But once the leads were warmed up, and once James Earl Jones took command of the stage as Big Daddy, all was forgiven. Jone's, of course, was the most experienced actor of the evening, and besides his talent, it was clear that he was also the hardest working person on stage. His monologues were delivered with that unforgettable voice, but also with dazzling shades of emotion and a clear performance.
His co-star, Terence Howard, as Brick, spent the first act testing the audience's patience, never showing much character. (It must be said that Brick's first act has precious little to go on, a terribly hard job). With Jones to work with through out the second act, the team mesmerized. While the play itself is dated, the script's poetry still comes through; Jones and Howard's battles were fascinating.
So, this was an evening of trying to ignore the crowd's inopportune giggling at jokes that weren't in the script and instead just enjoying the part of the evening when two great actors delivered the goods.