Cat On A Hot Tin Roof

Providence College’s adaptation of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, written by Tennessee Williams and directed by John Kalife, is a play depicting the turbulent relationship between husband and wife, Brick (John Kalife) and Maggie (Malika Jones), and their interaction with Brick’s family over the course of an evening get-together to celebrate the 65th birthday of the family’s patriarch, “Big Daddy” Pollitt (Nedzer Erilus). The tone for the famous opening scene is set by slow, brooding jazz music cutting through the air in the dimly lit theatre as the strain between bourbon-heavy Brick and his neglected wife Maggie becomes palpable, and strongly reminiscent of previous large-scale renditions of the play. 

Cat is one of Williams’ best-known and most beloved works in addition to A Streetcar Named Desire and The Glass Menagerie. The play won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1955 and has since been restaged several times. In 1958, it was adapted into an acclaimed motion picture starring Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman, and Burl Ives and nominated for six Oscars. Brimming with emotional intensity and discerning wit, Cat is a true theatrical treasure that we are lucky to have come to PC.

“Big Daddy” Pollitt, a wealthy Mississippi estate owner and self-made tycoon, is unaware that he is dying of cancer, information that his family and doctors try to make sure he will never uncover. All relatives in attendance struggle to present themselves in the most positive light possible to “Big Daddy,”, determined to ensure they receive a substantial portion of his enormous fortune when he passes. Through the course of the evening, tensions slowly mount between Brick, an aging ex- football hero ignoring the underhanded plans of his brother, and Maggie “The Cat” Pollitt, a witty and beautiful woman suddenly in the middle of an unfulfilling marriage, allowing the viewers to see their troubled relationship come to a stormy and steamy climax. A plot with mendacity and seediness acting as its framework boldly encapsulates this rich and timeless family portrait.

Said Kalife: “My cast and I have learned so much about putting on a production from both Cat on A Hot Tin Roof, and GlenGarry Glenross. Both productions have been put on from scratch and we really all act as directors. We have learned how the importance of creativity and improvisation in taking a dormant work of literature and giving it life on stage. I’ve always loved this show Tennessee Williams, and I’m honored to be directing and acting in it.”
Described as an “impassioned and articulate statement on human isolation,” Cat is easily as much of an experience to see as it is entertaining. It is the best free show in Providence, and fortunately at our very own Bowab Theatre.