Cat finds a new life in its black cast
Michael Kuchwara

NEW YORK—When producer Stephen C. Byrd was casting his all-black revival of “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” he approached James Earl Jones for the role of Big Daddy. Jones told Byrd that he always wanted to portray the Mississippi patriarch, a pivotal part previously played on Broadway by Burl Ives, Fred Gwynne, Charles Durning and Ned Beatty.
And why not, says Byrd: “Are certain plays only reserved or preserved for white actors? The play is the thing, and this one is about family.” And this season on Broadway, it has not just been “Cat,” which, besides Jones, features a potent box-office cast that includes Terrence Howard as Brick; Anika Noni Jones as his affection-starved wife, Maggie; and Phylicia Rashad as the emotionally frail Big Mama.
S. Epatha Merkerson earned cheers for her portrayal of Lola in the racially mixed cast of Manhattan Theatre Club’s production of “Come Back, Little Sheba.” And upcoming will be a revival of Clifford Odets’ “The Country Girl,” featuring Morgan Freeman and Frances McDormand as husband and wife.
“It’s not a gimmick, especially for plays that are classics,” says Kenny Leon, a veteran director of August Wilson plays as well as the recent Broadway revival and television version of “A Raisin in the Sun.” “With plays such as `Cat,’ which have withstood the test of time, you are always trying to find new ways to introduce them to a new generation,” Leon says. “There is no such thing as `blind casting.’ You have to say: `What does this do to the piece? Does it heighten the playwrights intent? Does it demonstrate his skill of poetry? Does it say those universal things in a different kind of way?”
In “Cat,” for example, look at the relationship between Brick and Maggie, Leon says. Brick is a man struggling with his sexuality, while his beautiful wife is forced to fight for her husband’s share of his family’s wealth. “It’s time for the world to change,” says Debbie Allen, director of the current “Cat” revival. “Let’s get over this whole race thing. The world today, with this presidential campaign and the Democratic nominee going to be either an African-American or a woman, it’s time to move forward.