Cat on a hot tin roof

        This seemed to be the year of reviving Pulitzer prize winning plays. Not only that, but the year for reviving Pulitzer prize winning plays that have already been revived within the past decade. We had revivals of Picnic, Glengarry Glen Ross, and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof all of which have had major revivals in the past 10-15 years. In the case of Cat this was the third revival in 10 years.

       Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is a Tennessee Williams classic. It is a wonderful play that concerns the rocky marriage of Maggie, the aforementioned Cat and Brick, a former athlete who is drinking himself to death of the death of a beloved friend. For those who are unfamiliar, it is a brilliant southern family melodrama filled with beautifully written scenes and speeches.

       Scarlet Johansson  returns triumphantly to Broadway following her Tony Award winning turn in the Arthur Miller classic A View From the Bridge. I am pleased to report that that performance was not a fluke, and that Ms. Johansson has true stage craft and is giving a bravura performance. Her performance is certainly worthy of another Tony nomination, and were this not a very crowded year for leading female performances she would be a shoe-in.

       Making his Broadway play debut in the role of Brick is Benjamin Walker, who previously graced the great white way in the musical Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson. Walker and Johansson have a chemistry that builds to boiling point from the very first time they share the stage together. Walker fills brick with an ambivalence that is layered over a deep pain and yearning.

      Ciaran Hinds and Debra Monk are perfectly cast as Big Daddy and Big Mama, respectfully. They both display a tenacity and vibrancy that proves there is more to there nick names than their physical size. Hinds especially packs a powerful emotional punch as the near death patriarch of this large southern family. Michael Park and Emily Bergl due their duty as Bricks more successful and ambitious brother Gooper, and his sickeningly sweet wife Mae.

       Rob Ashford isn't a great director, and unfortunately it shows here. While the pace is good, and each the actors are doing their best to elevate the direction, Ashford has muddled the scenes and the landscape. As though to exacerbate the theme that Maggie and Bricks marital problems are sexual, the bed is center stage for the entire production. Christopher Oram's birdcage like set design, complete with draping curtains and wooden arches is pretty to look at but doesn't do much to support the action.

    On the whole this was a completely unnecessary revival of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. While the performances were adequate (for the most part) the entire production seemed to lack any life of it's own. This production of Cat closed on Broadway at The Richard Rogers Theater on March 30th, 2013 after 34 previews and 84 regular performances.