Do Not Resuscitate? Or, What Brings a Revival to Life?

This week on Theater Talk, actress Elizabeth Ashley (nominated for a Tony for her performance as Maggie in the '74 revival) and The New Yorker critic John Lahr discuss playwright Tennessee Williams and what led him to create the classic American drama, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. They also debate the relevance of doing this fifties southern-family drama with an all-Black cast (including James Earl Jones, Terrence Howard and Phylica Rashad).

You can see a preview here. Additionally, on CUNY TV (4/19 @ 8:30, 4/20 @ 12:30, and 4/21 @ 7:30, 1:30, and 7:30), you can see Harvey Fierstein discussing his new musical, A Catered Affair, which just opened on Broadway.

Let's focus, for a moment then, on a revivals. For instance, what specifically do you look for in a revival? Do you want to see modernizations, like the current Macbeth, or are you drawn to shows with star power, like Gypsy's Patti LuPone, or sold by classic archival revivals, like Lincoln Center's South Pacific? And how much is too much in a revival -- that is, at what point does a stylistic choice, as with Cat on a Hot Tin Roof's all-Black cast, run the risk of altering the message of the play? And who should be making that call? Some playwrights, like Beckett or Albee, have fiercely guarded the direction of their work, but how much leeway should a director have? (For instance, Jenny Schwartz of God's Ear, writes: "While I am incredibly exacting and precise with regard to the sounds of the words, I leave the play's physical world entirely up to the director and designers. So, ironically, because I was trained as a director, I am extremely hands-off. I enjoy my role as the playwright and want the director to bring as much of herself to the production as I have."

Remember: this is not a one-man show; we welcome your thoughts in the comment box below and your votes on the poll to the right. (Results from last week: "What's the most you've ever paid for a theater ticket?" The majority of voters, 12, have never spent over $100 on a show [five have spent at least $400, and one has spent over $1000), but only one voter has gone with $20 tickets only.)