This is my first time reading this and I went into it with absolutely no idea as to what it was about, and I was still surprised. It seems very racy for the 1950s! Hell, I'm sure some people would complain about it now. It's fascinating at how so much of it talks around subjects like homosexuality and just expects the audience to follow along - it's a very elliptical play in that sense. The introduction was very helpful in that respect; it takes up about a third of this particular edition, and goes into themes and stagings and critical responses.

I have to admit that I'm curious to see it staged. It strikes me as one of those plays that lives or dies by the charisma of the characters. This is true of most plays, I expect, but I'm thinking primarily here of Brick, who would need someone of towering charisma to not fade beside the rest of the cast. I have limited sympathy for him on the page - not that he isn't interesting and deserving of compassion, under the circumstances, but if I had to live with him I'd be at the end of my rope. In fact, I couldn't help but think that if I were Maggie and I did get pregnant and Big Daddy did die, one of my first acts after inheriting would be to suffocate my dead weight husband in his bed one night. Let's face it, he'd probably enjoy it.