“Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” will ignite the stage of the Baton Rouge Little Theatre Friday at 7 p.m. with a dramatic tale in which fraud, lust and hidden passions threaten to rip a broken family to shreds. The theater’s rendition of the Pulitzer Prize-winning, Tennessee Williams classic will impress audiences of all sorts with Broadway star Ana Maria Andricain joining the cast as Maggie the Cat. The play tells the story of an electrifying night in the lives of a wealthy Mississippi family, laced with love, loss, addiction and deceit. Keith Dixon, managing artistic director of Baton Rouge Little Theatre, said “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” is an American masterpiece and must-see performance. “It’s the quintessential Southern gothic story from the 1950s,” Dixon said. He said the play discusses a dysfunctional Southern family in which the patriarch is dying as well as the relationships he built within his family. Dixon said audiences are in for a real treat. Baton Rouge Little Theatre has brought in Andricain, a native of Baton Rouge and Broadway actress to participate in the production. Andricain said the play is set in a deep southern Mississippi plantation. “One word to sum it up would be mendacity, which means lies, liars and deception” Adricain said. “The play is about all the people in this family and how they’ve lied or been dishonest with each other. Everything comes to a head in that one evening.” Dixon said BRLT does not often host a production like “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” because of the dramatic effect the play has, unlike popular musicals and comedies. “It deals with scenes of everything from the class of the family to father/son, marital relationships and working through issues,” Dixon said. “It’s also about homosexuality in the 1950s, depression and alcoholism.” Adricain said she was ecstatic to move from the big stages of Broadway and experience performing for Baton Rouge Little Theatre. “I met Keith Dixon in New York years ago, and I have been wanting to work with him ever since,” Andricain said. “He wanted me to do a benefit for the Baton Rouge Little Theatre, and since my husband was going to be down here directing their next show, it was a role I always wanted to do and timing was great. It just worked out perfectly.” Dixon said anyone studying English should definitely consider attending the performance. “Williams’ work is literature. The language is beautiful. It’s poetic,” Dixon said. “The imagery in it is amazing. It really is a work of art not only in theatre but also in literature.” “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” premieres Friday and will continue every Thursday through Sunday until March 16. Regular admission is $20, and student admission is $10 for all Thursday and Sunday performances.
—-Contact Cathryn Core at [email protected]