Theater’s best and brightest unleash a black Cat on the Great White Way
By Michael A. Gonzales
Photography by Diego Uchitel
Styled by René Garza Being in an ensemble cast on Broadway is like being part of a big family. Sometimes they laugh, other times they scream, and there’s always the chance that somebody’s feelings might get hurt. However, after they have chuckled and wept during weeks of rehearsals, the collective hope is to generate enough kinfolk energy onstage to produce an artistic artifact that is bold, brilliant, and beautiful.
“It can get a little hot during rehearsals sometimes,” actress Anika Noni Rose says with a laugh, referring to the all-star cast sharing the stage in a revival of Tennessee Williams’s classic Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. The ensemble includes Terrence Howard (Brick); James Earl Jones (Big Daddy); Phylicia Rashad (Big Mama); and Rose as Maggie, the metaphorical Cat.
“Believe me, when actors of that caliber come together in one room, bushfires are constantly being lit,” says Rose. In a large rehearsal space four floors above bustling 42nd Street, the actress is being pampered by a glam squad, as are other cast members, in preparation for the UPTOWN photo shoot. Everyone, with the exception of Howard, who’s playing piano barefoot while clad in a sleek black suit, is getting either his or her hair or makeup done.
Cited by New York Times theater critic Ben Brantley as being “a welcome breeze of fresh life” in her Tony Award–winning role in Caroline, or Change, only to be overshadowed by costars Beyoncé and Jennifer Hudson two years later in Dreamgirls, the 35-year-old actress has chosen one of the richest roles in modern theater to spread her wings. “I’ve played a lot of kids, so now it’s my turn to play a woman,” Rose continues. “Maggie is passionate, and it is passion that drives her. The character is the full embodiment of womanhood.”
Yet, when print ads for the play began appearing late in 2007, more than a few urban tastemakers questioned whether Rose was the right one to tackle such a sweltering part. “I’ve lived a little bit now, and I’m ripe for this,” Rose explains. “Although I’ve done a lot of musicals, I was trained as a classical actress. Tennessee Williams wrote women who are a wonderful challenge to play. Often, Southern women are taught to suppress their emotions, but Maggie is expressive even when she is holding back.”
Certainly, her costar, 38-year-old Terrence Howard, couldn’t agree more. When asked why he chose to be on Broadway as opposed to shooting another film, the Academy Award nominee simply smiles and says, “Anika. Once she read, I knew I had witnessed a level of talent rarely seen.”
While there have been a few Broadway revivals of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof over the years (most recently in 2003 with Ashley Judd and Jason Patric), as well as a landmark film (nominated for six Academy Awards) in 1958 starring Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman, and Burl Ives, theater audiences have never seen an all-black cast play these characters on Broadway.
Director Debbie Allen is quick to point out that the angst and anger of Tennessee Williams’s characters are universal. “Cat resonated when I read it, because I knew those characters,” she says. Regal as royalty in her cleavage-revealing dress, the trademark multitasker has just finished meeting with her understudies. Her older sister and cast member, Phylicia Rashad, watches from across the room. “In my own family, we called our father Big Daddy,” Allen explains. “I’ve dealt with problems like a family member on drugs or the lies that we are content to bury. This play questions, ‘What is the truth?’ as the characters continue to live with their lies. That is something we can all relate to.” (For the full story, please see the spring 2008 travel issue)
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Now playing that prompted influential at the Broadhurst Theatre. 235 W. 44th St., New York, NY. For tickets, 800.432.7250 or cat2008onbroadway.com.
For a review of the play, click here.
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