CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF, Starring Scarlett Johansson and Benjamin Walker, Begins Performances

Performances of Tennessee Williams' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof starring Scarlett Johansson as Maggie, Ciarán Hinds as Big Daddy, Benjamin Walker as Brick and Debra Monk as Big Mama, directed by Rob Ashford, begin tonight, Tuesday, December 18 at 7pm. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof opens January 17 and will play a limited engagement for 15 weeks only, through March 30, 2013 at the Richard Rodgers Theatre (226 West 46th Street).

The cast also includes Emily Bergl (Mae), Michael Park (Gooper), Vin Knight (Reverend Tooker), Brian Reddy (Doctor Baugh). The cast also includes Will Cobbs, Tanya Birl, Jordan Dean, Lance Roberts and Cherene Snow. Playing the children are Laurel Griggs, Victoria Leigh, Charlotte Rose Masi, George Porteous and Noah Unger.

The design team is comprised of Christopher Oram (Scenic Design), Julie Weiss (Costume Design), Neil Austin (Lighting Design) and Adam Cork (Composer and Sound Design).

In Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, "Big Daddy" Pollitt, the richest cotton planter in the Mississippi Delta, is about to celebrate his 65th birthday. He is distressed by the rocky relationship between his beloved son Brick, an aging football hero who has turned to drink, and his beautiful and feisty wife Maggie. As the hot summer evening unfolds, the veneer of Southern gentility slips away as unpleasant truths emerge and greed, lies and suppressed sexuality reach a boiling point.