Why is there a cat on a hot tin roof?
The Old Lyric Repertory Company presents the fourth offering of the 39th summer season with the well-known play “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” by Tennessee Williams. The production’s first run of the season is Thursday, July 14, through Saturday, July 16, at the Caine Lyric Theatre in historic downtown Logan. Curtain time for the production is 8 p.m. during the run, with a matinee beginning at 2 p.m. on Saturday to accompany the evening performance. The Caine Lyric Box Office is open Monday through Saturday noon to 8 p.m. Ticket reservations can be made at 28 West Center Street or by calling (435) 752-1500.
The Old Lyric Repertory Company is a program operated by Utah State University.
Lynda Linford, a professor in the theatre arts department at Utah State, directs the production. She said it a timeless piece with a realistic view of family and the things hidden within that intricate group.
“It’s a play about patriarchs and matriarchs and those who will become,” Linford said. “Patrons should look and listen for the symbols of death. The play’s about life continuing – the survival of the fittest versus the survival of the unworthy.”
“Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” was first produced in 1955 by legendary director Elia Kazan. The crux of the play concerns the conflicts of a Mississippi family – the diagnosis of patriarch Big Daddy’s stomach cancer, the childless marriage of Big Daddy’s son, Brick, and wife, Maggie, and the distribution of the family plantation following Big Daddy’s death. But, as in most of Tennessee Williams’s work, there is much more to each of the characters than meets the eye and their secrets unfold slowly, Linford said.
“Williams’s plays were not always meant to shock; they sometimes were meant to show the audience a sympathetic portrayal of characters whose fears and loneliness reflect the viewer’s own,” she said. “The plays ultimately entertain and, most of all, enlighten.”
Immortalized on the screen by Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman and Burl Ives, “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” has been called “a milestone of mature candor and power.”
The play contains adult situations, including language and imagery, for which parental discretion is advised.
Linford said “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” can affect those in the theatre, as the struggles between family members and the characters’ internal struggles come to light.
“I’d like the audience to walk away from the theatre wanting to read more Tennessee Williams,” she said. “His poetic imagery in plays such as ‘The Glass Menagerie’ and ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ is so poignant, sensitive and profound. I would like patrons to investigate the delicate and destructive web that ties children to parents.”
“Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” keeps the OLRC actors busy – many of its cast members have appeared in other productions this summer. Kent Hadfield plays Brick, the troubled ex-football player, with Keri Larsen in the role of Maggi, Brick’s wife and partner in a tension-filled marriage.
New OLRC member Ron Frederickson steps in as Big Daddy. Fredrickson recently portrayed Big Daddy for Westminster College in Salt Lake.
Katie Ackerman plays Mae, Gooper is portrayed by Cory Castillo, and Big Mama is played by Maribeth Evensen-Hengee. Lee Daily continues his OLRC season playing Reverend Tooker, with Kermit Herd as Dr. Baugh. Autumn Sargent plays Sookey, and Dale Flink (OLRC apprentice) fills the role of Lacey.
Also in “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” are a number of aspiring young actors. Chloe Jensen, Ruby Wagstaff (daughter of OLRC member Edye), Skye Ferguson and young Gavin Rockne make OLRC debuts in the play’s required younger roles. As a sidebar to the play’s underlying football theme, a cast member comes prepared with impeccable credentials – Gavin Rockne is the great-great grandson of legendary football coach and innovator Knute Rockne.
“I couldn’t be happier that my 2-?-year old son is making his theatrical debut on the Lyric stage and in such a finely written and acted play as ‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,'” said Amanda Rockne, Gavin’s mother. “The cast has really embraced him and he’s developed a crush on several of the leading ladies! We figured since he (Gavin) had already done an entire Lyric season (2002) backstage – in-utero – that he deserved a little time in front of an audience.
“Gavin, unfortunately, is genetically predetermined to be slightly dramatic. What better venue than the Lyric and ‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’ to let him express it. He loves the attention and I enjoy the break!”
The director added that “everyone in the cast is phenomenal.”
In addition to the Caine Lyric Box Office, tickets are available through the Ellen Eccles box office at (435) 752-0026, extension 14. Ticket prices range from $8 to $17. Season subscriptions are sold out for the 2005 season. Watch for more chances to save early in 2006. For more information visit the OLRC Web site at www.usu.edu/lyric.
The Old Lyric Repertory Company’s promotional events for the summer include “Senior Date Night,” which provides two-for-one pricing for senior citizens for the Tuesday and Wednesday evening performances. Another promotion, the “Student Rush,” gives current Utah State University students the opportunity to purchase half price tickets 15 minutes prior to curtain at every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evening performance. The “OLRC Promo Jeep” will be seen around Logan as well, and offers tickets, merchandise and more.
New this season is the inaugural OLRC Benefit Gala. The “gala” includes an opportunity to meet and mingle with OLRC members, a catered dinner at Hamilton’s Steak and Seafood, a cabaret-style evening of entertainment by OLRC members and a ticket to a 2005 production. Tickets for the gala are $50. Inquiries and reservations can be made at (435) 797-1500.
For a free brochure and to be added to the mailing list, call (435) 797-3046.
The OLRC is supported by grants and gifts from the Marie Eccles Caine Foundation, the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation, the College of Humanities Arts and Social Sciences at Utah State University, the Cache County Restaurant/RAPZ Tax, the Utah Arts Council and the Bridgerland Travel Council.