The
Rose Tattoo, Tennessee
Williams’ 1950 drama has received a disappointing production by the Roundabout
Theatre Company at the American Airlines Theatre in New York. It boasts of
having the star-power attraction of Marisa Tomei in the role of Serafina Delle
Rose. According to Williams, she is a plump little Italian living in a village
populated mostly by Sicilians along the Gulf Coast between New Orleans and Mobile.
The
politest thing one can say is that she is simply miscast in the role. Ms Tomei
is neither small nor plump. She is a beautiful woman who would never settle for
a nobody like Alvano (Emun Elliott) after the death of her husband. She
idolizes her husband Rosario and is deeply in love with him while worshipping
the Madonna and being very superstitious. We never see her husband but he turns
out to have been working for criminals and is killed. What’s worse, Serafina’s
idol had a mistress in the village. Everybody knew about it except her.
Marisa Tomei and Emun Elliott. Photo: Joan
Marcus
Tomei can
do the histrionics that are part of her character but she can only manage an
atrocious Italian accent that added with her looks moves her away from the Serafina
of the play.
Elliott is
even worse as Alvano Mangiacavallo, the truck driver who, as I said, is
attracted to Serafina after she becomes a widow. He is a buffoon as Serafina
describes him, but what kind of a buffoon? Elliott is an American who tries to
hide his native accent and impose an Italian inflection on his speech. He fails
miserably and the character is left hanging between being an American with a
bad Italian accent or an Italian who is trying to speak proper English.
Ella Rubin as Serafina’s 15-year old daughter Rosa and Burke Swanson as her
boyfriend Jack are refreshingly fine in their roles. The women of the village who drop by Serafina’s
place are necessary minor characters. Tina Benko makes a very alluring Estelle
Hohengarten, the blonde with whom Rosario has an affair until his untimely
death. She orders a shirt from the seamstress Serafina to give to someone who
turns out to be her lover who happens to be none other than Rosario, Serafina’s
husband.
Director
Trip Cullman has done away with a number of characters and scenes from the play
and there is no issue with that.
The set
designed by Mark Wendland and the video projection designed by Lucy Mackinnon are quite dramatic. Serafina’s
house backs to the Gulf with the water and waves
visible on all three sides of the stage. The surging waves, no doubt symbolic
of Serafina’s and Alvaro’s rising passion are marvelous with the small caveat
that on the day I saw the performance they were not working very well. And I am
not sure about the crowd of plastic flamingos on the edge of the water.
Cullman
adds some songs and music by Fitz Patton which did nothing for the production.
The
Rose Tattoo has a
great deal of humor and we did get a few laughs but the production was spotty
and never managed to bring out the comedy and the passion coherently and
convincingly. A disappointing night at the theatre.
_________
The Rose Tattoo by Tennessee
Williams in a production by Roundabout Theatre Company continues until December
8, 2019 at the American Airlines
Theatre, 227
West 42nd Street, New York, N.Y. https://www.roundabouttheatre.org/
James Karas is the Senior Editor - Culture of The Greek Press
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