The Cast
Alonzo…Edward Lawrence
Asparagus…..Bronson N. Murphy
Bombalurina…..Ashley Chasteen
Bustopher Jones….Bronson N. Murphy
Cassandra…..Laura Elizabeth Henning
Demeter…Madison Mitchell
Genghis…Will Porter
Grittlebones….Laura Cable
Grizabella…Kathryn Holtkamp
Growltiger…..Bronson N. Murphy
Jellylorum…..Laura Cable
Jennyanydots…Erica Leigh Hansen
Macavity…..J. Morgan White
Mistoffelees….Chris Mackenthun
Mungojerrie….Will Porter
Munkustrap….Zach Hess
Old Deuteronomy…...Nathan Morgan
Plato…J. Morgan White
Pouncival…Nick Hendricks
Rumpleteazer…..Kristen Quartarone
Rum Tum Tugger…...Matthew Taylor
Sillabub…..Eva Kosmos
Skimbleshanks…..Louie Napoleon
Tumblebrutus…...Jason Wise
Victoria…Jordon Dunlap
I just saw CATS, and let me tell you, it was truly a one of a kind experience. I will now give you a full run through of what happened. Ok we (we being me, my mom and my grandma) got to the theater about an hour or so before the show. We took pictures of the CATS poster out front, my mom wearing my Victoria tail. We then went inside and bought me a t-shirt, a program, and a poster that my mom plans on framing for me. (Just the poster, not everything else). We walked into the actually place where they were performing around 25 minutes to show time. The backdrop was very well designed, and the Junkyard had everything it needed, including the tire, TSE car (though from where I was sitting I couldn't tell if it actually said that or not), and oven. About ten minutes to show time, I look around the audience and guess who I see two rows back from the stage? Munkustrap. I remember someone telling me that in some productions of CATS, the cast freely roams the audience during different parts of the show. I told my grandma and we decided to go up there and see if it really was a cast member or not. Unfortunately, as we were getting up, the lights dimmed and we had to sit down.
Prolouge: I sat on the edge of my seat as the theater quieted and the intro music began. The pairs of eyes lit up the stage in time with the music. Fog poured out of the heavens, bathing the stage with an unearthly, greenish glow coming from the flashing lights. About half way through, the cast ran out into the audience wearing these awesome flashing green eyes. At the opposite end of the row we were sitting on, Munkustrap was staring at the people, his eyes flashing. Then they all ran out of the theater.
Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats: A stage light swept across the audience, with the sound of a car going by. The next song began to play. The cast slowly got on stage almost exactly like in the movie version, with a cat switched here and there. I watched in awe as Munkustrap slowly crawled down off the TSE car, hardly daring to breathe as he sang the first line. He did awesome as well as the other cats. Here are some interesting things that happened in Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats. Mungo (meow) and Rumple sang Cori and Tanto's parts. I didn't really notice the first time cause I was too busy drooling over how hot Mungo looked and how great his voice sounded (A little deeper than Drew Varley, but without the accent. But Everlasting Cat, the way Mungo and Rumple harmonized...Mungo's voice still came out and I totally blocked out Rumple. I'm serious! He was so hot! Drew Varley might have some competition.) Also, they had the big shoe fall from the heavens. (It was huge. No lie.) After that, most of the dancing was similar to the movie. When Asparagus came over and started singing about the 'man over there", Mungo and some of the other Jellicles made this noise that sounded like they were trying to spit up a hair ball. It wasn't until I looked at them that I understood they were hissing. (I love the way Asparagus said "WELL NOW, how about that!" 'Well now' was all high pitched and surprised sounding. And he was looking at me when he said it. Or, at least, in my general direction.) After Munkustrap sang "a man who's not heard of a Jellicle cat," they all looked slightly offended. I seriously wanted to get up and scream "I'm not a man, but I'm a girl and I'VE heard of a Jellicle Cat!" But I didn't. (Mostly cause we were sitting right next to the door where two people who worked at the theater place were standing. I couldn't take any pictures of the inside of the theater. I couldn't even take a picture of the stage before or after the show.)
Naming of Cats: They asked "What's a Jellicle Cat?" three times and, of course, my grandma takes that moment to ask me what they are saying. I tell her 'Jellicle Cat'. She thinks I said 'Calico cat'. I told her I'd explain it at intermission. By that time, the Naming of Cats was about half over but I looked up just in time to see Skimbleshanks and Mungo walk towards our row. Well, Mungo stopped at the first section of rows. (I was silently begging him to come closer.) And Skimble stopped a few rows ahead of us. When he saw me in my costume, he broke into this crazy grin that covered his whole face while he was singing. (Either that or he looked like that the whole time. Mungo was staring at me too, not as smiley as Skimble but staring at me curiously. Mungo nodded at me and I gave him a little wave. I didn't stop smiling until they were back on stage.) But anyway, when they walked back on stage and Victoria started her dance, I had to stop smiling for a moment cause my cheekbones were hurting. (That was the most I smiled during the entire production.) When Misto came over and started singing, I was slightly surprised. He wasn't as powerful as I hoped he would be but for a moment, he did look pretty good. (Not as good as Mungo, but still) The rest of that song, I stared at Mungo. But the dancing was very much like the movie.
Gumbie Cat: Jennyanydots was amazing! Everything at the beginning was like the movie but instead of coming out of the TSE car, Jenny came out of the oven. When the kittens came out with their little mice masks on, I almost died. They were so cute! And after they were done, they stood around for a while, Etcetera dancing around like she was hyped up on sugar (as usual) before Jenny chased them away. When Jenny slid under Munkustrap, she sank onto the stage, exhausted. (Everybody laughed) When they took off Jenny's coat, both my mom and my grandma were like "WHOOOOHOOOO!" I sat there smiling as she danced around in her awesome dress thing.
Rum Tum Tugger: When the music changed for Tugger's song, I sat there thinking "oh boy, here comes the Pelvis Elvis Impersonator himself" just as he ripped through the paper. Instead of kicking a soccer ball, he kicked a ball of red yarn into the heavens. (I was silently praying it would hit something and bounce back towards him. No such luck.)When Misto came out and sang, he was still wearing his cockroach costume. When he walked away he picked up two pairs of 'wings' off the ground. During part of the song, Tugger came out and started dancing with a girl in the audience. She looked super surprised, but everybody clapped when they stopped dancing. After that, she looked pretty happy. (No the girl wasn't me. (If it had been, I would have told him that I would rather dance with Mungo.) They were on the other side of the theater.) At the end of the song, Tugger didn't swing his hips too much but the kittens were squealing pretty loud. On the last 'about', all the other kittens squealed then, out of nowhere, Etcetera starts squealing "Tugger, Tugger, Tugger, Tugger, Tugger!" until Tugger finally covered her mouth and she falls over. (I was laughing so hard during the applause, I could hardly breathe. It wasn't until the applause was quieting that I managed to breathe again.)
Grizabella the Glamour Cat: Just like in the movie, all the queens chased Tugger around the stage, screaming. And everybody got all quiet and not so friendly when Grizabella walked in. Everything was mostly like the movie. But when Grizabella started to sing…Everlasting Cat. (I can't compare her singing to the movie. It's just so…beautiful. I have to give Kathryn Holtkamp some major props. She made me want to cry with her beautiful, totally Grizabella-like voice. It was slow, sad and beautiful, the perfect Grizabella voice.) Demeter and Bomba were really good too.
Bustopher Jones: When Bustopher Jones walked in, he was BIG! He looked even funnier than the movie version! (The guy in the movie version looks kinda like Teddy Roosevelt to me. Maybe it's the monocle. IDK.) But he sounded a bit too opera like for my tastes. Even though he had an excellent voice, he just wasn't the same. The moves were exactly like the movie. After I realized this, I went back to watching Mungo. (Or it was probably Asparagus since Mungo had to go change. They kinda looked the same to me in that lighting.)
Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer: Oh boy! My fav part in the first half! Without a doubt! Demeter sounded really good the way she screamed "Macavity!" (She sounded scared to death. Seriously.) Rumple's laugh was adorable. Their bags looked like Christmas stockings. They put their bags down on the tire and started to sing. They did the entire song, including the verse left out of the movie. (I was practically drooling over Mungo during the entire song. I had my tongue hanging out during part of it. But that was partially because I was really thirsty cause I didn't have anything to drink.) I thought they did very good and were playful and fought over who got to be the center of attention. (Ya know. Kinda like Tugger and Bomba.) I like how they got away when the Jellicles surrounded them. Mungo slid under Munkustrap's legs and ran to the TSE car. I think Rumple did the same thing.
Old Deuteronomy: Skimble went off the stage to go get Old Deuteronomy. Everything was like the movie. When Old Deuteronomy walked in, Mungo was one of the first to cuddle up.
Jellicle Ball: Very much like the movie. I can't honestly go into much detail cause it happened so fast. But I was blushing a little when they did the Mating Dance. Couldn't see their faces well because of where we were sitting. (And, I'll be honest, I need to get better glasses. But I might need to try wearing contacts if I want to someday (hopefully, even if it's just a high school production) be in a production of Cats.)
Memory: Everlasting Cat. She walked out and everything happened just like it had in the movie but, of course, my grandma is asking 'why are they so mean to the poor cat?' I tried to explain but she couldn't understand me so I told her to wait until intermission. Jemima (Called Sillabub in this production) and Victoria did their parts very well. But when Grizabella opened her mouth…Everlasting Cat. I did a double take. She sounded twice as good as she did in 'Grizabella the Glamour Cat'! I was mouthing the words and thinking how awesome it would be to be able to be Grizabella in a performance of Cats. When she left, Old Deuteronomy sat down on the tire and stayed there during the entire intermission.
Intermission: As soon as the lights came on, I looked down at the second row from the stage and smiled. Munkustrap was still down there. And I was going to see him. Me and my grandma walked down there and, more to my grandma's surprise than mine, Munkustrap was a girl! Actually, this was a serious fan who happened to also be a professional costume designer. She was there with two other fans who were also dressed up like Demeter and Plato. (Or Tumblebrutus. Heck, he could have been Pouncival for all I know. I didn't really pay that much attention to the guy.) The first thing they said when they saw me was "OMG! It's another Jellicle!" They praised me on my costume (although, compared to theirs, mine looked not so good. They had the head fur, the shoulder fuzz, the arm and leg warmers (that they knit themselves!) and awesome makeup.) But they were very kind and told me about a costuming website where I could find tips from pros and fans alike. (I can give it to you if you like. It's a really great site in my opinion.) Their costumes were so good that people came over and asked for their autographs. I started laughing cause the crowd of people kept coming even after they explained that they were NOT members of the cast. (Quite a few of the younger people said they didn't care and made them sign their programs. It was pretty funny.) But after the crowd got too close, I walked back to my seat with my grandma. I spent the rest of the intermission answering their questions as best I could.
Moments of Happiness: Old Deuteronomy was awesome. Everything was like the movie. I thought Jemima sounded a little too high but still good.
Gus the Theater Cat: Very excellent work with Jelly and Gus. Part of it I glanced around, curious as to where Mungo was. He was sitting on the far left side of the stage with Rumple. And, guess what? I think they kissed! Seriously! I've been in high school long enough to know what the quick-kiss-before-class looks like and it looked just like that. If I had blinked, I would have missed it.
Growltiger: I thought he was good as Gus but when he ripped off his Gus costume and showed off his Growltiger costume, I was smiling. Growltiger and Grittlebone acted very much like Tugger and Bomba. They sang the aria. (I was slightly disappointed by that. I was hoping they would do the ballad.) When Growltiger hit the note on 'sentimentale,' Grittlebones grabbed his stomach, making him mess the note up. (I'm pretty sure that was planned. They sounded a lot like the 1981 Broadway people to me. Here's part of the Broadway version. .com/watch?v=ilPO04ia1tw&feature=related I think they sound very similar.) I loved the Siamese costumes. They were so cool looking. Before Growltiger was 'forced to walk the plank,' there was a short sword fight between the Siamese and Growltiger. It was pretty cool. When he walked the plank, he jumped off stage. Mungo was playing Genghis, the Siamese leader. (I could tell because of his shoes. And it said so in the program.) But Mungo stayed a little longer on stage in his Siamese costume. Gus, at that point, acted just like he did in the movie when he saw 'Firefrorefiddle, the Fiend of the Fell," all surprised and staring at him like he was a ghost.
Skimbleshanks the Railway Cat: Skimble did excellent. I already had an idea of what his voice sounded like cause I heard him singing during the Naming of Cats. But he was very good, better than I expected. Everything was like the movie. The little train was really cool, but I don't know how they kept those wheels spinning! I think Skimble stood on Mungo and Asparagus at the very end.
Macavity the Mystery Cat: (BTW this is totally random but I found this poem in my Literature book! I read it and read all the little side notes about it and it didn't mention anything about the poem being used in Cats! That made me slightly mad.) Everything was like the movie. When Macavity's goons took Old Deuteronomy, they took him through the door closest to where we were sitting. (They made hissing and spitting noises every few seconds.) Demeter sounded amazing, very dramatic. Bomba did ok too I guess, but I liked Demeter better. The goons who took Old Deuteronomy came back with the imposter though the door closest to us. As they walked him up to the stage, my mom is like "it's that mangy cat!" I ignored her and watched the goons exit. The fight scene was very cool. When Macavity used the electric things to disappear…That was awesome. They used the light to sweep across the stage just like in the movie before declaring "Macavity's not there!"
Mr. Mistoffelees: I loved it! I liked this Tugger better than the movie Tugger. Instead of shooting out lightening, silver streamers shot out of the stage on Misto's command. (It didn't shoot out far enough for me to catch it, but I picked a few off the floor after the show was over and kept them. Wanted a souvenir.) I finally got to see Misto perform his famous Conjuring Turn, which is like 25 or so spins in a row. (By the 15th spin, the crowd was going crazy.) After that, he pulled the colorful scarf thing out of the empty paint can, and then did the other spinning thing around the stage. Then, as he was preparing to bring back Old Deuteronomy, my grandma is like 'Looks like the skinny cat is going.' (The girl playing Cassandra looked crazy skinny, according to my grandma.) She kept going on about how they looked like Junkyard cats, like some of them hadn't been eating regularly. (That slightly annoyed me but I ignored it.) After they covered Cassandra up, my mom was like 'It's the old guy.' After that, Misto jumped on Old Deuteronomy and I clapped with the rest of the audience. Instead of disappearing at the end, Misto bowed to the audience.
Memory reprise: Ok major props go out to Kathryn Holtkamp cause she sounded AMAZING! Like blow me away and make me clap till my hands hurt amazing! She sounded soft at just the right times and after Jemima sang with her, she got up and belted out the song so loud, I could almost feel it pounding in me, like when loud rap music is playing and you feel the vibrations. When she finished, I clapped until my palms were red and screamed until I was almost hoarse. It was THAT good!
Journey to the Heaviside Layer: Everything was like the movie. The tire lifted into the air. (I could see the framework underneath) When the heavens opened up and brought down the platform like thing that lifted Grizabella to the Heaviside layer came down, I was mildly impressed. When she was near the top, all these colored lights bathed over her like a rainbow.
Addressing of Cats: Old Deuteronomy sounded really good. This was definitely one of my favorite songs in the second half. At the end of the song, I stood up quickly, clapping like crazy. Slowly, everyone around me stood up as well.
The End: All the Jellicles came out one by one and stood together. Grizabella and Old Deuteronomy came out last and probably got the most applause. (I made the most noise for Mungo and Rumple, Sillabub, Demeter, Grizabella and Old Deuteronomy.) After that, they all walked off except for Tugger and Bomba. Tugger tried to grab her but she pushed him off and strutted away. Tugger followed her, screaming "WAHOOOOOO!" It was HILLARIOUS! Wish THAT was in the movie version! :)
I know that if I ever get another chance to see Cats, I will DEFINITELY take it! Especially if there is any way I could meet the cast!