His personal writings (and contextual clues) tell us that Tennessee Williams was in business. These enchanting brute are sprinkled throughout his work.There is no Blanche without Stanley.
Williams will probably love Matt De Logatis’ bricks in the Ruth Stage’s recently opened production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at The Theater in St. Clements. The former football hero is still a depressed alcoholic, and his drunken escapades earn him a cast, crutches, and the increasing disdain of his wife Maggie. But De Logatis is tattooed and abtastic from the backlit shower entrance, and in this contemporary staging convincingly finds the violence and identity crisis at Brick’s core. .
A character whose belligerent Big Daddy Polit (Christian Jules Leblanc) and talkative Maggie (Sonoya Mizuno) are punching bags to explode with, he’s often a handsome blank slate. Co-producer De Logatis convincingly alludes to a frenzied inner life, set in imposing physique, but mentions an obscurely intimate relationship with a male friend who died by suicide. He was betrayed by the anguish he voiced when he did.
The performance, like much of Williams’ work, is consistent with a play that is as concerned with the surface as with the deeper world of characters. A fine-tuned melodrama about a wealthy Mississippi family being ruined by the patriarch’s cancer diagnosis, the play pitted the characters’ maintained appearances and often-unseen squabbles against each other as they battled over his inheritance. Dissolves the “falseness” mentioned.
The production is the first Off-Broadway production of the play licensed by the Williams Estate, and while not all elements will shine for the occasion, it does have some highlights. Director Joe Rosario, for example, handles a soap-opera-style historical drama well, but doesn’t land much of Williams’ wicked humor. , often seeming to have no purpose or air.
Maggie’s character yields the most under this misfire. In particular, in her hour-long near monologue in Act I, Maggie gasps and complains about his strutty sister-in-law May’s (Tiffan Borelli) children, then her own. I lament that I have no children. The speculation it brings. Mizuno doesn’t give this crucial scene a clear focus, albeit in the game. She’s not the determined, seductively confident cat immortalized onscreen by Elizabeth Taylor. This, interestingly, turns her legendary sensuality into a credible portrait of an Ole Miss graduate whose hard-earned financial security has begun to crumble.
Likewise, the piece manages to make the bourbon-soaked setting feel like the real South, rather than a dim memory of the South. The exact kind of faux-luxury gold-plated Wayfair you’d expect, and Zandra Smith’s outfit is an exception observed. Girl uniforms are especially inspiring.
Borelli leans into the fun of her recognizable outfit (and hair in a tight bun), and deliciously spits out Williams’ thorns to fuel his melodramatic prowess. She is a match for Allison Fraser as Big Mama, and is a perfect match for the tonal balance of her work. Her big, defenseless eyes, painted smile, and perfectly blond hair perfectly convey the playwright’s love and his addictive obsession with deceiving appearances.
This “cat” evokes most of its charm. It’s a solid deal for anyone looking to cool off a scorching summer day with the Tennessee Williams classic.
cat on a hot tin roof
Until August 14th at the St. Clements Theater in Manhattan. ruthstage.orgRunning time: 2 hours 45 minutes.