If you happened to look at the police blotter this past week, you may have noticed that ISU students had quite an exciting weekend. Veishea has come and gone, but the Montana Repertory Theatre will soon be here with their touring performance of “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” – a chance for students to see drama and excitement on stage, as opposed to on the streets.

And what drama it provides. Written in 1955 by Tennessee Williams, the play is described by the New York Post as “one of the most successful plays of our time. A play of tremendous dramatic impact and enormous theatrical power.”

This will be the third time the Montana Rep has performed Williams’ work since their start in 1967. “Before there were ‘Desperate Housewives,’ there was Maggie the Cat; before there was Tony Soprano, there was Big Daddy; and before ‘Survivor,’ there was ‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,'” said the Montana Rep.

The play, which earned Williams his second Pulitzer Prize, is the story of larger-than-life characters who gather with their family one evening at their estate in Mississippi.

“Maggie, a dazzling yet anxious young woman from Memphis, grew up poor and is determined not to be so again. Brick, a retired football star and the family’s favorite son, has scant interest in money and drinks to forget a dark secret he and Maggie have been hiding for years,” said the Montana Rep.

The subject of homosexuality is a predominant theme in the play, as the character Brick attempts to defend his love for his best friend, Skipper.

“One man has one great good true thing in his life. One great good thing which is true! I had friendship with Skipper. You are namin’ it dirty!” proclaims Brick.

The play comes to a head when Big Daddy learns the answers to some of his questions regarding Brick, and learns shocking and awful news about himself.

This classic story is consistent with the type of productions the Montana Rep is known for performing. A professional touring company, the Montana Rep is home to directors, actors and technicians with impressive credits. In 1997 and 1998, they began their first national tour with “To Kill a Mockingbird.” Today, they travel with eight actors, a stage manager, a company manager and six members of their technical crew.

“The Montana Rep is one of the oldest and most respected touring companies in the country. Our mission is to tell the great stories of our world to enlighten, develop and celebrate the human spirit in an ever-expanding community,” boasts their Web site.

Love, betrayal and the battle for power can all be expected at CY Stephens on Friday. Tickets will be $15 for ISU students and $32 or $28 for adults.

“No one has looked longer and deeper into the human heart than Tennessee Williams. His courage defined a generation,” said the Montana Rep. “For that reason, and for the sheer poetic force of his writing, we consider ourselves privileged to encounter Mr. Williams again. Please join us as we present a true American master.”