A door and three shutters outline the room, and the lack of walls allows for visibility and a sense of vulnerability. Set designer Rachel Hauck skillfully crafted her one-scene stage into a character of its own. One by one, line by line, each lie is exposed for all to see until finally everyone must decide for themselves which lies have become something more have crossed the line into truth.

But it’s all the small lies that make this play great: Maggie lying to herself that Brick will ever love her again Big Mama (played by a boisterous and dynamic Melissa Hart) lying to herself that she’s an equal in her marriage Brick lying to himself that his love for Skipper, and Skipper’s love for him, was indeed as pure and true as he passionately defends it to be. It’s Big Daddy’s 65th birthday, and everyone but he and Big Mama know it is also his last. The entire play takes place in the couple’s bedroom at Brick’s parents’ mansion. The chemistry between Swallow and Hansen is palpable, especially as conversation slides from Maggie’s one-sided blabbering, to their past love life, to the root of Brick’s drinking: the death of his friend, Skipper. Brick, played by a devilish Peter Christian Hansen, is an ex-football star and a big-time alcoholic.

With pouty lips and expressive eyes (not to mention killer curves and seductive body language), Swallow owns her role as Brick’s sexually frustrated and powerfully manipulative wife. Carrying the first act is Emily Swallow as Maggie.

Cat on a hot tin roof book review