Stuttgart CATS, May 15, 2002 (by Triskell)

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go to Cast List May 15, 2002

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(Special thanks to JellicleCat for clearing up a few things.)

I suggest getting a snack and a drink, this is one of my patented short reviews ;D.

Coming from the London show which I had seen so often and loved so much, I was apprehensive about Stuttgart, especially as I passionately dislike the German translation they use. The cast did, however, more than make up for that deficiency in their enthusiasm and proficiency.

Overture:

Since the stage doesn’t turn it’s simply flashes of light and then the cast runs through the aisles with their green cats’ eyes; Skimble stared at Sachmet and Delilah as he passed ;D. The set consists of the stage in front and pieces of junk along the sides of the theatre. At the (seated) audience’s eye level there are many nooks and crannies for the cast to lounge in (e.g. Tug sits on the left side for ‘MOH’).

Jellicle Songs:

The choreography was slightly different to London and the cast was in different positions onstage. I liked the voices, though none of them struck me particularly. That might have been because I was trying to tune out the words. I don’t like the German translation, though it has been changed for the better since Hamburg.

Misto is on the trapeze, swinging diagonally across the stage, towards the audience. He lifted up one leg to touch the handle with his toes on each of his two forward swings. It was Tugger who pushed him. When he swung back the last time, Tug pulled him close and they hugged - really adorable. I’m not quite sure if he was wearing a safety belt though (JellicleCat confirmed that he doesn’t!).

As we are talking about Misto - I heartily dislike the German costume design. The make up is different, but you get used to it. The only thing I liked about the cossie was the white spot on the his right shoe. I’m not particularly fond of the white dot on his left side, nor of the warmers that look as if worms had caved their way through them.

On top of that, the unitard’s original white colour shines through liberally, so Misto is effectively a black and white spotted kitty. By the way - the boot is flung from the left side of the stage, not from above, which surprised me a little.

Naming:

The cast at first stayed close together in a group, moving forward only a little (like in the video) and only spread out into the audience for the second part - Mungojerrie walked past us. No one went up to the Dress Circle as far as I could see (Sachmet tells me someone was up there though and JellicleCat said it was Silla and Pounce). The recital was very well done as far as I was actually listening. I am not too fond of German.

Invitation:

The music for Victoria’s solo dance was lovely, there was an instrument I hadn’t heard in London before which sounded quite bubbly and joyful. Vicky herself was graceful, kittenish and sweet. Before she took her “waiting for Misto” position after the split, she wiped the floor vigorously with her tail. After all, it wouldn’t do to get her impeccable white fur dirty *grins*.

Finally got to hear Misto’s voice properly - nice and pleasant. The actor is the main Skimble, so it figures he sounds good ;D. The whole cast then proceeded to join Vic and Mistoff for the dance sequence. I particularly enjoy that - it was very energetic and just looks marvellous.

Munkustrap’s recital was wonderful, he emphasized the words beautifully (I *did* listen this time round ;D) and was poised, looked elegant and dignified.

Gumbie:

I absolutely loved it! Misto (thanks JellicleCat) knocked on the car boot before Jenny came out and half of the cockroaches came from the oven on the left side of the stage.

They were the cutest, first roach being Tumble (if I’m not mistaken) who gave us an adorable little dance spectacle on coming out. The costumes were reminiscent of those worn by the Vienna cast, black plastic bags with wings. Jenny was charming and endearingly fussy.

For mice, we had Sillabub, Victoria, Rumpleteazer and…get that…Pouncival. He did a lovely job with his embroidery too. I can’t help it, I thought this was particularly cute. ;D. The tap dancing was marvellous, Misto was one of the roaches by the way.

Tugger:

Any other scream would be, imo, preferable to that “Hossa!” Tugger came out with - it’s just so…German. *sighs* The “meow” that followed was adorable ;D. Tug’s hip swings weren’t bad, not swoon worthy though (well, I did see John *evil grin*), his voice, however, was very good and he had the act down.

I noticed some things that differed from London here - Tugger seats himself on Pounce’s knee instead of leaning against Admetus (Plato in Stuttgart); Cassandra faints dead away at Tug’s hip thrust (no Etcy or El!).

Bombalurina was fab! Her interpretation of the character was perfect - sexy, flirty and smooth. Even better than Rosemarie Ford, as she was less overtly sexual, more sensual. At this point I wasn’t overly impressed with her voice.

Bomb lay on the ramp at the right hand side of the stage at one point, two male kittens - Tumble and Pounce (I think) were with her. While Tug was merrily swinging his hips, Tumble put his leg up on the set and began a slow motion thrust, which the lady watched with a lazy, but avid expression (not that I blame her ;D).

Tanto, Vic and Rumple make up Tug’s “fan club”, Tant being the one to squeal madly. Rumple ended with a nervous giggling sound as our ladies’ tom twirled his tail in front of her face as fast as he could (with great exertion on his part ;D). When he blew a kiss at her after that, she passed out.

What I loved was the way Mungo reacted to all this - he was looking from Rumple to Tug, quite put out and obviously jealous. He even tried imitating the curious cat by swinging his hips and twirling his tail, but no one, especially not his partner, paid any attention to him.

After she had passed out, he leaned over her, with an adorably confused expression on his face as he touched her hands very gently, waiting for a reaction. *argh* Tug then started his long, wild howl and Rumple jumped up. She danced with Jerrie a while before whispering something into his ear and running off stage with him (someone planning a coup there?! ;D)

Tugger did of course run into the audience to get someone to dance with him. The lady did, however, not fall for his charm, so he had to bodily drag her off her seat to hop down the aisle with her.

Grizabella:

Demeter and Bombalurina didn’t sound that good together in this, their voices too high (but I do love Barbara’s voice ;D). As for Griz herself - well, she has that tone and timbre in her voice that make me cringe.

That was not the most off putting thing about her though - her acting was actually pretty good - it was the perfect toothpaste commercial smile. Not that she doesn’t have very nice, shiny white teeth, it just didn’t fit the character at all. I’m sure she’d make a grand kitten, but she seemed too happy for the Glamour Cat.

It is Tumble who scratches Griz by the way, Pounce did seem to set him up first time (but then he feels sorry for having done it and tries to make amends throughout the rest of the show whenever she turns up). He even tries to get to her which Jenny doesn’t allow.

Bustopher:

The first time I could really observe the adorable and mischievous duo of Tumble and Pounce in action. Those darlings took off with my heart in a flash! Alonzo (who seems to be just out of kittenhood if you ask me) was mimicking Bustopher’s walk while Tumble and Pounce were sitting side by side (stage left).

Tumble mimicked a fat, blown-up balloon with his arms in front of his belly and by holding his breath to create a “full-moon face” effect. Pounci held out a “needle” and pricked him so he fell down upon himself. Later on, the two of them did a bit of “light” acrobatics:

One would roll on the ground while the other hopped across him on all fours. I don’t know how they did it in the first place, nor how they kept that up steadily without one dropping onto the other. Wow. That’s what I call precision work! ;D

Skimble did, of course, come over and scold them. He was very much as I like to picture the railway cat - slightly self-important and constantly fussing, but with a cheerful and outgoing manner and a kind heart.

Busty kissed Jenny’s hand just before the Mac scare and she fainted. Demeter gave us a rare, hoarse and whispery sort of call. Wonderfully different to all I’ve heard before. I like variety. Bus ran off, Jen after him and he kissed her (she was giggling madly) in the aisle before they left the auditorium.

I should just mention here that Tumble was doing back flips across the stage during the Mac scares - why run when you can jump off stage in style? ;D

Mungojerrie & Rumpleteazer:

Rumple’s giggle was too good to be true! ;D. She held it for a while too - sounded like a maniac school girl. Marvellous! She also had a fairly high and therefore seemingly kittenish voice, complimented by Mungo’s darker tone.

They worked great together as well, dancing much faster than I’m used to (because the music is faster than in London). The choreography had been changed slightly as well here - mainly due to the translation I think. (e.g. “the house was under water” - RT & MJ moved slowly across the stage, mimicking rowing motions with their hands as if steering a boat)

Jerrie was very cute when he said his name at the end and Rumple, though much smaller, imperiously bumped him away with her butt before speaking up herself. She also initiated the double cartwheels by slapping her thighs and nodding to her partner.

Since there isn’t as much room and the auditorium not as easily accessible as in London, the notorious duo is chased from the middle of the stage straight up to the car boot and though caught their stockings (no bags of loot!) neatly. No “Let’s teach them a lesson!”. It took a mention of Delilah’s for me to figure out that there is no speaking in between songs as in London.

Old Deuteronomy:

I liked Old D’s voice and he’s an old grandpa type alright - benevolent, slightly shaggy and very cuddly - he just looks too much like a teddy bear for his own good *grins*

Munk’s voice was too high for my taste in this, perhaps I’m just not into that pitch, but he was very well complimented by Tug. I thought they were wonderful together, definitely a good team. And the contortions the rest of the cast made *ouch* - those people are shockingly flexible ;D.

Pekes & Pollicles:

Munk’s voice wasn’t my thing, though his recital and interpretation were grand. He does have a very German accent as well, which, for some bizarre reason, actually struck me as kinda cute. He struck me as more of a background cat actually, very laid back, never intruding with his presence, very much the storyteller and narrator. Reminded me of Kenny, which is always a good thing. I dislike macho tabbies ;D.

Gus (who wore *very* wide pyjama trousers) was lead dog in the line-up and an adorable one at that. MJ and RT were lead poll and peke and barked dutifully at each other. Jerrie messed up and Teaze was more annoyed than Munk who seemed slightly irritated at best.

Rumpus (whose name was translated to the abominable Raufbold Katz’, poor thing!) didn’t come out through a trap door, instead he appeared on the tire behind Old D. He was cute, made “scary faces” at each and every cat that happened to be near him and effectively cleared the stage.

He wore a full-face black mask with huge whiskers and his hair only stood on end when he bent forward so the shock fell into his eyes. I think he totally shocked MJ who scrambled away as fast as he could as soon as he'd revived from his earlier fainting fit.

And then Rumpus was very cocky and self-confident, very much the clown. I shouldn’t forget to mention two more things:
Misto and Skimble were having the first row (where they were waiting for their cue to come on) try out their hats before putting them on themselves which I thought was adorable. And Tanto and Cori were barking right into each other’s faces - so cute!

Jellicle Ball:

Both Misto and Skimble cowered behind Deut (no shaking of the shaggy coat though - I did miss that ;D) and then ran off together, just before Silla came out. The ‘Song of the Jellicles’ was really lovely and the following dance breathtaking. Wow. That is energy in its purest form!

Some parts were very much video style in terms of choreography and participating characters. Like Misto starting to dance alone (Carby does the routine in London, Misto on the vid), then Pounce coming out and joining him as well as Alonzo and Tumble (who did the same flip Fergus Logan does on the vid. That is so impressive!)

Al said “Jellicle Cats are BROWN and white” by the way. I remember that in Hamburg he said “black” - finally adapted his lines to fit his brown costume. Which is a very nice touch. Bomb was again absolutely marvellous (actually each and every one was ;D). She’s one hell of a dancer and her movements are precise and perfectly suited to the character she plays. Watching her you can tell she’s comfortable with her body and her power over toms (I mean - let’s face it - they’re drooling the moment they see her ;D) and she knows how to show off.

The cartwheels that are done by Misto and Carby in London (Misto and Tumble in the vid) were property of Mungo, Cori and Skimble if I’m not entirely mistaken. It was hardly more than a passing flash in the fast-paced choreography, but it did strike me as different ;D.

Tugger lifted Demeter in the tom/queen dance sequence (I thought it was because Bomba was too tall for him so that she got Plato - Sachmet mentioned it might be the choreography. JellicleCat confirmed that ;D) and very nicely I might add. In the partner dance at the beginning, Misto was with Silla and Tumble with Pounce (talk about a cute couple!) - since I didn’t really feel like turning my attention on anyone but those two darlings, I kinda missed the other pairings. ;D

There were no Misto turns during the Ball (I did miss that terribly), but the girls (including Bomba - we do have a shortage of female kittens after all ;D) danced during that part. Choreography was pretty much like London for this if I’m not mistaken.

Tumble was the one to lift Vicky for the mating dance, those two were adorable together, kinda shy and hesitant at first. Vic was hefted from Tumble’s shoulder into his arms pretty neatly, then laid across Misto’s knee - she arched her back so she made a sort of arch (face turned upwards - hope that’s understandable ;D). Misto did the same against her back then - there are ways to interpret this that are in no way connected to acrobatics I might add ;D.

After our magician had drawn back, he put his hand under Vic’s back to steady her as she lay down and make sure she wouldn’t hurt herself if she lost her balance and fell. Seconds later, Tant and Cori and Misto woke up again. This was, imo, a bit too fast. They had barely touched the ground and then jumped up at once.

With this, my favourite part of the Ball began - and was it ever good! My eyes were glued to…well, everybody. Whoa! I have seldom been so thoroughly fascinated. The Stuttgart cast consists of fab dancers and they can show that off perfectly in this piece.

Cassandra walked past us when she left the stage, she was breathing *very* heavily. No wonder. It just made what I had seen more real somehow, as if lending a certain “they have actually danced *that*” awe to a performance that, as an audience member, you might at times find hard to appreciate simply because you can’t even begin to imagine how taxing it is. At least that’s the way it is for me.

Memory:

Toothpaste commercial smiles. I’m sorry to say that Griz, though surely good, made my head ache. I have issues with high tones, not her fault she has the sort of voice I just can’t take. Her intonation was lovely and she acted well too.

Intermission:

I descended onto the souvenir stand as fast as I could and only caught a glimpse of Deuty-bear (well, he is adorable ;D) on stage. He did have a very long line of fans to take care of.

Moments of Happiness:

Tumble came out after intermission and proceeded to stroll along the aisle in front of us casually - on his hands. Do I need to mention I was impressed? ;D My awe was evidently shared by Jerrie who showed Tumble off to the audience and then started clapping vigorously so everyone would know what to do *grins*.

RT and Tumble then began a slow climb across the seats (and people) on the left side of the auditorium towards the stage. Rumple played hair stylist - she polished a bald man’s head with her tail and grinned at him, patting her wig. Jerrie had, in the meantime, gotten his paws (ah, hands ;D) onto a lady’s handbag - he kept swinging it in front of her nose but just out of her reach and enjoyed himself thoroughly.

Tumble reached the stage first, since he wasn’t delaying his climb by fooling around - he did take advantage of having some time before the song started though - grabbed someone’s purse, ran to Silla (who sat at the edge of the stage) and showed his treasure to her. She told him to take it back - which he did after slinging it over his shoulder - with one of the most adorable pouts I’ve seen.

Talking about Silla - she was cute, very much so, but her voice seemed strained, as if she were making a conscious effort to hit the high notes right. Deut was wonderful, but I had to tune out the German so I didn’t listen to him all that closely.

Tugger was, throughout the whole song, playing with an oversized bra that hung near his niche in the junk stage left above the audience.

Gus, the Theatre Cat:

Jelly’s voice was nice, very clear and bright, though I have to say she was singing too high for my taste at times. I noticed Bomba grooming herself extensively as she lay in front of the car boot - in fact, most of the cast were cleaning themselves ;D.

The lyrics for the song have been changed considerably since Hamburg, adapted a little more closely towards the Vienna translation and practically all references to places and people have been taken out. That did bother me. But it just goes to show that nothing beats the original language.

Silla and Vicky were sitting with Deuty (notice how I just have to give him nicknames? ;D) on the tire and they were taking turns at lifting the hem of his coat up to peer under it - checking which shoes he was wearing most likely. Their giggling and pointing was absolutely adorable! Tumble sat behind Old D and watched them with a wide grin.

Gus did a fantastic job as the “old frail cat”, both with the pitch of his voice and his body language. Al, Tumble and Pounce were fooling about with various kittenish antics and, of course, annoyed when called “kittens”.

Growltiger:

The first time I saw an actual boat set (we saw the Hamburg one in front of the theatre - it’s amazing, I can’t fathom how they get it onto the stage so quickly, I suppose the thing has wheels, it looks very solid) instead of a mattress like in London.

Sachmet pointed out that on B-Way it was more in the lines of being pulled open like a book. Since Delilah pointed out that a great many details are like the B-Way show, that makes sense, I’ll try to check that if I go again ;D.

It was impressive of course and I loved it. However, since I like Shakespeare’s idea of a set (with as little props and fanciness as can be), I am still very fond of the mattress setting. ;D

The crew was made up of Munku, Misto, Skimble, Tug and Alonzo. They were all seasick at different times, hanging over the railing and looking miserable and ill. *grins* Growl didn’t care of course, and he beat them up pretty savagely when they came forth to sing their lines.

At one point, Misto was so scared he jumped into Munkus and Al’s outstretched arms as they stood behind the steering wheel in what was a mix of a heart-attack and a fainting fit. Cute! And Tug looked like a kitten with a bad reputation, dressed up for a carnival - his wig made him look a little like a scarecrow ;D.

Misto has a CB giggle that’s just totally maniac! When the guys all laughed about Growl’s “missing ear”, he was the only one that held out after the rest were silent and he only stopped when he received a chilling look from his captain. That same giggle came up the moment Griddlebone appeared, this time one of the crew (I believe it was Munkus) had to thump him on the head to shut him up ;D.

I might mention here that the crew actually gets “into their bunks” through a flap in the curtain that is below the ships’ floor boards on the boat set which Munk holds open for them before settling down and going to sleep (he is thrown overboard by the Siamese later on ;D).

Growl acted marvellously and Griddle was simply fabulous! Her voice suited the character and she was funny, lovely facial expressions. I loved the way she blew her nails in triumph after scratching the pirate captain’s belly.

Growl was played as more of a macho cat than I’m used to, worked very well, though I prefer the more gentlemanly London version in that respect (might not be that much of the “Terror of the Thames” but it’s more my thing ;D). The interpretation of his “relationship” with the lady is much coarser too, Griddle is being touched up in a pretty obvious way.

The aria was great, Brian Bowley was trained as an opera singer and you definitely heard it. I have a weakness for that particular piece - if well performed ;D - as it was.

The Siamese were cute, Mungo was doing Ghenghis - I recognised him by the orange shoe he wore. Adorable, but he seemed to stumble over his German words a little. By the way, Growl’s fall did remind me of “Julius Caesar” in a way - he was stabbed cruelly by just about every Siamese, in quite a few tender places ;D.

Fighting as manfully as he could, Growl forced his nemesis back and gave a booming “Ha, Ha, Ha!” laugh of triumph which was echoed, moments later by a high pitched “Hi, Hi, Hi!” as Ghenghis pointed (and stabbed) his sword below the captain’s belt.

Later on, Growl was grappling with Ghenghis behind the steering wheel, refusing to walk the plank. He even managed to get his hands on the Siamese’s sword, but gave up and just jumped off board. No scream though.

Skimbleshanks:

Skimble had a lovely voice, absolutely cool footwork during his dancing parts too. He was jovial, fun to watch - very good for the role indeed. Tumble and Pounce were, as expected, at their most adorable and Al joined them as third driver at the front of the train.

This train looked less like the “real” thing than I’m used to from London, it was more of an assortment of junk which I thought was kinda fitting since it was held together merely by “imagination” ;D.

A really cute (and *very* acrobatic) antic courtesy of Pounce:
Skimble came out stage right from the ramp and the tom kits were waiting for him. Pounce jumped onto Tumble’s back who chose that moment to straighten up (I think he was waving at the railway cat who’d just appeared) and Pounce fell off, straight into a backwards roll. He rolled into Deut and Munk who had come up behind and took him by his legs, pulling him up into a handstand from which he gracefully flipped onto his feet again.

Macavity:

After Mac’s appearance, Old D was forcefully pulled off the stage by two henchrats/cats, without any bag or net. They were running fast too, wonder no one fell! The toms raced after their abducted leader of course and I mean raced! What I missed was Mac’s ominous “I’ll be back for you!” - it happens to be one of my fave lines ;D.

The lighting for the song was lovely - apart from the spotlights on Bom and Dem, there were small red light bulbs all round the perimeter of the stage which lend a wonderful atmosphere to the whole.

Bomba and Dem began spinning their tale of the Mystery Cat and here they thoroughly convinced me in each and every particular. Especially Bomb did a marvellous rendition, she was *the* sassy, sexy red cat and she flung out her “wide awake” with a shout that echoed.

The two leading ladies here were a powerful team, working flawlessly together and this time I even found their voiced to be perfectly suited and blending nicely. The (background) choreography was, again, different, mostly in keeping with the changed lyric I believe.

A lovely titbit was when Demi mentioned MJ as Mac’s partner in crime - both she and Bom were looking pointedly at Jerrie who happened to be sitting at the edge of the stage in front of them. He turned round, facing the audience with a wounded expression that read “Me? Surely *you* wouldn’t think *that* of me?” Adorable!

Mac came on dressed up as Old D and Dem was not only hissing and getting between him and the other cats - far from it! She pulled, dragged and pushed everyone away forcibly before unmasking Maccy who flung her over his shoulder. Munku grabbed her legs and Alonzo came in between them to grab her waist and carry her off to safety (see the video for that move).

The fight seemed, to me at least, harsher than in London, with Al stepping in more frequently. In fact, he took over completely from a very battered Munku from the moment that Mac and his partner lie on their stomachs facing each other and thumping the ground with their hands.

The choreography was very energetic of course and also more acrobatic in my eyes. I did miss the bang from the explosion Mac sets off as he leaves the stage. Here we had a very disappointed poof of light. I mean, come on! ;D

Spotlight sequence:
Al and Dem were picked out by the light individually, both shying back very cat-like in the gleam before actually looking up, facing each other and crawling in for a cuddle.

What I noticed was that Munku had, up to that point, been the one to look out for Demeter - she had gone to him during previous Mac scares and when Grizabella appeared. Seeing them together and judging from their interaction I would say they were siblings. This is, for me, a little odd, since I always pictured them as having a different sort of relationship.

Mr. Mistoffelees:

I can’t say Misto’s dancing was formidable, he was an understudy after all, and you noticed (provided you have seen that number often enough and have other dancers to compare with ;D).

The jumps were a little sloppy and the pirouettes not exactly elegant - not a question of stamina as far as I can say that though - the performance was consistent from beginning to end.

What made up for this were his expressive mimic and gestures though. Misto had, from the start of the show, been played with a well thought out interpretation - not a kitten, rather a young and very fun-loving, slightly mischievous adult.

Tug did well, I was concentrating on Misto most of the time so I missed what he was doing. Good job on the singing and working together with the magic cat. When the time came to choose an assistant to bring Old D back, Cassandra (bathing herself on the tire) was pointed out with a flourish by Rumple (I think).

The poor cat had just raised her arm to wash her ears when the spotlight fell on her - talk about bad timing ;D. Of course she wasn’t exactly pleased, but since Tanto, Cori and Tugger blocked all available escape routes she had little choice and was forced to disappear under the red cloth.

Misto conjured some, then looked to Tug for more “energy” - they did that “manly-handshake” sort of thing I remember from Jacob and John. This, apparently, enabled the re-appearance of Deut. Just a side note: Misto wears gloves with glitter stones - he has contacts to light his jacket with (pressing his fingers together) - but he used those only after he had safely come off his rope and was on firm ground again ;D.

Once Old D was there, Misto hopped into his arms *I LOVED that* and Tumble did a spontaneous back flip for joy. Whoa. ;D

Magic Kitty then jumped off the tire and was lifted by, if I’m correct, Alonzo and Mungojerrie (to be precise - he stood on the guy’s shoulders), with Tumble and Pounce holding his hands till he was safely in the air and then sitting in front, just in case he fell off and needed to be caught.

And I just gotta say that Misto blew out his spotlight very nicely in the end.

Memory:

What I thought very interesting was that, since the set doesn’t have any ramps in the back, Silla was standing on the car boot (see video), practically amidst the other cats for both her parts (‘Daylight’ and ‘Sunlight’) - it gave the impression of a more tightly knit group and did not set her apart as much which I personally liked.

I noticed Cassandra was the last turning around to face Grizabella during her song. Victoria sat with Deut at stage right (he probably lounged on Gus’ box) and as she approached the Glamour Cat I noticed a new interpretation of that particular piece - more bubbly, might have been the same instrument they used in ‘Invitation’.

Vic would, on every beat, move her leg in time with the music before stepping forward. It looked adorable, more hesitant and kittenish. Griz was led round to be accepted as usual, with Pounce apologizing openly and Tumble sliding all the way after her just to receive a head rub from her and be forgiven *at that point, I was hopelessly lost to those kittens anyway ;D*

Munku still stood protectively in front of Deut, with his arms spread out wide and Griz looked as if she knew he wouldn’t let her pass, she even backed away slightly. The tabby, however, came forward, taking her hands and leading her to Old D. I very much liked that interpretation. ;D

Journey to the Heaviside Layer:

The German was mercifully drowned in the music, it sounded very nice, you caught the tone of the singers, but not the words themselves. The tire seems to lift differently than in London, since Pounce was sitting directly beneath it which isn’t possible since there’s a gap there usually.

The Addressing:

Deuty was lovely. And Tumble was being his cutest self so I didn’t manage to take my eyes off him all through the song. I love his costume too - it has a bluish grey tint with reddish brown stripes and fluffies. His make up compliments those colours, it was nicely done as far as I could see.

Bows/Credits:

The cast came out one by one as usual, only that Jelly wore her Griddle and Gus his Growltiger bandana. Plato did, according to Sachmet and Delilah (a fact which I only indistinctly remember), a part of his Macavity choreography - crossing his arms in front of his body and then jumping. Tumble was last in this line up, with a series of back flips and a somersault.

Everyone then joined hands and bowed together - to a well-deserved standing ovation of course. The orchestra and the conductor were called on stage to be applauded as well.

The second set of Bows consisted of the cast coming out in pairs, with each of them performing a little routine. Demi and Al went for a spirited dance, Tanto and Cori went Indian with a lovely 4-armed God (or Goddess) waving about its appendages. Rumple did a forward flip without her hands - in fact, she looked like she was taking a stroll, all very casual.

My jaw had, by this time, hit the floor already - where it was going to stay till Sachmet shook me out of my near-trance state. ;D After his partner, Jerrie peaked out from stage right and, as if not wanting to steal her limelight, he did a very lowly forward roll, looking adorably sheepish.

Finally, the cast was onstage together and started dancing as one - improvisation being the key word here. Mungo and Teaze rocked the boards together, they were marvellous to watch! My attention was riveted the moment Tumble appeared though. He was the last left onstage and went with practiced ease into more dizzying flips and acrobatics. Wow.

With such an end, it was pretty hard to actually come down to the ground - I really did more than just enjoy the show - it engrossed me completely and I hope to be able to see it again soon. Stuttgart is, I must say that, a rare treat for any CATS fan ;D.