CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF • Tennessee Williams Festival St. Louis

TWF’s feature production begins with The Writer, an affably unhurried J. Samuel Davis, making his way down the aisles of the Grandel theatre, addressing the audience with a prologue that’s a combination of the play’s stage direction, and text devised by director Michael Wilson. It’s a clever way to set the scene, literally, as furniture, set decorations and props are brought onstage and placed to the playwright’s clear specifications. Great beginning to some classic Tennessee Williams.

Written in 1955, his Pulitzer Prize-winning three-act takes place over the course of an evening at the Pollitt Family Plantation in the Mississippi Delta, where all of the loved and detested family members are gathered to celebrate Big Daddy’s 65th birthday. This is the perfect setting for Williams to do what he does so well - to lay bare life’s knotty truths, and examine how his characters respond, with no punches pulled.

We start with Big Daddy’s second son, Brick (Brian Slaten*), an ex-star athlete who has broken his leg in late-night exploits on the local track field. His grief over a teammate, and his love for him, “the one great good thing in his life which was true”, has trapped Brick into a day-to-day pursuit of the peace that only the right level of alcohol in his bloodstream will bring. Meanwhile, his wife Maggie “the Cat” (Kiah McKirnan), saunters through the bedroom, prattling about her in-laws and trying to cajole any scrap of affection from Brick while they prepare for the birthday festivities. Brick keeps to the outskirts of the first act while Maggie takes center stage, but Slaten is able to lock down a solid presence, with a numb but somehow compelling indifference. This act really belongs to the titular “Cat”, as McKirnan’s Maggie rattles off a soliloquy of complaints and appeals. Though she’s slyly casual in her attempts at seduction, McKirnan’s almost too easy-going, as you wish she’d reveal a shade more desperation towards the husband who recoils from her touch.

Maggie (Kiah McKirnan) & Brick (Brian Slaten).

Photo credit: Suzy Gorman

A second act scene between Brick and his father, Big Daddy (Peter Mayer*) seems to be the heart of the play, where the subject of deception comes to the fore. Big Daddy is riding high after being given what he thinks is a clean bill of health, and Mayer embodies the Southern-fried confidence of a man who owns a ton of land, and is worth a ton of money. But is his favorite son worthy of it? He’s as fierce and brutal as a summer storm, but softens with almost sudden warmth in an effort to understand why Brick is drowning himself in whisky and shunning his marital bed. His casual cruelty often sends his wife, Big Mama (Kari Ely*), exiting the room in choked sobs, but her love for Big Daddy is real. She seems to revel in the busy pretense of happy families, but she’s an unwitting victim of deceptions herself, and Ely gives Big Mama the cautious fragility of an exposed nerve, with an affecting third act.

Eric Dean White* and Roxanne Wellington* round out the immediate family as Gooper, the firstborn son, and his wife, Mae. Stressing Mae’s fertility and Gooper’s stability, they’re primarily concerned with getting what’s theirs. Every family has a couple of those, right? Wonderful performances from both, with Wellington offering a welcome dose of humor.

Big Daddy (Peter Mayer)

& Brick (Brian Slaten).

Photo credit: Suzy Gorman

Watching how the deceits in this family play out is what makes this play essential Tennessee Williams, and whether you've seen it before or not, it’d be a shame to miss it. Check it out! It’s playing until the 18th. The festival offers a few things that might pique your interest!

CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF

Written by Tennessee Williams 

Directed by Michael Wilson

The Grandel Theatre, 3610 Grandel Square

through August 18 | tickets: $45 - $100

Performances 7:00 pm Thursday-Saturday, 3:00 pm Sunday.

Cast

Maggie: Kiah McKirnan

Brick: Brian Slaten*

Big Daddy: Peter Mayer*

Big Mama: Kari Ely*

Gooper: Eric Dean White*

Mae: Roxanne Wellington*

The Writer/Doc Baugh/ Rev Tooker: J. Samuel Davis*

Trixie: Kate Kappel

Dixie: Tatum Wilson

Sonny: Cooper Scheessele

Mae (Roxanne Wellington), Big Mama (Kari Ely)

& Gooper (Eric Dean White).

Photo credit: Suzy Gorman

Creative

Producer: Carrie Houk, CSA

Casting: Carrie Houk, CSA

Production Manager: Ethan Dudenhoeffer

Production Stage Manager: Tracy Holliway-Wiggins*

Assistant Stage Manager: Avery Harrison

Set Design: James Wolk

Costume Design: Teresa Doggett

Wig Design: Will Vicari/The Wig Associates

Lighting Design: Matt McCarthy

Sound Design: Phillip Evans

Hand Props Buyer: Mikhail Lynn

Assistant Director: Zachary Stefaniak

Fight Choreographer: Jack Kalan

Technical Director: Daniel Black

Master Electrician: Zak Metalsky

Painter: Zellie Laury

Carpenter: Will Higley

Sound Board Operator: Bekah Williams

Light Board Operator: Alice Anders

Wardrobe: Ariana Lapentti

Photographer: Suzy Gorman

* Denotes member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of

Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States