From Kashira:
1/25/03
You can also read her report on her own page.
Wow.
Above is my summary of the CATS production live in one word. I don't believe I'll ever see anything better than seeing CATS live. For those who haven't seen it yet, or think the video is just as good - you have to see it. It's worth $50 (plus a shirt like the one I got and proudly wear when I'm not in costume...heh); and trust me, it blows the movie away. Even with the slight letdowns (explained later), I still give the production a full 10 out of 10. No question.
~~~
The opening was amazing. The lights in the Fox Theatre were beautiful, and all the cat-eyes flashing everywhere with the Jellicle Ball music playing was awesome. And then, of course, the cats came down from the aisles with their green-glowy eyes...It was all so incredibly awesome. This was one of my absolute favorite parts out of the whole play, was just the opening with all the beautiful lights. Immediately after came Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats, and it was mostly the same as the video (of course there was no Exotica, Etcetera, Coricopat, or Tantomile, since they were all just extras in the vid), and it was pretty nifty. Nothing particularly struck me about this part, for some reason, except that this song (and a few others) were of a slower tempo than I was used to hearing. Same with The Naming of Cats. Ah well. Victoria's dance was pretty durn cool, though.
The Rum Tum Tugger was really good...except Stan Stanley looked like he had some rolled-up socks in a certain place...*snicker* I think in one part his mic didn't work for about two seconds, but you couldn't tell unless you were looking for it. He also came down and danced with a woman, of course. That bit was cute. Demeter wasn't stand-offish, though...She was right up there with all the other kittens...heh.
For some bizarre reason, they cut out The Aweful Battle of the Pekes and the Pollicles, but still left in Bustopher Jones. I personally think P&P has more to do with the story than Bustopher. So that was a bit of a letdown, since I really like the P&P song.
And here comes the letdown. In one of my favorite songs, no less. Katy Burns wasn't able to play Rumpleteazer, so Katie Ann Wanner had to play both Teazer and Sillabub...And the result wasn't pleasant. Her high-pitched voice might have provided the childish-tone to Teazer, but her voice sounded like a mix between nasal and a screeching cat...How ironic. That, my friends, was the only real letdown I had that night. Grr. But Mungojerrie was amazing. Mario Martinez really played his part well. During the "Gus: The Theatre Cat" song, he was biting Teazer/Sillabub's tail and shaking it really fast...It was hilarious.
The Jellicle Ball. Wow. They all danced extremely well...I think I was smiling the whole time. There was an extended portion (the part they play in the credits), which I really liked the sound of. One of my favorite parts, both in video and off.
Yay! I finally got to see Growltiger's Last Stand! The video didn't have it, so I was really looking forward to it. And it was _awesome_. Griddlebone was adorable (in a sassy sort of way)...And I loved the Siamese (Genghis/Mungojerrie included). I loved their outfits, and the way they sang...It was excellent.
Macavity was a slight letdown as well. For some reason, Alonzo was up their dancing behind Demeter for her line...I dunno why they figured he'd fit in there, but it looked really cool nonetheless. ((MsJellicle told me that the shadow dancing is showing he protects her...thanks!)) Bombalurina's wig was extreme, and kinda scared me...heh. But one thing I didn't like was the fact that it lacked "oomph"...Instead of sexy-jazzy, it was soft-jazzy. There wasn't enough screeching (i.e., "he's always...WIDE AWAKE!" or "another peke's been STIFLED!") for my tastes, to make it really memory-worthy.
Mr. Mistoffolees. I found it funny that the free program chose to credit him as "Quaxo, otherwise known as Mr. Mistoffelees," considering the eternal debate over Quaxo vs. Misto in CATS fandom. This was another really good song. Even though I knew he was coming down from the ceiling, it was still really awesome to watch.
From there on, it was all good, but nothing _really_ extraordinary (except that the Heaviside Layer looked like a UFO...hee hee). The curtain call was pretty funny, too...When Tugger and Misto came out, you could hear all the fangirls screaming...I started laughing.
I didn't include everything, obviously...Only my favorite parts and really big highlights of the show - although everything was wonderful. My boyfriend, John, commented on the fact that they all "seemed to defy gravity" with all their (especially Misto's) spins and flips and slides everywhere. One non-CATS bad thing throughout the play was the hick family behind us, though. Every five seconds, their kid would ask questions like: "Why don't they like her? Grizzabella the what cat? Who's Macavity? I like the white cat. Is that cat old?" And so on. And his mom and dad would reply: "The Cavities (Macavity) is where they go to get away from danger. I like Munguhjery (that's how he pronounced it). Which song do you like?" Et cetera. It was really annoying, and a disgrace to the entire CATS legacy (especially pronouncing Mungojerrie wrong...oi).
There were three others dressed up in CATS costumes, all girls: One was Misto, another Teazer, and another either a grey/white Griddlebone/Grizabella mix or a made-up chara, like my own. I got lots of compliments on my own costume, though...Yay. =3 And a big thanks to John for going with me...Even though he really liked it and he knows it. ^_~ But again...CATS live was amazing. Nothing will ever match up to it.
Wow.