Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, June 2, 1995                   TAG: 9506020057
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: ABINGDON                                LENGTH: Medium

BARTER PUTS BIRACIAL SPIN ON 'CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF'

The Barter production is putting a different slant on the play by using a biracial cast. Maggie "the Cat" is played by white actress Isadora O'Boto, and her husband, Brick, by black actor Jimmy Antoine.

Others in the cast include Edwin Owens as Big Daddy, Raphael Nash as Gooper, Caroline Stephanie as Mae, Louise Mike as Big Mama, Clarke Morgan as Rev. Tooker, and Ken Costigan as Dr. Baugh. The play starts at Big Daddy's 70th birthday party, where Brick's brother, Gooper, is scrambling to inherit the family plantation on the Mississippi Delta.

"It's going to be steamy," said director Don Stephenson.

Antoine recalled being asked, after accepting the role, if the play had an all-black cast. "I said I didn't know because, at the time, I didn't know who was cast in the other roles. I said it was non-traditional."

"It poses an interesting question," said O'Boto. "Are we doing it color blind, or did Maggie chose to marry into a black family, knowing how that was viewed at the time?"

Williams' play was made into a movie in 1958, with Elizabeth Taylor as Maggie, Paul Newman as Brick, and Burl Ives as Big Daddy, a role he had done on the stage.

"'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof' is about a human experience, a family," Antoine said. "What happens here happens to everyone - sibling rivalry, relationships between parents and children."

"We'll have to see what happens with the cast - the flavor of the whole cast," said O'Boto. "When you look at a play like 'Raisin in the Sun,' an all-black play, dealing with traditional black issues, you couldn't do it non-traditional. In 'Cat,' you can. It's a family situation."

Barter has become known lately for putting a different spin on its plays. Last year, it performed "Dracula" with a black actor in the title role and a woman as the vampire's nemesis, Dr. Van Helsing. Following "Cat," Barter will be offering a world premiere comedy titled "Dr. Jekyll and Miss Hyde."

Reservations and schedule information is available by calling Barter toll-free at 1-800-68-3240.