(OUTscene NW) Theater RE-view: ACT opens 50th Season with CLASSIC, “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”!

  Daddy (Aylward) steals it in Act 2                  Bennion

by MK Scott


Tennessee Williams' “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" is an American Classic and is still timeless as it was 60 years ago.

Compared to last year's classic "Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolff? at SRT, which I wrote felt a little outdated, "Cat" is still timeless and fresh, thanks to its Southern roots and landscape that unfortunately hasn't changed much in 60 years.

ACT Seattle is mostly known for it's contemporary productions and decided to stage this classic that they first did in its inaugural season in 1965 directed by it's founder,  Gregory Falls and starring his wife, Jean as Maggie the Cat. The Widow Mrs Falls was in the audience on opening night and got a standing ovation.

As a fan of the movie version with Paul Newman as Brick, Elizabeth Taylor as Maggie and Burl Ives as Big Daddy, I was hoping for more of an non-censored version with Brick dealing with his homosexual feelings for his late friend, Skip. In this version you get it and more and feel the pain and disgust Brick feels and the denial to all including himself.

Brick (O'Neil) Denies Maggie (Griffith)               Bennion

With THREE Acts, we see Maggie (the stunning, Laura Griffith) as the star of Act ONE,  she is in-heat, sex starved and lonely and is desperate for attention, while Brick (The FAB and Gorgeous, Brandon O'Neil, reminds you of a young William Dafoe) is drinking and claims to be waiting for that moment when the pain is gone.

In Act TWO, Big Daddy (John Aylward) shines and is more accepting of Brick then Brick is of himself. They talk as Brick fights him on what his feelings for Skip were all about. Big Daddy, wants Brick as his successor, but not if Brick continues to drink his life away. When Brick announces to Big Daddy in anger that the whole family lied to him about his clean bill of health, you can see Big Daddy's bitter disgust and betrayal from his family

Mama (Owen) in dis-belief in Act 3           Bennion

In Act THREE, It is the whole Cast that includes,  Brick’s smarmy, greedy elder brother Gooper (Charles Leggett), and his phony, and very pregnant wife, Mae (Morgan Rowe), but it is Big Mama (Marianne Owen) who dominates and shines as she is fearful for Big Daddy and can't accept losing him. Maggie steals the thunder and announces she is with child. Both Brick and Big Daddy know that is a lie, but go along with it as Brick finally accepts his place in the family and enough alcohol to make that lie into a reality.

What makes this production unique is that it is staged in the round and you really feel you are getting a front row seat to all the family and bedroom drama. 

I have always seen similarities of this Play to the early days of the TV Show, Dallas. It's easy to see Jock as Big Daddy, Ellie as Big Mama (actually Barbara Bel Geddis was the first Maggie on Broadway), Bobby as Gooper, JR as Hard-drinking, Brick, and Sue Ellen as sex-starved, Maggie.


Cat on a Hot tin Roof is still timeless and  Happy 50th, ACT! It runs through May 17!  Click HERE for Tix!