When all is said and done, no matter the concept, Cats is still Cats. Except now, it is also so much more.
In the early 80s, the show was an absolute phenomenon. You weren't a Broadway fan if you didn't see it. Heck, you weren't even considered cultured if you weren't seen at the junkyard. It was a weekly who's who that made the columns that reported who was there. But, like almost everything in American culture, its shelf-life was limited, and soon it was an easy joke on SNL and elsewhere. "Now and Forever" the ads said, and people couldn't help but countdown to its demise. Many of us ardent Cats fans sort of went into hiding about our love for Old Deuteronomy's tribe.
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Lately, the grip on re-staging it as a duplicate of the original has begun to loosen. The revival a few years ago started to push at the boundaries. Someone else had a hand in the choreography!? "Blasphemy!" purists screamed. But now, the kitties in their skin tight leotards with their yarn-made tails and fur patches have popped up at a rodeo and a circus instead of a junkyard. Then came Zhail Levingston, Bill Rauch, Omari Wiles and Arturo Lyons, who as directors and choreographers, threw everything we thought we knew about the show out with the kitty litter, and brought the felines to the Ballroom.
What is remarkable about the whole thing - and there is a lot that is remarkable - is that the concept not only fits perfectly, but somehow clarifies and enlightens the classic. That it is done with almost no lyric changes (a few gender pronouns have been changed), and every note of Andrew Lloyd Webber's iconic score is played as written (though a lot has been added), makes it all the more extraordinary. The connection between Grizabella and her unwitting protege Sillabub is deeper and adds much to the story. Macavity has never made more sense. And some fun, modern touches bring Skimbleshanks into the 21st Century. (No specific spoilers here.) But the biggest change that comes with the concept is this: in the original, we were seeing people as cats; in Cats: The Jellicle Ball, we finally see the cats as people. It is an important and revelatory distinction.
Presented as a series of competitions, each cat tells their story, then their cat-egory (pun intended and used frequently in the show) is announced and a cat or two joins the current kitty in a runway (catwalk?) dance off. Trophies are awarded and the audience goes collectively nuts... the energy... literally spine-tingling... Not to worry, just as in the original, they are each still trying to get Old Deuteronomy to choose them for a trip to the Heavyside Layer. Here the head of the tribe is played by the sublimely regal Andre de Shields, whose entrance requires a standing ovation. We must, of course, give this living legend (both actor and feline) his due. It's funny that I realized as the evening went on that as each cat finished, I looked right at him to see his reaction. No one holds court like O.D..
Andre de Shields (left) and Ken Ard (right)
Each member of the company, culled from the worlds of Broadway, drag and ballroom, contributes their breathtaking skill sets so generously that the whole thing feels really authentic, so organic, that the outside world disappears and every ounce of energy in the room creates its own electricity. There's original Broadway cast member Ken Ard who keeps the ball rolling from one of the boxes as D.J. Griddlebone. As a fan of the show and Broadway history, this inclusion pleases me greatly. Dudney Joseph, Jr. takes his M.C. duties very seriously as Munkustrap. A cat, that in every production I've seen, has always captured my heart and senses is Victoria, the white cat/kitten; in Baby Byrne's hands, Victoria is memorable in all the best ways, her runway skills are utter perfection.
(left to right) Junior LaBeija, Bryson Battle and Emma Sofia
A literal Ballroom Legend - he created a House and is featured in the documentary - Junior LaBeija makes it clear why he has such status when he holds us captive and hanging on every word as "Gus" the Theatre Cat (with a loving assist from Bryson Battle's Jellylorum). As cat burglars Mungojerie and Rumpleteazer, Jonathan Burke and Dava Huesca are a delightful pair of mischief makers with song and dance skills in abundance. Nora Schell's Bustopher Jones is the sexiest take on the role I've ever seen (who knew?), and Emma Sofia's playful take on Skimbleshanks - now a Metro conductor - had me grinning the whole time she was on stage.
It is, perhaps not surprising that the technical elements of this production are
as brilliant as this fresh take on a legendary mega-musical. It's not over-sized garbage or a giant tire this time, but it does take over the theater, with onstage seating, a runway that goes out into the orchestra seats, with tables and banquettes and full use of the boxes. Credit for all of that goes to one of my favorite set designers ever, Rachel Hauck, who strikes the perfect balance between complete immersion and honoring the theater space. Adding to that are the previously mentioned projections that appear all over the Broadhurst, and the gloriously technicolor club lighting of Adam Honoré, the top tier club level sound of Kai Harada, and the visual feast that is the costume design of Qween Jean. Every single thing about this production is fresh and exciting, reminiscent of that same feeling when the original opened over forty years ago.
This is truly a "Come One. Come All" musical - not only does it have a Ballroom Culture Consultant (N'yomi Allure Stewart), it has a Sensitivity Specialist (Ann James) and a Gender Consultant (Josephine Kearns). They really have put their money where their mouth is, and we are all the better for it.
"Now and Forever" no longer feels like a threat. It feels like a promise kept.
📸: M. Murphy, E. Zimmerman
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