Broadway Features and Reviews
James Earl Jones Is Cat's Meow
By Molly Kordares, Broadway Magazine
James Earl Jones is onstage, fantasizing about a prostitute. He's playing the role of Big Daddy in the March 13 performance of Tennessee William's Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. It's hard to hear him though, because someone in the night's electric audience, unable to control himself, has loudly coughed out "Spitzer!" – New York's shamed governor who resigned that day because of a very real prostitute.
The unexpected shout causes the audience to burst into laughter so contagious that it even makes its way onstage. Terrence Howard, who plays Brick, is sitting with his back to Jones and shakes his head, allowing a small chuckle that gradually turns into irrepressible–but forgivable–laughter. After all, Cat is Howard's first experience on Broadway and the remark was quite funny.
Jones, however, never flinches. He doesn't miss a beat of his monologue, depriving himself of a rare, shared moment between audience and actor for the sake of something bigger: his character. Though Williams establishes very thin walls in Cat, Jones observes them all–including the fourth.
This doesn't come as a surprise for the Tony® award–winning actor (The Great White Hope, Fences) considering his extensive career as an entertainer–one that is only solidified by his show–stealing performance in Cat.
In fact, the only negative thing that can be said about Jones is that his performance is sometimes diluted by those alongside him. Unfortunately, for Cat, this seems to be the consensus among some reviewers, though that will hardly dissuade viewers from purchasing a ticket: Jones is worth the price of admission. With applause as thunderous as his voice, he swoops onto the stage and captivates the audience until the very end, spewing out curse words naturally, stammering believably and smoothing everything over with a Cheshire Cat-like grin.
Just like Big Daddy, Jones seems desperate to rise above the noise from the people that surround him. "I'll pay for your coffin," Big Daddy snaps to Brick, "I'll outlive you all!" And I can't help but think that Jones just might. If anyone in the play has nine lives, it's him.
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