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Cat on Hot Tin Roof
Reviewed by Jessica Salans
The Group Rep
Through November 14
RECOMMENDED:
“Why is it so damn hard for people to talk?” Big Daddy Pollitt asks his son, an alcohol clutching, Brick, in Tennessee Williams’s classic.
In the 1950’s, the aging Southern patriarch, Big Daddy (Kent Butler), of the Straw and Ochello Plantation has just been relieved of a fatal cancer diagnosis. He celebrates his newfound grasp of life by shunning any lies and liars that clutter up his space on his 65th birthday. He verbally abuses his tittering wife, ignores his eldest, brown-nosing son and condemns his skittish party guests like a crude 6-year old. With his life restored, Big Daddy wants to “cut loose” and have himself a “ball,” and only wants to share his glee with his youngest son, Brick (Daniel Kaemon).
“Why is it so damn hard for people to talk?” The private connection between father and son is seen after an engrossing Act 1 in which Maggie “the Cat” (Madeline Fair) commands the stage in monologues directed at the cooly handsome figure of Brick. Maggie, perhaps the excuse for Brick’s personal disgust, fights for her place in society – to have wealth, and produce an heir to inherit the great Pollitt fortune. The nuanced relationship between Fair and Kaemon is laced with deep wounds, bitter resentment and pure hatred.
Director L. Flint Esquerra does a spectacular job of making sure there is an undercurrent of respect and love between the couple. They argue and physically fight but are able to join and act as a team against the larger spawn of the deceitful Pollitt household. Fair is a resilient, enticing Maggie, vulnerable in her humility but always with the grace of a calculating feline. Kaemon treads the fine line between active listening and desperately desiring to check out as Brick. His is a most understated, exceptional performance. Together, Fair and Kaemon are the heart blood of the production, elevating the work of their cast mates.
The historically accurate casting of the show is rounded with a strong ensemble. Kyra Schwartz as Big Daddy’s daughter-in-law Mae is a perfect, grounded depiction of a social climber. Matriarch Big Mama is played by a spindly, high energy Diane Frank. Big Mama’s antics are rooted in an honest love for her husband. As Big Daddy, Butler is ferocious in his rude candor but shows lovely vulnerability in connecting with his son. The cast is also solid in their authentic dialect, lead by coach Glenda Morgan Brown. All design elements (set, Chris Winfield; lighting, J. Kent Inasy; costumes, Angela M. Eads) establish an an older era, while the strong themes of Williams’s poetical play continue to haunt us in our modern age.
The Group Rep presents Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at Lonny Chapman Theatre; Fri.-Sat., 8p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m.; Through Nov.14. https://thegrouprep.com. Running time: 2 hours, 47 minutes
