Last Friday I was privileged to see the highly anticipated Broadway Production Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. The almost all star cast was brilliant. Phylicia Rashad, James Earl Jones, Anika Noni Rose, Giancarlo Esposito, Lou Myers, and the ever so talented Terrance Howard. Although T. Howard was not present the night I was there I hear he does very well. Instead a very FINE actor by the name Robert Christopher Riley took his place. This pleased me very much because I don't think T.Howard is attractive but of course my Mother was pissed! Oh well it was some very much appreciated eye candy.
I love theater so my opinion is heavily biased but also a tad tainted because I expect a lot from the actors. Watching James Earl Jones speak so coldly of women( because that's how men spoke in the 1960's) was strange. I couldn't get over the fact that the voice of Mufasa from the Lion King could be so rude! However I did get over it. My favorite was Anika Noni Rose. She played her character to a T! Speaking the black southern bourgeois accent in true perfection and I can say this because the first act was almost a complete monologue on her own. She did the best by far. And as for which actor stretched their acting abilities the farthest, that award goes to Phylicia Rashad. Mrs. Cosby herself played the role most unlike herself. She wasn't the brightest "Big Mama" ever heard of and certainly not respected much by her husband. She just wasn't the typical black mother of a family household but that's why you respected the play. It was another perspective of a very interesting family.
I love theater so my opinion is heavily biased but also a tad tainted because I expect a lot from the actors. Watching James Earl Jones speak so coldly of women( because that's how men spoke in the 1960's) was strange. I couldn't get over the fact that the voice of Mufasa from the Lion King could be so rude! However I did get over it. My favorite was Anika Noni Rose. She played her character to a T! Speaking the black southern bourgeois accent in true perfection and I can say this because the first act was almost a complete monologue on her own. She did the best by far. And as for which actor stretched their acting abilities the farthest, that award goes to Phylicia Rashad. Mrs. Cosby herself played the role most unlike herself. She wasn't the brightest "Big Mama" ever heard of and certainly not respected much by her husband. She just wasn't the typical black mother of a family household but that's why you respected the play. It was another perspective of a very interesting family.
I love the banter between Brick (Terrarnce Howard character) and his wife. WOW Brick (The understudy) was amazing!!! Especially in his first scene when he wore his robe open and showed his washboard abs! The whole place went hysterical. It was truly a magical moment...unfortunately he kept it close the rest of the show, which was probably appropriate.
All in all it was a great show and I recommend it greatly. It didn't have the shock value that today's generations is used to. I kept waiting for someone to get shot/hit/ cursed out ANYTHING! but it was your typical 1960's film where the drama lay in the unknown. Where rumors are enough to ruin relationships and family is the most important thing a man could have.
~BabyD
All in all it was a great show and I recommend it greatly. It didn't have the shock value that today's generations is used to. I kept waiting for someone to get shot/hit/ cursed out ANYTHING! but it was your typical 1960's film where the drama lay in the unknown. Where rumors are enough to ruin relationships and family is the most important thing a man could have.
~BabyD
2 comments:
was d. allen's son there?
He wasn't visible to the naked eye but I'm pretty sure I felt his presence LOL
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