August, 2005 - Nr. 8
KW & Beyond
by Irena Syrokomla
Stratford Festival of Canada
– Cat on a Hot Tin Roof –
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is in the group of the best three plays by Tennessee Williams, the other two being A Streetcar Named Desire and The Glass Menagerie.
Opening in 1955 on Broadway, it was directed by Elia Kazan and cast Barbara Bel Geddes as Maggie and Ben Gazzara as Brick. In 1958, it was a memorable success as a movie starring Elizabeth Taylor. Staged at Stratford in 1989, it returns this year, incidentally on the 50-th anniversary of the premiere, and it is a success.
Richard Monette’s direction is mature and balanced. He has selected a revised 1974 version containing some coarse language and more obvious references to homosexuality than in the earlier version. After all, it was a taboo subject in the 50’s.
![Lally Cadeau as Big Mama, Cynthia Dale as Margaret, David Snelgrove as Brick [photo courtesy of Stratford Festival]](508c-IS-cat15.jpg)
The
cast is exceptional, Cynthia Dale as Maggie, with bite and flair, David
Snelgrove as Brick, sunken in his depression, James Blendick as Big Daddy,
fighting to his last breath, and Lally Cadeau as Big Mama. The play is set
in the 50’s South, with stage décor, costumes, mannerisms and speech
matching the era. The careful modulation of speech is a professional feature
of the theatre arts evolving in recent years, with all main characters
following the Mississippi Delta southern speech patterns. The audience, not
quite used to it, had some difficulty understanding Cynthia Dale in the
first act; although James Blendick and David Snelgrove were easier to
follow. Cynthia Dale is coming out of the musicals into the dramatic role
with quite a punch. She is passionate, playful, determined, and desperate -
displaying a whole gamut of feelings in front of our eyes. James Blendick
obviously enjoys himself with this opportunity to reprise the role he had in
the earlier production. He is very comfortable with the space and style,
dominating the second act and putting his own stamp on the character’s
personality. Lally Cadeau’s part of Big Mama is an effort to keep up with
Big Daddy, the image of the ageing wife of the times so well presented.
David Snelgrove is a bit weak, besides being depressed and drunk there is
only limited depth to his character and the ambiguity of his relationship
with Skipper.
However, this is a great piece of a real theatre. The Avon Theatre was full, and the audience was satisfied. It is not that often that there is an opportunity to see one of the greatest plays of the 20-th century and so well staged. The tickets are selling fast, Stratford is a delight this time of the year – or any other time for that matter. The box office phone is 1-800-567-1600 or www.stratfordfestival.ca. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams is running until October 29.
