Mendacity

(An excerpt from The Stylesmyths: Vintage Reportage on Broadway)

I don’t think it was a coincidence that as my orange tabby slept curled up in the corner chair, my vintage Playbill for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof spilled across my home office desk — emerging from a black hole of bills, letters and papers piled high. These last few months, I made a mental note to select one play to write about from my collection. “Cat” is one of my earliest Playbills, dated 1956, and as the Fates would have it, a perfect choice for Pride Month.

A play about the idea of tolerance couldn’t be more in step with the times. This play, written at the height of McCarthyism and the The Cold War, illustrates how America paid for her post-war affluence with a national anxiety fueled by the nuclear arms race and politically generated fear. We fomented a fever pitch compulsion to maintain appearances of normalcy and conformity at all costs, regardless of the messy underbelly. Fast-forward and substitute ingredients of postmodern conservatism, civil unrest, home-grown terrorism, mass shootings, suspicion and conspiracy theories galore and you bake a similar cake. History may not repeat, but it sure can rhyme.

A 2012 Broadway revival of “Cat” starring Scarlett Johannsen as Margaret and co-star Benjamin Walker as Brick was well received by audiences and critics alike. The play also made a revival in London’s West End.

Tennessee Williams play, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, premiered at The Morosco Theatre on March 4, 1955. It was one of Williams’s best-known works and his personal favorite. The play won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama that year and ran nearly 700 performances. A Southern Gothic morality tale that unfolds in the steaming Mississippi Delta; Cat on a Hot Tin Roof presents several recurring themes that continues to define America six decades forward. Need evidence? Well, tune into the 24/7 news cycle to be bombarded with a concoction of truth vs. illusion, out-sized greed, superficiality, lying, sexual repression and death in every flavor, form and variety. Add a few egg whites and cream of tartar to the mix and you have a post-pandemic recipe for heightened fear and loathing.

Set in the plantation home of Big Daddy Pollitt, a wealthy cotton tycoon, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof examines relationships among members of Big Daddy’s family, primarily between his son Brick and Maggie the “Cat”, Brick’s sexually deprived wife. The original Broadway production, directed by Elia Kazan , starred Barbara Bel Geddes as Maggie; Ben Gazzara as Brick; Burl Ives as Big Daddy; Mildred Dunnock as Big Mama; Pat Hingle as Gooper; and Madeleine Sherwood as Mae. Bel Geddes was the only cast member nominated for a Tony Award, and Kazan was nominated for Best Director of a Play.

McCarthyism and the civil rights movement directly impacted one of the stars of the play. Madeleine Sherwood (Mae) was blacklisted during the notorious era. During the Civil Rights Movement she met and worked with Martin Luther King, Jr. and moved South to join CORE (Congress on Racial Equality). She was arrested during a Freedom Walk, jailed and sentenced to six months hard labor for “Endangering the Customs and Mores of the People of Alabama”. Her lawyer, Fred Grey, was the first African-American lawyer to represent a white woman south of the Mason–Dixon Line. During this period, she lost most of her sense of hearing. She passed away in 2016, but prior to her death was living in Quebec, Canada and was an active member of the Society of Friends (Quaker).

In 1958, the play was adapted as a motion picture by MGM studios, starring Elizabeth Taylor and Paul Newman as Maggie and Brick.

To adhere to the standards of the notorious Hays Code that oversaw film and television production during that era, the film version downplayed Brick and Skipper’s relationship and diminished the original play’s critique of homophobia and sexism. Tennessee Williams was reportedly unhappy with the diluted screenplay, as were the film’s stars.

Central to the theme of the story is the relationship between Maggie the “Cat” and her detached, closeted, alcoholic husband Brick. Tension in their marriage is ascribed to Brick’s close, possibly romantic friendship with his pro football friend Skipper. This relationship appears to be the source of Brick’s despondency and the cause of his alcoholism. We eventually discover the hidden truth: Skipper, confessed his feelings to Brick and was rejected. In despair, he commits suicide leaving Brick steeped in self-loathing and guilt. Ironically, it is patriarch Big Daddy, (who the family continually tries to deceive) who finally speaks the truth. He rightly states that Brick’s disgust with mendacity (a recurring theme) is really disgust with himself for rejecting Skipper before his suicide. A repeating phrase in the play, “Wouldn’t it be funny if that was true?” is in fact, the closing line of the play. This ambiguous sentiment that questions the validity of how things are supposed to appear, echoes our current society as we look at issues surrounding equality, inclusion and social justice. The Supreme Court ruled DOMA as unconstitutional and unenforceable through United States v. Windsor (2013) and Obergefell v. Hodges (2015). Most recently, transgender rights have dominated the news, with certain states enacting legislation barring competition for transgender athletes in school sports. The fight for civil rights continues as we honor the struggle and celebrate inclusiveness during #Pridemonth 2021.

As Tennessee Williams himself stated, he wrote Cat on a Hot Tin Roof as a rebuke to America’s illusion that sexuality is some kind of rigidly predetermined absolute, and that possessions can protect you against death. Although society has advanced in fits and starts, perhaps, as we emerge from the pandemic, we can accept his message of tolerance — without “mendacity”. I have my doubts in this current age of disinformation and partisanship. However, one can hope. It is, after all — eternal.

Now, let us settle into our gently worn velvet theater seat while sipping our themed cocktail for the evening, The Southern Peach, a delicious summery blend of bourbon, Southern Comfort, peach schnapps, lemon and a touch of sugar. Slip a sliver of peach slice over the edge of the glass to finish off this delightful concoction. Lovely! Oh, and I do love your sparkly rhinestone earrings, are they vintage?

Scene: A bed-sitting room and section of the gallery of a plantation home in the Mississippi Delta. An evening in summer…

TO THE LADIES, Introduction

This vintage Playbill’s fashion column, To The Ladies was penned by mysterious fashion writer B. B. whose complete identity is known only to herself, and perhaps her Publisher. In 1956, fashion houses and manufacturers introduced a romantic revival and orientalist theme into their lines. Style moved away from stark simplicity to a more individualized mood. While there was a change in silhouette, from cut to drape, the major evolution was the introduction of softly clinging and floaty sheer fabrics. This was the year of the luxurious textile, with chiffon, cut velvets, lace, charmeuse satin, crepe, silk georgette and silk tulle with elaborate embroideries incorporated into day and eveningwear. Embellishments such as hand stitched rose appliques, sparkling white rhinestones, floral motifs, feathers and furs were evident on capes, hats, dress bodices and accessories. This brings us to this fashion report on the “Little Fur of many uses”. Fur was used as an embellishment on collars, cuffs and hats and became an important part of the story about a new luxury mood. This relatively affordable small mink stole was in reach for many consumers and merchandised in several fashion shades. The little fur stole quickly found its place in many well-dressed women’s closets. Usually, you would find the stole satin lined and embroidered with the initials or name of the wearer. My great Aunt Dotty aka D.G.; a woman of enviable style and taste (and a passionate theatre-goer and collector of these Playbills) passed along her dark ranch mink stole wrap to me. Although I eschew new fur and prefer facsimiles, I still cherish my vintage stole and occasionally enjoy enveloping myself in its luxurious softness on chilly nights. I understand that you can still purchase a good selection of these vintage stoles on ebay and through local auction houses and antique markets. While tastes and social mores have changed from the mid-1950s, and fur today is seen as an unappealing choice by many, our desire for luxury, refinement and self-expression remain, Forever.

TO THE LADIES

Furriers, currently the envy of the rest of the fashion industry because the weather would seem to be all on their side this reluctant spring, actually are less lucky than smart.

Their own little invention, the Little Fur of many uses and endless usefulness, rides above the weather in any season and has made fur-mindedness a year-round thing. The same small fur that’s cozy on chilly summer evenings is just right for mild ones in winter; it extends the season of spring and fall suits; it is an angel of adaptability to time, place and occasion and is the parfait gentil traveling companion no matter where you go, or when.

With all this, it’s a rare small fur nowadays that ever sees the inside of a storage closet.

? Our small furs: Shown with the about-to-become-famous fez: Assortment of six fabulous ash-blond Russian sable skins, making an easy, understated small stole of the greatest luxury; by David. (The fez, black velvet or white sharkskin.)

? Above, with petal snood by John Fredericks: Sunbeam fox, the new golden blonde shade in a smashing stole by Leo Ritter, a small fur only in the categorical sense. (The petal headdress, in pink shading to rose, has a scattering of rhinestones and converts to a beret, completely covering the hair.)

With no hat at all, although it takes kindly to hats when worn by daylight — the pocketed shoulder throw in pastel mink, one end to pull through a slot in the other; from Stein and Blaine. Below.

It’s no coincidence that all three pieces are of the stole order — to our minds the most useful and adaptable of the whole useful, adaptable small-fur clan.

–B. B.

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Cut, Drape and Valuation, a fashion commentary

I have always wondered why the category of lounge wear vanished from fashions’ lexicon. Excluding the ubiquitous basic yoga pant and gaudy graphic tank tee, (a look incidentally that is perfect for Miss Schlep-along) the concept of donning a particular garment for home entertaining or simply to welcome the twilight hour in style has vanished. Enter the return of the fabulous, billowy kaftan conjured from an Arabian night. Oprah Daily recently covered the latest and greatest of the bunch for lounging by the pool, or dining al fresco. These lovelies come in swirling patterns and hues ranging in price from inexpensive to a few more dirhams. Perfect for that stylish afternoon hanging in Morocco, night at the Seraglio or comfortably lounging in your own genie bottle.

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The Southern Peach

Taken from Sexy City Cocktails by Sheree Bykofsky and Megan Buckley

2 ounces bourbon

1 ounce Southern Comfort

1/2 ounce peach schnapps

1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon sugar

Dash of club soda

1 fresh peach slice, for garnish

Swirl the bourbon, Southern Comfort, peach schnapps, lemon juice and sugar into your cocktail shaker over ice, and shake well. (Make sure the sugar is dissolved.) Pour it into a Collins glass half full of fresh ice, and top with club soda. Then slip a peach slice over the edge of the glass.

Southern Comfort, in case you were wondering, is a bourbon that is infused with other flavors, such as peach and orange. Although the recipe is top secret, it was created by a Louisiana bartender in 1870. Today, it is produced in Kentucky, the birthplace of other great bourbons.

Cheers!

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