On Theater:

Few American playwrights have rattled the walls of American theater so vociferously as Tennessee Williams, whose powerful body of work has Pulitzer Prizes for bookends.

The first was for “A Streetcar Named Desire.” The second came for another searing drama, “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” which is being revived with visceral fury at the Huntington Beach Playhouse.

This “Cat” has been around the local block many times, including a stop here decades ago when Charlotte Mitchell excelled as the title character. The current production has an excellent Maggie in Darcy Porter, and she’s supported by three equally strong performances in the other primary roles.

Director Michael Serna may not have been born when that first “Cat” prowled in the old Barn theater, but he delivers a brutally strong interpretation of Williams’ treatise on deception and sexual tension. His production never would have played in the Barn — the board’s censors would have turned thumbs down.

Serna employs a dramatic device seldom seen in local theater — ominous periods of silence as the play’s characters stalk one another and react silently to the often cruel admonishments of the others. This establishes a dark mood of treachery that pervades throughout.

Porter slinks through the role of Maggie the cat with a calm strength of purpose, her accent flawless but her speech paced a bit swift for a Southern belle. Nevertheless, she dominates the first act just as Big Daddy does the second and Big Mama the third as she connives to lure her sullen mate back into their bed.

As her boozing, hostile husband, Brick, crippled while attempting to recapture his youth by jumping hurdles the night before, Jordan Bielsky simmers with pent-up resentment and excels by rarely raising his voice as he limps continuously from couch to bar and back again.

His is a difficult character to interpret because so much is beneath the surface, but Bielsky is quite convincing.

The play’s showiest role, that of the bellowing Big Daddy, is tackled with operatic gusto by Mark Everett, whose abject cruelty toward those closest to him is magnified by his discovery of the truth about his physical condition, touching off a tirade about “mendacity.” Think King Lear on a Mississippi plantation.

Few actresses playing Big Mama can match the sheer vocal power of their onstage husband, but Kip Hogan makes her role equally memorable.

Short of stature but long on lung velocity, Hogan brilliantly enacts the rejected spouse with aching authority.

As Brick’s ineffectual older brother Gooper, JP Sarro alternately employs rage and rationale to further his cause.

Maggie Zamora is fine as his fruitful wife, Mae, who wrangles a pair of uncredited youngsters as two of the “no-necked monsters.”

Andrew Otero’s lush bedroom setting and light-hued costumes set the play’s tone beautifully, as do Jon Hyrkas’ lighting and Dan Baird’s sound effects.

“Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” is a banquet for accomplished actors, and the Huntington Beach Playhouse production is showcasing four of the finest.

Golden West College will present a trio of student-directed one-act plays Friday and Saturday evenings in the Stage West Theater on campus.

Two plays by Christopher Durang — “The Actor’s Nightmare” and “‘dentity Crisis” — will be directed by Tony Torrico and Kim Brown, respectively. David Ives’ “Enigma Variations” will be directed by Christopher Navarro.

Tickets, at $7 for general admission and $5 for students and senior citizens, may be reserved at (714) 895-8150 or www.gwctheater.com.

If You Go

What: “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”

Who: Huntington Beach Playhouse

Where: Huntington Beach Central Library Theatre, 7111 Talbert Ave.

When: 8 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, and 2 p.m. Sundays until May 30

Cost: $20 for adults, $18 for seniors and students

TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Independent.