SYNOPSIS
Review
A terrific all blackperform this multi-award winning Broadway transfer of Tennessee Williams' Pulitzer prize winning play must be considered a highlight in any playgoers year.
Updated to the 1980's and in the bedroom of a huge plantation in the American deep south Cat on a Hot Tin Roof takes....
Bruce
After wowing audiences on Broadway, the Tennessee Williams classic “Cat On A Hot Tin Roof” makes its way to London’s West End with stars James Earl Jones and Phylicia Rashad and director Debbie Allen all in tow. The show will be at the Novello Theatre from late 2009 and also stars Sanaa Lathan and Adrian Lester.
James Earl Jones plays Big Daddy Pollitt – the father to Brick Pollit (Adrian Lester), father in law to Brick’s wife Maggie “The Cat” (Lathan) and husband to Big Mama Pollitt (Rashad). The family are assembled at the Pollitt home in the southern state of Mississippi, all celebrating the Big Daddy’s birthday. However, along with the family doctor, they are all keeping a secret from the big man and that is he is dying from cancer, making this occasion the celebration of his final birthday. The story is a Pulitzer Prize winning classic and also focuses on the unhappy marriage between the characters of Brick and Maggie.
When the show was housed on Broadway it was a big event, with a stellar cast and with the approval of Tennessee Williams’ estate, who paved the way for a production with an all African American cast. This is repeated on this side of the Atlantic and promises to feature a wealth of young British talent, as well as British actor Adrian Lester, who lands the role of Brick after appearing in the television shows “Hustle” and “Bonekickers”, as well as movies like “The Day After Tomorrow”.
Meanwhile, James Earl Jones will repeat his performance from stateside, taking on the role of Big Daddy following many theatre credits including his Tony Award winning performance in 1969’s “The Great White Hope”, as well as his performances in 1987’s “Fences” and more recently “Of Mice And Men” and “The Iceman Cometh”. His he best known for his signature voice, which was exploited for the voice of Darth Vader in the Star Wars films, as well as King Mufasa in “The Lion King”. However, he has also appeared in front of the camera in movies such as “Field of Dreams” and “The Hunt For Red October”.
Both Lester and Jones star alongside Sanaa Lathan as Maggie, who has been seen in the television series “Nip/Tuck” and the movies “Out Of Time” and “Alien vs. Predator”. Big Mama’s Rashad is well known for appearing in “The Cosby Show”.
“Cat On A Hot Tin Roof” is at the Novello Theatre from Tuesday 1st December 2009 (previews from Sunday 22nd November 2009) to Saturday 10th April 2010.
Reviews
A terrific all blackperform this multi-award winning Broadway transfer of Tennessee Williams' Pulitzer prize winning play must be considered a highlight in any playgoers year.
Updated to the 1980's and in the bedroom of a huge plantation in the American deep south Cat on a Hot Tin Roof takes place on the 65th birthday of father and plantation owner Big Daddy Academy Award Nominee & two time Tony award winner James Earl Jones who makes his West End debut who has just received news that his cancer is apparently in remission. His alcoholic former football star son Brick Olivier Award winner Adrian Lester has his leg in plaster and is room bound having broken his ankle the night before and is trying to fend of the sexual advances of his adoring sexually charged wife Maggie Tony Award Nominee Sanaa Lathan while being harassed by mother hen Big Mama Tony Award winner Phylicia Rashad about joining the birthday party. What follows is an emotional deconstruction of the family's problems as Big Daddy confronts Brick about his drinking problems as well as facing up to his own mortality.
Debbie Allen's production delivers a play that will live long in the memory with outstanding performances especially from James Earl Jones that deliver the savage humor and heartache that Tennessee Williams is so well know for. It is a brilliant exploration of strained family relationships. James Earl Jones is delivers a powerhouse performance as Big Daddy. It is such a thrill to see this brilliant actor on a London stage. He is brilliantly complimented by Phylicia Rashad who portrays his bubbly long suffering loving wife. Adrian Lester is magnetic their son Brick he is a brooding presence drinking to escape facing his inner demons and life in general. Sanaa Lathan is beautiful and seductive as his wife Maggie who longs for her husband to return to being man he was when they first married and to eliminate the possibility of returning to the poverty of her youth by securing inheritance for herself and Brick from Big Daddy's soon to be written will. The ting of a sticky hot decadent deep south plantation beautifully realised in the design by Morgan Large which resemble a cage trapping the characters with each other at different points of the play.
This emotionally charged drama dealing with the individuals conflicts between lies and the truth makes for a compelling night of theatre. A must see.
Bruce
