Chibichan's Report
Chibichan's 2nd Report
Carbucketty's Report
From Chibichan:
8/04/02
First off, to CORRECT biloxi_dude (don't worry, no hard feelings pal) STAN STANLEY DOES GO OUT INTO THE AUDIENCE... AND THOUGH HE DID NOT DANCE WITH ME I WAS SO CLOSE I COULD HAVE TOUCHED HIM... but since I respect the dude and didn't wanna give him a HEART attack, I let him be, just kept on giving him winks and shy smiles.
The cast was EXCELLENT. As you know, Stan Stanley did the role as the Tugger, and, not to hurt any JP fans or get on the anti- Stan peeps (I know only two people), but Stan Stanley is, imo, probably one of the BEST Tuggers I've seen or heard. His charisma and antics were endless, and he, as always, was great to see. Katie Ann Wanner as Sillabub, not my favorite, but her voice HAS improved since the last time I heard her and she was also a pleasure to see again. William Hartery as Asparagus was BEYOND excellent, and he was such a sweetie at Stage Door, even though he tore the end of my autograph sheet (he didn't get the picture of the names, so I told him it was okay...). He had a beard, which he used in character and dyed it gray to fit the character. He and Stan were REALLY close to me during the Green eyes part, staring directly AT me and giving me and the girl I was next to QUITE a scare! lol!
And... Swan.... mwahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha... guess who I got to touch... hug... and get an AUTOGRAPH from... *grins* I got the chance to meet and chat a bit with Karl Warden (Plato/Macavity) after the show, and he informed me that his webpage has 20 new pictures on it, so if you HAVEN'T gone checked already, GO NOW! *giggles* I can see why you like him so much; he was so cute and ssweet after thye show, and he was GREAT on stage! During the fight Alonzo gets him down and he just LAYS there... hehehe... so cute! I have pictures of him, but they're being developed as we speak and I'll get a page for it ASAP!
The Show- despite the scenes and bits and pieces that were cut out, it was an excellent show! Great audience as well as the performers. They were all great!
Scenes Cut:
Entire songs are: The Naming of Cats, Invitation tot he Jellicle Ball, Bustopher Jones, Pekes and Pollicles (duh), Grizabella II, and Growltiger's Last Stand.
Bits from Songs: Some parts of Mungo and Rumple (they did not do the double cartwheel, my guess was because of the fact that the stage was not wide enough), the Singing Part of the Jellicle Ball, some bits from the Macavity fight scene, and second verse (and a LITTLE bit of the solo dance) of Misto's song. Everything else, the whole tap dance of Jenny's song, Tugger's dance with the audience, were untouched by the cut. Amen to that!
Actors at Stage Door: Well, to state the obvious, everyone KNOW that I do not like the character of Grizabella, right? Well, I will make en exception because Dee Roscioli was E-X-C-E-L-L-E-N-T! Her voice was BEAUTIFUL and she put so much emotion into the role, that I sat through Memory and Grizabella without blinking... she was marvelous, and I pray that I see her again! (and this is coming from an anti-griza person).
Adam Walters/Alonzo- humorous to watch during the beginning of the Jellicle Ball... he KNOWS how to shake it and shake it well! And he did great in Macavity's fight scene... I dunno WHAT he did, but he was spinning around Maca and Karl and Adam were working well with each other, making the stuff look... wow... he's also fun to hug... *hugs him about three times in a row*
Ashley Yeater- wonderfully deepish voice, very seductive and is sure to catch your attention during 'Macavity'. She kept on LOOKING at me during 'The Ad-dressing of Cats'.... hehehehehe. I also got her autograph as well and she commented on my picture (because my sister wouldn't SHUT UP about it). Have a picture of her with Kate Fahrner (Demeter) and Dee I do believe... could be wrong... thought it was a guy, but, eh... will HAVE to get the pictures to be sure. I got pictures of everyone I met at Stage door BUT Staci Rudnitsy(Jenny), but she seemed to be in a REAL hurry to go.
Karl Warden (Maca)- he was the first one I saw to come out of Stage Door, and I INSTANTLY recognized him (thanks to Swan giving me a piccie o' him a day or two before the show). As I stated, he's a real sweetie and told me about the update on his page... still gotta check that... arg... so busy.... MUST GET PICTURES!
Martin C. Hurt(Old D.)- I was getting someone's autograph and he joked, saying, 'No one wants MYYYYYYY autograph'. So I asked who he was, he said Old D., and it was like... 'you?! Gawd... you... you look so... so... deeeeeeeeeeeeeee!'. Yeah, I gave him a little bear hug and he was really, REALLY nice... seems to be a jolly man, can't wait to see these people again! DEFINATELY one of my FAVORITE casts...
Katy Burns(Rumple)- this girl is silly! She fit the character well, and I believe it was her who quickly ran out of Stage Door's way to let Stan get 'viciously' attacked by ME... hehehehehehehehehe. After getting a piccie and her autograph, I asked her about Stan and IF he had left already. She smiled and told me that he might have, but she wasn't sure. However, you know the saying 'Speak of the Devil and he shall appear' right? Well, doors swing open and out comes Stan (I was jsut staring at him... I could tell by those EYES that it was him). She made a giggle and quickly got out of my way, and my sister asked the question for me while I was inching slowly closer to him. "And you are...?"
Stan answeres, "The Rum Tum-huh?"
Please shoot me... I feel so embarrassed now that I jsut CLUNG onto him so quickly... I probably gave the poor guy a heartattack.... Stan, if you read this I am SOOOOOOOOOO sorry! ANYWAY, after clinging onto the poor guy for abou' a minute or two, I get a picture with him, wanted a pic of JUST him but he was nervous so I got one of him and my sister (was going to ask for him and Gus, but the guy had left), and got his autograph... *points to it in real life* see! STAN STANELY... 'TUGGER'... hahahahaha!!! BTW, he also states that he is a fan of John Partridge as well (he was holding his belt in the JP fashion throughout the show), though I think he's in his OWN little section. Let JP be who he is, Stan Stanley is Stan Stanley, and I so want to see him again. (yeah yeah yeah, I know, he's NOT the best, but I like him over some others I heard, remember OPINIONS)
Jean Michelle Sayeg(Victoria)- she was such a pleasure to watch, even though her solo dance was cut short. I so cannot wait until I see the FULL version in New Orleans... she's such a beautiful dancer... makes me so jealous!
Now the next two that came out were probably the NICEST and I thank them SO much for having patience with me and my silly questions (we ended up chit chatting about CATS and the full version for about ten or so minutes when all the guys wanted was something to eat...).
Eric Shorey(Pouncival) and Ryan Jackson (Misto)- They came out together (were also the last two as well before we had to leave), and after getting a picture and autograph (Ryan had the cutest eyes and Eric looked oh so cute!), I was talking a bit with Eric, about how he felt being on stage and stuff like that. He said he was nervous the first time, but after doing it so much, you get used to being there but it's never the same (each performance, rather it's matinee or night show was different). By the time Ryan was done with autographs, he joined us as my brother asked why they omitted the Pekes and Pollicles. Ryan stated it was because it would be too long, so usually most productions have to choose between the two (he stated he liked GLS more because of the music, though Eric loved the Pollicles). You should have SEEN the look on Eric's face when I told him that the 'special' cd I had was THREE cd's long... hehehe... I told them that I was coming back on Sept. 1st, dressed up as Tugger, so they said they'd look for me... hehehehehe. So after about ten or so minutes we said our goodbyes... and that was it for Stage Door...
Bits and Pieces- I wrote these down on my old brochure... these are jsut bits and pieces that I thought was adorable when watching.
-Fake Maca looks like a Klingon from Star Trek
-Skimble was hilarious; during the encore, he started shaking his butt at this group of girls, he turns to see them begging for more, and he goes even faster, but his poor old back gives out and he gets help from Alonzo.
-During the Jellicle Ball, Tugger and Rumple were flirting, but Skimble comes to take Rumple away (the two seem to have a special... thing... throughout the show). Then he goes back to lecture Tugger, but gets a reply from Tugger with a hit on the head with that tail o' his. hehehe
-During Mistoffelees, Tugger, Rumple, and SKimble almost get fried
-When Tugger says his 'You aught to ask the Magical Mister Mistoffelees, the Original Conjuring Cat (there can be no doubt about that)', he notices that the other cats are leaving and the look he gives is hilarious!
-After the fight with Macavity, Alonzo and Demeter noozled while Cassandra and Munkustrap nuzzled.
-Sillabub has a THICK THICK TAIL!
-Tugger and Jelly do this cute thing during the beginning of the Jellicle Ball
-Tugger and Gus are humorous to watch during 'The Journey to the Heaviside Layer'...
-Tugger kept his paws OFF of Misto during 'Memories', even though I kept 90% of my attention on Griza this time.
Eek... what a show! What a trip! Hopefully next time I go I'll get Munku, Skimble, and the others that I missed... *dances*
From Chibichan:
9/01/02
It started when I woke up at 5 and got into make-up... I did the base first, which was orange with a bits of whites here and there. Mom stated that I looked like a clown, I thought I looked like Krupp from SteX, except different colors, while my brother just stared. Picked up my friend, got her into a black dress with kitty ears and some stripes on face. We drove there, listening to stuff... and when we got to the Subway in Biloxi, I put on the rest of my make-up and costume... now I was an official RTT kitty...
Parking in the SAME spot as last time (that's just weird, aint it?), we made our way to the theatre. Already I'm getting weird looks... I love them... got some guys meowing, guards staring, kids either waving, giggling, or screaming in fear, and other fans giving me compliments and such (some asking for my autograph but I politely declined them... because I don't wanna get sued). Especially after the show when I raided Walmart and some gas stations... actually made some kid happy to see me (she was sick and it was her birthday, and she had seen CATS as well, in the Gas Station I met her and the smile on her face was almost priceless). Had some other kids shout and wave to me, then the people at Walmart... heh... poor fools!
Okay, well, when we got our seats, I got MORE compliments (the usual 'Are you part of the cast', 'how did you make the costume' 'how long did it take?'), and I gave them their answers. Everything but the tail, mane, and wig are mine... the tail was made by a friend and the mane and wig was made by another friend... paying them both of course). Yeah, it was great before the show started; got to talk with some people, and I sat in a place where I wasn't in anyone's way. Unfortunately I was missing 1/10th of the stage, but that's okay.
The kid in front of us couldn't stay still; she would get up and dance with the characters, and her mom would constantly get her back to sitting. Man, it's great to see a girl so interested; she looked to be about five, and I guessed she watched the video a million times and this was her first time seeing it live.
Here was the cast (characters with stars are the understudies)...
Alonzo- Adam Walters
Asparagus- William Hartery
Bombalurina- Ashley Yeater
Cassandra- *Susanna Hirst
Demeter- Kate Fahrner
Grizabella- *Nicole Johndrow
Jellylorum- *Elizabeth Inghram
Jennyanydots- Staci Rudnitsky
Plato/Macavity- Karl Warden
Mistoffelees- Ryan Jackson
Mungojerrie- Mario Martinez
Munkustrap- *Gabriel Veneziano
Old Deuteronomy- Martin C. Hurt
Pouncival- Eric Shorey
Rumpleteazer- Katy Kurns
Rum Tum Tugger- Stan Stanley
Sillabub- Katie Ann Wanner
Skimbleshanks- Warren Freeman
Tumblebrutus- *Tucker Ty
Victoria- Jean Michelle Sayeg
Who I got pictures and autographs from...
Martin C. Hurt
Nicole Johndrow
Karl Warden
Tucker Ty
Ryan Jackson
Katy Burns
Jean Michelle Sayeg
Andrea Young (will explain in a bit)
Brian Collier
Matt Kiernan
Ashley Yeater
Kate Fahrner
Staci Rudnitsky
Andrea Young (Cassandra) was injured, but I still got her autograph at stage door. Also got Matt Kiernan and Brian Collier's Autograph.
The Show- overall it was excellent, even better than the other times I saw it. Being front row is great when focusing on a few characters, though it does massacre generation loss. Anyway, I sat in a normally bad place, but it was okay. It saved me from taking off my wig, since I wasn't in anyone's way. Got to see some really cute things...
Tidbits
- During the Overture, Gus, Skimble, and Demeter that ran by me. I always get Gus; same thing happened last time. Gus must have some sort of lock on me... and Skimble looked at me VERY closely before hissing and running away... Demeter just looked at me and ran away...
- During Jennyanydots, Skimble was putting on the mouse hat, and then started dancing about, jumping in the air and hitting his heels together. Eventually he stopped but it was hilarious; Katy pointed it out to me.
- Nicole Johndrow (Griza understudy) had an excellent voice, especially during Memories. I guess now because of her and Dee my hatred on Griza has changed so greatly...
- During Skimbleshanks, Victoria gave me a wink (I think it was a wink... I wasn't wearing my glasses).
- William actually made my friend cry... he was EXCELLENT during the perfomance... and, well... I almost cried too! Man, I love that Gus... I really do. He's definately my favorite...
- Throughout most of Moments of Happiness, I had a staring contest with Rumple... she won... then we started it again. She won again... but finally duty called and she had to move. It was fun...
- I dunno, maybe it was me, but during Mungo/Rumple song there was kind of glitch and I couldn't hear them too well. Talked with someone from the balcony told me they heard it just fine. Hm... still sounded great...
- Katie's (Sillabub) voice is getting much better... slowly but surely it's getting better...
- During the tap dancing number, Gus is upside down on the pipe, pawing at one of the cockcoaches's tails... it was adorable...
- In the middle of Gus's song, Mungo had Sillabub's tail in his mouth, but she doesn't seem to realize it until Gus comes to the 'These kittens, they do not get trained-' lines, then Mungo drops it and gets insulted.
- I had several staredowns with Karl... *sways* Made me all jealous when he went with Demeter during the mating dance... *giggles*
- During the finale (when the characters run out into the audience), strange things happened. First, Stan goes out to greet the person he danced with, then turned to me and pointed. He made a cute expression, then started shaking his hips and shoulders. Well... I mimicked him, and we both got a fair pop (applause) and laughing from the audience. During this time, Jenny was standing RIGHT behind me, STARING (My sister, brother, and friend noticed and we laughing, I was clueless). I noticed Karl on stage staring at me, apparently waiting for my attention, and when he got it, he turned around and shook his butt at me. Well... um.. I pulled an Etcetera and screamed... all teenybopper like, he turns to see if I liked it, then left (again, I got laughs and pop). And just as he left, I noticed Jenny, and she ran... getting more laughs... good thing I had facepaint on otherwise everyone would see how bright my face was.
It was a great show... I loved it and I cannot wait to see the full version in New Orleans soon... ach, but $50 dollars a pop seems pretty horrible... ach... hopefully I'll come up with the money soon...
Now... the reaction is a whole other story... going to Applebee's and having some little kids watch me eat my steak... hehehehe.... so cute... and I would turn to look at them, and they giggle and hide. Then the other comments from some other people, like when I was at the gas station, a woman comes up to me and said that her husband was in the car when he spotted me running around in the store. Then there was this one kid that I actually and truly scared; his mother had to put a towel over his head because he was freaking out. Got some people meowing at me, others asking if I was in the show, and a few (like the security)... they just stared... dumbfounded...then the double looks, just to make sure that they saw what they truly saw. Oh yeah... they dig the 'fro and mane...
I conclude this with the statement that I can say now...
WOW...
From Carbucketty:
8/21/02
A first: I saw cats and didn't get lost. Granted it was in a city I've been to 10 times in my life and I wasn't driving/walking/finding my own way around.
Another Casino version--chopped up the same as the last time I saw the national tour in Atlantic City. This time I really couldn't see what was going on. My sister lost her glasses a while ago..and since we're both near sighted I lent her mine. Since I had seen the show 20 times, it really didn't matter... So not many comments on makeup or other fun stuff like that. =/ The stage is, again, like the AC casino--microscopic. I have no clue how they'll fit StEx on that thing. And they used that horrid table set up. At least it wasn't at the discression of the maitre d' this time around.
But they were raking in the money at the concession stand.. Programmes for 10$ Video for upwards of 30$. Those magnets which sold for about 12$ in the UK are 20!!!! at the tour. And the other annoying rip off... You can get your picture taken in front of a Cats background for a hefty price. I don't know if it's for charity or not.. but they IV National tour when they had pictures donated the $ to charity and had a live cast! Oh well.
I got my copy of the brochure... Didn't have one.
In addition this was my first family trip to Cats--after three and a half years of cats they finally were forced to see it mwhahaha. My mother knew most of the main characters by heart, but was quite suprised to learn that "Grizabella died in the end." She always heard the songs on the CD player/computer, but never saw the vid or whatever.
I barely saw Gus because he blends in with the background so well. And a whole mess of names to get used to.
"At this evening's performance the role of Bombalurina will be performed by Lisa Kassay. " =)
She was a very short Bombalurina with a large wig--reminded me of the Argentine Bomb a bit. Cassandra was unusually short too.
Prologue:
Munkustrap: Joshua John Edwards -- quite different voice from the original guy. The previous guy had a tint of "soul" in his voice. Edwards was a regular type Munkustrap.
I was spoiled by seeing the London cast. I love the London Cast. The show sounds so much better with the UK accents--especially Gus. People in London actually get the Dick Whittington's Cat reference and they laugh. In the US there are quite fewer laughs. I have to get used to the american accents again.
There was a bit of a screw up by the synth/whoever was playing the Gumby intro. Sour note in there. Which brings me to another tour annoyance--the orchestra sounds so shallow.. bleh.
Jennyanydots - Staci Rudnitsky did have a bit of a british twing to her singing though. A plus for her.
Tugger was Tuggery as usual. Someone found his performance a little flat, but I find it quite good.
Griz -- I don't like the way she sang her song. Her voice was fine but she spit out the lines of some of the sentences. I find a few of the performers did that. =/
MJ&RT : There was some mic fuzz durring the giggling part.. And Mungo's mic went completly out during the performance. He was able to use Rumple's from time to time, but I really didn't hear him well enough to notice. And I miss the little london spoken lines.. "Let's teach them a lesson!"
Old Deut : It's even more boring when you can't see what's going on.
The casino version of the Jellicle ball is a chopped up thing. I miss the solo lines.
Martin C. Hurt was a good Old Deut. There are two types of Old Deuts--the more operatic style and the more "soul" style. The Oslo old Deut is the embodyment of the operatic deut. Ken Page would be the best "soul" old deut on a recording. Hurt was an operatic Old Deut.
I didn't care for Katie Ann Warner's voice.
Jellylorum - My favourite Jellylorum was Kris Koop from the IV national tour. She had a sweet clear voice who wasn't homely like SJT's and wasn't overtly operatic (in Jelly mode) like Marina Prior was on the OLC style. The previous V National Tour Jelly reminded me of Koop's voice. Nicole Johndrow was nice, but her voice seemed more of a Bombalurina voice. It was very earthy and a bit sensual.
Wm Hartery is a good Gus. I hope to hear him in his other two roles later on in NO. (If the show is actually coming here.)
There are several kinda of Gus. There are the old geezer Guses.. who are a bit more old and who are more depressed. Then there are the slighlty younger Guses who are a bit younger and are more happy in reliving their memories. I find Hartery to be somwewhere inbetween, but leaning a bit towards the older...
Skimbleshanks -- Skimble is one of my favourite parts of the show. John Sechrist was my favourite skimble so far.. He was so animated and energetic! I think someone described Sechrist's version as Skimble on speed.
Freeman was a bit less animated, but he was still very good. He added some nice accents to parts of the song.. No whistles from the train this time. The laugh when the train fell apart was a bit less--cruel..than in other versions.
Macavity - I got to see Alonzo shadow dance. I liked that aspect of the broadway production. The brown Alonzo is my favourite. He wins over the B&W version. The Macavity girls were good. The fight was great with brilliant lifts and stuff. I really didn't get to see much detail because of the glasses issue, but.. it was cool none the less.
The spotlight at the end was a no-show.. and the guy operating the spot came in early..
Misto - I *hate* *hate* *hate* the chopped up casino version of the song. The dance looks a bit silly to begin with, but then to cut out these major portions that make it look even worse..
He made pretty sparkles.. =) That's about all I can say...because that's really all I could see of him.
I miss the second chorus at the end.. =/
Memory - I hate this song.
I wasn't really paying attention to the addressing or journey.. I got my glasses back from the sister and was busy looking at the characters.
Victoria had a rather thin looking nose.. umm.. Mungo was very fluffy.. and that's about all I remember..