A "Dead" Cat + Tristan und Albee

Do you hear that loud screeching coming from over from the Broadhurst Theatre on 44th Street? That's the sound of a "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" being skinned alive. You don't hear any screeching you say? Well, maybe the being skinned on stage was dead on arrival, and that was just the sound of the audience snoring. Tennessee Williams may be a brilliant playwright, and "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" may be a brilliant play, but it's awfully hard to tell either of those things after sitting for three hours watching the current Broadway revival. The one saving grace of the production is Anika Noni Rose - and even she is merely very good, though not great, her performance probably only being memorable because of the mediocrity that surrounds her. And what a sad thing it is to see actors like James Earl Jones and Phylicia Rashad turn in such disappointing performances. Terrence Howard, the production's Brick, who is adequate but really just lacks that special spark (much like Jason Patric did in the last revival), I suppose we can forgive since he is making his Broadway debut. Phylicia Rashad, who was so wonderful two years in a row with "Raisin in the Sun" and then "Gem of the Ocean," just turns in a very ordinary performance as Big Mamma. She's not horrible (certainly not reaching the low of her performance in "Cymbeline"), but there's certainly nothing special going on there that any other actress could not equal if not surpass. James Earl Jones, however, has to be the biggest let down of the evening. First of all, though they refer to the fact that Big Daddy is celebrating his 65th birthday, Jones looks and acts more like he's celebrating his 85th. He mumbled or rushed through at least 1/3 of his lines, to the point where I would only get a general idea of what he was saying, because some things were simply impossible to understand. With the dim performances from Jones and Howard, I'm sure you can imagine that how the second act, which consists mostly of Big Daddy and Brick talking by themselves, was an seemingly interminable bore. As for the physical production, the set is pretty bland and cheap looking, and the lighting was surprisingly poor. I think audiences generally don't really notice lighting design, especially in plays where it's just supposed to look very natural. So I think the design here makes one appreciate how challenging it is to do really subtle designs, especially since the design here is so poor - with transitions happening far too abruptly. And don't get me started on how every time there was a big important speech, the stage would get very dark except for a spotlight on the actor reciting the monologue. This was probably more director Debbie Allen's fault than the lighting designer's (have either ever heard of something called subtlety?), but nonetheless it was extremely irritating. Also irritating, and rather confusing was what the purpose of a having a random guy playing a saxophone walk on stage and play a little live music as each act started. According to the Playbill, the sax music was all composed by Tex Allen (aka brother of Phylicia and Debbie), so I guess they figured if they had two siblings involved, why not randomly throw in the third so he wouldn't be left out? Very bizarre. I had other issues, like how some important scenes were played too much for comedy, to the play's detriment, but honestly, there's so much wrong here, that I don't really see the point in going on any further. This is the sort of wrongheaded production I would expect to see from the Roundabout - you know, great sounding cast (on paper), great classic play, and mysteriously inept production. This was probably the most disappointing play so far this season, just because it sounded so interesting... in theory.

While I'm on the subject of "entertainment" that is both very slow and very long, I went to see the screening of the La Scala production of "Tristan und Isolde" yesterday and Symphony Space. Four hours and forty five minutes (with two intermissions), that probably could have been far more interesting had it been half the length. I will say that I stayed to the bitter end, and to Wagner's credit he does save the best for the last - the "Liebestod" (the final, deservedly famous aria) was spectacular and I do think it is ever so much more exciting to watch after having sat there bored for so long. I was going to say that aria is like a drink of water after a long trek through the desert, but that seems a little too obvious a metaphor, so I'm going to go with the taste of food that you break fast with after Yom Kippur. Okay, there are a couple of interesting nuggets along the way, but nothing compares to the final overwhelming thrill of that last aria that just made me forget how bored I had been, as I sat for those few minutes totally enraptured. I'm seeing the Met's production (featuring Deborah Voigt, Ben Heppner, and interesting enough the same Brangane as the La Scala production, Michelle DeYoung, who was a highlight of the film), so maybe I'll get more out of it after hearing the score a second time, or from seeing it live (or both).

Oh, Saturday I went to see "Me, Myself & I" (the new Albee play) at the McCarter, and let me say it was a hoot. Definitely typical Albee, but just really funny - and I never had a chance to be bored because I never knew what was going to happen next. The basic premise is that there are two identical twins, named OTTO and otto, and OTTO decides he doesn't want to be a twin anymore (and that he's going to become Chinese). Very silly stuff, but really entertaining. It's supposed to come to New York in the fall, and I for one am anxiously awaiting the chance to see it again.

I'm sure I've seen other stuff that I've forgotten about, but those are my recent theatrical highlights (or is it lowlights), anyway.