Steve On Broadway (SOB)

The Onion: Ask The Stage Directions To Tennessee Williams' Cat On A Hot Tin Roof

The Onion: Ask The Stage Directions To Tennessee Williams' Cat On A Hot Tin Roof

I've always loved great parody and smart satire.

That's one of the reasons why I regularly tune in to "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" and "The Colbert Report." But long before either of those shows hit the airwaves, there was The Onion. No one does ironic humor quite as well as this purveyor of intelligent wit.

So imagine my pleasant surprise in thumbing through the current issue and finding a highly inspired column called "Ask The Stage Directions To Tennessee Williams' Cat On A Hot Tin Roof."

With nuggets like this, it's pure genius:

Dear Stage Directions to Tennessee Williams' Cat On A Hot Tin Roof,

Because of the stock market's recent tumble, I am in a financial rut. Should I reinvest in mutual funds, or should I stay with my old stocks and wait it out?

–Financially Fazed in Florida

Dear Financially Fazed,

(Different characters enter and exit. All of them talk in excited southern accents that may only exist in my plays. Big Daddy enters. He is big and southern. He crosses upstage to his son, Brick. Big Daddy shoots everyone else on stage a look suggesting, "Get out of here. I want to talk to my son." Everyone immediately exits stage left because people are typically intimidated by a character named Big Daddy. He speaks…)

BIG DADDY (in a tone conveying that he thinks his son is a homosexual):

BRICK (in a tone knowing that his father wants to ask him if he is a homosexual):

(Curtain. End of Act II.)

Who knew that all we need do with any personal issue is confront Tennessee Williams' iconic script itself. I just wonder if Debbie Allen looked inside for her unanticipated financial questions.

This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).

Click here for Cat On A Hot Tin Roof tickets.

Labels: Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, Satire, Tennessee Williams, The Onion

posted by Steve On Broadway (SOB) @ Monday, February 11, 2008