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Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
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Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylor in a scene from Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, with Taylor embracing Newman from behind as he stands in a blue robe holding a glass.
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Awards And Honors:
Pulitzer Prize
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Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylor in a scene from Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, with Taylor embracing Newman from behind as he stands in a blue robe holding a glass.
Brick (Paul Newman) and Maggie (Elizabeth Taylor) in a film adaptation of Tennessee Williams's Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), directed by Richard Brooks.

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

play by Williams
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History

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, play by Tennessee Williams, published and produced in 1955. It won a Pulitzer Prize. The play exposes the emotional lies governing relationships in the family of a wealthy Southern planter of humble origins. The patriarch, Big Daddy, is about to celebrate his 65th birthday. His two married sons, Gooper (Brother Man) and Brick, have returned for the occasion, the former with his pregnant wife and five children, the latter with his wife Margaret (Maggie). The interactions between Big Daddy, Brick, and Maggie form the substance of the play.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Kathleen Kuiper.