A Steamy Southern Night, Minus the Heat

Review:  Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

This latest Cat answers the age-old question, "What kind of man wouldn't want to sleep with Scarlett Johansson?"

 

As the curtain rises on the latest Broadway revival of Tennessee Williams’ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, you are immediately struck by two things:  the gorgeousness of Christopher Oram’s sprawling set, and the insignificance of star Scarlett Johansson in comparison to it.  Despite a valiant attempt to fill the cavernous Richard Rodgers Theatre, Johansson and her fellow actors never succeed in making their presence truly felt, resulting in an occasionally engaging but ultimately unsatisfactory production of this great American drama.

Set on the Pollitt family plantation in mid-century Mississippi, the drama’s primary conflict arises from the question of who will inherit the estate should family patriarch Big Daddy (Ciaran Hinds) lose his fight with cancer.  Big Daddy’s favorite son, Brick (Benjamin Walker), has developed quite the drinking problem since the death of his best friend Skipper, leading everyone to question his ability to run the massive estate.  Brick is also childless, a major sticking point between him and his dissatisfied beauty of a wife, Maggie (Johansson), who has her own opinions about what has prompted her husband’s sudden dependence on alcohol.

Williams’ script is a multilayered marvel of subtext and shades of gray, but the play’s delicate mood wasn’t designed to fill a theatre as large as the Richard Rodgers.  The producers really should have tried harder to secure a more suitable venue for this oft-performed classic (this production is the third time Cat has played Broadway in the past decade), and their choice of director seems equally misinformed.  A background in musical theatre has left Rob Ashford ill-equipped to guide his actors towards the sort of nuanced performances necessary to make such a familiar work feel fresh, and everything in this production seems oversimplified.  Ashford’s direction leaves no room for interpretation or debate, with even the big revelations being so blatantly obvious from the get-go that the characters seem inexcusably stupid for not recognizing them sooner.  There aren’t even any pretty stage pictures to look at, as Ashford’s collection of unmotivated crosses and forced stage business fails to result in even halfway innovative visuals.

The director’s shortcomings are particularly disappointing given that most of his cast is both talented and well-suited to their roles.  Johansson, whose Tony-winning work in A View from the Bridge remains one of the strongest Broadway debuts of the new millennium, possesses both the inner strength and effortless sexuality to make for a captivating Maggie.  But her normally luminous presence is curiously dialed back here, and her performance isn’t as fleshed-out and varied as it should be.  Johansson is by no means bad, but she also isn’t the triumph one would hope for, and you cannot help but think that a better director could have guided her towards a more effective performance.

As Brick, Tony-nominee Walker fares better, although his performance suffers from Ashford’s bluntness.  Brick’s possible repressed homosexual feelings towards Skipper, one of the key sources of conflict in the narrative, are now blindingly apparent to everyone.  Rather than slowly realizing the extent of his feelings over the course of the evening, this Brick seems fully aware of what’s going on from the outset, robbing one of the play’s main characters of his emotional journey. 

Among the rest of the cast, Hinds has an appropriate amount of Southern bluster as Big Daddy, and his extended scene with Walker in the second act is the closest this Cat gets to realizing the potential of Williams’ writing.  Debra Monk’s Big Mama is more overtly comedic than necessary, and the veteran actress’ performance has a tendency to drift towards shrillness.  Michael Park and Emily Bergl do serviceable work in the thankless roles of Brick’s brother Gooper and his sister-in-law Mae, although the pair is never quite as funny or loathsome as the characters really should be.

It is somewhat ironic that the show’s physical production displays a subtlety and attention to detail conspicuously absent from the acting.  Oram’s lovingly crafted bedroom set gives a full indication of the opulence of the rest of the plantation, and the costumes by Julie Weiss are suitably refined.  Neil Austin’s lighting quite handsomely highlights both the actors and the set, and his slight shifts in color and intensity provide more nuance to the action than many of the performances.  Sound designer Adam Cork has put a stunning amount of effort into creating realistic ambient noise, with the volume level rising and falling appropriately whenever a door is opened or closed (which is quite often).

There is enough that works about this Cat that it cannot be written off as a complete disaster, and any production that gives deserving thespians like Johansson and Walker the chance to display their craft is certainly welcome.  But thanks to a misguided venue choice and uninspired direction by Ashford, this revival never takes flight the way it could, making its existence difficult to justify.  The controversial all-black staging from a few years back ultimately did a better job of servicing the play than this misfire, which may be the most damning critique possible of a work so strongly tied to its pre-Civil Rights Southern milieu.

Tony Watch: Assessing the 2011-2012 Broadway Season Part 5

Broadway's Newsies prepared to karate kick the competition, thus ensuring it's place as King of New York

With only one week left before Tony nominations come out, we have to move right along with our assessment of this season’s shows.  First up:

Newsies

Disney claims that it never intended to bring Newsies to Broadway, and that they are just blown away by the support their show has received.  I think that’s bullshit, and is part of their clever plan to position the show as this season’s Tony underdog when it is actually the odds-on favorite. 

After all, the show has all the hallmarks of a Best Musical winner (a category it will assuredly be nominated in).  It’s an old-fashioned song and dance spectacle with just enough depth to keep adults engaged while omitting anything truly challenging or unpleasant, making it perfect family fare.  The Tony voters who are also producers of regional touring houses – a sizeable contingent of the total voting body – will want to capitalize on this appeal by awarding the show with as many statuettes as possible, allowing them to advertise the eventual tour as the “Tony-winning Broadway musical” and ensuring that it makes them a boatload of money.

If Once is this year’s Critics’ Darling, Newsies is the clear Commercial Success, which more often than not wins the big awards.  And while Newsies is in no way groundbreaking, it is constructed with enough competence to net Best Book and Best Score nominations among this year’s weak crop of new shows.  Christopher Gattelli’s athletic choreography, the production’s highlight, will surely be nominated and heavily featured during the show’s Tony telecast performance.  Another likely nominee is Tobin Ost’s for his multi-tiered set, inventively configured into an endless array of interconnected platforms and stairways over the course of the show.

The acting categories will be tougher for Newsies to crack, with one notable exception, whose name is Jeremy Jordan.  As newsboy Jack Kelly, Jordan is delivering a star-making turn that definitely land the gifted young performer a Best Actor nomination.  His onstage love interest, Kara Lindsay, would be wise to take a page from Nikki M. James’ book and submit herself in the supporting category, allowing her to avoid directly competing with Tony favorites like Audra McDonald and Kelli O’Hara.  If she does go the supporting route, her charming work should be enough to net this Broadway newcomer a Best Actress nomination, further strengthening the show’s real life Cinderella narrative.

The Best Man

This show’s Tony prospects are difficult to pin down.  Although many reviewers admitted the play’s subject matter remains topical, the consensus seems to be that we didn’t really need another revival of this work having just seen a production back in 2000.  In a crowded year for plays, that could be enough to knock the show out of the Best Revival race.

On the other hand, most critics jumped at the chance to see so many theatrical tyrants in one place, regardless of the quality of the material.  Any opportunity to see greats like Angela Lansbury and James Earl Jones practice their craft is cause for celebration, and the excitement of having them back onstage could lift the show into contention for the big prize.  Lansbury and Jones, both of whom have multiple Tonys to their name, will surely be nominated again in the Supporting categories.  And in such a busy season, two high profile nominations is nothing to be ashamed of.

End of the Rainbow

By all accounts, this play about the final months of Judy Garland’s life is nothing special, at least from a scripting standpoint.  Despite the Tonys’ love for all things British (this production comes straight from the West End), I think that disappointment is enough to keep End of the Rainbow out of the Best Play or Direction categories.  But from the time it was announced, this show has clearly existed only to highlight the extraordinary talents of star Tracie Bennett, who has generated the kind of raves most actors only dream about.  An assured Best Actress nominee, I think Bennett and her producers will be just fine with their single nomination.

Evita

Broadway was clearly ready for the return of Eva Peron.  Evita is currently doing stellar business at the Marquis Theatre, routinely landing among the top grossing Broadway shows alongside established mega-hits like Wicked and The Book of Mormon.  Critical reaction to the show proved mixed, although there were generally more positives than negatives, with Evita being deemed one of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s better works.  That should be enough, when combined with the show’s clear commercial potential, to earn it one of the coveted Best Musical Revival slots.

Leading lady Elena Roger is an awards conundrum.  Before the show opened, she seemed like a shoe-in for a Best Actress nomination; her performance was critically heralded in London, and Eva is certainly the kind of role that earns you awards consideration.  Unfortunately, Roger really isn’t up to the vocal demands of the role (more than one reviewer compared her singing unfavorably to Patti LuPone’s iconic belting), although she does have some lovely character moments.  I’m not ready to give Roger’s Best Actress nomination to someone else, although if her name isn’t among those called next Tuesday I won’t be terribly surprised.

Michael Grandage deserves a Best Director nomination for his expert staging of the piece, which unlike Roger did manage to avoid comparisons to the Broadway original.  And choreographer Rob Ashford has been nominated for much worse work than his work here, and a Best Choreography nod would be an excellent way to recognize its strengths.  Given the amount of money spent on this revival, the Sets, Lights, and Costumes are all viable contenders for nomination slots as well, as expensive physical productions always do well in those categories.  And finally, the always reliable Michael Cerveris will hopefully be rewarded with a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his excellent portrayal of Juan Peron, a role that would be utterly forgettable in a lesser actor’s hands.

Be sure to check back throughout the rest of this week for more Tony talk, and then again after May 1^st to hear my reaction to the big day.

For more a look at the other shows that opened this season and where they stand in the Tony rankings, check out these past articles.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Just a Little Touch of Star Quality

Review: Evita

Elena Roger and the company perform "Buenos Aires"

There is something refreshingly old school about the current Broadway revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Evita.  While the physical production is lavish and clearly expensive, it doesn’t rely on technological wizardry the way so many shows do these days, instead letting sheer scale provide the show’s “wow” factor.  And while one particular voice is clearly straining under the demands of Webber’s through-composed work, for the most part this Evita is thrillingly sung by traditional Broadway voices, which provides a welcome change from the American Idol wannabes that populate far too many shows these days.

Now, before going any further, I have a confession to make: I have never seen Evita, not even the relatively recent film version featuring Madonna.  As someone viewing the show with fresh eyes, I could not help but notice some of the flaws in its writing, which at this point are pretty much set in stone but worth mentioning anyway.  As in most of his shows, Webber has taken an interesting set of characters and vastly underwritten them, forcing the performers to supply most of the nuance and inner logic needed to carry a show.  There are also some truly atrocious lyrics by Tim Rice, and the pair really should have contracted a librettist to help them flesh out the story in a more coherent fashion.

All of that aside, the story of Eva Peron’s rise to power as Argentina’s First Lady, where she was simultaneously loved and hated by vast segments of the population, makes for fascinating theatre.  The score is also one of Webber’s strongest, being cleverer about recycling melodic themes and less reliant on sappy pop ballads than his later works.  And I’m happy to say that the current revival, based on the recent West End production helmed by Michael Grandage, is a deftly handled rendition of this touchstone of the musical theatre.

The original Evita launched the careers of both Elaine Page and Patti LuPone, leaving any actress tackling the role of Eva Peron with enormous shoes to fill.  Argentine actress Elena Roger, reprising her work from London’s West End, doesn’t wholly succeed in filling them, despite having some truly stunning moments over the course of the evening.  In what is surely a change from the aforementioned leading ladies, Roger is actually at her best during the show’s more intimate moments; her scenes with Michael Cerveris’ Juan Peron are absolutely lovely, revealing a tender vulnerability behind Eva’s fiery exterior.

Unfortunately, Roger doesn’t always convincingly display said exterior, and her interpretation of the role lacks the outsized diva moments that have come to define both the role and the show.  It has to be said that her voice isn’t up to the demands of the score, although any woman will tell you that Webber has written one of the most vocally taxing roles in the musical theatre cannon.  The high, sustained belting proves troublesome for Roger, who sometimes nails it (“A New Argentina”) and sometimes can’t quite reach the money notes (“Buenos Aires”).  She also has trouble summoning the almost supernatural passion the role requires, since as written Eva is truly larger than life.  But Roger is clearly a talent to be reckoned with, and in a role more suited to her voice would be nigh unstoppable.

Another key cast member who doesn’t quite live up to his Broadway predecessor is Ricky Martin as Che, the role which won the incomparable Mandy Patinkin a Tony Award back in 1980.  Like Roger, Martin is perfectly fine in his own right.  He sings beautifully, is always convincing and committed to his role, and his supermodel good looks certainly don’t hurt.  But anyone who has seen Patinkin perform “Oh What a Circus” knows what the song and the role could be, and unfair comparison or not Martin doesn’t meet that high standard.

The rest of the principal cast all offers fine work.  Tony winner Michael Cerveris is very good as Peron, to the point where you wish the character wasn’t so direly underdeveloped.  Max von Essen does fine work as Magaldi, “the first man to be of use to Eva Peron,” and relative newcomer Rachel Potter is divine as the Peron’s jilted Mistress.

It is impossible to overstate the contributions director Michael Grandage, recreating his work from the London production, has made to this revival  His effortless juggling of actors and set pieces has created a work so fluid that it flies by, and his direction brings a much needed clarity to the work that is not always supplied by the writing.  Grandage’s partner in crime is choreographer Rob Ashford, who has created some truly stunning dance sequences, most notable during “Buenos Aires.”  Ashford reuses some tango steps a few times too many, but this is easily the most restrained and inventive work he has created for a Broadway stage in years.

This Evita isn’t going to erase memories of the original or its Tony winning stars, but it is a first rate production for a new generation of musical theatre aficionados.  The strong cast and even stronger direction combine with one of Lloyd Webber’s better (though still flawed) works to produce an excellent night in the theatre.  The show is already shaping up to be one of the “event” shows of the spring, and those curious to see what all the fuss is about will find plenty to love.