Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Artes de la Rosa’s CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF at the Rose Marine Theater, Fort Worth


_____________CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF______________
Reviewed by ASSOCIATE THEATER CRITIC, Laura L. Watson , John Garcia's THE COLUMN


Artes de la Rosa, under the direction of Adam Adolfo, had the cojones to take Tennessee Williams’ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof-originally set on a plantation in Mississippi- and move it to Little Havanah in Florida and give it a Cuban flair. The test if a work of art is indeed a true classic is to take it out of time and place and determine if the story still resonates. Any reinterpretation of a work will also test the talent and resources of the theatre company, especially its director. Both Williams and Artes de la Rosa passed with flying colors.

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof was written in 1955- winning the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and is Williams’ best known work. A little known fact, shared by the director in his opening speech, is that this play happens to be the favorite of Fidel Castro, President of Cuba. The story is set in the bedroom of a plantation home and examines the tormented relationships between Brick- a former star athlete turned drunk-, his wife Maggie- the cat, and Brick’s father and mother, Big Daddy and Big Mamma. Big Daddy is dying of cancer, Brick is mourning the death of his friend (or more than just friend) Skipper, and Maggie is fighting for Brick’s attention and everyone’s respect. Mae and Gooper, Brick’s brother and sister-in-law, are greedy and want Big Daddy’s fortune all to themselves- and their 6 children who they use to torment Brick and Maggie who have no children. Throw in a servant, a priest, and a doctor all there to help Big Mamma come to terms with Big Daddy’s illness, and it’s a recipe for a family show down- made all the more intense by their love and loyalty to one another because of the importance of “la familia.”

Director Adam Adolfo and assistant director Katreeva Phillips assembled a fine cast and united all elements of design behind his vision for a Cuban Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. There is no great spectacle, no huge action- the entire play is driven by dialogue- and thereby the blocking and pacing of the script becomes critical. Adolfo gave his actors just enough blocking to keep the energy up without detracting from the text. He made great use of set levels and used the entire stage with ease. He even made use of the theatre building, letting sounds and action from outside the stage penetrate into the story as if the entire building was Big Daddy’s house and we were in just one room of it. Part of the Cuban flair was the occasional lines in Spanish. Williams’ scripts have a lot of repetition, and Adolfo took advantage of those repetitions as opportunities much as in the same way Broadway’s In the Heights did with great success. (He used the sanctioned Spanish translation for these Spanish lines.) If the audience is bilingual, they are in for a double treat, but even the monolingual are not left out or confused. That is the true mastery of the writing, directing and acting- the emotions and story comes through no matter what language is being spoken or understood. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof has had many interpretations of Brick and Skipper’s relationship and the to-be-paternity of Maggie’s child. Adolfo came with his own, original subtext. I won’t give away his choices as they are part of the climax, but they are both shocking and appropriate to these characters. Adolfo gave a very empassioned opening night speech, letting the audience know that in the rehearsal process, he lost his own father. In grieving his loss, he turned to the script, which in Act II centers on a very volatile father-son relationship. The attention to this scene and the underlying emotions were palpable. Anyone with an imperfect family can relate to the relationships played out in this production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.

Opening night had about a 15-20 minute delay as much of the audience was caught in a horrific Friday night traffic jam. The Cuban music chosen by Adolfo and the exquisite set designed by Oliver Lukach made the delay more than bearable. Making use of the entire Rose Marine Theater stage, the set was a work of art in itself and was the ideal backdrop to the dialogue. The set consisted of a large oversized four post king bed with white sheets, sitting furniture, bar, and windows leading to a terrace that was set far downstage and on the floor in front of the audience. Dark wood with white linens gave it a very Cuban feel on a hot and steamy night. The cast was also costumed, by Justin Kailer, in a mixture of white and kahki as many islanders tend to dress. Though united in color and fabric, each character remained distinct from the others. Maggie’s simple white dress was both sexy and elegant while Mae’s maternity shirt was expensive yet frumpy. Mae, who looks to be seven or eight months pregnant, needed a slightly better pregnancy suit. A pregnant woman is not identifiable only by her belly- and the suit needed to include her entire torso. Lighting Designer Matt Wasson used the soft lights of evening and the occasional flash of lightning from the oncoming storm to enhance the progression of the story.

Though not every member of the cast was Latino- and obviously not all were native Spanish speakers- the Cuban feel was present in their dialogue and attitudes. Stephanie Cleghorn Bluth was sultury hot as Maggie the Cat. She held an enraptured audience in her hand, and used her body to accentuate many of her lines. Though Maggie is extremely proud of her body and uses it to try to entice Brick back to her, she is more than that on the inside. Bluth brought that part out in a powerfully dramatic way. I wanted her to go even further and find levels within her sex appeal. Act I is almost all Maggie talking to a non-responsive Brick. At times, she lost the motivation for some of the lines and just recieted them to get through the scene. Maggie keeps talking and talking, for a reason, and Brick doesn’t talk- for a reason. Finding those levels and deep motivations for every single line will take her performance from great to phenomenal. In Act I, Brick was silent yet exceptionally portrayed by Joey Folsom. Though not talking, he is reacting to what she says, and his occasional one liners (usually a joke about his alcoholism), were spot on in timing and delivery. His Spanish pronunciations need a little work, and even his English accent was all over the map. It wasn’t deep South, it wasn’t Cuban. It had a little Brooklyn or Bronx to it at times. With a Cuban setting, it would have been nice to hear either a Cuban-American accent or Standard American English. Folsom and Bluth’s best moment was toward the end of Act I when she suddenly grabbed him and held on at center stage. The moment was so intense everyone in the audience held their breath. This moment was gradually lead up to in Maggie’s non stop talk and Brick’s nonchalant listening. There was also some great physical comedy when Brick, who has a broken ankle, “runs” out of the bathroom to rescue his liquor when his mother isn’t looking. Also worthy of note is that Folsom is wearing a cast the entire play- and never once did he forget nor over emphasize Brick’s broken ankle. He really paid attention to the physical requirements of this character.

Folsom flexes his acting muscles in Act II as Brick and Big Daddy, played by Rob Bosquez, allow their volatile father-son relationship to ignite and explode. The fight over the crutch between father and son was slow and hesitant, but otherwise kept building and the audience engaged. The dialogue in this scene, amongst all the characters, drug a little and the energy dropped. If the actors would raise the emotional stakes and pick up the speed it would help the audience follow all the dialogue. Every word matters, and words are all they have, especially by the second act. Folsom comes full force at Bosquez who seemed to back down and falter at times. I wanted to see him match Folsom’s intensity. Bosquez grew in strength as the scene progressed. Though Bosquez well played the physical pains of a man dying of cancer and an old bull fighting to maintain control, it was this… “old man vibe” that was missing. Physically he was made to look like Big Daddy, but he doesn’t seem old enough to play him. As I talked with my theatre companion (okay, my mom), she and I both agreed yet couldn’t articulate it. People of a certain age carry themselves different than a young man does. They have an air of authority about them- and that attitude of “I’m old, so I’ll say whatever I want.” It’s not something an actor can imitate, they simply have it. However, his exit, which lead to the second intermission, was a powerful cliffhanger to the third act. You didn’t need to speak Spanish to understand what he was yelling.

The second act opens in an intense fight between Big Daddy and Big Mamma (Danielle Reboli) which fell a little flat. It was forced and felt as if it came from nowhere. When opening an act in the midst of an emotionally charged scene, that ‘moment before’ becomes essential. Big Daddy is verbally abusive to Big Mamma, and she cowered as he called her fat and ugly. I had an intense dislike for Big Daddy after this scene. He was mean, callous, and insensitive- exactly as Williams wrote him. Reboli nailed it as Big Mamma in the third and final act. In fact, the third act- which is the climax of how to tell Big Mamma that Big Daddy is dying- was some of the finest ensemble acting I’ve seen in the last year.

Adrian Godinez as Gooper and Georgia Phillips as Mae were disgustingly loathsome and greedy. Phillips needs to really study pregnant woman and how they walk and sit. Her movements were forced and unnatural. But, her snarky stabs at Maggie and snakelike coiling around Big Mamma and Daddy were just what was needed. It was easy to believe she was a former beauty queen who had married for social status, and to watch her manipulate her children, two of which were seen (well played to an irksome annoyance by Hunter F. Hurt and Alexis Gutierrez) to try and ensure her inheritance was unsetteling. Godinez has few lines and is obviously not the one wearing the pants in his relationship with Mae, but his presence adds to the family dynamics. When he cries out to be loved like Brick, it was more than sibling rivalry and gave us a glimpse into why he is truly after the inheritance. Also, his lines did not come out of nowhere, but we saw it building through his physicalization of Gooper in those moments when he was seen but not heard. Of all the actors, Eddie Zertuche had the best Cuban accent. I wish Williams had given him more lines so we could hear him speak more. He well played his nervousness about telling Big Mamma the truth about the medical report, something they do teach- how to deliever bad news- in medical school, so I’m not sure why the doctor was so nervous. Perhaps it’s because of Big Mamma and Daddy’s imposing nature- no one wants to be on their bad side. The Priest, played by Abel Flores, Jr, used his physical stature to fuel his character’s easygoing motivation and lack of desire to rock the boat. The contrast between him and Big Daddy/Big Mama let Big Daddy establish who they are outside of the family and in the community. Add to it, the comedic relief between the Priest and Big Mamma, and he was a lighthearted delight to watch. Antonio Romero Jr as Sookey the servant is quiet and unimposing yet always present. He plays the backdrop to the family’s immense wealth- allowing them to be rich without having to say or do anything except in reaction to his lower class presence. A true mastery in playing a lesser role very well and fully, even though not given much to do or say. Pay attention to him when you go see this play. That’s all I can say about that. Pay attention to what he’s doing when everyone else is talking.

Adolfo said it best: this production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof may have a Latino cast and setting, but the story is for families of all cultures. With a strong handle on the script, the acting, and all elements of design, this Cuban Cat on a Hot Tin Roof sizzles and deeply affects all regardless of ethnicity.


Artes de la Rose presents Tennessee Williams’ CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF through September 18.

Performed at the Rose Marine Theatre, 1440 North Main Street, in historic downtown Fort Worth. Tickets are $15, or $10 for students and seniors. Tickets can be purchased online at www.rosemarinetheater.com.

*REVIEWED 9-10-2010 PERFORMANCE

Reviewed by ASSOCIATE THEATER CRITIC, Laura L. Watson, for JOHN GARCIA'S THE COLUMN

Directed by Adam Adolfo
Written by Tennessee Williams
Assistant Director and Stage Manager: Katreeva Phillips
Set Design: Oliver Luke
Costume Design: Justin Kailer
Lighting Design: Matt Wasson
Sound Design: Adam Adolfo
Props Design: Alex Krus
Assistant Technical Director: Scarlett Hunt
Scenic Painter: Travis Rice
Spanish Coach: Eddie Zertuche
Casting Assistant: Nicole Moreno
Artistic Associate: Yvonne Duque

CAST
Brick: Joey Folsom
Maggie: Stephanie Cleghorn Bluth
Big Daddy: Rob Bosquez
Big Mamma: Danielle Reboli
Gooper: Adrian Godinez
Mae: Georgia Phillips
Doc Baugh: Eddie Zertuche
Father Tooker: Abel Flores, Jr.
Sookey: Antonio Romero, Jr.
Dixie: Alexis Gutierrez
Sonny: Hunter F. Hurt

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof YouTube trailer. Note, does not feature Joey Folsom as Brick.