Cat on a Hot Tin Roof [Paperback]

Tennessee Williams (Author), Edward Albee (Introduction)

Book Description

Series: New Directions Paperbook | Publication Date: September 17, 2004

The definitive text of this American classic—reissued with an introduction by Edward Albee (Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and A Delicate Balance) and Williams' essay "Person-to-Person."

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof first heated up Broadway in 1955 with its gothic American story of brothers vying for their dying father's inheritance amid a whirlwind of sexuality, untethered in the person of Maggie the Cat. The play also daringly showcased the burden of sexuality repressed in the agony of her husband, Brick Pollitt. In spite of the public controversy Cat stirred up, it was awarded the Pulitzer Prize and the Drama Critics Circle Award for that year. Williams, as he so often did with his plays, rewrote Cat on a Hot Tin Roof for many years—the present version was originally produced at the American Shakespeare Festival in 1974 with all the changes that made Williams finally declare the text to be definitive, and was most recently produced on Broadway in the 2003-04 season. This definitive edition also includes Williams' essay "Person-to-Person," Williams' notes on the various endings, and a short chronology of the author's life. One of America's greatest living playwrights, as well as a friend and colleague of Williams, Edward Albee has written a concise introduction to the play from a playwright's perspective, examining the candor, sensuality, power, and impact of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof then and now.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The introductions, by playwrights as illustrious as Williams himself, are the gem of these new editions. (Ken Furtado - Echo Magazine )

Tennessee Williams never wrote a more explosive play than Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. (Howard Kissel - The Daily News )

[Cat on a Hot Tin Roof] is [Williams'] most impassioned and articulate statement on human isolation. (The New York Times )

About the Author

Tennessee Williams (1911-1983) is the acclaimed author of many books of letters, short stories, poems, essays, and a large collection of plays, including The Glass Menagerie, A Streetcar Named Desire, Camino Real, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Orpheus Descending, The Night of the Iguana, and The Rose Tattoo.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: New Directions (September 17, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811216012
• ISBN-13: 978-0811216012
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,857 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #31 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Drama > United States

More About the Author

Tennessee Williams (1911-1983), one of the 20th century's most superb writers, was also one of its most successful and prolific. His classic works include Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, A Streetcar Named Desire, The Glass Menagerie, Summer and Smoke, Camino Real, Sweet Bird of Youth, Night of the Iguana, Orpheus Descending, and The Rose Tattoo.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars The pinnacle of American Drama, October 25, 2011

By 

B. Wilfong (Newark, OH) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Paperback)

This is a superbly written play about that most basic of human issues, the desire to communicate honestly and openly with someone that you care about. At its core, Tennessee Williams' masterpiece is really about nothing more than that. Everyone wants and needs someone to listen to, and accept, you.
All of Williams' plays are about lonely people when you come right down to it. However, "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" is unique in that these lonely characters are part of a large family, and at times are literally tripping over each other. What makes us lonely is our inability to communicate with those that we love. It is in that essential human drive that Williams creates the tragedy of this piece. A father knows his son is a closeted gay man; he loves him, but can't get the son to believe or accept that. A wife knows the truth about her husband, but can't make herself believe it. (Actually that last one applies to two wives in the play, for different reasons.) A man faces death, in essence alone, because he can't admit how terrified he is. And the list goes on. These are the stories of the Pollitt family of the Mississippi Delta. Those particulars are different for all of us, but the essential worries and fears of the members of this family are universal, and have been at the heart of a powerful drama for over 50 years.
The witting of this play is luminous and gorgeous. In fact, at times it reads like poetry. However, the power in this piece is also due in large part to the structure of this three act play. The first act is almost a solo from the character of Maggie. The second act is a painful and terrifying duet from the characters of Brick and Big Daddy, and the final act is the ensemble number that builds, and then ends on a slow drawn out note.
If you see "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" in performance it is a long play, and at times painful. You will not feel the same intensity unless you let yourself sit down and devour it in one gulp. Read the play in a day, and you will come closer to approximating seeing it in performance than you otherwise would. In the best of possible worlds, you will read it, and then a month or so later see it in a well done performance.
This play is the pinnacle of American Drama. You should know it. Make that the case if it is not so!

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a play!, August 20, 2010

By 

William Haas - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Paperback)

There must be a price to pay for honesty. This "cat" says what she wants to say no matter how much this may hurt her family. She admits she's an opportunist and thats how one should live in a postmodern life as this play took place. Money and wealth are tools how she and other characters can survive in the "hot tin roof" and society in larger extant. Pride and prestige are goals the characters aim to shoot at. Lies and flattery are ways to achieve the goals and set all dreams on track. At the end, people just cant believe finding out being cheated even by their beloved ones. And the "cat" is indeed a winner from all the drama...
"At least, Im honest", she said. Guess, these values of the play are because they are all everlasting lessons everybody has experienced in today's life. Willims is just too bold to put them together in such powerful play. So honest so that I dont even realize I have already felt such stories in my daily life...

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Read That Only Gets Better With Age, August 26, 2011

By 

S. Thrush "diesel lover" (Berkeley, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Paperback)

it's been awhile since i've seen or read this play. i still can't help but care about the characters. i want to know more about them and watch them interact. it simply doesn't get much better than that, does it? ~steveT