Cat on a Black Tin Roof

Yes, that's right I went there. Today I saw Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. This was the first New York Production that was an all black cast. James Earl Jones, Phylicia Rashad, Anika Noni Rose and Terrance Howard all headlined this one.

Cat has never been my favorite 10 play. I'm more partial to The Night of the Iguana, which I'll be seeing in two weeks. Yet, that rarely gets a revival, meanwhile Cat gets a revival every couple of years (it seems). After today I understand why. TW wrote a brilliant, utterly brilliant play. The speech just flows to you and you are enraptured by it. Maggie's end of Act I speech is hypnotizing! The scene where Brick tries to hit Maggie is frightening but hilarious. Anytime Big Daddy is on stage you feel in Awe! With that said it doesn't mean the acting was on par with what I hoped for. Overall it was an interesting production, but the audience was what got me.

Anika was sensational as Maggie. And I'm not saying this cause I'm a gushing gay man. She was genuinely amazing. Her first Act tirades were well received by my ears. She's such a beautiful woman too and when she was in her slip my cheeks grew red.

James Earl Jones was demanding and powerful. He played Big Daddy as if the show was always written for him. He did make some acting choices that were fascinating. I wasn't sure they were choices, but I figured probably. He would squat at times and it just worked.

Terrance Howard was drunker than I expected. A little disappointing.

Phylicia was...well she was chewing the scenery as she's always done. She was good though. Watching this with an all black cast I realized how well it worked. I loved that they used the uncensored script, but some people disagree. If they only knew what replaced those words. Ducking? I ask you.

Now the audiences I'll say right off were primarily African-American. It's always an enlivening experience to go to the theater with a majority being black. When I saw the Color Purple, I may as well have been in a southern baptist church. Today's audience was that way, but what's sad is that many didn't know that this play it's a farcical comedy.

Oh and boy do I admit, Debbie Allen's directorial choices were to blame. The third act I think was a farce, people were coming and going. Comedy all around! So I can't tell if it was the audience who was looking for humor or it was the way it was directed. But they laughed at EVERYTHING.

"Are you calling me a queer?" Brick asks. They laugh.

"Big Daddy has cancer!" They laugh when Phylicia does something funny in her hysterics.

"I love you Brick." Maggie says to which Brick responds drunkenly, "If only I could believe you." The biggest laugh in the show.

In case you're unaware these are some of the most upsetting parts in the play. Did Debbie Allen search for the comedy (it's from doing all those Oscar shows) because she believed that Black people can't sit through a serious play? I mean there are some deep and tragic issues addressed in this show and while it's okay to laugh in the first act. Act II and III are not half as funny. Yet the laughter continued.

Confusing. Does thinking about this make a racist?