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Theatre & Box Office |
Reprinted with permission of The Post Tribune. Portage dentist to direct biting classic Steve Holm, a Portage dentist, shares his passion for theater with his patients. There’s a photo of the acting dentist getting stabbed in “Julius Caesar” in his office. After extracting teeth all day, getting killed on stage is actually relaxing. “You get to be anybody you want to be on stage,” Holm said. “It’s a wonderful escape. Anyway, I golf poorly!” The mild-mannered dentist comes to life on a stage. He has the pleasure of guiding actors through the simmering rhythms and raw emotions of “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” a play that begins tonight at Chicago Street Theatre. As a director who still acts in plays, Holm loves the intensity of this anguished Tennessee Williams drama of a Southern family as it hits the bottom. “This is more an actors’ than a director’s play,” Holm said. “This is a play where you can put the actors on stage and let them do their own interpretations. The characters have so many layers.” Maggie and Brick are the center of this stormy family drama. Years of unresolved frustrations begin to creep into Maggie and Brick’s marriage. Big Daddy, the powerful family patriarch, deals with his own disappointments as he faces his mortality and watches his family fall apart. “Brick has given up on marriage, his life and being a part of Big Daddy’s family,” Holm said. “Maggie still thinks of herself as the high-school beauty queen. She wants this idyllic life with Brick, and her illusions begin to catch up with her.” Holm knows this a demanding show, but he said he has always been drawn to the more brooding dramas. “This is a show you have to think long and hard about,” he said. “Tennessee Williams paints this picture. From a distance, it looks so appealing. But when you get closer, it looks more bizarre.” One of Williams’ most prolific dramas, this play features a powerhouse ensemble that includes Heather McCalment as Maggie, Eric Brant as Brick, and David Pera as Big Daddy. Holm said he also enjoys working with Donna Blanchard, his director from “Julius Caesar.” What: Tennessee Williams’ “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” |
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