For nearly six decades, the world has been infected with Cat Scratch Fever, a condition that causes every actress–Southern, Yankee or otherwise–to lust over the sex-starved role of Maggie the Cat in Tennessee Williams’ classic and oft-revived drama
. With its meaty first-act monologues, oppressive summer plantation setting, and stage directions that all but command Maggie spend the night slinking around her bedroom begging for attention in a satin slip, it’s easily one of the hottest roles in the history of theater. From Barbara Bel Geddes to Elizabeth Taylor, and from Ashley Judd to the
‘s current star, Scarlett Johansson, we present to you the elite club of Maggies in all their lustful, lonely glory. How does Scarlett Johansson’s nightie shot measure up to the slip pics of classic beauty Natalie Wood or Broadway’s smoldering Anika Noni Rose? Let us know what you think in the comments.
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Barbara Bel Geddes,1955, Original Broadway Production
Kim Stanley, 1958, Original London Production
Elizabeth Taylor, 1958, Film directed by Richard Brooks
Elizabeth Ashley, 1974, Broadway Revival
Natalie Wood, 1976, Television Film
Jessica Lange, 1984, Film directed by Jack Hofsiss
Lindsay Duncan, 1988,
London National Theatre Production
(© Mike Hollist/Daily Mail/Rex Features)
Kathleen Turner, 1990,
Broadway Revival
© Photofest
Frances O’Connor, 2001,
West End Production
(© Pete Jones/ArenaPAL)
Ashley Judd, 2003,
Broadway Revival
(© Joan Marcus)
Mary Stuart Masterson, 2004, Kennedy Center Production
(© Joan Marcus)
Anika Noni Rose, 2008, Broadway Revival
(© Joan Marcus)
Sanaa Lathan, 2010, West End run of the 2008 Broadway Revival
(© Alastair Muir/Rex Features)
Zoe Boyle, 2012, West Yorkshire Playhouse Production
(© Keith Pattison)
Emily Swallow, 2012, Guthrie Theater Production
(© Michael Brosilow)
Scarlett Johansson, 2013, Broadway Revival
(© Joan Marcus)