Tennessee Rep Kicks Off REPaloud With CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF 8/25-27

Tennessee Repertory Theatre recently announced plans for REPaloud, the popular play reading series which highlights contemporary plays. The first staged reading of the 2011-12 season will be Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams, winner of the 1955 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. REPaloud will take place on August 25-27 at 7:00 pm at Tennessee Rep's Rehearsal Hall (NPT Studio A, 161 Rains Avenue).

Family, greed, social mores, sins of the past, and desperate hopes for the future: these themes are all prevalent in Tennessee Williams masterwork, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, winner of the 1955 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. One of the most successful-and most gripping-plays or the twentieth century, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof weaves the intricate tale of the Pollitt family, which has gathered to celebrate Big Daddy's sixty-fifth birthday. His personal favorite among his many plays, Williams deemed Cat on a Hot Tin Roof a "play which says only one affirmative thing about 'Man's Fate': that he has it still in his power not to squeal like a pig but to keep a tight mouth about it."

The selection of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof celebrates Tennessee Williams 100th birthday. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof will feature longtime Tennessee Rep favorites Jenny Littleton as Maggie and Eric D. Pasto-Crosby as Brick as well as Nashville Children's Theatre Artistic Director Scot Copeland at Big Daddy.

Other members of the cast include Rona Carter, Vali Forrester, Henry Haggard, Tamiko Robinson, and Samuel Whited.

Tennessee Repertory Theatre's REPaloud features contemporary, award-winning dramas. Other readings scheduled for the 2011-12 season include In the Next Room (or the Vibrator Play) by Sarah Ruhl (finalist for the 2010 Pulitzer prize for Drama and nominee for the 2010 Tony Award for Best Play) in October and Red by John Logan (winner of the 2010 Tony Award for Best Play) in February. For more information on REPaloud, visit tennesseerep.org/repaloud.php.

Since 1985, Tennessee Repertory Theatre has been a critically acclaimed regional theatre, creating the highest quality professional productions and by serving as a prime cultural, educational, and economic resource within the Nashville and Middle Tennessee communities. Tennessee Rep produces work that is designed, built, and rehearsed in Nashville by highly skilled actors, designers, directors, and technicians. A non-profit organization, Tennessee Rep is committed to consistently delivering thought-provoking theatre each year. For more information on the Tennessee Repertory Theatre, please visit www.tennesseerep.org.