Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is a 1955 American three-act play by Tennessee Williams. The play, an adaptation of his 1952 short story "Three Players of a Summer Game", was written between 1953 and 1955. One of Williams's more famous works and his personal favorite, Bel Geddes was the only cast member nominated for a Tony Award, and Kazan was nominated for Best Director of a Play. Kazan had enormous power in the industry at the time, sufficient to convince Williams to rewrite the third act to Kazan's liking. Kazan requested that Maggie be shown as more sympathetic, the dying Big Daddy make a reappearance, and Brick undergo some sort of moral awakening.

Both Ives and Sherwood reprised their roles in the 1958 film version. The cast also featured the southern blues duo Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry and had as Gazzara's understudy the young Cliff Robertson. When Gazzara left the play, Jack Lord replaced him. Others from the original Broadway production included R. G. Armstrong as Doctor Baugh, Fred Stewart as Reverend Tooker, Janice Dunn as Trixie, Seth Edwards as Sonny, Maxwell Glanville as Lacey, Pauline Hahn as Dixie, Darryl Richard as Buster, Eva Vaughn Smith as Daisy, and Musa Williams as Sookey.

Revivals

A 1974 revival by the American Shakespeare Theatre featured Elizabeth Ashley (Maggie), Keir Dullea (Brick), Fred Gwynne (Big Daddy), Kate Reid and Charles Siebert and later transferred to Broadway's ANTA Theater. Ashley was nominated for a Tony Award. Williams included a revised third act and made substantial revisions elsewhere. When this production moved from Connecticut to Broadway, the part of Lacey was omitted and the number of Mae and Gooper's children was reduced to three.

The 1988 London National Theatre production, directed by Howard Davies, starred Ian Charleson (Brick), Lindsay Duncan (Maggie), Barbara Leigh-Hunt (, and Eric Porter. The Observer<nowiki/>'s theater critic Michael Ratcliffe offered qualified praise for the production, especially admiring Porter's performance as Big Daddy and the play's second act, while critiquing the first act and Duncan's speaking style. In 2012, Michael Billington referred to the production as the first "British production that finally did full justice to Williams's symphonic play."

Cat returned to Broadway in 1990 with a revival also directed by Howard Davies. The production ran for 149 performances and grossed $6.8 million.

A 2001 production at the Lyric Shaftesbury, London, was the first West End revival since 1958. Directed by Anthony Page, the production featured Brendan Fraser (Brick), Frances O'Connor (Maggie), Ned Beatty (Big Daddy) and Gemma Jones (Big Mama). It also included Abigail McKern—daughter of London's original Big Daddy, Leo McKern—as Mae.

Page's production shifted to Broadway for a 2003 staging that starred Ashley Judd (Maggie) and Jason Patric (Brick). Ben Brantley panned Patric and Judd's performances as stilted, but praised Ned Beatty as Big Daddy and Margo Martindale as Big Mama. John Simon had greater praise for Judd—as "scrupulously dedicated"—but likewise praised Beatty and Martindale while lambasting Patric. Martindale earned the show's sole Tony nomination. The production closed early in March 2004—after 145 performances and an $8.9 million gross—due to Judd sustaining an ankle injury that prevented her from performing.

A 2004 production at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., featured Mary Stuart Masterson as Maggie, Jeremy Davidson as Brick, George Grizzard as Big Daddy, Dana Ivey as Big Mama, and Emily Skinner as Mae. Shortly afterward, Masterson and Davidson married.

In 2008, an all-black production by first-time director Debbie Allen opened on Broadway. Terrence Howard made his Broadway debut as Brick, with James Earl Jones as Big Daddy, Phylicia Rashad as Big Mama, Anika Noni Rose as Maggie and Lisa Arrindell Anderson as Mae. The staging was originally planned for January 1995 with Jones as Big Daddy and Lloyd Richards as director, but Broadway theaters declined to host it for 13 years. Michael Musto gave the production a mixed review. Ben Brantley effusively praised Rose's performance, but labelled the revival unbalanced and "flabby." The play earned no Tony nominations, which The New York Times identified as a trend of Tony-voters rejecting the season's productions that were led by Hollywood actors. The play was financially successful, grossing $11.9 million from 125 performances.

In November 2009, the production moved to London's West End starring Adrian Lester (Brick) and Sanaa Lathan (Maggie), with both Jones and Rashad reprising their Broadway roles.

In January 2011, a production to mark Williams's 100th birthday was presented with an American cast at the English Theater in Vienna, Austria. In 2011, the play was performed at the Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Canada, starring Maya O’Connell as Maggie and Gray Powell as Brick.

Rob Ashford directed a 2013 Broadway revival that opened at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in January 2013. Featuring Ciarán Hinds (Big Daddy), Debra Monk (Big Mama), Benjamin Walker (Brick), and Scarlett Johansson (Maggie), the production ran for 86 performances as a limited engagement. Producer Stuart Thompson staged the production at Johansson's request after she sought to return to Broadway following her Tony win for A View from the Bridge. She originally considered Williams's The Glass Menagerie, but didn't respond to the lead character. Newsday's Linda Winer panned Johansson's performance as too restrained, with the rest of the show "faceless, respectable, and dull." The production earned $11.9 million during its run,

A 2014 production directed by James Dacre played at Royal & Derngate (Northampton), the Royal Exchange Theatre (Manchester), and Northern Stage (Newcastle upon Tyne), with an original score by White Lies bassist Charles Cave. It featured Mariah Gale (Maggie), Charles Aitken (Brick), Daragh O'Malley (Big Daddy), and Kim Criswell (Big Mama). Paul Vallely praised the production for its subtlety.

The Berkshire Theatre Festival produced the play in 2016, under the direction of David Auburn, with Michael Raymond-James (Brick), Rebecca Brooksher (Maggie), Linda Gehringer (Big Mama), and Jim Beaver (Big Daddy). A review in the local publication, The Berkshire Edge, rendered the production "questionable" and especially criticized the play's unfaithfulness to the material and Raymond-James's unsympathetic performance.

The Young Vic's 2017 production—directed by Benedict Andrews and starring Sienna Miller (Maggie), Jack O'Connell (Brick), Colm Meaney (Big Daddy), Lisa Palfrey (Big Mama), Hayley Squires (Mae), and Brian Gleeson (Gooper)—was filmed at the Apollo Theatre for National Theatre Live. On March 10, 2021, the filmed production was added to the National Theatre Live's streaming service: National Theatre At Home.

In 2022, the Tennessee Williams estate granted the production company Ruth Stage the right to perform the show off-Broadway for the first time in the play's history. The show ran to largely positive reviews for 35 performances at the Theatre at St. Clements in Hell's Kitchen. Arifa Akbar praised elements of the production, but ultimately decreed it "a production that you admire rather than one that moves you."

Director Sam Gold and production company Seaview announced on April 21, 2026, that he would direct a new Broadway revival in spring 2027. Dates and casting are currently to be announced.

Notable casts

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

|-

! rowspan="2" | Character

! Broadway

! West End

! Broadway Revival

! Broadway Revival

! Broadway Revival

! Broadway Revival

! Broadway Revival

!London Revival

!Off-Broadway Revival

!London Revival

|-

!<small>1955</small>

!<small>1958</small>

!<small>1974</small>

!<small>1990</small>

!<small>2003</small>

!<small>2008</small>

!<small>2013</small>

!<small>2018</small>

!<small>2022</small>

!<small>2024</small>

|-

! scope="row" |Margaret

| Barbara Bel Geddes Director Richard Brooks's version was criticized for toning down the play, specifically eliminating the homosexual theme.

Awards and nominations

Original Broadway production

{| class="wikitable" width="95%"

|-

! width="5%"| Year

! width="25%"| Award ceremony

! width="40%"| Category

! width="20%"| Nominee

! width="10%"| Result

|-

| rowspan="2"| 1955

| New York Drama Critics' Circle

| Best American Play

| rowspan="2"|Tennessee Williams

|

|-

| Pulitzer Prize

| Drama

|

|-

| rowspan="4"| 1956

| rowspan="4"| Tony Award

| colspan="2"| Best Play

|

|-

| Best Actress in a Play

| Barbara Bel Geddes

|

|-

| Best Director

| Elia Kazan

|

|-

| Best Scenic Design

| Jo Mielziner

|

|}

1974 Broadway revival

{| class="wikitable" width="95%"

|-

! width="5%"| Year

! width="25%"| Award ceremony

! width="40%"| Category

! width="20%"| Nominee

! width="10%"| Result

|-

| rowspan="3"| 1975

| Tony Award

| Best Actress in a Play

| rowspan="2"|Elizabeth Ashley

|

|-

| rowspan="2"|Drama Desk Award

| Outstanding Actress in a Play

|

|-

| Outstanding Set Design

| John Conklin

|

|}

1990 Broadway revival

{| class="wikitable" width="95%"

|-

! width="5%"| Year

! width="25%"| Award ceremony

! width="40%"| Category

! width="20%"| Nominee

! width="10%"| Result

|-

| rowspan="8"| 1990

| rowspan="3"|Tony Award

| Best Actress in a Play

| Kathleen Turner

|

|-

| Best Featured Actor in a Play

| Charles Durning

|

|-

| Best Featured Actress in a Play

| Polly Holliday

|

|-

| rowspan="2"|Drama Desk Award

| colspan="2"|Outstanding Revival

|

|-

| Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play

| Charles Durning

|

|-

| rowspan="3"|Outer Critics Circle Award

| colspan="2"|Outstanding Revival of a Play

|

|-

| Outstanding Actor in a Play

| Charles Durning

|

|-

| Outstanding Actress in a Play

| Kathleen Turner

|

|}

2003 Broadway revival

{| class="wikitable" width="95%"

|-

! width="5%"| Year

! width="25%"| Award ceremony

! width="40%"| Category

! width="20%"| Nominee

! width="10%"| Result

|-

| rowspan="6"| 2004

| Tony Award

| Best Featured Actress in a Play

| Margo Martindale

|

|-

| rowspan="2"|Drama Desk Award

| Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play

| Ned Beatty

|

|-

| Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play

| Margo Martindale

|

|-

| rowspan="2"|Outer Critics Circle Award

| Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play

| Ned Beatty

|

|-

| Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play

| Margo Martindale

|

|-

| Drama League Award

| colspan="2"|Distinguished Revival of a Play

|

|}

2008 Broadway revival

{| class="wikitable" width="95%"

|-

! width="5%"| Year

! width="25%"| Award ceremony

! width="40%"| Category

! width="20%"| Nominee

! width="10%"| Result

|-

| 2008

| Outer Critics Circle Award

| Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play

| James Earl Jones

|

|}

See also

References

Informational notes

Citations

Further reading

  • Bloom, Harold (ed.). Tennessee Williams, Modern Critical Views, 80. New York: Chelsea House, 1987.
  • Cañadas, Ivan. "The Naming of Straw and Ochello in Tennessee Williams's Cat On a Hot Tin Roof, English Language Notes 42.4 (June 2005): 57–62.
  • Clum, John M. "Something Cloudy, Something Clear': Homophobic Discourse in Tennessee Williams, South Atlantic Quarterly 88.1 (Winter 1989): 161–79.
  • The National, indie rock band. "City Middle" from the record Alligator: "I think I'm like Tennessee Williams, I wait for the click; I wait, but it doesn't kick in."
  • Plooster, Nancy. "Silent Partners: Lost Lovers in American Drama". 1995 Queer Frontiers: Proceedings of the Fifth Annual National Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Graduate Student Conference. University of Southern California. March 23–26, 1995, Ed. John Waiblinger. University of Southern California Library. USC.edu
  • Shackelford, Dean. "The Truth That Must Be Told: Gay Subjectivity, Homophobia, and Social History in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Tennessee Williams Annual Review 1 (1998): 103–118.
  • Stanton, Stephen S. (Ed.). Tennessee Williams: A Collection of Critical Essays. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1977.
  • Winchell, Mark Royden. "Come Back to the Locker Room Ag'in, Brick Honey!". Mississippi Quarterly: The Journal of Southern Culture. 48:4 (Fall 1995): 701–12.
  • Cat on a Hot Tin Roof study guide, themes, quotes, character analyses, teaching guide
  • "Three Players of a Summer Game" by Tennessee Williams, The New Yorker, 1952.
  • The New Yorker, November 1, 1952 issue containing "Three Players of a Summer Game" by Tennessee Williams, p. 27.