From a Yakima Mewspaper.

A 'Cats' Best Friend BY Kim Nowacki Feline fanciers as far away as the Washington coast have been inquiring about next week's three performances of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical "Cats." And the excitement this mythical tale is garnering has taken Gail Wright by surprise. "It's sort of brought people out of the woodwork," says Wright, public relations director for the Capitol Theatre, where "Cats" will be performed. But of all the inquiries, the one that's piqued Wright's curiosity the most comes from an 18-year-old fan from Gig Harbor, Wash. Katrina Schold has been asking about getting her paws on tickets to "Cats" since July - almost three months before Wright formally announced it would be in Yakima as part of the Best of Broadway series. "(My parents) think my 'Cats' obsession is a phase, of course," Schold says in an e-mail interview. "But they do think that it's cool that I'm into this, rather then going out and getting drunk or doing drugs." Schold saw her first and second - she went twice - performance of "Cats" in May at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle. Prior to those shows, the Tacoma Community College freshman had met other fans over the Internet. Those connections clued in Schold to the Yakima show before the Capitol had finalized the deal. "I bet we e-mailed 20 times over the summer," says Wright. "I can't wait to meet her. I feel like we're related by now." And come New Year's Eve, there will be Schold, front row center, dressed as her favorite "Cats" cat, Jemima. "The first time I started dressing up was when I first saw 'Cats,' " says Schold. "Going in costume is a bit embarrassing at first, but then you get stopped in the street by people who want pictures with you, tell you how good your costume looks." And while doing a bodysuit, fur and whiskers for a night at the theater may sound a bit strange, fans all over the world do it. So much, in fact, the Internet is full of "Cats" fan Web sites that outline appropriate behavior both in and out of costume: do not sing along during the show, do not dance in the aisles and no matter how tempting, you can't pretend to be a performer. "One lady came up to all of us at the stage door at the Paramount - we were meeting the cast - and said that we were wonderful in the show," remembers Schold, who went to the show with a whole litter of costumed friends. "We laughed, of course, and said that we weren't in the show. And another lady came up to my cousin and said 'Dear, I saw you in New York and you were marvelous.' It's a rush, to say the least. And it's even more amazing when the cast of the show say how cool you look." But one time, Schold just had to break the rules and it's become her favorite "Cats" memory. "We were standing at the stage door at the Paramount chatting with some of the cast," says Schold. "A little girl about 4 or 5 came up to me. I said 'Hi' and she waved, and then hugged me. I didn't know what to do, so I just hugged her back. I know I should have told her that I wasn't part of the show, but she just looked so happy and I know that memory will be with her forever." Undeniably, if not unexplainably, "Cats" has a longevity and universal appeal - it's been translated into 10 languages and performed in 26 countries - that continually draws in generations of new fans and keeps the faithful coming back for more. "Cats" was unleashed in 1981 in London and in 1982 in New York City. Proving that this cat had more than nine lives, the musical become the longest running show in British theater history and on Broadway. Based the on poet and playwright T.S. Eliot's "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats," the story is about the one night a year when the Jellicle Cats - Eliot thought the phrase "dear little cat" sounded like "Jellicle cat" when spoken with an English accent - meet for the Jellicle Ball, where one cat will be chosen to be reborn into a new Jellicle life. Set in a larger-than-life junkyard - the set has 2,500 oversized props - the cats are wary of the human spectators in the audience, but after accepting them, the brood introduce themselves in the song "The Naming of the Cats." "I have read (Eliot's) book," says Schold. "It's just a bunch of poems, and I'm sitting here thinking, 'How did Andrew Lloyd Webber come up with a musical based around this poem book about cats?' The man is a genius in my eyes." And truly it is Webber's music that makes the show so popular. Proud and playful alley cat The Tugger exudes his confidence in the song "Rum Tum Tugger." And the most poignant and memorable scene of the show is when Grizabella, an outsider cat who left the junkyard "tribe" to explore the world, is shunned by the other cats when she tries to join the Jellicle Ball. She laments her pain in the song "Memory." "My love of 'Cats' began when I first heard the song 'Macavity' being sung by Sarah Brightman last June," says Schold. "I decided to then rent the video of 'Cats,' and ever since then I was hooked. "I think people should see this show because it really brings out the inner child ... anyone can see why it lasted for so long on Broadway and in (London's) West End. The music, the costumes, the sets just captivates you in a way some other popular shows don't." Schold does admit "Cats" isn't her most favorite musical - "The Phantom of the Opera" and the French smash hit "Romeo et Juliette - de la Haine a l'Amour" rank slightly higher. Which makes it no surprise Schold would like to work at a theater in New York City. But for the near future, Schold is just looking forward to seeing "Cats" one more time. Her parents and younger sister will join her on the trip over from the Puget Sound. "Should be a New Year's Eve I'll never forget. I have never been to Yakima, and this will be the farthest I've traveled to see 'Cats.'" And while others may be counting down to 2004 in the traditional way, curling up to watch this tale of rebirth and starting anew does seems like the perfect way to ring in the new year.

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