Theater season begins with Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

The Cornell Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts kicks off an exciting 2001-02 theater season Sept. 20 with the Tennessee Williams classic Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. This Pulitzer Prize-winning play is the powerful story of the rivalries and misunderstandings that tear apart a Southern family when its leader, Big Daddy, must face the end of his life.

The Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts opens its 2001-02 season Thursday, Sept. 20, with the Tennessee Williams classic Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, featuring, from left, Jeff Blagg '02 (Brick), Jessica Heley '02 (Maggie), and Resident Professional Teaching Associates Brian Russell (Big Daddy) and Tracey Huffman (Big Mama). Richard Killen/University Photography

Performances are scheduled for Sept. 20-22 and 27-29 at 8 p.m. with a matinee offered Sept. 29 at 2 p.m. Tickets in advance are $7 for students and seniors and $9 for the public. Tickets at the door will be $8 and $10. Following the Sept. 27 performance, a discussion is scheduled for the audience and members of the cast and crew. For tickets and information, call or visit the box office in the Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts, 430 College Ave., 12:30-5:30 p.m., weekdays; 254-ARTS.

"Williams is a master at illuminating moments of crisis in ordinary people's lives, and he has created remarkable dialogue revealing the pain and humor inherent in human communication," said director David Feldshuh, artistic director of the Schwartz Center. "Williams wrote various versions of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. This production adds to the Broadway text of 1955 elements of the original, pre-1955 script that Williams championed throughout his life."

Returning to the Schwartz Center stage this season are Resident Professional Teaching Associates Brian Russell and Tracey Huffman in the roles of Big Daddy and Big Mama. Audiences last year enjoyed Russell as Groucho in The Cocoanuts and as Alfieri in A View From the Bridge and Huffman as Beatrice in A View From the Bridge and as Mrs. Potter in The Cocoanuts. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof also will showcase the talents of new RPTAs Franz Jones as Lacey and John Payne as Doctor Baugh. The memorable characters of Maggie the Cat and Brick will be played by undergraduates Jessica Heley '02 and Jeff Blagg '02.

The sultry ambiance of the South will be transported onto the Kiplinger Theatre stage by the talented Andy Mansfield, scenic artist for the department, who also did the sets for last season's Dance Concert 2001.

Costumes are being designed by guest designer Amanda Doherty, and lights and sound feature the work of Schwartz Center resident designers Ed Intemann and Warren Cross.