4/28/02 matinee
After two years, I finally saw CATS again. This time, I saw the current tour in Chicago with my cousins, Jasmine and Mara. After some calls were made, I found out we were sitting third row center at the Schubert Theatre, which was definitely a plus. I had been to this theatre before, in 1992, to see "The Goodbye Girl", which, by the way, had three ex-CATS in the company. So it was good to be back.
There were three swings on today: Lisa Kassay was on for Demeter, Brad Collier (normally Tumblebrutus) was on for the Rum Tum Tugger, and Brad Barnes (dance captain) was Tumblebrutus.
To make this easier on you, the reader, we'll do this song-by-song:
OVERTURE—The Cats came down and did the Green Eyes bit, but there wasn't anyone yelping from being startled. They weren't out in the audience too long, because the stage at the Schubert wasn't like the one at Winter Garden Theatre, where the Cats had easy access to the audience. They had to go backstage and go back through the wings to get on stage again.
JELLICLE SONGS FOR JELLICLE CATS—It did look a bit awkward without Coricopat, Tantomile, Electra, and Etcetera, but Mungojerrie & Rumpelteazer covered for the twins. I noticed that Old Deuteronomy (Jarrett Ali Boyd) was a little more involved in the choreography this time around. (Maybe I just didn't notice it the past three times.) He didn't do any of the complex moves, but he was still pretty active. More so than Ken Page or Jimmy Lockett. Asparagus (William Hartery) stared down a family with two young children at the end of the song; the little boy was grinning the whole time Asparagus and Munkustrap were looking at him. I also noticed Cassandra (Melissa Elizabeth Emrico) right away; her makeup was striking, there was more brown and less white, and she had gorgeous greenish-blue eyes. Needless to say, I was quite smitten by this Cassandra. Now I see why Jeffry portrayed Munkustrap as having a "thing" for her on Broadway...
THE NAMING OF CATS—Again, due to the structuring of the stage, the Cats didn't go out into the audience. At the beginning of this song I saw some sweat flying from Munkustrap (Grant Turner)'s face. It's only a few songs in and he's already sweating! Wow. Nothing too much to notice—I was looking at Alonzo (Ronnie Nelson), wondering if he'd do a Lenny Daniel at the mention of his name, but he didn't.
THE INVITATION TO THE JELLICLE BALL—Victoria (Shylo Smith) was a great dancer; Jasmine was in raptures over her after the show. (Shylo also was Victoria in Hamburg.) I could see Mistoffelees (McCree O'Kelley) hanging out in the pipe and he was getting quite...um...aroused watching Victoria dance. However, Misto didn't sing for himself this time around, Munkustrap sang his lines. Guess McCree's a dancer first, singer second. Or not at all. By the way, McCree's Misto makeup looked different than the normal. He had one eyebrow raised, and it made him look like he was quite full of himself. He did look a bit like Timothy Scott facially, but he is also one of the taller Mistos I've seen.)
THE OLD GUMBIE CAT—Julie Garnye was a great Jennyanydots! The tap dance was great, and Skimbleshanks (Warren Freeman) seemed to get a charge out of poking Jenny in her backside with his fork. Jenny also got a big laugh when she came trundling out of the oven (which I didn't expect...I was expecting her to pop out of the car trunk). Jenny's makeup was also interesting with two little heart formations towards her mouth. At the end of the song, once again, Munk was trying to put her coat back on her when...
THE RUM TUM TUGGER—I know Brian Collier doesn't play this role regularly, so I'm inclined to go a little easier on him. But he definitely did his homework—I saw a lot of John Partridge's Tugger in him, although I think Brian was trying too hard to match up to John. He came off as extremely arrogant, and throughout the entire show, he wore a look on his face that seemed like he was saying "I want nothing to do with these other cats". He did have a good singing voice; he sounded a bit like Terrence Mann. Instead of dancing with a woman in the crowd (due to the stage structure), he instead went to the car trunk, annoyed Mungojerrie for a bit, annoyed some of the other cats that weren't dancing, and finished his song. And in true Partridge fashion, Brian did the Patented John Partridge Rum Tum Tugger Point-N-Flip when Grizabella showed up. I didn't catch him mouthing anything he shouldn't have, though!
GRIZABELLA, THE GLAMOUR CAT—Grizabella (Gretchen Goldsworthy) shows up—her wig looked a bit shorter than the ones most Grizabellas wear, and her makeup job was interesting...looked a bit like Norma Desmond at the end of "Sunset Boulevard", down to the smear of lipstick under her lower lip (made her look like she had been in a fight). Tumblebrutus is the one who bops her when she comes out (at the encouragement of Pouncival and Plato), only to have all three guys get admonished by Jellylorum.
BUSTOPHER JONES—William Hartery was great in this role, his Bustopher was quite a jolly soul! He got a big laugh at his entrance, and tossed his flower out to a little girl who was sitting two rows in front of us. (My mind wanders back to Bettylover's little pouting session over not getting said flower in NYC.) However, it was not Mistoffelees, but Skimbleshanks who was stealing the show. It was he who pretty much followed behind Bustopher during the song. Bustopher didn't sit down on the hat until Skimble dusted it off with his tail for him, and when Pouncival and Tumblebrutus (who had been involved in a little wrestling match early in the song) got too close to Bustopher during his solo, Skimble shooed them away. Bustopher even saluted Skimble instead of Munkustrap. A big costume difference too—Bustopher’s beard was black as opposed to white, and his monocle was plastic instead of glass. And of course, Jenny went nuts when Bustopher kissed her. Then you heard the glass and the Macavity scare, and Munk and Alonzo spring into action. A quick note...there's a bit more yellow in Ronnie's makeup, which replaces the tan in Lenny's.
MUNGOJERRIE & RUMPELTEAZER—Bryce Bermingham was a decent Mungojerrie, his singing voice reminded me a bit of Roger Kachel's. Pamela Rainey was a pretty decent Rumpelteazer too. Nothing too eventful here, except for the fact that the SECOND verse of the song was cut (as opposed to in the video, where...well, you know). The double cartwheels got big applause, and it was Jellylorum and Munkustrap who led the surrounding of the couple.
OLD DEUTERONOMY—Grant Turner has a great voice! And let it be known that he was NOT David Ashley's Munkustrap. He came off to me as an amalgamation of Michael Gruber and Jeffry Denman, with a little bit of Harry Groener thrown in for the Growltiger number. Tugger, even when he was singing, looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there. Old Deuteronomy came in from the wings as opposed to through the audience, and Skimble brought him in. (Warren has the part of the rather fussy Skimbleshanks down to a tee!) I must say, I don't like the new Old Deuteronomy wig much. It looks too much like a wig someone would use to play Jacob in "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" and doesn't look too cat-like. With that said, the man inside the costume, Jarrett Ali Boyd, does a great job and has a magnificent voice.
PEKES AND POLLICLES—Of course, this one was cut, which annoys me because I feel that it diminishes the role of Munkustrap to the show in general. Basically, this omission robs him of his big song. But I did like the transition they used to the Ball. Basically, after the fanfare just before P&P, we hear the glass again and everyone scatters. I was thinking—oh boy, lot of little kids here, hopefully there won't be another fight...
THE JELLICLE BALL—But there wasn't another fight. Old D started with the Song of the Jellicles. Ronnie delivered the "Lenny line" ("Jellicle cats are black...AND WHITE") more like Jason Gardiner, I thought. And of course, they really knocked it out during the big dance. In fact, I saw a little girl a few seats down from me wearing cat ears and face paint, bouncing along to the music. I always think about the story I heard from CATS' closing on Broadway. Just before the big finish (after everyone spots Griz), Cynthia Onrubia (OBC Victoria), who was in the audience, screamed "GO FOR IT!". No one did that this show. And yes, Asparagus was getting a bit frisky towards Bombalurina (Sharon Huneycutt) and Demeter after his line!
MEMORY—Or "Little Memory", as Jeffry Denman (final Bway Munkustrap) calls it. Not much to talk about here because there were only two cats on stage. Jarrett sat on stage at intermission but no one was allowed on. At intermission I alternated between explaining things to Mara and chatting with Jasmine and the people who were sitting two seats down from us, one of whom, Jake, was a friend of Keith Edward Wilson's (final Bway Plato/Macavity/Rumpus Cat, for the uninitiated), as he revealed to me. I explained to Mara why the Cats didn't like Grizabella. I also added that I felt that the Tugger was her son and she abandoned him as a kitten, which is why he probably flipped his ruff at her like that. This also probably explains why he wants to be the center of attention at all times.
MOMENTS OF HAPPINESS—I noticed Bombalurina and Alonzo getting a little frisky during this song. They were a bit "into" each other, to say the least! Sillabub (Katie Ann Wanner) then began to sing; she sounded very much like a young kitten. Also, I noticed that when everyone repeated what Sillabub sang, Griz wasn't singing along with them.
GUS, THE THEATRE CAT—This was one of the few songs from this show that Mara knew going into it. William Hartery was a great Gus, I hold him on a par with John Dewar. I was also half-keeping an eye on the kittens in the background. Pouncival was getting a little restless during this song. He was stretching out in one of the pipes and started playing with Bombalurina's tail, and she swiped at him. Once she rid herself of this nuisance, she resumed what she had been doing, which was cuddling with Demeter. (Awwww!) Also, when Gus mentions the kittens, Victoria struck a rather regal pose when her name was brought up. Wendi Bergamini was also an amazing Jellylorum. She encouraged the crowd to applaud much like Jean Arbeiter did before his "morph" into Growltiger.
GROWLTIGER'S LAST STAND--Instead of the boat popping out, there was the curtain that read "Growltiger's Last Stand". I liked how it looked. William Hartery won me over as Growltiger! He was cackling, hissing, snorting like a bull, and REALLY abusing his pirate crew. The pirates were the normal crew—Munk with the parrot, Alonzo with the hook, Tugger, Skimble and Misto. Even as a pirate Warren was in Skimble mode, getting the pirates in "order" for Griddlebone's arrival. When she did, Alonzo held her in his arms—until she saw his hook and brushed him off. And of course, she fainted in the crew's arms for Growltiger. The aria was just too hilarious. Griddlebone was waiting...and waiting...and waiting for Growltiger to acknowledge the fact that she was there and quit his hamming it up...so finally she buffed her nails against her chest and SCRATCHED him! Even when they did the duet, they were shaking their fists at one another, and Griddlebone had to bring Growltiger back down to earth once the applause started. Then you know the rest...sitting third row center I could see which one of the Siamese was Cassandra. The swordfight was also cut down by a few minutes. After Growltiger walked the plank, Genghis stood in front of the "Growltiger's Last Stand" sign, then bowed to Gus (who had come back to his old self). I could also see Skimble positioning himself for his song. (One other thing, while "Growltiger" was out, I could still see the Asparagus unitard under his costume.)
SKIMBLESHANKS THE RAILWAY CAT—And what a Railway Cat Warren Freeman is! Great voice and a great dancer, and had the "total control freak" aspect down to a tee. One thing I noticed—Munkustrap was not onstage for the entire song, he only came out for the train-building portion of the program. I wonder if he was having problems getting out of his pirate costume! When the train fell apart, Skimble looked like he was about to commit homicide...but then the expression quickly turned to one that said "oh well". Another quick note: he didn't get Old Deuteronomy in on the act just before he climbs on the other cats, like in the video. And after Skimbleshanks comes...
MACAVITy—Lisa Kassay was a great Demeter; she and Sharon Huneycutt are both great singers. Macavity (Everett Taylor) can be easily compared to Clint Brown in that during the entire fight, he had a huge grin on his face, and you could tell he was enjoying himself. Alonzo wasn't as chicken this time out, but Mac overpowered both Alonzo and Munkustrap. Everett is a tad bulkier than Keith is too, so I don't blame Ronnie for not doing the Big Swing. I could also hear Everett let out a yell before the electrocution. (No one applauded this time when that happened.)
MR. MISTOFFELEES—McCree O'Kelley definitely put a different sort of spin on Misto (no pun intended). He wasn't the cute kitten that Jacob Brent made him out to be, nor was he the mysterious adolescent Julius Sermonia made him out to be. He seemed to be a bit cockier, with the "you WILL like me" mentality. I counted 24 spins this time. It should be noted again that he also looked a bit like Timothy Scott in the makeup. Stuff I noticed during the song—when Misto brought out the bucket and scarf, Rumpelteazer took the bucket and wore it on her head when Misto was done with it. And I could see part of Old D in the pipe that led to backstage just before he was brought back. The things you see when you're sitting in the third row!
MEMORY—Jasmine and Mara were both amazed by Gretchen Goldsworthy's rendering of "Memory", as was I. What a voice! In fact, she's my new favorite Griz. May the good fortune Betty Buckley has had shine down upon Gretchen Goldsworthy. I did notice, though, that she looked fairly young (even with the makeup).
THE JOURNEY—The look on Mara's face during the tire ride was just priceless, she smiled when she saw that. (I had held her in suspense about it all day long.) I noticed that Skimbleshanks was dancing a jig and bouncing around in between the cats during Griz's wild ride, as if he was happy she was picked or maybe because it wasn't him. Or maybe it was so he wouldn't have to hear "Memory" again...at least until that evening's show.
THE AD-DRESSING OF CATS—The size of the stage made the positioning a bit different; instead of just Skimble standing behind Old D's right side, it was Skimble and Sillabub. I also noticed during the part where Old D talks about food, it was Rumpelteazer who did the Lenny Daniel tongue bit.
BOWS—Grizabella joined the cast at the end and did a spin, and they were all goofing around with one another. Loudest applause went to Mungo n' Teaza (who did another double cartwheel), Old D, Grizabella, Misto, and the Tugger. One other thing—Jellylorum didn't wear the Griddlebone tail for curtain call, and Asparagus didn't wear his Growltiger eyepatch (although he did twitch a bit so they remembered he was Gus). Finally, everyone sang "Mr. Mistoffelees" again and we actually saw the Tugger change his facial expression after Bomb pushed him down and walked on his stomach. He screamed, grinned, and ran off after her.
I didn't do the stage door bit because it was raining pretty hard and because I was with family and we were going to dinner afterwards. But I will when the tour comes to Michigan, because I'll be on my home turf. To the cast, job well done, and I can't wait to see the show when it comes to Detroit!