“Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”: Revision upon Revision

Presented by resident scholar Tom Mitchell

Tennessee Williams disagreed with stage director Elia Kazan about the ending of “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” as it was being prepared for its original Broadway production. In the end, the compromise: Kazan called the shots on how the play ended onstage, but Tennessee published his desired ending. The movie version of the play suffered yet even more revisions as the sexual content of the play was tamed for a general audience. This discussion will explore the revisions as well as the impact of such revision on the audience.