Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

CatonaHotTinRooffirstheatedupBroadwayin1955withitsgothicAmericanstoryofbrothersvyingfortheirdyingfather'sinheritanceamidawhirlwindofsexuality,untetheredinthepersonofMaggietheCat.Theplayalsodaringlyshowcasedtheburdenofsexualityrepressedintheagonyofherhusband,BrickPollitt.InspiteofthepubliccontroversyCatstirredup,itwasawardedthePulitzerPrizeandtheDramaCriticsCircleAwardforthatyear.Williams,ashesooftendidwithhisplays,rewroteCatonaHotTinRoofformanyyears—thepresentversionwasoriginallyproducedattheAmericanShakespeareFestivalin1974withallthechangesthatmadeWilliamsfinallydeclarethetexttobedefinitive,andwasmostrecentlyproducedonBroadwayinthe2003-04season.ThisdefinitiveeditionalsoincludesWilliams'essay"Person-to-Person,"Williams'notesonthevariousendings,andashortchronologyoftheauthor'slife.OneofAmerica'sgreatestlivingplaywrights,aswellasafriendandcolleagueofWilliams,EdwardAlbeehaswrittenaconciseintroductiontotheplayfromaplaywright'sperspective,examiningthecandor,sensuality,power,andimpactofCatonaHotTinRoofthenandnow.威廉斯生于美国密西西比州哥伦布城，原名托马斯·拉尼尔·威廉斯第三。父亲是鞋厂推销员，性格乖戾，母亲是南方妇女，性情温和，双方之间一向感情不和，常起争吵。家庭生活毫无幸福可言，威廉斯因此自幼孤僻寡合，写作成为他抒情寓意的唯一途径。十几岁时已崭露头角，在报刊上发表诗歌和小说。