Thursday, November 29, 2012

My Life in the Theater: CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF

We have probably all seen the movie version of this with Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylor where the book's subtext of Brick's homosexuality is submerged beneath illusions of something else. We saw it in 1992 at the Hilberry Theater, which is the graduate repertory theater associated with Wayne State University in Detroit. A young actor, Thorsten Kaye, played Brick, the Newman role. I thought it would be fun to see whether he had any success after his years in Detroit and see he is currently on the tv show SMASH. He seems to have had steady if not spectacular success since 1992.

Here is a clip from the original Broadway version with Ben Gazarra and Barbara Bel Geddes


7 comments:

Dana King said...

Wow. Jackie Treehorn and Miss Ellie together. Nice.

Deb said...

Watched it just a few days ago on TCM. They do seem to wrap themselves in knots trying to figure out a way to explain Brick's misery over his friend's suicide without coming right out and saying what could not be said in the movies in 1958. Still, Paul Newman and Liz Taylor were so beautiful to look at, it hardly made any difference.

Anonymous said...

Patti - Ah, yes - great play! Interesting isn't it when a play and the movie made from it are both really successful.

Anonymous said...

We saw this on Broadway with Elizabeth Ashley and Keir Dullea, Fred Gwynne and Kate Reid in 1974. It's been a lot of years but as I remember it, Ashley blew him off the stage.

Jeff M.

Ron Scheer said...

Left at intermission of a production of this one at the Long Wharf. It was so muddled it didn't make a bit of sense. Easy to do with Williams, I think.

pattinase (abbott) said...

Yes. Has never been my favorite playwright either.
Is it me or does BG seem horrible in this clip?

Cap'n Bob said...

I did a scene from this in a college drama class. Too bad the Pulitzer Committee was elsewhere at the time.