On January 12, it was announced that acclaimed actor Frederick Weller (“To Kill a Mockingbird”) will star in the Ruth Stage production of “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.”
Weller will be stepping into the role of Big Daddy, which was previously played by three-time Emmy winner Christian Jules LeBlanc (“The Young and The Restless”).
He is an eight-time Broadway veteran, and he is known for originating the role of Shane Mungitt in “Take Me Out,” which debuted on Broadway back in February of 2003 at the Walter Kerr Theatre.
Ruth Stage’s “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” returns to the Theatre at St. Clement’s after a hit off-Broadway premiere run last summer. The original 35 performance run was the first time in history that the Tennessee Williams estate had granted permission for the show to be staged off-Broadway.
“We couldn’t be more excited to have Fred in the role,” director Joe Rosario remarked. “One of the strengths of our last production was out of the box casting and an effective re-imagining of this play. Mr. Weller’s gravitas, intensity and ability to adapt makes him not only a stellar addition to our cast but the quintessential ‘Big Daddy’ for our modern interpretation of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.”
Weller will be joined by previously announced leads: Courtney Henggeler (“Cobra Kai” series regular) in her New York City stage debut as the central role of Maggie the Cat, and Matt de Rogatis who will reprise his critically acclaimed role as Brick.
This landmark production will be helmed by returning director Joe Rosario and his creative team which features Matt Imhoff as the set designer, Christian Specht as the lighting designer and Jesse Meckl as the stage manager.
Ruth Stage’s off-Broadway premiere of the Tennessee Williams masterpiece concluded its run on August 14, 2022, playing to sold out audiences and standing ovations. On the heels of the show’s success, the Tennessee Williams estate has issued an unprecedented re-engagement license to the maverick theatre group.
Performances of Ruth Stage’s “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” are set to begin on Friday, February 24, 2023, ahead of an opening night set for Sunday, March 5, 2023. This strictly-limited 42 performance re-engagement will run through Friday, March 31, 2023.
Tennessee Williams’ sultry, southern storm of a play about greed, deceit, self-delusion, sexual desire and repression, homophobia, sexism, and the looming specter of death won the Pulitzer Prize in 1955.
Ruth Stage’s modern and haunting interpretation is set in an estate in the Mississippi Delta of Big Daddy Pollitt, a wealthy cotton tycoon. The play examines the relationships among members of Big Daddy’s highly dysfunctional family, primarily between his son Brick and Maggie the Cat, Brick’s wife.
To learn more about this upcoming Off-Broadway production of “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” check out the Ruth Stage official homepage.
