Southern Discomfort

The late Elizabeth Taylor once said of Tennessee Williams’ heroines, “They’re all on the brink of disaster.”

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More About

• Elizabeth Taylor
• Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Movie)
• Pulitzer Prizes
• Movie Stars
• Film Awards

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Taylor earned an Oscar nod for her turn as Maggie in the film version of Williams’ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. The timing of the famed actress’ recent passing is not lost on local director Terry Helland, whose production of the Pulitzer-winning play about sex and death in a Southern household is being mounted by Desert Stages Theatre.

Helland’s version is performed in the round; a format that challenges actors and forces them to move in a way that “real” people move. Adjustments to Williams’ original blocking have been achieved through the use of creative ambient lighting, with the purity of the minimalist stage offsetting the impurity of characters on the brink.