Aloha Performing Arts Company

Robin O'Hara has been cast as Maggie the Cat in Tennessee Williams' sultry Southern drama "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," the next production of Aloha Performing Arts Company. Robin was last seen as Belinda in "Noises Off" and is a member of the APAC Board of Directors. Maggie's crippled husband, Brick, will be played by Caesar Goosen, an APAC newcomer, and Big Daddy, the role created by Burl Ives, is portrayed by Brian Berry, whose last role for APAC was Norman in "On Golden Pond." Big Mama will be portrayed by Eileen Weiner, fresh from appearing as Sylvia Potter-Porter in "Annie Get Your Gun." Gooper and Mae, also known as Brother Man and Sister Woman, are played by Mark Bernstein and Cathy Riehle. Other cast members include Eugene Gall as Dr. Baugh, Terry Westerman as Reverend Tooker, Lilly Hoskinson-Weinstein as Dixie, Ivy Learned as Trixie, Lee Vinson as Lacey, and Becca Beaver, another APAC newcomer, as Sookey. Jerry Tracy is directing, assisted by Paula Cornwell. Producers are Sam Valenti and Randy Ressler, and designers include Steve Reynolds, set; Mark Bernstein, lighting; Paula Cornwell, props, and Lee Vinson, hair, makeup, and costumes.

"Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" is one of the "Big Three" plays of Tennessee Williams, alongside "The Glass Menagerie" and "A Streetcar Named Desire." The script won the 1955 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and is the story of a dysfunctional Southern family in crisis. The play centers on the turbulent relationship of Maggie and Brick and their interaction with Brick's family over the course of one evening gathering at the family estate in the Mississippi delta. It is Big Daddy Pollit's 65th birthday, and the family is celebrating despite some ominous news about the old man's health. The play debuted on Broadway in 1955, was made into a film starring Elizabeth Taylor and Paul Newman in 1958, and has been revived several times on Broadway. An all African American adaptation is currently running at Broadway's Broadhurst Theatre featuring James Earl Jones and Phylicia Rashad.

APAC's production of "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" will be presented at the Aloha Theatre in Kainaliu April 25 through May 10, with Friday and Saturday shows at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday matinees at 2:30 p.m. Admission is $15 for adults and $12 for students and seniors. On Fridays, all seats are $12. Tickets are available online at www.apachawaii.org, by phone at 322-1648, or at the box office beginning one hour prior to performance time. Special $45 dinner theatre packages are available from the Aloha Angel Cafe at 322-2122. Because of adult content and language, "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" is recommended for mature audiences. For more information, call the APAC office at 322-9924.