by Mark G. Auerbach
Tennessee Williams’ sizzling drama about a Southern family in crisis, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, is getting a superb revival at Berkshire Theatre Group through July 16. Directed with exceptional care by Proof playwright David Auburn, in a production of simple, yet effective design, and punctuated with outstanding performances, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is exciting, contemporary theatre, despite having been first performed over sixty years ago.
Michael Raymond-James and Rebecca Brooksher in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Photo by Emma Rothernberg-Ware
Set on a Mississippi Delta plantation, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is a searing portrait of a dysfunctional family in crisis. Big Daddy is celebrating his 65th birthday, and his family is hiding bad news from him. Big Daddy has terminal cancer. Big Mama has been taking charge of the family during Big Daddy’s illness, and he must decide who gets the lucrative family business, son Brick, an alcoholic former jock trapped in a barren marriage with Maggie, or son Gooper, the brown-nosing son, with his scheming wife and brood of “no neck monsters”. Williams’ characters cajole, lie, deceit, and plot against each other, and the language is contemporary, as are the situations. Brick mourns the death of his “close friend” Skipper. Maggie stays in her barren marriage in hopes of inheriting Big Daddy’s estate. The language is choice, the drama ripe for good performances.
Tennessee Williams, along with Eugene O’Neill and Arthur Miller, wrote the classic American dramas of the 20th century. Williams wrote Cat on a Hot Tin Roof on a terrace in Tangier. Cat on A Hot Tin Roof opened on Broadway in 1955, and won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It was one of a series of hits for Williams, who also wrote The Glass Menagerie, A Streetcar Named Desire, and Sweet Bird of Youth, all adapted for film. Director Elia Kazan had asked Williams to remove certain elements of the play for its original production, and the movie version followed the production code of the day. In 1974, Williams restored several elements to the play, while it ran at Connecticut’s American Shakespeare Theatre and subsequently returned to Broadway.
There has been a lot of interest in Berkshire Theatre Group’s production, because of the casting of NBC’s Game of Silence star Michael Raymond-James as Brick. He’s good. But the exceptional performances are those of Rebecca Brooksher as Maggie, Jim Beaver as Big Daddy, and Linda Gehringer as Big Mama. Brooksher, who
The company of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Photo by Emma Rothernberg-Ware
tackled the title role in Eugene O’Neills Anna Christie at Berkshire Theatre Group a couple of seasons ago, is sensational. I’ve seen productions of Cat on A Hot Tin Roof with Elizabeth Ashley and Kathleen Turner. Brooksher is now my favorite Maggie. Jim Beaver is commanding as Big Daddy, offering a larger-than-life, yet nuanced performance. Linda Gehringer is both comic and tragic as Big Mama. I liked her portrayal.
Jason Sherwood’s sets are effective, and Hunter Kaczorowski’s costumes, particularly the women’s dresses, are great. Ann G. Wrightson’s lighting set the right tone.
There was a show stopper at the beginning of Act II on opening night, when a bat decided to join the ensemble for Big Daddy’s birthday party. The performance was halted, while the bat was safely removed from the theatre, and the performance resumed. It must have been jarring for the actors to break character and leave the stage, only to resume ten minutes later, and start over from the top of the act.
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof has aged well, and Berkshire Theatre Group’s production, staging, and performances keep Williams’ plot and characters surprisingly contemporary. It’s rare that we get to experience a classic that feels as if it were written yesterday.
The company of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Photo by Emma Rothernberg-Ware
The Berkshire Theatre Group presents “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” by Tennessee Williams. Directed by David Auburn. Scenic design by Jason Sherwood. Costume Design by Hunter Kaczorowski’. Lighting design by Ann G. Wrightson. Sound Design by Scott Killian. Cast: David Adkins (Rev. Tooker), Jim Beaver (Big Daddy), Rebecca Brooksher (Maggie), Linda Gehringer (Big Mama), Timothy Gulan (Gooper), Jenn Harris (Mae), Michael Raymond-James (Brick), Brian Russell (Dr. Baugh). Julianna Salinovici (Dixie) Through July 16. The Berkshire Theatre Group’s Fitzpatrick Main Stage, Stockbridge, MA. For tickets: 413-997-4444 or www.berkshiretheatregroup.org.
Mark G. Auerbach studied theatre at American University and the Yale School of Drama. He’s worked for arts organizations and reported on theatre for newspapers and radio.
