From VictoriaTWC:
6/28/02
You can also read her report on her own page.
5:00 pm, June 28th, 2002
Getting Ready for....CATS! AGAIN?
"Have you seen my CATS book anywhere, Hon?" asked a rather frazzled young woman, after tearing apart her upstairs office. "No, isn't it with all your CATS stuff packed away?" came a rather moot reply, from the adjoining room. "Oh, here it is!" the woman cried, throwing boxes of programs, memorabilia, photo albums, and souvenir brochures all over the floor of the room. "I found it," she yelled across into the next room. "Great," came the reply, floating back, over the sound of computer keyboard typing. Whew, that was a close call. Who would have thought it would have been in THAT box, the LAST one under all the others! And, yes, the tickets were still there safe and sound! Now we were for sure, attending the show that night! Whew, what a relief!
A lifetime of memories was packed up into 7 boxes in an upstairs office room. And going though them brought back waves of nostalgia, but that would have to come later. There was a show to get ready for. The show started at 8pm, but I'd have to leave by 6:30 to get down to the theater in time, and to have some time left over to spare to get acquainted with the Center, it's parking lots, and maybe traffic on the I 15. This was my second time to the Center and I'd forgotten the layout and wanted to get there with enough time to spare for traffic and crowds. Always hated getting there at the last minute, and besides, this was CATS! I'd never been late in my life for a show like this.
As I bustled about getting ready I was wondering which show this was, the actual number, I was attending. Over the years, I've not really kept count of the various times I'd seen CATS. With my collection of ticket stubs it must run about more than 35 times by now. Actually, what did it matter how many times I've seen the show, now really? What mattered was how nice it was to still actually be seeing the show here in the US. With all the restructuring of Lord Andy's shows going on, throughout the world, the major closings in London, and on Broadway, it would be great to actually see a licensed official production still running here in the States. So in yearly spurts, one had to take in as much musical theater, where one could get it. At least the new Pechanga Casino was going to be offering live touring show productions next year! So culture was finally coming to our neck of the woods thanks to the local American Indian tribes. 4 major Broadway touring shows would be in our area this year, and next, so maybe I'd be able to catch more live theater than I was used to.
On the way out the door, I did get a momentary glimmer of hope. There, outside the door, was my package from Sound of Music.de! The Korean Phantom of the Opera Highlights (brand new and still hot off the presses it was smoking) and the CATS 1985 Japanese CD's were here! Halleluiah! Something new to listen to on the way down to the Center! Plus, I got "CATS on a Chandelier" by Michael Conveny, so that was worth glancing through to skim the CATS and Phantom parts. No neat pictures though, but a wonderful one of M.C. and Sarah in Phantom. Sweet!
With a hug and kiss to my wonderful hubby (who is so understanding and the greatest guy in the world, so great that my girlfriends have asked if he has 5 brothers!!) I fired up Goldie and we were off to the Center, ticket in hand, and we blazed down Interstate 15, south to San Diego!
6:30 pm, June 28th, 2002
Outside the Center
Got there in time, but it was funny, someone asked me directions to the theater, around 3 blocks away, and he and his wife pulled up beside me asking if there was a theater around anyplace. Escondido is laid out like a sleepy, backwater town, all crammed along a small highway corridor, that flanks the main highway, the I 15. The Center just kinda jumps right out at you, and you have to look for it closely. So I had them following me the last few blocks to the theater.
Once I got there, I looked for the signature CATS black trucks, but there were only these white, nondescript semis parked out in the back of the lot. I guess the 4th National sold the old trucks off. I miss those wonderful trucks! They were truly unique.
I got inside the theater pretty early, about a half an hour ahead of schedule, and wandered over to the concessions stand. I saw there they were offering the London CATS Magnets, and now key chains with Bom and Tugger on them. They were also offering for sale the Ultimate and the regular CATS Video DVDs and videos. Also they had the t-shirts and coasters and other small things. Nothing particularly new. I got 4 souvenir brochures for friends ;-) and then wandered over to the photo stand. They had a guy from the show taking souvenir photos with the tour CATS on the backdrop. It's the pic from the last page of the brochure, and you could pay 12 bucks and get a photo in a white card. I was thinking about doing it, but wanted to wait. I saw a group of young girls dressed as black and white kitty cats getting their pics, and they were too cute!
Just about the time to go into the theater, I was sitting along the sides waiting, when I heard a scream from next to me. I was looking at the programs and reading, and didn't see two teenage girls in very scarey CATS like costumes walk by. One was obviously trying to be Bombalurina and the other was Misto? I couldn't tell as I saw them out of the corner of my eye. The lady next to me was kinda shocked and asked if they were released from the mental institute. The other lady next to her said it reminded her of the Rocky Horror show. I smiled at their inane comments, but since these girls weren't youngsters and since I didn't get a good look at their costumes, what could I comment on, so I just smiled inwardly and went inside the theater. I guess you have to be a certain age to get away with coming in costume to the show, probably under 12 to get away with it. Otherwise you just look like a moron. Your costume should be pretty outstanding if you go to the show in costume. Those ladies kept sniggering and laughing all the way in, making comments and stuff. They were obviously from the well manicured, country club elite. They were covered in gold and had fake nails, and dyed blonde hair too. Oh well. I've never been brave enough to go in costume, which is why I don't invite such attention.
I was playing a very low profile this time, as I didn't want any attention and I didn't want anyone to stare or come up to me this night, so I went as a regular attendee. No CATS jacket and no pins, nothing to proclaim I'm a CATS "fan." And I tried not to get into the show as much as I used to, just decided to sit back and relax and enjoy the performance. Before the show started I heard someone in the front row, ahead of me talking and he was obviously from London, making show comparisms in a very "intellectual" way. He knew a great deal about London theater...and was not too kind talking about CATS. But oh well...to each his own.
At 8:10 the show started. The show started slightly late, and I was wondering if the people in the next two seats were finally going to come, however they did not. I had a wonderful view, and was in the second row, on the left side facing the stage. Most of the show is pretty standard as far as the choreography goes, and so since I've seen it many, many times, so I'll stick to the highlights (I thought) of the performance. I liked Jarrett Alí Boyd's Old Dueteronomy very much; he seemed to be a very happy, jovial kind of guy, and I would have liked to have stopped by after the show to say hello and meet him. He seemed to have a great love of performing very much. He impressed me the most. Also, I liked Grant Turner's Munkustrap too. He had a great way of playing Munkustrap and I liked his little head nods and other character things he did towards his fellow actors onstage. About the middle of the Jellicle Ball though, I noticed that the actress playing Jellylorum was talking to him and asking him if he felt alright. He told her he did, and I hoped that he was doing okay. He looked a little out of breath and I hoped that he did not injure himself during the Ball. However, he did come back on after the first Act, so I assumed that he was feeling fine, and would be able to finish the show. I always worry about performers getting hurt during the show, as CATS is such a physical show, it's incredibly easy to get injured. I liked Grant's musical voice and style of delivery of Munkustrap. Very good performance all around.
I also liked Sharon Honeycutt's Bombalurina, but I'm always partial to the Bom character. I love the way she's played, all sultry and sexy purr-kitten. Sharon played her with just the right touch of sex appeal and sweetness. Especially at the end when she walks over Tugger, and meows as he chases her off the stage. Fabulous! Shylo Smith was wonderful as Vici too, very cute and had some sassy moves. I also liked Gretchen Goldsworthy's Grizabella. She gave a powerful and moving rendition of "Memory" and hit all the notes right in the correct places. Awesome job!
Speaking of Tugger, there was a woman, in the front row who was really rocking out during the show, enjoying it very much. After the show I noticed her at the stage door talking to one of the swings, so she knew one of the cast members. She had this leather black biker hat on, and tons of gold and silver bracelets and a black bomber jacket. She was really rocking out to the show! So much so that she gave a kissy-face to Tugger, and he noticed and came on down during his number to ask her to dance. She was really all over poor Tugger, hissing and purring and growling--doing all the cat like motions! It was a riot to see! Very funny! Our Tugger this night was played by Colin Conliffe and he was a pretty cool cat! I wish I could have met that lady as she was something else! It made the show very enjoyable. Also, this time around I was more keen to see how others around me were enjoying the show, and couldn't help but eavesdrop on the conversations around me. After you've seen the show so many times, it's fascinating to see how others react to the show.
During Intermission, I gave in and purchased the souvenir photo of me in front of the CATS Banner. The guy was very nice at the digital camera, but ugh, you know when they say, "On Three," and then take the picture on two? Well, he told me to do a cat like hiss, or pose with "claws out." Well, I tried that a couple of times, and felt like a fool, and then he took the shot on two, so I look pretty evil in that photo. I'm going to try again on Sunday to get the purr-fect shot! I wish I had known what to expect, and just stood normally, but that pic makes me crack up. If eyes could shoot bullets, that's what I look like. I was trying to look cat-like, but it came out rather evil looking, especially when you've got gawkers around staring at you. I should have opened my mouth and snarled at the camera if it would have made me look better. And no, you can't see the photo! Man, what a horrible pic of me! EEECK!
Right after Intermission, an elderly gentleman came down and asked me if the seats next to me were taken. I told him they were not, so he asked if he could join me. I told him yes, and he started asking me about the show. He was of European descent and his accent was not very good with English. He told me that "for the life of me, I cannot figure out what is going on!" So I told him more about the show, and explained aspects of the show to him. He was very impressed and told me that he was glad to sit next to me, as I had a wide knowledge of the show! He asked me names of the CATS and we got to talking about T.S. Eliot and his poems. His name was David and he was a wonderful gentleman. After the show, he thanked me for explaining some things, and told me the show was marvelous. He was very impressed with the show as a whole. Perhaps he will become a new fan? Maybe. :-)
At the end during the Journey to the Heaviside Layer, the tire malfunctioned and it did not venture up to send Griz to the Layer. So the Balloon came down the the stage, and Griz stepped onto it, and it rapidly made it's way up into the Heaviside. It was quite funny to see that happen, it was the second time I've seen the tire malfunction, but I've never seen it not actually leave the stage level. So at the beginning of Addressing, Jarrett sang the song, with the cats all kneeling down in front of the tire. At the first chorus they continued to stand until the end of the song. It was a small flub in the show. The funny thing was, from my vantage point I could see the stage guy working the tire, off in the back of it! He had such a pained look on his face! Wish you people reading this could have seen it. It was like, "Oh Crap! No tire!"
As for the other actors everyone was wonderful, as usual! ;-) However I wasn't sure about the new Sillabub. Her voice was wavery and I wondered if she was miked correctly. I could barely hear her, and he voice was very falsetto. Squeaky like? (Ouch!) But there is always room for improvement in no matter what you attempt. Everyone seemed to have matured in their roles and were now finally comfortable with the pace of the show, and the delivery of the lines and all. Everyone had wonderful performances and if the comments I heard afterward were of any merit, people LOVED it! Rave reviews from the lips of all that I overheard. I'm not a normal person to eavesdrop and I know it's not correct or polite, but I couldn't resist. I'd love to hear what others think about CATS, and how they liked it, or didn't like it. I'm sure the actors could use a little encouragement as well.
Afterwards I thought about stopping at the stage door to try to meet up with Jarrett, however thinking about my hubby brought me back home. Of course, the two girls dressed up as CATS went by to wait, but I still didn't get a good look at them very much as it was pretty dark outside. I hoped they would get a lot more signatures this time around. I do wish that I could go in costume, but the attention would get the better of me. Although some of my costumes would cause quite a stir if I showed up in them. If I had a partner in crime and I wasn't actually attending the show, I could pull if off, and certainly I could have in New York! If a guy can run down the streets in women's lingerie, and appear on the Howard Stern radio show, of course I could attend CATS dressed up as one of the characters! So don't feel left out, there are stranger characters out there in the world, trust me!
Well, off to bed for a well-deserved night's rest! Sunday is only 24 hours away! And the next two trip reports are coming up! Oh, I hope I don't come down with the flu! Oh well, I can always sniffle through the show! Think positive now!
Purrs,
Victoria the White Cat
From Kali:
6/28/02
We saw the Troika Tour of Cats for the second time on Friday night. ‘We’ means myself and my best friend, who goes by the name of Threnody online. We went in costume, which was great fun – she in the remains of her Bombalurina costume, coupled with a white fluffy tail loaned to her by me, and her auburn Japanese Beast Wig (and by the way, you people out there who say the JBW is awful – it is SO fantastic!). I wore black, not such a great wig – it was my hair and some of those cat ears on a headband you can buy at Halloween. But oh well, it was fun. And Thren’s a great make-up artist.
So we drove down to Escondido… two hour drive, my poor mother… she didn’t even get to see the show, since I was already paying 42 dollars for my ticket and didn’t feel like buying her one. ^_^;;
Once there, we stopped at the theatre to make sure we could find the place. It’s a bloody confusing place. But we found it, and made sure our tix were at will call, and then went off – in costume, I might add – through Escondido to find a place to buy disposable cameras and a place to eat.
The cameras we got at Rite-Aid. The food we got at Chin’s, a really really scrumptious Chinese restaurant that everyone should go to at least once in their lifetimes. Try the Tangerine Crispy Chicken… and say the kitties sent you. ^_^
Anyhoo, we basically walked all over town in Jellicle costumes. I LOOOOOOVE getting weird looks. My mother, thank Bast, is unembarrassable. My dad would’ve died from the mortification.
After turning many, many heads and nearly causing one or two car wrecks, we went back to the theatre. My mom went off to sit in the car and do some writing, and Thren and I went to locate the stage door. As we walked to it, we passed a really familiar-looking girl in a collar and Cats shirt, who said ‘classy’ in response to our costumes. Coming back from the stage door, I asked if she was Pascal, whom I knew was going to be at the show but had been unable to contact for the past three months, and she said she was!
So after introducing myself as ‘Kalli from the forum’, we talked for a long time. Pascal, if you ever read this… I saw you at San Bernardino in September!! I KNEW you looked familiar!!
Oh, and great collar!
Anyway.
So we went INTO the theatre, and in the bathroom, received a billion ‘oh, how CUTE!’s from little old ladies, and one ‘is that one of the actors, mommy?’ from one of what must’ve been thousands of adorable young Cats fans in that theatre. We saw so many…
This particular one had a very amusing dialogue behind me. I was putting on my lipstick, and listened to the whole thing (eavesdropper that I am):
‘Mommy, it’s one of the cats!’
‘No, dear, it’s just someone whose come to see the show.’
‘But she looks like a cat!’
‘It must be fun, to see a cat show in a cat costume. She’s just a fan, dear.’
‘How do you know, mommy?’ –-Ah, rebellious teenager in the making…
‘Because the actors are all backstage.’
‘But what if they have to go to the bathroom?’
‘They have their own bathroom, dear…’
Well, this isn’t word for word, but it’s pretty close!
Anyway… our seats were perfectly MAHVELOUS, dead centre, PERRRFECT level… 208 and 207 in Row U, LC ORCH. It was GREAT.
Waved to Pascal in the mezzanine, read our programmes frantically, talked excitedly, and became introduced to the ALCF (adorable little Cats fan) in front of us. Her mother told us that they had the DVD, and had originally gotten it cos it looked like a cute little kitty-cat thing to watch with their then-3 year old daughter. Now the girl knew all the songs by heart and adored it, so they came to see it.
Why is it that the only really cute little kids are the ones I saw in the theatre that night?
The show was really great, and it was soooo hard not to get up and dance… or at least sing along. Mr Mistoffelees as always was truly splendid, Rum Tum Tugger was played by Colin Cunliffe – whom I saw as Skimbleshanks last time – and he gave it so much energy, it was great fun. I commented on all the actors last time, but there were a couple new performances.
First of all, Warren Freeman as Skimbleshanks:
My god… that was the CUTEST most ADORABLE and most KITTENLIKE Skimble I’ve ever seen!! Hyper and bouncy and lovable… and he did the Mouse thing in Gumbie Cat with the kittens. So cute.
Melissa Emrico’s Cassandra:
What can I say? I couldn’t tell her apart from the woman who played her in the last performance (Tina Moya)… sigh. Which is to say, great balletically and not much personality in the character.
Pamela Rainey as Rumpelteazer:
Adorable adorable ADORABLE! All the new people were adorable! Everyone was adorable! I was adorable, lol! … calms down Right. So, Pamela Rainey… well, she really WAS adorable. Great chemistry between her and Bryce.
Shylo Smith as Victoria:
Last time we saw the show, Susanna Hirst was understudying for Shylo, so I didn’t get to see her. She was marvellous. A really beautiful Victoria, fantastic dancer, and very sweet at the stage door – and I promised I wouldn’t put her picture on the Internet, so you have to go and see the show to see her. ^_^
Katie Ann Wanner as Sillabub:
She was every bit as adorable as Pamela Rainey! Lovely voice, very childlike and young-sounding (I mean that in a very good way, it works fantastically for Sillabub). Very sweet-looking.
I would just like to thank whatever gods there may be that McCree O’Kelley wasn’t being understudied either time I’ve now seen the tour. He is SO goddamn amazing. I love him! squeals quietly and falls over And I got a picture with him… and he HUGGED me… … I will put all that stage door stuff later, yes I will…
During the intermission, Thren and I went to the lobby and scanned the stuff they were selling at the souvenir kiosk. Then we made Plans (yes, it deserves that capitalised initial!). The Plan was for how to buy the souvenirs we wanted and get to the stage door in time for autographs, cos neither of us had any money on us to buy it during intermission. The Plan ended up being, after the show, Thren would do what Pascal called the fifteen-second Stage Door dash, bringing the camera and both our programmes. I would grab my mother, tell her what we wanted to buy and inform her that I would arrange the financial matters later, and do the Dash myself. (I love capital letters. Sorry.)
During intermission, whilst we stood on the steps of the lobby plotting how to get autographs AND souvenirs, we got a lot of attention over our costumes. One little kid wanted to hug and kiss the kitty! He was one of the ALCFs, naturally. And this one guy (adult, btw) asked for our autographs!! We told him we weren’t in the cast, but he said his kids would never know… he was quite persistent, so we ended up signing! It rocked.
Second half as amazing as the first, obviously. I can’t think of anything in particular to note about it… Skimbleshanks was SOOOOOOOOOOOOO adorable, Mistoffelees’ song and dance was incredible, and there was a helluva lot of haze in the Ad-Dressing. Gretchen Goldsworthy’s Grizabella has more glamour cat in it than Chrissie Hammond’s or Elaine Paige’s… much more empathic, and beautiful voice. Miss Goldsworthy is outstanding.
Um, anything else? No… dun think so… Oh, we did a standing ovation but did it too early so we ended up standing through all the curtain calls and everything. Lol. Silly us…
Then came the madcap Stage Door Dash. My mother was in the lobby, so I grabbed her arm, told her ‘buy the t-shirt, the magnet set, and the souvenir brochure!! I’ll pay!’ and Thren & I accordingly Dashed.
We ended up running the wrong way. With tails whipping against our legs and my shoes were NOT made for running – they were made for looking good and adding a few inches to my 5’4”. Anyway, after we stopped, figured out where we were and discovered that we had gone totally the opposite direction, we ran AGAIN, and made it to the stage door.
Pascal was there, as were some other fans. Turns out I vaguely knew one of them… been to her website. Great site, btw, Tippiebrown…
This thing is getting SO way long, I think I’ll kind of go fast through the stage door stuff. So, to begin with… we brought a camera this time, so I got pics with most of the actors. However, I won’t put them up on this site unless I get permission from the actors – Shylo Smith, for one, requested that I not put the pic of her on the Internet. If I can get permission from some of the actors, though, I want to put ‘em up…
Got autographs from…
Karl Warden (Swing)
He doesn’t look as much like Simon offline, does he, Thren? Oh well. He was very nice. I started raving like a lunatic to him about his website (www.karlwarden.com - go to it!)
Dave Blonn (Pouncival)
My mother talked with Dave for a long time. I’m quite jealous. g He was the second person whom I informed ‘oh I’ve been to your website!’
Bryce Bermingham (Mungojerrie)
Hey, I recognised him! Cool. Oh, and he was the THIRD ‘I’ve been to your website!’er.
Shylo Smith (Victoria)
The most beautiful Victoria ever… although Julie Carlton could give her a run for her money…
Colin Cunliffe (Swing, played Rum Tum Tugger) As he was signing my programme, I told him that I’d seen him in San Bernardino as Skimbleshanks. His response? He said that was weird, but cool. I told him I remembered him very well because he was so hyper outside the stage door, to which he said ‘Yeah, that was probably me.’
Everett Taylor (Macavity/Plato)
He and Bryn Walters are my two favourite Platos… Everett’s so FUNNY as Plato! Great Macca, too. And I love his pen!
McCree O’Kelley (Mistoffelees)
What can I say… he’s amazing… I’ve already said that, and I’ll say it again! WOW. Oh, and he hugged me! Yay!
Grant Turner (Munkustrap)
First, I mentioned that Munkustrap was my ‘absolute favourite cat of all time’ (I tend to get a little shrill and Etcetera-like when around Grant). He told me that this was a wise decision (in, I might add, a dreamy Australian accent… I’m in love… ^_^). He said basically the same thing in S.B. Second, I got a picture with him and HE HUGGED ME. faints Like I said before, I’m in love… Oh – and I like him a lot better now than I did in S.B. I didn’t know what to expect then, and I was used to the Michael Gruber type Munku, or at least David Ashley’s rather warrior-like Munku… Grant Turner was very different. However, now that I’ve seen him again, I can safely say that those differences are a good thing, and he is MARVELOUS.
Brad Barnes (Dance Captain/Swing – once-Tumblebrutus, to-be-Tumblebrutus)
He wasn’t actually in it, but I got his autograph anyway! laughs
William Hartery (Gus/Growltiger/Bustopher Jones)
All I’m gonna say is… interesting beard, William!
Sharon Honeycutt (Bombalurina)
She looked tired. Very tired. I don’t really blame her. But I kept calling her ‘Sharon Honeycat’. Oh, and – her British accent didn’t show up at all during the show this time!
Julie Garnye (Jennyanydots)
The FOURTH and final person to whom I squealed ‘I’ve been to your website!!’ She was a very nice woman.
Wendi Bergamini (Jellylorum/Griddlebone)
To tell you the truth, I don’t remember her at the stage door too well… kind of a sign-and-run affair…
Warren Freeman (Skimbleshanks)
See Wendi’s note… he was adorably kitten-like onstage, though!
Matthew Kiernan (Swing [Spike])
A very nice person. One of my first autographs, and one which I was very happy to get because he joined the cast post-S.B., so I hadn’t gotten his autograph then. Oh, and I’m PRETTY sure this was the guy who told me & Thren that his cat’s name was Spike! It might’ve been Tucker Ty…
Tucker Ty (Swing and maybe Spike)
Um, see Matt’s note. Pretty much exactly the same, except his autograph came later in the evening.
Ronnie Nelson (Alonzo/Rumpuscat)
So tell me… why the hell is he billed as the Rumpus Cat when there IS NO PEKES AND POLLICLES IN THE FREAKIN’ TOUR?! … I’m calmed down now… anyway, I mistook him for Grant at first – I think he’s grown taller since S.B. – and felt like a fool when Bryce corrected me. But oh well. He’s awfully cute, too. ^_^
Leslie Brown (Wardrobe Supervisor)
I asked for her autograph, and she told me she wasn’t in the show. I asked what she did, and she said she was a costume person. I said, ‘Can I have your autograph anyway?’ and so she signed my programme! Wasn’t that nice of her?
So, those are my autographs. Everyone was exceptionally nice. And I like getting hugs from cute Cats performers. ^_^ By the end of the evening, I was an expert at saying ‘Can I have your autograph? Which cat were you? Would you mind if I took a picture with you?’
Oh, and… if by any very cool chance any of the actors are READING this, well… you guys did an AMAZING job.
On the way home, we sang the entire musical (skipping all the instrumental, since it’s very hard to sing an orchestra), decided to perform Macavity for the Homeschool conference talent show this August (long story), and discussed the differences between the tour and the London performance. Main differences: The London prod was in the same theatre for 21 years, whereas this was the opening night for a tour that stays in one place for little more than a few days. Second, the cast was smaller, and the set & costumes a little less… well… polished looking. Not in a bad way. Just in a… well, way. I guess. I don’t make much sense at 1 am. Anyway, the third difference was that I got the feeling, from the London production, that some of those actors considered it a job. And little, if anything, more. But the tour… I think everyone in the tour is there because they love the show, and they love performing. The energy is overwhelming, and it makes a HUGE difference.
Which isn’t to say that everyone in the London prod was like that, cos it was only one or two people… I won’t name names… and it was phenomenal. But it was those one or two people, versus the feeling of fun and passion from the ENTIRE tour cast… so, anyway, great show. And I look forward to seeing it again in 2003, as many times as possible!
From Rumblepurr:
6/29/02
You can read his report on his own page.