Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Book

This year I embarked to read more plays written by the giants of American playwrights and I currently find myself reading through Tennessee Williams' trilogy of classic plays. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof was first written in 1955 and revised many times both for the stage and film. Featuring well known characters, the play is known for its character studies and should be viewed live rather than read. It is in this light that I read the Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and enjoyed its characters, for which I rate four bright stars.

Tennessee Williams takes us to a plantation in the south where two brothers, Gooper and Brick, are jockeying for position to get the upper hand in their father Big Daddy's will. Brick is a former football star who has become an alcoholic because he can face that he is no longer able to star on the football field. He is married to Maggie and as alcohol has pervaded their marriage the couple remains childless. Gooper is married to Mae and the couple has five children and expecting a sixth. Although eight years Brick's senior and a successful attorney, Gooper is not the light of Big Daddy's eyes. Big Daddy would like nothing more than to leave his land to Brick, if only the latter would right himself and turn his life around.

Meanwhile the wives Maggie and Mae can not stand each other and offer malicious lines to each other. Maggie's arias are memorable, as I always enjoy a strong female lead. Both women are as the title notes likes cats on a hot tin roof, dancing around each other on edge because neither will be satisfied until they have successfully one-upped the other. From my perspective, Maggie is the more likeable of the two, even though it is Mae who has given Big Daddy the grandchildren he desires.

The climax of the play is the exchange between Big Daddy and Brick in which Big Daddy urges his son to become a better person. This occurs in the second act, making the third act almost anti-climatic. Perhaps if I had viewed this play live I might have thought differently, but I enjoyed the second act more than the third, primarily for the exchange between Big Daddy and Brick.

Tennessee Williams is a master playwright of the 20th century. He touches on social issues as homosexual relationships and a woman's place in a marriage before it was socially acceptable to do so. Being ahead of his time, Williams brings these issues into light in the forms of deep characters. I enjoyed the personas of Brick, Maggie, and Big Daddy, and sneered at Mae who embodies the old south. A solid four stars in print form, I look forward to viewing Cat on a Hot Tin Roof on film.