams was right and those questions need to be further emphasized. Perhaps previous productions - and above all the film - have gone too far in making us root for Maggie from the very start.
What I can say for sure is that in their zeal to overcompensate, Ashford and Johannsen have failed to successfully discover the marked ambiguity Williams demanded, which might have made for a remarkable interpretation. Ironically, they have left us not with a clearer paradox (the last beautiful line of the script notwithstanding) but instead with a clearer conclusion. And a dull and sour one.
By turning Maggie into a near shrew, making Brick's "arc" non-transformative and barely detectable, and leaving us without any evidence of love (however meretricious that evidence might ultimately prove), it is almost impossible to have any interest in what happens to these people during the play, let alone any paradoxical wonder at what will happen to them after the curtain falls.
A Brick who remains on the fence as to whether he can trust Maggie could be a very powerful thing. But a Brick confronted with a transparently unlovable wife is not.
Of course, the sexual candor of this script is a welcome advance. But as to this production, it's a case of two steps forward, eight steps back.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by followspot 2012-12-27 11:33:07
A Brick who remains on the fence as to whether he can trust Maggie could be a very powerful thing. But a Brick confronted with a transparently unlovable wife is not.
I think that pretty much sums up Kazan's opinion during the play's debut, henrik, which resulted in Williams writing a new Act Three in which Maggie softens. Williams himself seemed to waffle back and forth in subsequent productions. As you can probably tell, I love the myriad ambiguities of the original script how nothing we are told in this house of lies and delusions is necessarily to be trusted but I also understand, as Williams apparently did, that audiences want at least a little something to grasp onto. It's a tough call, and a delicate balance that's difficult to pull off.
I do find the general preference for the Taylor/Newman film interesting in that it somewhat parallels the play's themes the choice to idolize a false version of the original work because it aims to serve our every desire, over the real thing because it refuses to do the same.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by henrikegerman 2012-12-27 12:11:20
Followspot, I actually love this version of the script. My concerns are with the way it's being interpreted. The combination of this text and a characterization that could keep us alert, challenged and marveling at the war within us between disgust and eroticism as these forces are confronted by truth - a contest unsettled at the final curtain, even jarringly so - could be electrifying.
For me this production fails because the balance is off. Disgust triumphs.
Kazan may have been right. But only as a director. Not as a playwright. He should have left that in Tennessee's capable hands and molded it into an interpretation based on the power of opposition between the words and our impressions of the people, leaving us just enough room to scruple whether our impressions are correct (the same damning uncertainty the characters have). Then there would have been a real gut-wrenching tug of war.
The movie doesn't nearly live up to this standard for its going in the other direction. The lens of course is midcentury Hollywood which always exacted a price for Williams. But when I watched it recently I still found it compelling and extremely well acted, miraculously serving up the guts of the play through its unfortunate shackles and censorship, far more successfully than this production, for all its much-appreciated freedom, does.
This discussion btw has been great. And I'm ready to modify my original objection to our not being sure that Maggie really loves Brick (which, I was expecting due to my affection for the movie). Keeping us guessing would be a great achievement. The problem is I wasn't kept guessing. I was convinced that Maggie lives for sex and financial security alone. No ambiguity there.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by Addison D. 2012-12-27 12:21:42
I always loved the Taylor/Newman film, but found the ending incredibly phony--Hollywood tried to wave an anti-gay wand over all the homo-erotic textual themes. After 106 minutes of Brick's struggling with his erotic longing for Skipper, he is suddenly overwhelmed with certainty and desire for Maggie? And Maggie the Cat yelping "Yes, SIR!!" to Brick? Please. Maggie might say "Sir" to Big Daddy, but to Brick?? Over her dead body.
The ambiguity of William's ending is so much more satisfying. So much more the logical "conclusion" of the night's events and the personalities involved.
I'm going tonight at 8--really looking forward to it.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by susie777 2012-12-27 12:54:28
Did you not see Newman playing Newman vs Newman playing Brick? That is the problem I had with the movie. He was still just Newman- whom I love!! but still just Newman as he is pretty much in all movies. Suave, gorgeous and sexy. Still Newman.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by EricMontreal22 2012-12-27 17:37:24
Wait so this IS the original script? NOT the final revision in the 70s Williams did which is what nearly every production now uses (the recent UK production a few months back, however, said they cherry picked from all three versions).
The Kazan script's differences are nearly all in the third act. The final approved Williams script, which has differences throughout is different from either Williams' original published script (with both third acts) or the original playing script. *confused*
Susie, to be fair Cat's huge success largely created the Newman movie star character--one that films used. So in many ways if you think it's Newman playing Newman that's because the film created that identity for him (Long Hot Summer was created for him to be a sorta ersatz-Williams film, even though it claimed to be based on Faulkner--who wasn't all that different thematically--that was rushed into production to compete with Cat, according to the book The Films of Tennessee Williams.)
Kazan even said one reason he approved of Newman in Sweet Bird is he thought he could play off of, and slightly subverse that image of him that was already so huge.
The film is a mess, saved by great performances, especially from the three, and classy direction. Though I think opening it up (the basement scene is so sentimental and non Williams) is a mistake, directorially Brooks is fine. it's his rewrite--the ending in particular but a TON of small moments--yes many to make Maggie more sympathetic--that ruin the theme of the piece. of course he thought he vastly improved on a messy play (as he felt with Sweet Bird of Youth). Brooks' moral code and stance (which is seen at its most ridiculous in Looking for Mr Goodbar) was *such* an ill fit to Williams.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by followspot 2012-12-27 19:09:37
Eric, as far as I could tell at least the majority of this production's Act Three is the original. There could very well be some elements of other versions blended in.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by susie777 2012-12-27 19:59:17
Eric I really didn't know that about Newman since I've seen so many films but never read the screen plays but if I think of all the Newman as I see Newman films they are not playing a sexually ambivalent character. He was a hunk for females - the sexiest of men and one most would want as a husband - using a bit of creative license here. God I swear when I say Newman I keep thinking of Seinfeld these days - NEWMAN.
Anyway I am going to go to IMDB now and see from where I created my Newman beauty. It wasn't from COHTR but of course that would depend on what film you saw first. Interesting and fun to think about.
I think Long Hot Summer really made him simmer. Wow I need to watch that again.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by henrikegerman 2012-12-27 22:30:02
^I'm a little confused, Susie. Are you saying a sexually ambivalent and or ambiguous male character, can't be suave, sexy, gorgeous and very hunky for women? Or that in any event Brick shouldn't be?
If so you may want to check out Darwin Porter's biography of Paul Newman.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by MrJNLong 2012-12-28 00:27:02
So I saw this today and thought all 4 of the main actors were very strong.
Kind of hated the directing. Ashford should stick to musicals...
He doesn't seem able to trust the genius inherent in these non-musical scripts. They don't need tricks. Ghost Skipper made me so uncomfortable. Specifically in the scene where he sings the fight song. Oh my gosh, so awkward. I was closing my eyes to make it stop.
Also, as mentioned already in this thread, the storm effects in Act 3 came cross as very heavy-handed and superfluously distracting.
Bleah.
However, I was a lot more engaged by this production than the last one a couple years ago with James Earl Jones.
Much stronger throughout.
I have not seen Hinds in anything else, so I can't say if he was just playing the same character from his other work, but I thought he was exceptionally strong. Closely followed by Scarlett who really commanded my interest in the first act which is basically an hour-long mnologue for her. A couple of unclear transitions, but overall very strong communication and use of language.
I liked this production a lot...minus the amateurish directing "tricks" that reminded me of a directing student in his first undergrad project...
But he did get some good work out of those actors, so there's that...
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by Addison D. 2012-12-28 00:53:19
Just home from tonight's show.
I just cannot understand how the ghost of Skipper has managed to remain part of this production. Worse--he's NOT a ghost. He flies through the tall French doors into a set rendered entirely in shades of gray, with Brick in White and Big Daddy in beige. Suddenly we are confronted with Skipper in blue jeans and football letterman's jacket. He's MORE real, MORE tangible than the "reality" that he is haunting. Very distracting, completely un-necessary--totally misguided.
Maggie establishes early on that you can "be young and poor or old with money, but never old and poor". She WAS young and poor and there is NO way she's going to be old and poor. Her motives are clear and unambiguous. She may, indeed, cling to a memory of the sex that she and Brick once had, but her survival instinct is what is driving her every action.
I also appreciated--more in this production than in others I have seen, and infinitely more than in the film--the relatively sympathetic portrayal of Mae & Goober--especially Goober. The symmetry between Mae and Maggie is clearly delineated they really are--as Brick says--like a pair of cats feuding over the estate. The kids are a caricature of an annoying brood, but Mae & Goober have been treated unfairly by Big Daddy and Big Mama, and their anger at Maggie's final lie is completely justified.
I thought Ms. Johansson gave a very credible performance, although she did seem to "swallow" some of her lines. It's a big house, but Emily Bergl's Mae was always clearly audible and her accent felt more organic than Maggie's.
And--yes; we get it. There's a storm coming. Enough with the rattling thunder. Oy...
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by susie777 2012-12-28 11:09:18
No I wasn't saying that at all! I guess I'm not much of a writer nor a great reviewer of broadway shows. I will take a look at the link you gave me.
BTW - regarding the ghost. I know a few people who went last night and they actually thought it was a young Brick and not the ghost - funny how other interpret things when they don't know the play or other little tidbits.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by henrikegerman 2012-12-28 11:24:19
gotcha.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by Addison D. 2012-12-28 11:38:14
Skipper's final appearance comes as Big Mama is in her reverie about how graceful and beautiful young Brick was--"his shining hair" etc.--and for a moment I had a glimmer of hope that the ghost was, in fact, young Brick. It would still be a dreadful, melodramatic, ill-conceived notion, but at least it wouldn't be Skipper.
In Act II, however, the ghost very clearly pantomimes Skipper's end of the fatal phone call--looking at the receiver and dejectedly walking away from the phone. Unless we're meant to understand that Brick & Skipper have some sort of time-share on one ghost, I think we have to understand the Ghost to be Skipper.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by broadwaydevil 2012-12-29 01:17:31
Back from tonight's performance and I have had some time to gather my thoughts.
First things first, I rushed, arriving at about 6:30 and got the lower box house left. The view was partial in the first act and I had to do lots of shifting to see everything but I had a very good view in the subsequent acts when the other 2 people disappeared and I rearranged the chairs to give myself a good view. I stage doored and it was absolute insanity. The vast majority of people there clearly did not see the show. Scarlett came out at about 11:30 and signed for maybe 10 people then ran into her car.
Now, the important things. The set is absolutely gorgeous, though it did feel a bit too spacious in the first act since only Brick and Maggie are in the room and even more so during Brick and Big Daddy's scene in Act 2. Scarlett Johannson is a revelation as Maggie. As many have said, this is (I think) entirely the original version of the script where Maggie isn't very sympathetic and from the moment Scarlett walks onto the stage she commands attention and excitement. In some ways, she overshadowed what was a bit of a confusing performance from Walker. Walker played the nonchalant, distant role beautifully in Act 1 but showed absolutely no transition into his more forceful attitude in Act 2. Sure, the mention of Skipper is supposed to make him snap but a lot of the drama is lost if we don't feel the building tension and frustration. The throwing of the glass just seemed random and not the climax of tension.
Debra Monk as Big Mama is another standout. She steals the show in the third act and her breakdown is shockingly more tragic and emotional than anything Walker executed. Her lines are delivered with an authenticity (and a consistent accent, something Walker and Hinds seemed to have trouble with) that made me feel she was Big Mama. Ciaran Hinds is solid as Big Daddy and the only gripe I really had were the weird accents he kept switching in and out of. Emily Bergl is phenomenal as Mae, a role that can sometimes seem thankless.
The storm effects were a bit cringeworthy, we get it and quite frankly it was so over the top and unrealistic that it was a bit insulting to the audience. I would agree with the assessment that it seemed like it was some young director who just realized the storm is supposed to parallel the tumult inside - something everyone understands. I didn't find Ghost Skipper quite as distracting as some here have written but it's definitely unnecessary and could easily be cut. To answer previous questions, no one refers to the ghost or acknowledges its existence so it would really be as simple as just not having the ghost there to fix it.
Overall - solid production with phenomenal performances by Johannson, Bergl, and Monk. There are some odd directional choices but ultimately they don't detract too much from the piece. If this wasn't going to be revived five more times in the near future with star casting and if the most recent revival wasn't a few years ago, it would be a must see. However, in a season with two superior revivals of classic plays (Golden Boy and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf), I would recommend it but wouldn't put it at the top of any list.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by chrisampm2 2012-12-29 02:41:14
Thanks for the clear, detailed review.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by fashionguru_23 2012-12-30 20:33:59
Saw this Thursday afternoon (Dec. 27th). I had read the script before, but never saw a production or the movie before.
I loved this production. I'm not sure about Scarlett Johannson's Maggie a little whiny at times, but I there were times where I felt that she cares about Brick, because he made her dream come true about being "someone". I always thought Big Daddy was more of a strong, forceful character who was always trying to understand what happened to his son. So, it seems interesting to hear about Big Daddy in the last revival.
I actually loved the set/design for the show. I'm all about symbolism for shows, and the fact that the room in circular, and full of windows, to me seems like a cage that everyone can look out of but Brick can't leave the "cage", as much as he wants to. He may go on the porch, but can't leave. All the characters are frustrated and trying to break free of something, and keep coming and going, walking around and around the set. I think it really helped to see the struggle. I was in the first row of the rear mezzanine, and I felt s bit of a distance from the action, so I will agree and say that its a little big of a theatre for the show. Again, kinda goes back to my "cage" idea.
Oh, I didn't mind the ghost of Skipper. I liked it actually. I'm also a visual person, so seeing it, made it real for me. I also would be surprise if Debra Monk or Ciarán Hinds get a Tony nomination.
Fun fact, Rob Ashford was sitting in the last row of the front mezzanine, so I kept looking for his reactions at the ends of the acts. He seemed pleased at the ends of the second and third acts. But, not so much at the end of the first.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by AC126748 2012-12-30 21:29:54
I saw the matinee. I have reservations about the production overall, but I thought all of the acting was very fine, with one exception. Scarlett's interpretation worked for me, and she's the first Maggie I've seen whom I felt really deeply loved Brick. (The only other Maggies I've seen on stage were Anika Noni Rose and Mary Stuart Masterson, neither of whom made much of an impression on me). I found Walker really compelling. His Brick is angrier than most. And Monk is the best Big Mama I've personally seen; she hit all the right notes for me, and her work in Act Three was really striking.
I'm a great fan of Ciaran Hinds but I found him really poorly cast here. He swallowed a lot of his dialogue and bellowed the rest. He didn't make much of an impression other than being loud. On paper it seemed like great casting; in execution, not so much. The production itself didn't do anything for me. The Skipper bits didn't annoy me, but they were superfluous. And the storm business was beyond heavy-handed.
The matinee was pretty empty today. There weren't more than thirty people on the rear mezz and there were plenty of empty seats in the orchestra. Respectful applause at the company bow, a few isolated standers.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by EricMontreal22 2012-12-31 03:45:51
followspot said: "Eric, as far as I could tell at least the majority of this production's Act Three is the original. There could very well be some elements of other versions blended in."
So Big Daddy is absent from the final act? (I'm not doubting you or trying to be obnoxious, I swear--stuff like this really fascinates me. It always seemed like nearly all productions now basically used the 70s revision).
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by EricMontreal22 2012-12-31 03:54:46
susie said: "Eric I really didn't know that about Newman since I've seen so many films but never read the screen plays but if I think of all the Newman as I see Newman films they are not playing a sexually ambivalent character. He was a hunk for females - the sexiest of men and one most would want as a husband - using a bit of creative license here. "
As you say, it is interesting to think about, and hear different views. For me, I think on some level they were always savvy with Newman (the way they were with many of that "new generation" of leading men including Brando, Clift, Dean, etc--the new generation John Wayne loathed so openly). They played the characters they did (and the characters were written) in a different way than the usual previous generation of movie star masculinity. There's a reason so many of those characters, conscious or not (and I think it was part and part) were appealing to closeted gay men, and still are.
Maybe it's because of all the talk about Newman's own bisexuality, but I don't think so, but for myself while I see why he was such a selling point towards females, I don't think he was a hunk only for females by any means--in most of his roles. If that makes any sense (I'm not sure it does...)
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by EricMontreal22 2012-12-31 04:23:03
For anyone interested (and it is much more interesting than my rambles during insomnia I posted here), the Tennessee Williams Review had a (long) essay about the myriad of various versions of Act III of Cat. It can be read here: http://www.tennesseewilliamsstudies.org/archives/2000/6parker.htm
(I had no idea that Williams was against Bel Gedde as Maggie, but Kazan wanted her, and had some qualms about casting "a singer" as Big Daddy).
The originally published version with the original ending act, and a slightly revised version of the "Kazan" Broadway ending act, is what is usually reprinted today (i know it's the one in my American Library two volume collection of Williams). But the final revised 1974 one Williams prefered is the one published in the recent edition with a great intro by Albee, for anyone interested.
I do think--getting back to the film--besides cutting much of the homosexuality for obvious reasons, Brooks felt that he had to give more of a resolution. Even with Kazan's Act III many critics who loved the play seemed unhappy that nothing seemed to be resolved by the end (which seems to me to be part of the point, really). So he tacks on that ridiculous ending (which in a way, I suppose, was hinted in the Kazan revision where Williams' added the line with Brick saying that he respects Maggie, as well as the stage direction at the end that has Brick sit down on the bed, and not remain standing).
But the whole film is askew, IMHO, because instead of some unresolved homosexual feelings--ambiguous or not--the whole theme becomes the fact that Brick is in some sort of delayed adolescence he has to snap out of, which just doesn't ring true for me.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by Addison D. 2012-12-31 14:15:59
I'm interested to read the TWR article. Watching the current production, I was surprised by Brick's warm/receptive moment to Maggie at the end of ActIII. What I remembered from the period when I read the play repeatedly--at a time when Tennesee Williams, Harvey Fierstein et.al were the lifeline connecting my lonely, confused, suburban, gay youth to some future notion of 'It Gets Better'--was a far more ambivalent/hostile posture. I don't recall the expression of respect/support that we get in this production.
I had a new, surprising (to me)reaction to this production as well--maybe now that I don't personally NEED Brick to be gay. Of course, the film goes too far in sanitizing the gay away, but I was able to entertain the possibility this time around that Brick is NOT gay--that what he felt was--as he describes it--a 'clean & decent' friendship. Too pure for this world, etc. I've always interpreted Brick's breakdown as Big Daddy does--like that of Peter Ochello after the death of his lover. But what if we take Brick's words as gospel--and that his pain results from the loss of a soul-mate and also from his guilt at the role he played in Skipper's death?
The line that undoes that possibility for me is when Brick asks Big Daddy "Don't you know what the world thinks" of queers. That line betrays--to my thinking--a deeply closeted gay man's point of view. I don't think a heterosexual man's first expression of hostility to the idea of being gay would be in terms of what other people think of gays--I think it would be an expression of distaste/non-attraction/etc.
One can reasonably question the frequency with which certain shows get revivals, but I do find it fascinating to have the opportunity to see productions of my 'core' shows as I get older.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by WiCkEDrOcKS 2012-12-31 14:40:01
I'm seeing this tomorrow, via TDF. Anyone have any clue where those seats have been lately?
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by nasty_khakis 2012-12-31 14:42:53
My TDF seat was literally the last seat in the last row of the balcony. It was still a fine seat though.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by theatreguy 2012-12-31 14:43:24
My TDF seat was Orchestra Row T on the side.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by WiCkEDrOcKS 2012-12-31 15:19:16
Thanks guys. :)
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by HBBrock 2012-12-31 15:54:05
Our TDF seats last night were Orchestra Row Q only a few seats off the center.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by little_sally 2013-01-01 19:54:26
What's the running time?
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by broadwaydevil 2013-01-01 20:08:14
2 hours and 45 minutes or so.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by little_sally 2013-01-01 20:22:03
Thank you!
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by Jordan Catalano 2013-01-01 23:16:27
Well, I saw it tonight and was just blown away. I didn't think we needed another revival of this play so soon but man, am I glad we got it, if just to wash the taste of that last one out of my mouth. The ONLY thing I can find fault in was Hinds' accent. As someone who grew up in the south, I'm very particular to southern accents and his went from a Georgia accent to a Kentucky accent and at different times seemed a bit all over the place. I'm sure he'll get it though.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by WiCkEDrOcKS 2013-01-01 23:39:54
I saw it tonight as well and I liked it, but I wasn't blown away. The one thing I was blown away by was Scarlett Johannson. I am far from a big Scar Jo fan, and she absolutely, completely won me over this evening and has converted me into a supporter. She knocked it out of the park. I liked her enough in the brilliant revival of A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE, but this performance is something else. She carries the first act on her back and is simply electric. Sexy, devious, sad, and just all around fantastic.
I thought Walker was good (if a bit too one-note the entire evening), and Monk was wonderful. Cirian Hinds, however, did not impress me very much. The second act dragged for me, during his lengthy speeches and only really came back to life when he and Walker began to get into it.
Now, as for the direction.... I actually didn't mind the storm effects. I did, however, find the ghost Skipper distracting and unnecessary. Very superfluous and, in my opinion, a lot more heavy-handed than the storm sequence. There are moments in the play that could use a bit of ironing out in terms of the direction, mainly some of the more heated/argumentative moments in the piece that seemed too stagey. But besides those issues, I think Ashford has done a good job here. I wish he would have focused on directing the play as it is, instead of worrying about adding theatrical flair to it (which seems to be an issue with him in general as a director). I guess since he didn't have any choreography to worry about here, he focused that energy on adding extra jazz to the show in other ways.
And as everyone else has said, the set is absolutely breathtaking.
Overall it's an uneven production, but I thought the good moments were strong enough to say this is worth seeing if you can. The theater was packed and while I heard a lot of people complaining that it was slow and boring, there was a standing O at the end (not that that means anything). If the rest of the show was as good as Scarlett is, this would be an incredible night at the theater. But as it is, it's simply good enough.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by Jordan Catalano 2013-01-01 23:45:06
I, on the other hand, thought the ghost Skipper was excellent. It added this sense of sadness to the scenes that I thought was beautiful. And I ADORED Walker. I think Brick is an exceptionally hard role to pull off and he did it with flying colors. Just phenomenal.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by wexy 2013-01-02 10:51:44
Going tonight, will report back with my view.
My TDF tickets were Row R 2/4 not bad
It was 95 degrees in theaters, people were stripping down and fanning themselves with their Playbills. It was distracting.
First act was OK but we had trouble hearing Scarlett, we could later on.
Had to run across the street to the pizza place for water.
And the water line was longer than the bathroom line during the second intermission.
Thought Debra Monk was great...
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by RippedMan 2013-01-04 00:20:48
I thought this would be such a hot ticket, but it's always on TDF.
Hm. Maybe they just aren't quite marketing this yet. Letting it find its feet before plastering the subways and cabs, etc.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by little_sally 2013-01-04 11:03:42
I saw this last night and thought it was just fine but it's clear there wasn't any reason to revive this (Scarlett is good but she didn't blow me away). I thought the direction was a mess and Ashford adds so many distracting elements to the staging. I did like Hinds and Monk, though.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by Lyssie 2013-01-05 10:08:04
I'm looking to get tickets for this for two weeks from now and had a few questions. Firstly, it's consistently been on TKTS, but do you think it still will be once it opens? Also, has anyone gotten the partial view seats from ticketmaster and how are they? I really want to see this, but I'm also trying to save money if I can. Thanks!
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by RippedMan 2013-01-05 19:07:08
Saw the matinee and I didn't love it. It felt long at times. The stage is way too big for this show. The room just felt expansive and massive. I was in the back of the orchestra and it was difficult to hear. A lot of people around me were complaining at the begining of ACT 1 with just Maggie and Brick.
ScarJo was fine. I don't really find her a "revelation" like a lot of people, but I thought she was good. Her Act 1 was great, but honestly made no impression on me in Act 3. After awhile I just didn't find her line readings to be all that different. Had the same tone for the most part.
Walker was fine. I think it's hard because the voice he's using doesn't seem to match his appearance. It feels like this weird juxtaposition. I think he's fine, but it's hard to play against type. I just don't think he's totally the right fit.
Debra Monk was great.
The direction felt stale to me. And having the solider/friend come on as a ghost felt super cheesy to me.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by customsay 2013-01-09 19:10:10
Attended the matinee today and was disappointed overall. Johansson is a fine if not revelatory Maggie. She has impressive authority and control for someone still so young and relatively new to the stage, she moves well, and her performance is pleasingly multidimensional, although lacking the variety and shading a more accomplished stage actress might bring to the role. It's definitely an actor's performance as opposed to a star turn (the ensemble bows at the end felt appropriate). I love Debra Monk but she seemed lost here and didn't make much of an imprint on Big Mama. It didn't help that her beautiful final speech has to compete with some distracting lighting and sound choices. Hinds doesn't do any bad acting but he doesn't have the requisite larger than life quality or the earthiness and bluster Big Daddy needs. Brick is such a tough role and I liked Walker. He carries his act two Skipper monologue, and he has a nice moment at the end when he takes Johansson by the shoulders and wittily inflects, "I admire you, Maggie!". Speaking of Skipper, the ghost I'd read about here was entirely absent today. Sounds like that's probably for the better, although I was curious to see how the director worked it out. Don't know if that's a permanent change or not. The direction overall was poor, I thought. The sound and lighting design, overdone and artificial storm effects, and elaborate harmonization of the onstage singers made the third act feel overly busy and unfocused. There was a lot of awkward blocking throughout, and the flow of movement through the open, airy set (which, although pretty, is misconceived) was confusing and undefined. So not a travesty, not horrible, but not a particularly distinguished production. Also, lots of empty seats upstairs today, and on the way to the train noticed the show was on the board for tonight at TKTS.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by Jordan Catalano 2013-01-09 19:14:00
As I'd said in another thread, I think it's a real shame the ghost Skipper is gone. It added a beautiful sadness to the story that I found extremely moving.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by GatorNY 2013-01-09 19:25:50
I was there too today. I enjoyed your thoughts Custom, but I left the theater very satisfied, and overall, I was very impressed. I didn't see any of the other recent mountings of this show, but I kept thinking to myself that this would have to be the best of the three. I thought that all the leads gave very strong performances, and that overall, it as beautiful to watch as well.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by brettarnett 2013-01-09 20:36:14
Does this mean that Jordan Dean,the actor who plays skipper, is out of a job? Unless he is an understudy, I guess.
A technical question for anyone out there: If Jordan is kept in the cast even though his role is basically deleted, would his pay change?
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by RippedMan 2013-01-09 20:40:09
I was surprised at how little Maggie does. Besides Act 1, she really doesn't have much else to do. It really is Brick's show.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by BwayGeek2 2013-01-10 11:29:10
I saw the show last night and was disappointed that I missed out on Skipper's physical presence. Having heard so much deabte on Ashford's choice to create this onstage role, I was looking forward to seeing how it all played out, although I'm thinking it's probably for the better.
I think the show belongs to Benjamin Walker. He has an electricity about him and is wonderful in the role. I am also a little obsessed with Debra Monk's interpretation of Big Mama.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by Michael Bennett 2013-01-10 12:26:10
I was fairly certain the Williams estate would eventually put their foot down about "Ghost Skipper" -- having worked with them in the past, I can say from first hand experience that they are extremely strict.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by Jordan Catalano 2013-01-10 12:48:54
I'm glad there appears to be "a record" of the show with the Ghost Skipper since I thought it really did add so much to the scenes.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by newintown 2013-01-10 12:52:00
It's a perfectly entertaining, if drama-queeny and ham-handed, production. It feels like seeing your favorite (very talented) community theatre actors in a show that's revived every 5 years. They build upon the established work of numerous previous productions, and you idly wonder why there are so few equally good contemporary plays for them to do now, where they could do the initial leg-work upon which future actors could build.
Nothing new, nothing different. I was glad not to see a "Ghost Skipper" because I think it's a stupidly pretentious notion, worthy of university or community theatre ("How can I make this play about me?," asks the director. "I know! I'll add a character!"). I'm glad I got a comp, though - I wouldn't want to have to pay to see this splashy re-run.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by Jordan Catalano 2013-01-10 13:04:20
It's rare that I disagree with every single word someone writes, but I disagree with every single word you just wrote.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by newintown 2013-01-10 13:12:44
Even "and" and "the?"
And "perfectly entertaining?" "Very talented?"
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by Jordan Catalano 2013-01-10 13:30:52
Lol. Because of the overall theme of the post, yes. 
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by RippedMan 2013-01-10 13:34:56
I would agree, and I think most of the people around me felt the same way. When each act ended, I didn't hear anyone discussing the show. Everyone just sort of sat there and talked about other things, etc.
It's nothing brilliant. I don't know how some of you were "blown away" by it. I thought each act felt longer and more boring than the first.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by LucyEth 2013-01-10 14:50:26
I frankly can't imagine anyone being blown away by what I saw last night. It's a serviceable production with no discernible point of view. A lot of yelling going on, not much emotional honesty. Johansson has certainly grown up, she's a woman here with genuine stage presence and skill...but she's been directed to be Joan Crawford hard and it just doesn't work. Yes, she talks about having become hard and being desperate and fighting tooth and nail to maintain her position in the family...but where is her vulnerability, her regret, her...allure? She's a Maggie devoid of sex appeal, how did that happen? This cat has claws, but never once purrs. A very odd choice. Walker is a lightweight and barely registers. There's zero chemistry with Johansson, it's impossible to imagine that they ever had the great sex both talks about. Watch the first scene of Elizabeth Taylor and Paul Newman in the film if you want to see what the Brick/Maggie relationship is all about.
Hinds, although very good, reminded me of Pacino at his blustery best (or is it worst?). Debra Monk comes off well, but even she ends up screaming by play's end. And what's with the portentous, pretentious gonging at the top of every act? This is not a play that needs symbolism or a "concept." Why is Big Mama suddenly in an echo chamber for her Act Three speech, why do we go into some sort of alternative universe during the storm? Give me a director who simply let's the story tell itself and gets out of everyone's way.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by newintown 2013-01-10 15:25:50
"This cat has claws, but never once purrs."
What a perfect quote. I enjoy what Johansson does (career-wide) very much; but she's a young, very contemporary actress without a lot of variety going on inside her (at least, that I can see).
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by TalkinLoud 2013-01-10 23:15:31
Have they started selling merch at the theatre yet?
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by LucyEth 2013-01-10 23:22:50
And Ashford isn't the director to get a better performance out of Johansson, unfortunately.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by After Eight 2013-01-10 23:36:04
"As I'd said in another thread, I think it's a real shame the ghost Skipper is gone. It added a beautiful sadness to the story that I found extremely moving."
As if we needed to hear that twice.
I'm glad he's gone- permanently, one hopes. He never should have been there in the first place.
Ahd the play doesn't need any additional "beautiful sadness," unintended by the author.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by nasty_khakis 2013-01-10 23:40:53
I didn't care for Ghost Skipper, but that's a shame for Jordan Dean. To get cut during previews. I wonder if he'll still get paid/moved to Brick understudy or something. Is there any precedence for this in Equity rules?
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by henrikegerman 2013-01-10 23:42:13
"but where is her vulnerability, her regret, her...allure? She's a Maggie devoid of sex appeal, how did that happen? This cat has claws, but never once purrs. A very odd choice."
Thank you Lucyeth, you took the words right out of my mouth. And am quite surprised we seem to be in the minority on this.
And I say this as someone who usually loves Scarlett and thinks that if she weren't so badly directed she could be a wonderful Maggie.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by LucyEth 2013-01-11 13:20:48
On paper, Johansson as Maggie is inspired casting, kind of a no-brainer. But I think she's trying so hard to leave her youthful image behind that she's lost all sense of why she's right for the role. Sadly there wasn't a Bartlett Sher or Pam McKinnon at the helm here. The fact that there was a Ghost Skipper in the first place indicates how wrong-headed Ashford's direction is.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by quizking101 2013-01-11 21:29:50
I just bought tickets for Wednesday. How have the seats through TDF been?
Also, how is the stage door at the matinee? I don't care about ScarJo. I'm just looking for Ben Walker (<3)
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by broadwayjim42 2013-01-11 23:49:35
Just got back from the Saturday evening performance and agree that Scarlett's seems to have been directed to be strident without much shading until the third act.
Walker, especially in the second act, was excellent.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by followspot 2013-01-11 23:53:18
Just got back from the Saturday evening performance ...
It took you six days to get home? Where do you live?!
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by broadwayjim42 2013-01-12 00:00:33
Oh fudge...that's what seeing four shows in three days does to your brain.:)
I was there tonight...Friday:)
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by RippedMan 2013-01-12 02:36:15
Seems like all the TDF tickets have been in the rear orchestra. And at this theater, the rear orchestra is raked, so it can be quite weird. I hate being under the overhang of the mezz. Makes me feel so claustrophobic.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by muscle23ftl 2013-01-12 02:43:16
She is definitely not one of the best actresses in her generation, maybe she would win some stupid popularity contest though.
She was super stiff in "View", the fact she won a Tony will always remain a mystery to me. Although I'm sure it bring attention to the awards, since that same year, Denzel Washington and Catherine Zeta Jones also won.
First Preview of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Posted by chrisampm2 2013-01-12 03:39:06
Muscle, that year all 3 of those film stars gave memorable performances. I preferred Liev Schreiber to Washington, but not by any great amount. I thought Johansson was fantastic, giving a vivid life to the character's hazy contradictions.
