Honest question question for the people who saw her in A View From the Bridge, did you go easy on her in her debut (because you like her, because she's a name, because at least she was taking a risk & maybe she'd grow from it, etc) or did you really find her performance in Bridge to be compelling?
"The gods who nurse this universe think little of mortals' cares. They sit in crowds on exclusive clouds and laugh at our love affairs. I might have had a real romance if they'd given me a chance. I loved him, but he didn't love me. I wanted him, but he didn't want me. Then the gods had a spree and indulged in another whim. Now he loves me, but I don't love him." - Cole Porter
She really was that good. Her Tony and slew of raves were well-deserved. The entire production was practically flawless, actually, with Schreiber giving (IMO) the best performance of his career.
I think she's less well-cast as Maggie than she was a Catherine, but I'd be willing to give her the benefit of the doubt because her performance in BRIDGE was that compelling.
"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe."
-John Guare, Landscape of the Body
I do like the casting, but between the fact that there have been a number of mediocre Cat revivals recently, and Rob Ashford is directing it (will he update it to the 60s just so he can have a chorus of his favorite 60s style jazz dancers come in to add "depth"?), I still wish they were bringing in Sweet Bird of Youth instead--which hasn't been done since the 70s, I believe.
Eric, Rob Ashford has directed a couple of very well received revivals of classic American plays in London - his Anna Christie won Best Revival at the Oliviers this year, and Rachel Weisz won Best Actress for Streetcar the year before that.
I didn't get to see either of them, and I know you're being amusing, but I wouldn't necessarily dismiss him straight away.
Fair enough--and thanks for pointing that out. Honestly, I only really know his musical theatre work, which seems to be getting increasingly mediocre and samey (I suppose it doesn't help that he recently did two 1960s shows). I remember reading good things about that Streetcar, but didn't remember his name...
Maggie is an infinitely more complex and central character in CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF than Catherine is in A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE. But she was strong in BRIDGE, so I hope she can impress with this production as well. That mounting of A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE remains one of my favorite theater-going experiences and Schreiber's performance ranks high on my list of best stage performances I've witnessed. It was electric. He and the production should have won the Tony that year over the overrated production of FENCES and Denzel's good but unimpressive portrayal. I don't think I'll ever understand the hoopla around that production, save for Viola Davis' devastatingly brilliant performance.
I agree that the entire A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE revival was incredibly special, you could just feel it as you were watching it, and the entire ensemble was top notch. Johansson was wonderful, there was nothing "movie star"-ish about her performance, and she fit the ensemble so well, at no point did you feel you were watching a celebrity try to do Broadway. I think she definitely has it in her to play Maggie.
"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"
As a huge fan of Tennessee Williams, I don't approve! I find Scarlett incredibly boring and have never really understoo the hype! She's no Elizabeth Taylor and I feel she lacks the death and stylistically isn't right for this part. The orginal maggie was a dirty blonde, relax, I know that! I mean I don't think she has the style needed to be in the world of that play and is far too modern and lazy as an actress to pull this off. I wish Broadway would get this character right in one of these revivals!
Watch Bryce Dallas Howard in The Loss of the Teardrop Diamond to fully understand my point about style, I feel I was inarticulate. I just don't feel she can transport me to The Pollitt Plantation. We shall see I guess.