EASLEY — Easley’s Foothills Playhouse will open the curtain on an American classic written by none other than Tennessee Williams when Cat on a Hot Tin Roof takes to the stage on April 22.
With a cast of regional talent, the stage will come alive with a story written in the Southern tradition, combining dialogue and uniquely Southern viewpoints in a tale full of tension and moral lessons that must be weighed.
The play examines relationships, both familial and intimate, as a family caught between expectations and generations come to terms with itself, including the marriage of Brick and Maggie, the driving centerpiece of the story.
Brick, in the cut of a former high school sports star, becomes injured reliving his glory days just days before he and wife Maggie return to his family’s plantation for a celebration of his father’s 65th birthday. Big Daddy is a tempestuous and often vitriolic character, judgmental and demanding as the patriarch of the family.
In declining health, Big Daddy has become even more cantankerous in his old age and is unafraid to speak his mind, especially when it comes to Maggie’s failure to deliver a grandchild. There is an underlying issue between Brick and his bride that comes out through their interactions on stage and plays out before the family.
Big Daddy doesn’t mind using Brick’s older brother Gooper and his wife, Mae, as examples of what he expects from his youngest son and daughter-in-law.
Complex interactions and relationships are stripped bare as the family on this special weekend comes nose to nose, often with biting remarks and sarcasm, to Brick’s chagrin and even entertainment at times.
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof will be staged April 22, April 23, and April 24 as well as the weekend of April 29, April 30, and May 1 at Foothills Playhouse, 201 S. 5th St. in Easley. The production is a Williams classic but is not for children.
Friday and Saturday evening shows have a curtain of 8 p.m. and Saturday matinees have a curtain of 3 p.m. Tickets prices range from $5 to $15 per person and can be bought through the box office. Visit www.fhplayhouse.com for more information or to buy tickets.
