Feel the heat at Ruth Stage's Cat On A Hot Tin Roof

As we stretch into the dog days of a sweltering summer, there’s no better time to see the Ruth Stage Production’s Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. The Ruth Stage production marries Tennessee Williams’ classic 1955 play with modern aesthetics as the set design featured sleek furniture and modern costuming. With the script unchanged from it’s original form, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof continued the featured motifs such as social morals, greed, superficiality, mendacity, decay, sexual desire & taboo, repression and death.

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof stars Ruth Stage co-founder Matt De Rogatis as the lead character Brick. De Rogatis’ layered and powerful performance brings a troubled depth to one of the show’s more taciturn characters, relying on subtle acting choices and expressions to evoke Brick’s emotional turmoil. His chemistry with on-stage wife Maggie, played by Sonoya Mizuno, brought a tense presence to the stage. A native Brit, Mizuno’s mastery of a gallant Southern accent is all the more impressive as she floats between impassioned monologues like a songbird. The two leads were flanked by a powerhouse cast of seasoned dramatic actors, including Tony veteran Alison Fraser, and crowd-adored Christian Jules Le Blanc of “The Young & Restless”.

Beneath the shouting, struggling, and shoving on stage the familial dynamic between the cast was clear on and off the stage. After having been delayed multiple times due to COVID-19, there is almost a sense of relief behind the palpable joy that is felt from the actors getting the chance to perform in front of a live audience again. This is made apparent through their utter commitment to their roles and scenes, including very real bruises on De Rogatis’ that were made visible as the actor took his bows, or Le Blanc’s impassioned toss and subsequent breaking of the crutches used by Brick.

The show’s only downfall is in its limited run, which goes between July 15th to August 14th. If you haven’t had the pleasure of viewing this spectacular production, make sure to make your way to the Theater at St Clemens as soon as you can: https://www.ruthstage.org/cat.html

The cast takes their bows to a standing ovation.