Now, Bellini attended the play with a blank slate meaning I have never read any of Tennessee Williams' material (playwright behind Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Glass Menagerie, and A Streetcar Named Desire). So, it was very liberating for me to attend the play and draw my own conclusions and figure it out by myself. For those who haven’t seen the play – it is a tragedy. But the way black folks were carrying on – you couldn’t’ tell (now granted I chuckled here and there but damn). We're just laughing and carrying on while there is an important discourse being said and an additional revelation about the characters being illustrated. You folks are gonna make me adhere to Field Negro’s 12% rule.
Every day since I’ve seen the play, my mind drifts to the characters – I think about Brick (played by Terrence Howard and will intermittently be played by Boris Kodjoe [Showtime series Soulfood] ~3 weeks) and how he is still a manifestation of many black men who can’t just be due to family’s expectations, society’s dictations, and the specter of hypocrisy. And so they live a lie or become an enigma which is just as dreadful. And ladies, what if you married to such a man?
And you do everything your mama, grandmamas, aunties, cousins, and sistafrieds told you about keeping your marriage intact, making sure he’s happy, and keeping that figure tight and doin’ right?
What do you do?
It’s heavy ain’t it? So ain’t shit funny.
I mean Maggie “Cat” played by Anika had my ass thinking and still does to this day. Anika Noni Rose worked it – she is one not to be slept on – she has been added to my list of people I have to support just be’cuz their extraordinary talent demands it. And now 36 hours after the show, I can’t relive the soliloquy, mull over her words, inflections, or articulation of speech. That’s the thing about Broadway, I can’t rewind the DVD or pay transportation costs to get back to Manhattan nor the ticket price again [~100/pop]. On Broadway the show must go on and it did.
Now, I won’t ruin it for folks who have yet to see it. But, what I will share with you all is that this drama conceived in the (1950’s) and the original movie featured Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman, etc. what do you notice -an all white cast. Moreover, if you know a thing a two about Tennessee Williams then it is not farfetched to believe the play is semi-autobiographical.
To know that in 2008 we can take movies that were not intended for black folks and mold it to our own kudos to Debbie Allen (director of play). Unlike my critique – earn your keep, vol i.—for the television debut of Raisin in the Sun, Allen stayed true to the original spirit of the play and retained the significance of presenting a play set 5 decades ago. And all these subtleties make a difference when you evaluate art. One thing Allen was skilled in doing was preserving the flavor of the original script and yet still making it relevant – although I haven’t seen or read the originals it was evident that Allen kept the setting intact. I received some criticism about my impression of Raisin, but I think people were stuck on the original performance by Sidney Poitier and the novel; when you insert a Diddy (definitely not a seasoned actor, but he wasn’t halfbad either) there is a different flavor brought to the art form. Not so for the Cat. And that is the genius of Debbie Allen, the director, she restaged the play and transformed its meaning.It was brilliant and that’s all I’m going to say.Go see it, support Broadway and black directors,actors,and actresses-the good ones at least.
cheers,
Bellini
