London Trip

May 2001

 

 

 

This was an extremely exciting trip for me as you can imagine; I had never even been out of the country before this. My Dad and I had been visiting my brother Vincent on his army base in Bamberg, Germany. Toward the end of our stay Dad and I skipped over to London for a few days. The flight with Lufthansa/Eurowings was just fine. (Any airline where you get complimentary chocolate wins major points from me!) We got a little turned around trying to find our hotel, but after spending a week in Germany it was nice to be in a country where at least we speak the same language. (Sort of.)

 

Friday 5/11/01

We checked in at the hotel where we met up with various friends from the forum: Keenoled, Lisa, Stacey, Emelie, Michelle, and Feliciradeya. We sat and chatted for a while, and it was now that I learned John Partridge, who was supposed to be playing Tugger, was out with a bad knee, and Jason Gardiner, who had been playing Victor, was in his place. I was disappointed that I wouldn’t get to see John, but delighted at the prospect of watching Jason do Tugger. As Alonzo in the video he had impressed me as being like Tugger’s older brother, with a “been there, done that” attitude. I was sure I would love him as Tugger.

We walked together from the hotel to the New London Theatre, from there to Covent Garden (it wasn’t quite what I expected), then back to the theatre. In the lobby we met more folks from the forum: Ahdeya, Triskell, Rio, littlgriz, Snowy, Michaela, Victoria, Muffystrap, Munkustrap Kitty, Tigera, Kid, Crazy Kitten, and probably more whose names I didn’t catch. Since this was the 20^th anniversary of Cats in London many fans had come in costume. (It was kind of Rocky Horror-esque, except no one threw anything at the stage.) Those in costume were Ahdeya as Bill Bailey, Triskell as Bombalurina, Rio as Demeter, Snowy as himself (I assume), Michaela as Carbucketty, Victoria as…Victoria (duh!), Muffystrap as Munkustrap, Munkustrap Kitty as Munkustrap (double duh!), Tigera in a wild-looking yellow tiger costume with a groovy wig that I unfortunately didn’t get a picture of, and littlgriz in a simple face makeup.

After chatting and snapping pictures, Feliciradeya and I made for the bathroom to turn ourselves into Cats as well. She was dressed as her own black and white cat, Smoky Jo, while I was doing a variation on Broadway Alonzo. ;~) Stacey joined us at some point (actually the place was lousy with fans getting into costume, I don’t know how anyone actually managed to use the facilities) and I helped her with her Victoria wig. (Victoria, now there’s a simple makeup. Why do I always pick the complicated ones?) Once we had our makeup to our satisfaction we went into the theatre and found our seats.

 

Cats 5/11/01

Dad and I were in the stalls, C16 and 17 on the aisle, two rows behind Keenoled et al. Amazingly we had plenty of time before the show started, so Dad slipped away for a minute. While he was gone an older couple came and needed to get past me to their seats. I turned myself half way round and put my feet in Dad’s seat. (Got a comment from the lady on my agility as a cat; I just grinned.) In this position I saw that Triskell was sitting behind us with her friend Sylvia and another gentleman whose name I can’t recall. I introduced myself and we made chit-chat until the show started.

There were several swings on this night: Peter Bishop was Gus/Growltiger/Bustopher Jones, Clinton Brown was Admetus/Macavity, Jason Gardiner was the Rum Tum Tugger (as mentioned before), Andrew Wright as Victor, Emma Woods as Demeter, and a somewhat unusual one. Stori James was billed as Bill Bailey, but the costume he wore was similar to that of George, now retired. He came to be known among us fans that night as George Bailey.

I had heard that the stage was on a rotating platform, but I didn’t realize that the first section of seats moved with it, too. Pretty neat! This occurred during the overture, and after the platform had stopped the Cats came out with their green eyes. Carbucketty came down our aisle and flashed his eyes at everyone on one side. 

Couple interesting things in the Prologue: David Ashley as Munkustrap did not impress me initially; I think I’ve been spoiled by Michael and Jeffry. Emma Kerslake as Victoria did impress me, though. She only has one line to herself, “familiar with candle,” but she delivered it in such a strong, clear voice that I had to take notice. I understand she understudies for Jellylorum/Griddlebone; I wouldn’t mind hearing her in that role. Instead of the loose pajama-type suit Old Deuteronomy usually has, Dave Willetts was wearing spandex like the other Cats. He certainly had the body for it, one of those husky types. Etcetera was the trapeze artist with Tugger as her spotter. And at the part in the dance where Munkustrap lifts Victoria, they had Coricopat lifting Tantomile instead.

There was something disturbing going on during Naming, disturbing to me anyway. David Ashley was deliberately out of rhythm with everybody else. He was either a little behind or a little ahead, but he was never with the group. At first I thought he had gotten behind and was trying to catch up, but he continued it through the entire recitation. This seemed rather unprofessional to me.

But now that I’ve pointed out what a prima donna Munkustrap can be, let me move on to pleasanter things. We had Munkus, Jenny, and I think Mungojerrie in front of us. I was kind of missing Lenny during this number; I didn’t see anyone who reacted to his or her name. At the line “some for the gentleman” Munkustrap straightened himself and preened a little, then on “some for the dames” he gestured to Jenny who went all demure. As the piece progressed, Jenny and Mungo came down from the stage and hurried up our aisle while Munkustrap stayed on the stage. I think I got a stare or two as they went by.

At the beginning of Invitation I noticed there was no big pipe in the set. Mistoffelees had settled himself on an old mattress off to the side while he watched Victoria. When he came to join her he ran his paws down her side, then nuzzled up her leg with his head. Then he began singing. (I should perhaps mention here that the role was being played by none other than Broadway’s own Jacob Brent.) It’s funny y’know, when I watched the video Jacob never struck me as a particularly outstanding singer. I mean he was good, but he didn’t really make an impression on me. But when he sang here I took notice. Perhaps it’s because in the video I had Michael Gruber to compare him to and in London there was only David Ashley. Speaking of whom, Munkustrap delivered his solo from atop the car rather than in front of the group. By this time I think I’d decided that his voice was not so bad after all; it’s that first line that’s always so hard.

The whole show is blocked differently in London than on Broadway I found. As Jenny was about to be revealed in the trunk it was Munkustrap who stood on top of the car while Mistoffelees did his magical passes from downstage (where it was less obvious I thought). Jenny seemed a little put out at being awakened from her nap. Kerry Washington made her a darling thing, very matronly and sweet. As she came out the kittens started playing with her tail, but she brushed them away and they ran to get their mouse masks. The mice were Victoria, Etcetera, Electra, and Jemima. On the line “she teaches them music, crocheting, and tatting” Munkustrap was leaning back on the steps to the tire, allowing himself to be petted and caressed by the ladies’ trio. He quickly jumped up when it was time for him to sing again. Jenny seemed delighted to hear her name, sung by the ladies’ trio instead of Munkus. And actually the ladies sang with Munk on several lines of the second verse. Namely: “She sits upon the windowsill, or anything that’s smooth and flat. She sits and sits and sits and sits…” And they also join him on the second “That’s what makes a Gumbie Cat!” When he began opening the front of Jenny’s coat she gave him an almost indignant look that seemed to say, “What do you think you’re doing?” The Beetles’ Tattoo was much the same as on Broadway, though there were several Cats sitting out. (Asparagus, Munkustrap, Etcetera, Skimble, and Alonzo, though this is apparently subject to change.) I noticed Admetus in particular in the front line making cute faces under his mask. Carbucketty went after Jenny with his fork, and when she caught him and sent him back he gave us a little sheepish grin like, “Heh heh, oops!” The four Cats to join Jenny for the final tap segment were Demeter, Bomba, Jellylorum, and Mistoffelees. When the number was over the beetles all scattered and Munk came forward to give Jenny her big coat. (No James Brown routine this time.) Just before Tugger’s music started we heard a loud mrowr from offstage. The adults all groaned, “Tugger!” in disgust, his music started, and out he came.

Jason Gardiner rocks as the Rum Tum Tugger! It’s like he was born for the part. I didn’t think anyone could play a better Tugger than Stephen Bienskie, who was always so playful, but Jason has an edge over him because he has a good, strong voice. (I still love Stephen, though.) The choreography, I noticed, is much the same as on the video. It is Admetus btw who throws the ball that Tugger then kicks up and over the back of the set. But the only major difference came when Tugger went out into the audience. He pranced down the ramp, came to the end of our aisle, and began tickling the head of a bald man in the back row of the front section. Then back up on the stage to finish the song. Etcetera was the one to go crazy, of course, and Tugger knocked her over with a pelvic thrust. During the free-for-all that followed, Grizabella came onstage at the front via a side ramp, then sat watching us until she was noticed. Tugger pointed her out, then flipped his ruff and strutted off.

Grizabella was treated the same as she was on the video, kittens pulled away by well-meaning adults, and Carbucketty scratched her. Munkustrap tried to stand up to her, and indeed he towered over her. But she was not to be cowed. She had a very self-assured air as she stalked off the stage.

“Pay no attention to her!” Jenny exclaimed as Bustopher Jones appeared at the stage right ramp. She seemed a bit annoyed when Bomba sang, “In fact he’s remarkably fat!” Jellylorum, seeing this, quickly jumped in with her line. Bustopher was greeting the kittens all this while. He didn’t insist that the top hat be dusted off, nor did he sit as ponderously as John Dewar always did. Though as he sat, all the toms said, “Tell us about your clubs.” When he sang, “I’m found, not at Fox’s, but Blimp’s,” Victor and Admetus exchanged looks that seemed to say. “Oh yes, Blimp’s. I’ve been there; it’s very good.” After the line “for a drink at the Drone’s” Carbucketty and George Bailey tumbled across the stage tussling, but Skimble hissed for them to stop. And when BJ sang about looking full of gloom several of the kittens hid their faces in their paws. Then Bustopher got up from the hat and Victor took it upstage, upturned it, got in, and made like it was a bucking bronco. The toms began lining up, brushing themselves off and primping. Bustopher brushed past most of them till he came to Skimble, who saluted just as Bustopher went to shake his paw. Skimble looked a little chagrined at this. At the end Bustopher beckoned to Jenny and gave her the flower from his lapel. She giggled like a school girl and sagged back into Jellylorum’s arms.

The lightning flashed and the thunder crashed (Into the Woods, anyone?), the sirens wailed (European sirens) and the Cats all tensed. Demeter was rushing all over the stage sniffing the air. And I thought Celina Carvajal was neurotic. She was nothing to Emma Woods, who was absolutely spastic.

“Macavity!” she cried and the Cats all scattered.

“Wait!” Munkustrap called to his retreating tribe mates. “Stop! What if it’s not Macavity?”

But by this time he was speaking to an empty stage. He snarled in frustration and started to stalk off. At the head of the stage left ramp he turned, looked around, growled again, and then left.

Silence. Then we hear a bird-like titter and out come Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer. They were very cute, carrying their loot in what looked like shopping bags with a store name on the front. I couldn’t make out the name, though. Free advertising, anyone? Somewhat to my surprise, M&R sounded more upper class British than cockney. And Teazer was nearly the same size as Mungo. Odd that. The choreography was very familiar to me by now. After M&R watched the Ming vase fall they looked at each other and Mungo said “Oops!” Oops, indeed! When the other Cats came to chase them off, they threw the loot bags up over M&R’s heads. Mungo managed to catch his, though, and he hung onto it possessively. As the music ended Munkus cried, “Now, let’s teach them a lesson!” and they all rushed toward M&R, who were looking very worried. But just then Old Deuteronomy’s theme kicked in and everyone stopped.

Mistoffelees was sent to fetch Old D. At this point I would like to say that Oliver Tydman and Helen Harper made a very striking Coricopat and Tantomile. They were enjoyable to watch and they have very nice voices. Too bad we couldn’t hear more from them.

Old D sat down rather heavily, and then the introduction for Pekes and Pollicles began. “Hurry!” Munkustrap urged the other Cats as they bustled around the stage. “Make ready! Remember what I told you to do.” (I think I saw Rumpelteazer and Jennyanydots roll their eyes at him.) He ran around during the brass punches making sure everyone was ready. Tugger jumped down from the tire, came right up behind Munk, and did a little ta-da! on the third punch. Munk glared at him and gestured him off; Tugger flipped his ruff on the fourth punch and strutted off down the stage left ramp. David Ashley, more than any other Munkustrap I’ve seen, gave me the distinct impression of a fussy, somewhat tyrannical director who wanted everything to be just perfect. As the Cats barked, they started soft and got louder. On the second round of barks Munkus kept making an urgent gesture encouraging them to build their sound. First big difference I noticed: Teazer was the first peke, of course, but Carbucketty was the first pollicle. Carbucketty looked very mischievous during the bark mess-up, like he wasdoing it on purpose. And it certainly seemed to annoy both Teazer and Munkus. The one to lead the marching pollicles was Mungojerrie. He led them all around the stage with more pollicles joining here and there. Munk didn’t try to stop them, indeed he seemed too wrapped up with getting the girls organized to notice what they were doing. So Mungo delivered the “frisky and frollicle” line. Tugger came up with his bagpipes and pranced around the stage before flipping his ruff and strutting off again. Munkus gave Old D a look like “See what I have to put up with?” Old D just gave him an encouraging nod. When it came time to silence the barking dogs, Munkustrap yelled a very long, “Nooooooow-ah!” And finally came the Great Rumpus Cat! Yaaaay! Since I didn’t know at the time where the New London’s startrap is located (it was off stage left at the Winter Garden), I was startled when he popped out of the approximate center of the stage. Dad had never seen a startrap entrance before; he was impressed. Previously in London GRC was done by George (who looked like Admetus from the video). George has since retired, so Alonzo has taken the role. And Sebastian Rose does an excellent job. His portrayal is kind of goofy, very similar to Frank Thompson’s, so obviously that puts him high on my list of favourites. ;~) Though he is significantly shorter than David Ashley, which kind of mars his image as the Great Rumpus Cat. (I guess he’s great in some way other than size, heh heh heh!) When the Rumpus wig stood up just before “or hairier” it went out all around, just like a cat’s fur would. Munkus just stared at him, seemingly in disbelief. Rumpus grinned then carefully smoothed the wig back down. After Munk said “or hairier” GRC hissed and made it stand up again, and all the “dogs” cowered and whimpered. I think the cutest thing about the GRC costume on Alonzo was that the black and white bangs on the Alonzo wig were sticking out from under the GRC wig.     

As Old D sings ashes to ashes, GRC is carefully but quickly creeping toward the wings. When he gets there he stands and hurries off, and Tugger is just behind him. I would imagine that Jason probably helps Sebastian out of his GRC getup since it’s a mere two minutes before Alonzo appears onstage again. (I would imagine wrong, though. According to Feliciradeya, there are two women offstage waiting to help him. Man, I want that job! Though actually, on second thought maybe not. He must be sweating buckets by then.)

The thunder crashes again, Demeter cries, “Macavity!” and all of the Cats scatter. Munkustrap and Old D are the only two left onstage. As Victoria comes back out Old D says soothingly, “Don’t be afraid,” and Munkus relaxes visibly. “Don’t be afraid,” Old D says again as Jemima comes out, then Song of the Jellicles begins. Alonzo slinks on reciting his lines. As he gets to “Jellicle Cats are merry…” Carbucketty runs forward and adds, “and bright!” Alonzo gives him an annoyed look like “I was going to say that.” As George Bailey says, “Jellicle Cats are not too big,” he creeps right up behind Admetus, Munkustrap, and Victor, then scampers away just before they all turn and swat at him. After Bomba gave her line Gus came up behind her and delicately lifted her tail away from her backside, then smiled at us as if to say, “Yes, it looks much better that way, doesn’t it?” (Dirty old tom!) Bomba gave him a killing look before snatching her tail away from him.

As for the Jellicle Ball, there were a few differences here and there. At the place on Broadway where Alonzo made advances to Bombalurina, they had an entirely different scene. Carbucketty started dancing on his own, a silly little dance for Victoria, then Mistoffelees joined him and showed him a more elegant dance. After a while Mungo jumped in between them and showed them yet another dance, this one more like a bump and grind. They copied him then Cass came up on the stage and lured Mungo away with a sexy, come hither look. That’s when Bomba came out to do her dance with the girls. For the mating dance Alonzo was the one to lift Victoria. George had been the one to hold that privilege until he retired, and since then Alonzo and Admetus seem to be sharing the responsibility from night to night. Alonzo seemed to have a bit of trouble balancing her that night; it was something of a relief when he set her down. I didn’t notice many pairings, but I think I saw Tugger with Bomba, Munkus with Demeter, and Mungo with Cassandra. When Grizabella was discovered, Mistoff was the one to drive her off. Having seen what happened in Germany, I kept an eye on her and saw that she didn’t retreat entirely, so I watched to see what she might do. Victor saw she was still there and jumped up on the car to chase her, but stopped when Old D began beckoning urgently to him, as if to say, “Stop, leave her alone!” Victor looked puzzled, but by this time Grizabella was gone, so he shrugged and jumped down to join the dancing. One last thing of note: during the guy’s dance led by Munkustrap, Etcetera was out in the audience doing walkover after walkover after walkover after…well, you get the idea. She did them from one side of the theatre to the other; pretty impressive. The rest of the Ball was largely the same as in the video.

Grizabella came on again and the Cats left hissing. Demeter’s hesitant shrinking from her reminded me a lot of our own timid tortoise shell, Griselda. Munkustrap tried to stand up to her, but inevitably found himself retreating with the others. Chrissie Hammond actually sang Memory rather well; she’s one of the better Grizabellas I’ve heard.

During the interval I wandered around, chatting with other fans, discussing the cute bits in the show. Feli was sitting a few rows behind us by herself, and Dad graciously offered to trade seats with her so that she and I could sit together. Feli was glad to accept.

As the interval came to an end the Cats came back on the stage and settled down. Alonzo was sitting near us in a typical cat pose with his eyes slitted in the most perfect cat-like manner. He was a pleasure to watch. Nearby Gus was sitting down on the stage with Jellylorum. He was actually starting to nod off, then Old D began singing and he started awake. When Old D had sung his piece he commanded gently, “Tell them, child,” as Jemima rose to sing her bit.

Jellylorum brought an old paint can (complete with handle) over for Gus to sit on. As Old D returned to the tire he said, “Now, let us consider Gus.” Jelly prepped Gus for his big moment, but he made it clear that he wanted her to start. Jelly gave us a nervous grin, then began singing. The kittens seemed more attentive on the London stage than on Broadway. When they got to the line about letting the cat out of the bag, they snickered like it was the best joke. And when Gus said he understudied Dick Whittington’s cat, everyone seemed very impressed. But the kittens still acted insulted when he made his disparaging remarks. He bowed after singing about Firefrorfiddle the second time and Jellylorum encouraged us to clap for him. Strengthened by our response he began singing the segue verse. Jelly had been about to take the paint can backstage; when she realized he was going to keep on, she just shook her head as if to say, “Oh, there he goes, there’s no stopping him now.”

In London there is no set change for Growltiger. This was kind of disappointing; some fun antics can be had with the ship wheel as we have seen. Growltiger’s costume was not quite as paunchy, nor did he have inflatable biceps. But Peter Bishop certainly made up for the inadequacies of set and costume with his flamboyant portrayal. The crew consisted of Munkustrap, Tugger, Skimbleshanks, Mistoffelees, and Victor. Munkus had his parrot while Skimble had the hook. Tugger, naturally, had what I thought was the most stylish pirate costume, with a white satin shirt, black pants, a tricorne hat, and even a blue scarf tied around his leg. During the second verse the crew were all bent over and rocking in unison as if they were on the rolling sea. Skimble sang the first line, then Munkus jumped up to sing the second. But Mistoff had already started singing it and Munk, chagrined, hunched back down within the group. When the next line came, he hesitated a fraction of a second before he sprang up and sang it. For the abuse verse Munk had the second line and he got kneed in the groin. He let out a high-pitched cry before stumbling away. (Poor darling.) After the line “that mauled his missing ear” the crew all started laughing. Growltiger turned and snarled at them, and Skimble and Munkus each immediately pointed to the other, as in, “He did it!” This was made all the funnier since Skimble was pointing with his hook. Griddlebone’s entrance produced a certain amount of enthusiasm. Skimble in particular got a big, silly grin on his face as she sang a little cadenza on “Solo qui”. Since there was no boat set, the crew couldn’t make a show of reluctantly crawling below deck, nor could Munkustrap stay as night watch on the poop deck. Instead they all just hurried off behind the tire, and the lovers were truly alone (for a little while, anyway). Before they had gone, though, Mistoff and Victor dragged out an old mattress with a leopard print blanket. Victor tried to curl up on it himself, but the other Cats quickly hurried him off. Growltiger’s costume did have a little bit of a paunch, and as he sang, “the lady seemed enraptured by my manly baritone,” she gave that paunch a couple firm pats, affecting his voice slightly. Griddlebone, ever the lady cat, twice refused to lie down on the on the mattress with Growltiger. On the third “request” she graciously consented. While Growltiger was singing, Griddlebone kneaded fitfully at the blanket. After he ignored her puckered lips she began lashing her tail so fast that it nearly knocked her over. She reached out to scratch him once, but he caught her and she quickly drew back with an innocent smile. Then came the Siamese. Griddlebone actually did give a screech at the appropriate time, a short, sharp little noise of the ear-piercing variety. The fight was largely the same as on Broadway, but it was a little too obvious that it was staged. (Am I becoming jaded?) There was no plank, but Growltiger ran to the end of a halved piece of pipe that swung around to the back of the tire and he jumped off that. He delivered the line “Growltiger, to his vast surprise, was forced to walk the plank?!” (He actually did put that question mark in there.) One final note: The Siamese had these plastic Halloween mask thingies instead of the pretty fabric deals that they had on Broadway. As Gus left the stage, Rumpelteazer was the one to stand up and watch him go, and she seemed on the point of tears. Old D came forward to comfort her and said, “Well now, how about…”

“Skimbleshanks, the railway cat!” Skimble was sitting up on the car with his head dropped to his chest. This looked terribly uncomfortable to me; no wonder his wake-up reaction wasn’t very big. There was not a lot that I noticed that was different from the video. I kind of missed the interaction between Pouncival and Coricopat that I had always enjoyed on Broadway. Just before all the kittens lay down on their tummies to listen to Skimble they all said, “Tell us about the sleeping car!” When it came time to dispose of the “mouse” Skimble caught, he gave it to George Bailey, who was crouched right next to him. The train that was assembled looked like the one on the video, i.e. the red canopy. I’ve always preferred the one with metal roofing. I think the Cats were more or less in the same spots as on the video, but I did notice Mistoffelees at the front holding the headlamp. I don’t think he was on the stage at all during this song in the video. Skipping along to the end, as Skimble jumps down from his perch on Munk’s shoulder and Alonzo’s back, they sing the chorus, the kittens all cluster around him, and everyone starts singing the “In the watches of the night” verse again before they are interrupted by a horrendous crash.

Clint Brown as Macavity was magnificent! He comes out on the tire laughing evilly, then yells, “Take him!” Two rats run forward and pull what looks like a potato sack over Old D before hustling him off the stage. Mac comes down to the stage, still laughing, and the Jellicles fall before him. He yells, “I’ll be back…for you!” and points to Demeter before running off the stage with Munkustrap hot on his heels. (Wow! If that isn’t enough to make you lose bladder control…) Emma Woods as Demeter was very good, but I didn’t care much for Julie Barnes. Her voice was too loud and brash, and frankly I think she has more of a kittenish face than a Bombalurina face. Choreography for the song and the fight was just the same as on the video, but I must mention one more thing about Clint Brown. During the fight he seemed to be on the verge of grinning hugely. In fact, he was like that for the whole show, when he wasn’t grinning outright, of course. He must enjoy himself onstage, and that made him fun to watch.

Jason Gardiner did a fine job singing Mr. Mistoffelees. I’ve heard others say that he didn’t seem to have quite worked out whether he wanted to be sexy and arrogant (like John Partridge), or sexy and silly (like Stephen Bienskie). Perhaps he hasn’t perfected his interpretation of the RTT yet (I’ve never been a fan of the Tugger anyway), but he’s energetic and he’s got a great voice, so that’s enough for me. And Jacob Brent as Mistoffelees, wow! I have also heard other fans complain that Jacob isn’t nearly as good as his predecessor, Campbell McKenzie. Well of course, I’ve never seen Campbell, and maybe these fans are missing him (as I was missing some of my Broadway favourites), but Jacob was absolutely magnificent! His dancing was so smooth and elegant and controlled; it was a joy to watch him. And I think he enjoyed reprising this role.

Now then, in London the mug with the rainbow ribbon shoots out after the first verse (as opposed to after the “seven kittens” line). Then comes Mistoffelees’ dance (which was excellent!), then the second verse. I think it was during the second verse that Mistoff waved his paws and froze both Electra and Etcetera where they stood. Then a snap of the fingers brought them back to life. Etcetera did a back handspring and they both dropped to the ground, clearly disoriented. When time for the conjuring trick, Mistoff picked Bombalurina, not Cassandra, and she was not happy about it, hissing and trying to get away. (Actually Cass did that on Broadway, but I had never thought to mention it.) Mistoff makes a couple passes over the covered figure as the drum roll swells then goes back down. Tugger seemed a little impatient; he slapped his thighs and did a pelvic thrust at the black and white cat. (Though I’m not entirely sure what message that was intended to convey.) Mistoffelees obligingly pulled the cloth off of a probably suffocating Old D. And you know the rest. Alonzo and Victor were the ones to lift Mistoff at the end, and then he blew out the light with a little kiss on his fingers.

Moving on, Linsey Wise did a good job with “Daylight” and Chrissie Hammond did fine on Memory, if a little loud in spots. Then it was up, up, up, up to the Heaviside Layer. In this production something like an attic staircase was lowered out of the backdrop. Grizabella walked all the way to the top before turning to wave goodbye.

For Ad-dressing I think I remember watching Carbucketty, Victor, and possibly Alonzo. When food was mentioned there was quite a bit of lip smacking going on. Not quite as pronounced as Lenny’s little routine, but still amusing. And I enjoyed watching Jye Frasca as Carbucketty. He made him a very cute, mischievous kitten, similar to Jon Erik’s Pouncival.

Bows went as usual. I thought it was cute when Old D came running out last of all, did a little jump, and struck a funky arabesque pose. They sang Mr. Mistoffelees as they went off, but they didn’t lead us in the chorus. The last Cats off the stage were Mistoffelees, Grizabella, and Tugger. Mistoffelees and Grizabella were doing a slow ballroom dance when Tugger asked if he could cut in. Mistoff gallantly agreed, but then Tugger started doing a little disco-style dance by himself. Grizabella shook her head at him then walked off on Mistoff’s arm. Tugger saw them go, shrugged, and strutted off after them.

No trip to see Cats is complete without stopping by the stage door. (Okay, so I chickened out in Germany, so sue me.) We waited a long time, though; I believe that since it was the 20^th anniversary and Gillian Lynne and Andrew Lloyd Webber were in attendance, they probably had some kind of party for the performers. Champagne at the very least. After nearly an hour, they gradually began trickling out. I managed to get quite a few autographs thanks to Feli who identified them as they came out the door. Chrissie Hammond was very sweet and much prettier than in her program photo. (Unfortunately I didn’t get a good picture of her.) She complimented me on my makeup, saying that it looked very complicated. Jason Gardiner also complimented us all on our makeup and costumes, saying, “We were jealous. Some of you looked better than we did!” Jason was very nice, even tolerating Feli and me asking for several autographs for friends. And he also smells nice, according to Keenoled anyway.

Peter Bishop came out soon after and started talking to Keenoled and Crazy Kitten in Swedish. (The dude is multilingual!) As he was signing CK’s program I snapped a picture. He looked up, saw me standing next to Keenoled, and in a very glib tone said something in Swedish. I gave him a completely baffled (and not a little panicky) look and he realized aloud, “Oh, you must not speak Swedish.”

“No,” I answered a bit sheepishly, “I’m an American.”

Keenoled later told me that what he said was, “Oh, I didn’t see you there. You want an autograph, too?”

Up till now the actors had been coming out one and two at a time. This meant one could go about getting autographs and pix at a fairly leisurely pace. (There were a few who managed to sneak past us, though.) But now they started coming out in clumps. It started with Clint Brown, whom Feli pointed out to me as Macavity. I snapped a quick picture, then asked for his autograph. “I loved you as Admetus,” I told him, “you were so cute.”

“Thank you,” he smiled, though he seemed a little embarrassed by the attention. He handed my program back, then pointed back to the stage door where more actors were coming out and said, “Look, there’s Alonzo and Demeter. Get them!” and, “There’s Carbucketty and Mistoffelees. Get them!” And with our attention thus diverted, he was able to make his getaway.

Sebastian Rose and Emma Woods (who came out with arms around each other) were a study in contrasts. Sebastian was talking on his cell phone and looking terribly casual, while Emma was clearly embarrassed by all the attention they were receiving from camera-wielding fans. I got pictures, but they managed to slip away before I could get autographs, mainly because I was distracted by Jye Frasca and Jacob Brent who came out after them (as announced by Clint Brown, long since gone).

“Okay, everyone,” Jacob announced at the outset, “we have a train to catch, so let’s make this quick.” Now I realize that might sound a little arrogant of him, but he knew he would be asked for his autograph, and he also knew he had a train to catch. It was nice of him to stop at all; he could have just zipped by with barely an apology. He did give a rather pained look when he saw Feli and me with our stacks of programs, but he signed them. He even took a moment to chat with me; it went something like this:

D: The extras are for Cindy, Kyra, and Mary. Remember them?

JB: Oh yes…but they already have about eight million!

D: They want more!

JB: (laughs) Your makeup looks great!

D: Thank you! I modeled it after the Broadway Alonzo makeup.

JB: So Alonzo is your favourite?

D: Yes.

JB: (knowing smile) Any particular Alonzo?

D: (blush and grin) Lenny.

JB: Lenny, yes. I talked to him the other day.

D: (mounting excitement) Really?

JB: Yeah, in fact I’m supposed to call him tomorrow. Have you ever written to him?

D: Yes, I’ve written to him! Oh, if you could tell him I said hi, that would be so great!

So much for self control. But a moment more of chat revealed that Lenny is teaching Jacob’s dance class while Jacob is in England. Oh, I’m so glad he’s working. And Jacob is a real sweetheart for engaging in that conversation with me. I hope he caught his train!

At some point in my talking with Jacob, David Ashley managed to slide by without my noticing, for all that he’s 6’2” (185 cm). And after that it wasn’t much longer before we headed back to the hotel. Keenoled was in the lead, and she was so high on pure happiness (she got a hug from both Tugger and Munkustrap) that she got us lost. It was Crazy Kitten who finally got us back on track. Feli came up to our room to take off makeup and wait for her mother to pick her up. When she was safely on her way, Dad and I called it a night.

 

 

Saturday 5/12/01

The next morning Dad and I took a bus tour of London. Got off at Trafalgar Square and watched some morris men. Got turned around looking for a place to eat and found ourselves on a rather seedy street offering various licentious pleasures. (Whoops!) Made it back to the hotel without mishap. Had dinner and met Keenoled before hurrying to the New London.

 

Cats 5/12/01

Dad and I were in M26 and 27 this time, the top row of the second section of stalls seats. We were on the aisle, and my seat was actually in the aisle at the top of it. Swings for this evening’s performance were Jason Gardiner as the Rum Tum Tugger, Andrew Wright as Victor, Stori James as George Bailey, Clinton Brown as Admetus/Macavity, Emma Woods as Demeter, Helen Baker as Jemima, and Kate Tydman as Rumpelteazer.

Before the revolving platform began moving, we found ourselves staring at the back of the set. This gave me a moment’s pause before I remembered that the stage would be turning until it was beneath the moon backdrop situated across from us. Several Cats whizzed by our section during the overture, flashing their green eyes.

Nothing really different during the Prologue. In Naming I noticed David Ashley doing his own thing again; it was all I could do to keep from grinding my teeth in annoyance. But I was distracted from that when the Cats came down from the stage and Jellylorum began creeping up our aisle. She stopped at each seat to stare at the occupant, and then she got up to me. (Remember my seat was actually in the aisle.) She leaned forward, still reciting, until our noses were about two inches apart, if that. And all the while she was kneading her knuckles on my knee. I have engaged in Cat staring contests before, but not at such close quarters while being kneaded. It was all I could do to keep from giggling. After a minute or two of that she leaned over Dad’s shoulder to reach out to a little girl sitting behind him. Then she gave him a thoughtful stare and me a quick glance before hurrying away as the recitation concluded.

Nothing new in Invitation. In Jenny’s song I have noted that the ladies’ trio sing several lines of the second verse with or for Munkustrap. He seemed very annoyed by this, and even waved them off a couple times as if to say, “I can sing it myself, thank you so very much.” Bit of a diva attitude on Munk’s part, hmmm?

Tugger seemed less a diva than a cute goof-off. I loved the way he was absently twirling strands of his ruff around his fingers. And I noticed that when he leans back against Admetus, there is plenty of breathing room between the ruff and Admetus’ nose. Finally, Jason Gardiner seems to have a thing for bald men. At the time when Tugger comes into the audience, he ran down the ramp at top speed. Had he not veered off when he did, he would have come straight up the aisle to me! (Oh well.) He zipped around behind the first section of seats, went up the next ramp and sat down at the top of it. He leaned back while looking around casually, spotted a bald man right next to him, and began tickling his scalp. Then he jumped back up to finish the song.

Grizabella then Bustopher. As BJ was greeting the kittens, Victoria was sitting up eagerly with her paws held out. BJ acknowledged her with a little pat on the paws and she froze where she sat with a big grin on her face. Kind of like “He touched me. He actually touched me!” Victor gave her a worried look and waved a paw in front of her face, which served to snap her out of it. And this time when Victor took the top hat back he sat in it and pretended it was a runaway stagecoach. Silly kitty!

Thunder, lightning, sirens, Macavity! The Jellicles cleared the stage despite Munkustrap’s protestations. When all were gone we heard an adorable little giggle and out came the troublesome twosome. I liked Kate Tydman better as Rumpelteazer. She was smaller than Mungojerrie with a cute giggle and a convincing cockney accent. And she snapped her garters when she said her name, exactly as Tesha Buss had done on Broadway. But kudos to Adrian Edmeades for adapting to both Tydman and Britton to make a perfect complement. And btw, their loot sacks say Woolworth’s on them. Well, what else?

Deuteronomy and P&P; believe it or not, I didn’t notice any significant differences in P&P between the two shows. So we shall skip lightly ahead to the Jellicle Ball. I think I once said that I have never heard an Alonzo who didn’t have a great voice, which is annoying because you don’t hear very much of it. Sebastian Rose is the exception, I’m afraid. But whatever his vocal deficiencies, he more than makes up for them with the rest of his performance. Except for the Victoria lift. Much as I like Sebastian, I think I would really like to have seen Admetus do the lift. Clint Brown is, after all, a pretty burly guy, and I feel he might have done a better job. Sebastian seemed a little unsteady. Okay, I promise I will stop criticizing him now. :~)

After the orgy scene when the Cats jumped up to dance again, there was a major drama going on behind them: Grizabella hovered near the wings, watching them. Jenny saw her and moved to chase her off (btw, Jenny always seemed very disturbed whenever Grizabella showed up), but Old D stopped her. While they were fussing with each other, Victor saw Grizabella and decided to be a good kitty and chase her off. He succeeded, much to Old D’s annoyance. He beckoned the young Cat back to him then cuffed him lightly on the ear. I thought that was a bit much myself, especially coming from the supposedly benevolent Jellicle leader. Chastened, Victor jumped down to the stage to join the dancing while Old D continued to argue with Jenny and Jellylorum. Quite frankly, he looked truly ticked off, which seemed a bit out of character to me. But to end on a positive note, let me tell you about Carbucketty. During the latter, most energetic part of the Ball he was in the very front and he was obviously enjoying himself immensely. With every move he made he was quite clearly saying, “Whoo! Yeah! All right!” (Though not loud enough to be heard over the music.) It brought a smile to the face to watch him.

Memory, then intermission, during which Keenoled, Lisa, and I recapped all the good bits. As the second half started Tugger came out and greeted Old D affectionately, but got a rather chilly response. So he settled back on the half pipe and looked around at the other Cats as if to say, “Whoa, stay away from Old D. He’s in a baaaaad mood!” In discussing this with my mother when I got home I pointed out that the Jellicle leader was totally out of character. Whatever happened to “that placid and bland physiognomy”? Mom then brought up the fact that in the second verse of “Old Deuteronomy” (which is hardly ever sung anymore, more’s the pity) they mention that “the digestive repose of that feline’s gastronomy must never be broken whate’er may befall,” so maybe he was suffering from some indigestion. ;~) Whatever the problem, Old D’s mood seemed to mellow out during Moments of Happiness. In the meantime, there was a cute kitty antic going on at the edge of the stage in front of Keenoled, which she later related to me. Mungojerrie was lying down on the stage looking bored. He began kneading fitfully at the edge of the stage, looking for something loose to play with. He found something, a bit of paper, and began picking at it. Next thing he knew it came off in his hand. (Oops indeed!) Hurriedly he tried to wedge it back, but Keenoled was hissing gleefully, “I saw that! You’re tearing up the set!”

“Shhh!” Adrian hissed back. “You didn’t see that! Don’t tell anyone!” Getting a little too into the Mungojerrie persona, isn’t he? Keenoled recovered the detached bit of paper, which turned out to be a label from a can of peaches, and kept it as a trophy of sorts.

Gareth Snook was back as Gus. He was perceptibly different than Peter Bishop, though not in a way that I can easily define. I suppose Gareth was rougher while Peter had a touch more finesse. They were both admirable in the Gus/Growltiger role. And while Growltiger was quite good, and it’s always my favourite number, there isn’t much different to report this second night. At the end of the first verse, “rejoicing in his title of ‘The Terror of the Thames,’” Mistoffelees made a little title box in the air with his hands. Cute touch. I think it may have been just after this that Growltiger swung his saber blindly and the crew all ducked to keep from being beheaded. Then he gave up his saber to Mistoff. (Was that such a good idea?) Finally, I dearly love the crew reactions to Griddlebone’s arrival, like Skimbleshanks rising on his toes with each flourish of her cadenza, all the while grinning dreamily. And Mistoff was playing mandolin on Growltiger’s saber. Hee hee!

Moving on to Skimble, there were a couple things I was watching for in this number. First, on “he gave one flash” Skimble feinted back at George Bailey who did a classic cat startle reaction and jumped about two feet in the air before dropping down to his knees. He was alone, so with no one to catch him he couldn’t do the fall back that Alonzo always did on Broadway. I’m told that sometimes there is a catcher, and they are not always the same ones. Apparently the blocking is flexible depending on which swings are playing whom. During the second chorus as the kittens were getting into their train-riding spots, there was a little card game happening up on the car. Jenny, Alonzo, and Victor were pantomiming what might have been a game of spades or snap. Jenny was especially cute because she seemed excited that the younger Cats had decided to deal her in. Naturally, all this was a setup for when Skimble sang, “to the bagmen playing cards,” and ran back, waving at them to stop. Alonzo shrugged and put the “cards” away, though I’m told that in the past he’s used the distraction as an opportunity to cheat. (Shame!) Victor was sitting at the back of the stage when the kittens linked paws and ran forward. He tried to catch hold of Cassandra’s paw to go forward with them, but she moved away too quickly. When the line came back he held up his hand to her, and for a moment it looked as if she would take it. But instead she lightly tapped his hand before leaving him behind sulking. (Incidentally, I’m told that Victor is supposed to be a mild, sleepy little background kitty, but that’s not how Andrew Wright plays him. ;~)) And as the kittens told Skimble to, “Tell us about the sleeping car!” on the last two words Carbucketty did two pelvic thrusts. Aha, so we know that he, at least, wasn’t planning on sleeping. Naughty little kitten!

I was so glad to see Clint as Macavity again. Some of his other fans and I agree that in Demeter’s place when he says, “I’ll be back…for you!” we’d jump up and cry, “Why wait? Take me now!” Actually, I have noticed in other productions that Demeter is not so reluctant about going with Macavity when the time comes. Now I know why. (No, not because of Clint necessarily.) After slapping Munkustrap around a little, Mac pointed at Demeter and beckoned. With a clearly dazed look she began crawling toward him. Tantomile tried to hold her back and snap her out of it, but was only partially successful. Demeter was still a little under Mac’s spell when he grabbed her, and she didn’t resist too much. But then again, maybe she knew Mac wouldn’t hurt her. Some fans subscribe to the theory that his “crimes”, including the kidnapping of Old D and Demeter, are really elaborate pranks pulled for the express purpose of annoying the heck out of Munkustrap. And the way David and Clint play their respective parts, that seems a likely hypothesis. After all, David makes Munk very easy to annoy, and Clint is grinning the whole time, like it’s the best fun he’s ever had.

One thing of note during Mistoffelees’ song, but it’s a big thing. Mistoff made his little flashes of light all over (which always bother me; I’ve started looking away when he does them), then held out his hands for the ribbon mug. It wouldn’t come. A look of mild annoyance flashed across his face as he held out his hands again; still nothing. With a casual shrug of “Oh well, forget that then,” Jacob moved smoothly into the next part of the number. To be perfectly honest, I didn’t even know what had happened (or not happened) until Mistoff started his dance and I realized that the rainbow ribbon part had been skipped. Excellent recovery, Jacob.

Nothing exciting happened during Memory (does it ever?), but the ribbon mug still in its little hole became important during Journey when the dry ice started billowing out. Just as the first wisp appeared, a stage hand hurried up to the stage from the back of the theatre, crossed in front of the first row, and grabbed the mug out before retreating again. I can only assume that the place where the mug sits is one of the dry ice outlets; it probably wouldn’t be good for one of those to be blocked off.

I feel it should be noted that Broadway Alonzo always perked up at the very mention of food, i.e. “a dish of cream”. But in London Alonzo remains aloof with perfectly slitted eyes until caviar is mentioned. Then he takes interest.

Bows and then out to the stage door. I got to meet Julie Carlton (Electra) this time. As she signed my program she told me, “You look familiar. Were you here last night?”

“Yes,” I admitted, “but I had my face painted.”

“Oh, really?” she queried. “Whose costume were you wearing?”

Hesitant to call my brown and black velvet combo from the night before a “costume”, I answered, “Um, it was kind of a variation on Broadway Alonzo.”

She nodded and added, “I’m pretty sure I remember seeing you last night.”

All I can say is, if she could recognize me out of makeup she’s doing far better than a lot of folks, myself included. :~)

I managed to catch Jason again for a picture and also Jacob, and while with Jacob, David Ashley managed to slip by me once again. But I did grab Jye Frasca for a picture and autograph. He’s the cutest little thing, a lot like Jon Erik Goldberg really. Ahdeya took the picture with my camera then encouraged Michaela, a huge Carbucketty fan, to get her pic taken as well. Jye was all smiles and quite charming until he turned and saw Lisa with a video camera aimed at him. “Oh, my God! Is that on?” he demanded.

“Yes,” Lisa grinned, “say something to the fans!”

Composure rapidly deteriorating, Jye said, “Um, hi, I’m Jye Frasca and I play Carbucketty…umm, I gotta go!” And he literally sprinted around the corner. I hope no policemen saw him; they might have thought he was running from the scene of a crime. (There he goes, officer! Officer!)

 

Cats Party 5/12/01

It was not too long after this that we all followed Feli to Pizza Express for a Cats party (of course, we had a party). It was nice to be able to sit and chat with Cats fans in a relaxed atmosphere. Though after we had ordered there was a little confusion about the tab, but Kid managed to straighten that out somehow. The party was a little smaller and simpler than the one we had in New York, but there was a nice ambiance and I think a good time was had by all. Ahdeya gave away some of her “extra” art and showed off her portfolio. Michaela also had a portfolio to show. They are both excellent artists. John Scarborough, the education officer for the show came to the party about halfway through bearing a cake and card from the cast. I confess that at the time I didn’t know who he was except that he’s attached to the show in some way. (I’m still not entirely clear on what it is that he does.) So I was a little startled and very touched when, as he was taking his leave, he said goodbye to each person individually. In my case he said something along the lines of, “I’m sorry we didn’t get a chance to talk, but I wanted to say goodbye and thank you for supporting the show.” How sweet! Speaking of sweet, the cake was good, too. Chocolate cherry, yummy!

The party began winding down, there were hugs and goodbyes all round, and we began making our separate ways back to our hotels. I have a very distinct memory of Kid trying to hail a cab, and as one began to slow, he hiked up the leg of his shorts to expose more skin. Hmm, no offense to Kid, but I can’t exactly blame the cab driver for speeding up and zipping past. ;~) He eventually got a cab for his group, though, and the rest of us continued on foot. At the hotel Lisa and Keenoled joined Dad and me in our room and chatted on and on about Cats, Midsummer Night’s Dream (which they had seen in a matinee), British sitcoms, and anything else that came to mind. I think it was something after two AM when we sent them back to their room and went to bed.

 

Aftermath

One of my main gripes about London is that it’s hard as the dickens to find a Catholic church. Dad and I ended up going to a Eucharist service at an Anglican church because it was all we could find. Though I admit it wasn’t too different from what I’m used to, and the sermon was excellent. After breakfast with Keenoled et al (English breakfasts are wonderful, except for their coffee which stinks), we packed up and headed back to the airport. We had a smooth flight back to Germany where we met up with Vince again, and our European vacation was almost over. All in all I had a great time and I would love to do it again. Maybe next year…

          

 

Below you’ll find the program pix of all the actors we saw on stage for the weekend that we were in London.

 

 

 

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