Ghost Of Skipper Haunts “Cat”; Where’s Burl?
The about-to-open revival of “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof on Broadway, starring Benjamin Walker and Scarlett Johansson (pictured) has a surprise: a Ghost Skipper. Skipper, you will remember, is a character mentioned throughout the play — but he doesn’t appear. That is until Ashford got his hands on the play. Now, every time someone mentions Skipper, his ghost glides across the stage. He’s wearing a preppy letter jacket and his eyes have a loving, misty quality when he gazes at Brick. Instead of a Ghost Skipper, I would have preferred a Ghost Burl Ives. Ol’ Burl played Big Daddy in the original Broadway version and in the movies. I’d fork over ready money to hear Burl crash the current Broadway production singing “Wooly, Booly Bee.”
