BWW Reviews: BroadHollow's CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, the latest offering from the BroadHollow Theatre Company, proves a very relatable story. The Pulitzer Prize winning play, by Tennessee Williams, has several themes that the cast wonderfully carried out on the intimate stage of Studio Theatre in Lindenhurst. Among said themes are social etiquette, greed, superficiality, mendacity, sexual desire, and death. I think it is safe to say that everyone who sees this show could empathize with at least one of the characters and/or story lines.

The cast for BroadHollow's Doug Lillie directed production - playing through August 24th - is headed up by Long Island theatre vets MaryEllen Molfetta, Mark T. Cahill, Constance Moore, and Frank DiSpigno. The rest of the company is top notch as well with Patrick Finn, KeVin Knight, Steven Prendergast, Gary Tifeld, and Lesley Wade. Additionally, the youth ensemble - comprised of John Dibbins, Samantha Hmelovksy, and Hailey LaMacchia - was very well received by the sold out audience.

Set in the Mississippi plantation home of Big Daddy Pollitt (Mr. DiSpigno), a wealthy cotton tycoon, the story examines the relationships of his family members - largely between his son Brick (Mr. Cahill) and his wife Maggie (Ms. Molfetta). While Ms. Molfetta gave a superb performance, Mr. Cahill's was a little uneven. While very talented, of course, Mr. Cahill looked bored at times portraying Brick's alcoholic and indifferent behavior.

As for Ms. Molfetta, she portrayed Maggie's determined demeanor wonderfully. At one point she told off her husband when he wouldn't progress in their relationship - they are childless and hadn't slept together in quite some time - and about the suicide of his dear friend. This is in addition to fighting with her greedy brother-in-law, Gooper (Mr. Tifeld), and his annoyingly "southern society" proper wife, Mae (Ms. Wade), when they make plans to overtake the family fortune. Ms. Molfetta also has about 85 percent of the speaking part in Act 1 and handled that flawlessly.

The lies - mendacity being the biggest theme of the story - come to a boiling point over the course of an evening at a family gathering celebrating Big Daddy's birthday and his return with what he had been told was a clean bill of health. The entire family - except Big Daddy and Big Mama (Ms. Moore) - is aware of Big Daddy's true diagnosis that he has been stricken with cancer. The family was trying to spare the aging couple from pain, but it becomes clear that the family has constructed a web of deceit. Disgusted with the pretenses, Brick defiantly tells Big Daddy that the report from the clinic about his condition was falsified for his sake. Then Maggie, Brick, Mae, Gooper, and Doctor Baugh - the family's physician portrayed by Mr. Finn - decide to tell Big Mama the truth rendering her completely devastated by the news.

The three act play proves to be a long one, but the cast makes it worth it. Even the set, done by BroadHollow Scenic, was impressive making great use out of the small stage. All in all, a great cast bringing a relatable, if not very tense, story to life makes for an enjoyable night of theatre.

Tennessee Williams' Cat On A Hot Tin Roof is presented by the BroadHollow Theatre Company through August 24th at Studio Theatre in Lindenhurst, Long Island. Directed by Doug Lillie, Scenic Design by BroadHollow Scenic, Lighting Design by Hemraj Budram, and Stage Management by Anne Longobardo. For more information and to purchase tickets, please call (631) 226-8400 or visit www.broadhollow.org.

To post a comment, you must register and login.