Theater Review - Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Written by Tennessee Williams

Directed by Rob Ashford

Where: Richard Rodgers Theatre, New York City, NY

When: Wednesday, January 16, 8pm

***It should be noted that this presentation of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof was the show's last preview performance before opening night on Thursday, January 17.  Seeing as how this very show very possibly was the one that many reviewers attend prior to crafting their critiques which are released on opening night, the show was essentially "locked" and set in place.***

There were a lot of reasons I should've liked Broadway's newest production of Tennessee Williams' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.  Nearly three years ago, I saw Scarlett Johansson in her Tony Award-winning turn in A View from the Bridge and was incredibly impressed with her performance.  Then, two years ago, I had my first experience with a staged production of a Williams work with the University of Delaware Resident Ensemble Players' fantastic take on The Glass Menagerie which, to this date, had one of the most amazing finales of anything I've ever seen before (and since).  And about eighteen months ago, I watched the film version of this very play and I found it enjoyable with a sultry and sexy performance by Elizabeth Taylor.  All of those reasons explain why I should have liked Rob Ashford's production of this oft-performed Williams play (this is the third time it's graced the Great White Way in the past decade).  Unfortunately, I found it a flawed presentation with more than a few issues across all aspects of the production.

Let's start with the character of Maggie portrayed here by Johansson.  Maggie is married to Brick (played here by Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter's Benjamin Walker), but neither of them are happily in love and most of that stems from the fact that Brick is trapped in the past.  His longtime best friend Skipper has died and Brick has turned to alcohol to deal with his passing.  The whole situation isn't all that simple -- there are homosexual undertones (and some blatant overtones) that create some confusion -- but Maggie doesn't help matters here.  I'm not quite sure who's to blame (the director or the actress), but Ms. Johansson's Maggie is a shrill Southern belle.  After she bursts onto the stage at the play's opening with her breathlessly husky voice, rather than exude smoldering sex appeal (although the gorgeous Johansson does that anyway as she wanders around in a slip for most of Act I) Maggie is presented as a shrew I couldn't believe Brick could ever love -- and maybe he never did love her, but I think I'm supposed to believe he could have if he so desired.  She's a cat -- on a hot tin roof -- and the slinkiness associated with the feline members of the animal kingdom isn't present at all.  Maggie here is a completely unlikeable character -- and since there's been a decision to tone down the sultriness of Liz Taylor's take on the character in the movie (which, admittedly, is my only exposure to this character), you can't even get behind the concept of Maggie as a minx-type figure who won people over due to sex appeal.  Although there's some redemption for Johansson and her character in Act III, she's pretty much simply playing things with one overly strong and forceful note with very few changes in tone.

While I may have problems with Johansson's and the director's choices for Maggie, I had even bigger issues with Benjamin Walker as Brick.  While looking over my review of the film version, I commented that the character of Brick a one-note crotchety grump and I wondered how the role would play in someone else's hands.  Well, Walker's Brick makes Newman's look like Olivier's Hamlet.  There was zero stage presence emanating from Walker and while I admit that may have something to do with pitting him up onstage against the stunning Johansson, I just didn't find the guy remotely interesting.  Granted, he has very little to do in Act I, but as the next two acts unfold and the play becomes much more about Brick than Maggie, Walker still failed to reel me in and it's in those moments during which the audience begins to see the reasons Brick's life has spiraled so precipitously downward that should have registered most strongly.  It doesn't help at all that there is zero chemistry between the two leads, further complicating the fact that I have no idea what exactly the relationship between Maggie and Brick is supposed to be.  

Anyone familiar with the play or movie is well aware that the characters of Big Daddy and Big Momma are the histrionic epitome of mid-twentieth century rich Southern folk, but here they achieve mixed results.  Debra Monk comes off the best of any actor in the production with her Big Momma having the only moving moment of the night in Act III when she is forced to face the truth about her husband and his deteriorating health.  Ciarán Hinds' Big Daddy, however, has less success.  While there's certainly a caricaturish-type quality that comes along with the character, Hinds simply takes that to mean "bombastic" as he yells most of his lines...and anything that wasn't screamed was nearly incomprehensible thanks to a sound system that didn't really do any of the actors any favors.  

[It certainly doesn't aid things that the Richard Rodgers theater is fairly massive.  When I walked into the theater I was shocked that a play was being performed here.  Although the set design was rather striking, I couldn't help but think that this may have worked a little bit better on a smaller stage (although with this production, I'm not quite sure anything would've helped things).]

In Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Brick has a brother named Gooper (played here by Michael Park) who is married to Mae (Emily Bergl).  Together they have five children with a sixth on the way and they are supposed to be despised by Big Daddy and Brick because of their money-grubbing tendencies.  You know this play's in the weeds when Gooper and Mae are your most sympathetic characters whom you're hoping win their battle against Maggie and Brick in getting Big Daddy's estate in his will.  Brick is the "Chosen One" of the two brothers, but in this production, I found myself rooting for Gooper to become loved by Big Daddy and was not ever given a clear idea as to why Big Daddy would fawn over Brick rather than Gooper.  To me, this is indicative of this production's issues and the failure of director Rob Ashford.  I recognize that Maggie and Brick are maybe not supposed to be the most likable of characters, but I think there has to be a desire to see Maggie sway Brick off the bottle and into her arms, as well as for Brick to overcome his addictions and forgive himself for the way he treated his deceased friend Skipper in their final days.  Unfortunately, the audience finds itself having no vested interest in these characters which causes the whole production to just sink under the weight of Tennessee Williams' melodrama.