"Johansson has fun with Maggie's imaginative way with language, but with her raspy voice and overly direct approach, she seems to be playing Maggie's extreme coarseness at the expense of her sultriness or vulnerability. Her high-volume take is interesting, but it's hard to believe the emotionally (and physically) crippled Brick wouldn't grab his crutch--as it were--and hobble away for miles rather than just roll over to the other side of the bed."
My thoughts exactly. And the play suffers because of it (and I blame Ashford, not Scarlett).
But what's interesting is how the reviewers all see it differently, some saying she's too demure, some too strident, some say too ladylike, some say too coarse, some (inexplicably) see flashes of vulnerability, some (all too correctly) see none. Of course critics can interpret performances in different ways, but these diametrically opposed conclusions make little sense unless they saw different previews in which she was giving wildly different performances or they are just seeing what they "want" to see to make their point, or worse, in some instances just making something up so they have something to write to hide the fact that they are incapable of forming a genuine opinion about anything.
Henrike, to your last point, I will say that legitimate, qualified critics can have very different interpretations and opinions of the same work. That is the point of critics. Obviously there could be some differences between previews, but a lot of the differences in reviews can be chalked up to the fact that they're different critics with different experiences, expectations, and opinions. This is a fairly mixed bag but I'm sure they'll find some very good pull quotes (especially from the Times), promote Scar Jo like crazy, and have a solid limited run.
^you're probably right, but still the reviews here are all over the place; when a Maggie is dismissed by some as a timorous kitten and unfavorably likened by others to a rapacious tiger, I've got to wonder if they saw the same play, let alone the same performance.
The simple fact is that, unfortunately, there is nothing remotely kittenish about Johannson's Maggie. At least when I saw the show 3 weeks ago. I wouldn't call her a tiger either. She's more like a shrew.
"For an actor whose experience is primarily in film, Johansson has innate stage presence, as she showed in her Tony-winning turn opposite Liev Schreiber in A View From the Bridge"
-I haven't even seen "Cat", but I did see "Bridge" and I feel like I've seen something different than the critics and Tony voters, Johansson was completely stiff on stage and had no stage presence in my opinion, her co-stars Liev Schreiber, Jessica Hetch, Santino Fontana and others, did though and got no recognition at the Tony Awards. Based on the clips I saw of the previous Broadway version with Brittany Murphy, she was much more comfortable in the role and she deserved a Tony, not Johansson. Murphy had what it takes to be on Broadway.
Resisting the charms of Johansson should indicate a bravura performance, but Walker, a rambunctious delight in Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, seems oddly passive here.
Johansson, on the other hand, is very active and sometimes very good. She looks terrific (if there were an award for foundation garments hers would take the trophy) and she has emphasised her natural huskiness to deliver lines in a seductive growl. As in her Broadway debut in A View from the Bridge, she likes to let the audience know how hard she's working and some scenes seem more studied than lived, though she has a very fine last act. But all her feline grace and neat red claws still can't make this revival land on its feet. Guardian
Regarding the variety of opinions re: Johansson -- I think part of it is, as suggested, the fact that different people are seeing different preview performances, and things are still fluid.
Also, I note that some of the reviews -- accurately from my point of view -- include some variation of: "She gets better in the third act." Although I found her first act one-note and grating, I did see vulnerability later on. For instance, the moment when she thanked Brick for lying on her behalf struck me as sweet and even touching.
Interesting that Brantley complains about the sound design, like the fireworks that underscore key lines. As I recall, they're specifically mentioned in Williams' play.
muscle23ft, I disagree with your assessment of Scarlett's Catherine. I thought she was wonderful, not at all stiff, engagingly stage-present, and captured the character with complete comfort and seeming effortlessness. I also think she could have been a very good, or at least a far better Maggie with better direction. I agree with the review - can't recall which - that said the Maggie she reveals on the photo on the cover of Playbill is far more compelling and spot on that the one she is giving us on stage.
"A four alarm urgency infuses every breath that Scarlett Johansson takes...she is an actress of raw power & adventurous intelligence...her Maggie is an undeniable life force." - Ben Brantley, NY Times
Can I make a request? Can we stop listing Michael Musto's 'review' as the Village Voice review?
The lead drama critic for the Voice (and, in my estimation, the best critic in New York) is Michael Feingold.
Musto is a great gossip columnist, and may, indeed, have some interesting things to say about theater. The theater critic for the Voice is Feingold...can we note that? Pretty please with sugar on top?
henrick, it seems like most critics and Tony voters agree with you, I do recall reading other posters on here saying she was stiff and she didn't have stage presence, but you know, art is subjective, I thought she wasn't good in the play, and then she went on to winning a Tony. It will be one of the big mysteries of 2010 for me!
Totally with you on the subjectivity, Muscle. For example, I couldn't understand the love for Ellen Barkin in Normal Heart. All I saw was screaming.
It makes things interesting that we all respond differently. However, sometimes the critics respond so completely differently that I find it incomprehensible. I'm not talking about their evaluations of how effective or accomplished something is, but on their empirical characterizations of the work. And how anyone can characterize Johansson's Maggie as kittenishly demure is beyond me.
WHAAAAAAAAAAT??? LOL!!! Ellen Barkin made me believe she was that doctor, fighting to get funding to research this new virus, filled with anger and frustration in The Normal Heart, I cried like a baby while she was doing her monologue! Hahah.
This Maggie the Cat is a tiger. But for all that hissing and scratching, not much blood is spilled in this meh revival....
Johansson is ... giving a hell of a tough performance here. But she never lets up on this full frontal attack, denying Maggie the wounded feelings that make her human....
Walker pretty much walks through Act One.... But he recovers himself brilliantly in Act Two, turning in a riveting perf....
Although the miscast Hinds doesn't begin to get a handle on the magnetic vulgarity of Big Daddy, he's so fully engaged in that same father-son scene that the earth does seem to tremble....
"Many people have worked very hard on the new production of Tennessee Williams's Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Richard Rodgers Theatre), and I feel extremely sad for them, since all their efforts have added up to nothing but a confused, noisy mess, which has less to do with Williams's play than any production of Cat I've ever seen. I feel saddest of all for Scarlett Johansson, who made a powerful and lasting impression a few years ago as Catherine in Arthur Miller's A View From the Bridge, and who still, I think, could prove effective as Maggie, Cat's heroine, if somebody would direct her in an actual production of the work."
Bea Arthur Nude Sells For Nearly $2 Million At Auction
Drama Desk Award Winners - MATILDA, VANYA AND SONIA, PIPPIN, VIRGINIA WOOLF & More!
Gyllenhaal, Pine in Talks to Join INTO THE WOODS Movie?
John Bantay Talks to Richard Jay-Alexander About Musical Mondays Farewell
BWW TV Exclusive: Prince, Lewis & More Remember Kevin Gray
BWW Interviews: ABC's Newest BACHELORETTE Desiree Hartsock
Seth MacFarlane Will Not Host 2014 OSCARS
Rooney Mara is the Face for New Calvin Klein Scent
BWW Reviews: LEGENDS At 30 Is Still Lots of Fun
iWatch Update: Apple Looking Into 1.5 OLED Screens?
BWW Blog: Leah Edwards - Practice. Perform. Repeat
BWW Reviews: John Cranko's ONEGIN at American Ballet Theatre
VIDEO: Must Watch - Mel Brooks AMERICAN MASTERS on PBS May 20!
joined:4/29/05
Posted: 1/18/13 at 01:59am