Nick-Ko-Las and I saw five show when the tour stopped in Portland, Oregon on October 5th-7th. We saw the Friday night show, the Saturday matinee and evening shows, and the Sunday matinee and evening shows. We were able to meet with some others we knew from musicals.net. Talis and her family and Carmelcat met us after the Saturday Matinee show and we were able to talk to Dave a little bit and have lunch together. Dave had to get back to the theater right after ordering lunch at Quizno's. As we were waiting at the stage door, some of the cast had come out in their make up still. That was awesome! And the kids standing outside were quite thrilled!
Overture:
The cats traveled into the audience with their green eyes on their heads. Most of the time the audience was startled and there were a number of laughs. The lighting was wonderful. During a certain part, a circle of lights rose up into the ceiling creating great lighting effects.
Jellicle Songs:
Gus had popped his head out of the top of the pipe. That was so cute! The crowd giggled at Mungo and Rumple's entrance. The first thing I thought after hearing them sing was "Wow! Listen to his voice! Ooh! I like her voice. Cool! He's got a good voice too! Great tumbling job done by Tumble and Plato! Speaking of, we got to see the debut performances of the new Tumblebrutus (Brian Collier) and Cassandra (Melissa Enrico). That must be a new shoe that was tossed at the cats. It got a good laugh. In one of the shows, it ended up bouncing close to the cats. When Gus spotted the man who had never heard of a Jellicle cat, Munk followed. The look those two gave each other was priceless! It was as though they were asking each other if they saw right! Then everyone joined in and the audience loved it when they repeated the question.
Naming of Cats:
Very good job at showing the insensity of the importance of the names. Depending on where we were sitting, we mostly got to see Skimble up close when the cats came out into the audience. Misto was down the row a bit behind Skimble. In one of the shows, Mungojerrie (Colin Conliffe) was the cat nearest us. He was awesome at getting up close and personal with the audience! He perched himself on a wider than usual armrest and looked down at the woman he was nearly towering over! He then looked at the others around him. That was just great! Wish I could have taken pictures! During one of the other shows, we sat next a couple seeing the show for the first time. After Skimble had come up right next to him to recite "Naming", the man sitting on aisle waited until the cats were back on stage and he and his wife quickly switched seats! His wife told us afterwards that he was easily embarassed (but they both enjoyed the show). The performers had great facial expressions!
Invitation:
Victoria did a wonderful job in the solo dance. VERY Flexible cat! Misto interrupted her as usual, but it was Munkustrap who sang the invitation to the ball. One thing I noticed, that I'm not sure is done in other productions is that Demeter seemed hesitant to join in the dancing and singing as though she were unsure if she should. Then Bomb came over to her and encouraged her to join in. When seeing this, it made me wonder & theorize that possible Dem had just returned to the tribe after escaping Macavity. Just a random thought there. Hmm..I could Listen to Munk sing for awhile. *grin*
Jennyanydots:
Jenny is found sleeping inside the old stove instead of the car. The audience was amused by this sight every time. One thing I hadn't notced in any other production I've seen is that at one point Bombs walks out towards the front of the stage and realizes she's alone. She goes back and waves her arm at Jelly and Dem as though to say "Get over here!". Hehehe. That was cute! One thing different in this production is that there is no tap off between Misto and Jenny. But Tumble (I think it's him. Or is it Pounce?) stills acts up and the dancing is great. Awesome tap dancing! I noticed that Alonzo isn't among the tappers. He's on the car for most of it. Poor Munk had to chase Jenny across the stage trying to give her her coat back! Hehe.
Rum Tum Tugger:
Stan Stanely's got the ego down pat! After ripping through an old shirt for his entrance, he made a sound from his throat that seemed to say "I'm just what everyone is looking for!" Or as Nick says Tugger comes out with the attitude of "I'm just so sexy!". Munk looks almost as though he's sighing when he and Alonzo say that Tugger is a terrible bore. That's an interesting way Bombs says that Tugger is a curious beast. I wasn't used to it, but by the time I saw the 3rd show, I decided that I liked the way she sang that part of the song. *grin* Stan plays Tugger more playfully and not as serious as I've seen some others do. I really enjoyed his version! Whenever he went down into the audience to find someone to dance with, they were willing, except for one time and he had to find another partner. He did a good job with the haming it up at the end when singing into his tail. Tugger was my first favorite cat, and he's still a favorite of mine!
Grizabella the Glamour Cat:
Wow. The cats were very effective in showing disdain and contempt for the Glamour Cat. We could hear the hisses very well. Bombs (Sharon Huneycutt) can look like a very frighteing cat when she wants to!! I don't blame the kittens from backing away from her! Demeter does a good job of showing compassion, but still unsure of herself. Jessica Lea Patty seems to play Dem as an almost adult, but a little kittenish as well. She's not as spazzy as some Demeters I've seen. I really like how she played Demeter here. She's got a wonderful voice and is joined by Bombs in singing. Those two sound very good together. Griz leaves the stage and Demeter slides after her. One thing I guess I kinda hoped to see, was that in the fourth national tour, I saw Griz slowly reach behind her and picked up her tail as though to try to maintain some sort of dignity by holding her tail up as she walked off stage. Gretchen didn't do that. Oh well. I liked her anyhow. *grin*
Bustopher Jones:
As usualy, the audience all laughed when BJ came out. William Hartery played him jubiantly! BJ throw his flower into the audience after sniffing it. Hehe...when BJ sat down on the hat, all the other cats sitting and standing gave a little hop as though BJ created a mini earthquake. Cute! There were a couple of shows in which we noticed that a small spot in BJ's costume had come open. Don't know if that was due to a costume problem, or just trying to dress up too quickly. But it was fixed in the following shows. *grin* William has a good voice.
Mungojerrie & Rumpleteazer:
What a cute laugh!!! Susanna Hirst played Rumpleteazer for all the shows we saw except one. She did a good job. Mungojerrie was played by Colin Conliffe. I liked the way he said his name during the song! *grin* They did a good job at portraying the mischevious cats and the double cartwheel was terrific. One thing that is noticeable only to diehard fans is that a verse is missing in this production. It's the verse where Mungo and Teazer sing about the roast being gone from the oven. On the last show we saw, Susanna needed to step into Sillabub's role, so Erin Braithwaite stepped into Teazer's role. She did a great job with the choreography, but was obviously out of breath the whole time. I know that singing and dancing that part is very difficult, and expect there to be a little shortness of breath in the role (I know I would be VERY out of breath!). Yet, even so, Erin was very good and kept on going despite her shortness of breath. She seemed to have been able to catch her breath towards the end. I wonder what had happened. She must have had an off night.
Old Deuteronomy:
The performers did a good job in showing quiet anticipation of their beloved leader. Grant Turner and Stan Stanley's voices blended well in this song. There is a Macavity scare after this instead of Pekes and the Pollicles. Very good transition there.
The Jellice Ball:
The dancing was great! I love it when Old Deut is getting ready to tell the Jellicles to come out. Victoria is looking around after the Macavity scare and Jemima comes out a bit fearful as well. She seems to want to be playful with Munk, but he's not willing. Then she and Victoria spot each other. I really liked the way this played out. The others came in and all the wonderful dancing began. Tumble is the one who dances with Victoria in the middle of the ball. Cassandra notices Grizabella during the ball and Tumble tries to chase her away. Right after that, Misto came out front and seemed to just be discovering his magical abilities. He makes the lights flash a bit and has a look on his face that says "cool!" The audience was impressed with the dancing. I know in one of the shows, they began to clap near the end where the music began to slow and the lighting was all out!
Memory:
If you haven't seen the show yet, when Griz begins to sing, you'd better hold onto your armrests!! You'll get blown away!! Gretchen Goldsworthy is one of the best Grizabellas I've ever heard and that includes Betty Buckley and Elaine Paige (don't get me wrong, I really like them too). Gretchen puts full emotion into her character and her voice. I predict that she could go far in her career.
Moments of Happiness:
Jarrett Ali Boyd sat on the tire during the entire intermission. (I kept wondering what goes through his head during that time. While the audience is watching him and thinking it's so neat that one of the "kitties" stayed on stage, he's up there thinking, "Keep looking forward. Stay still. Hmm....I think I'll finish that book I've been reading before I go to bed tonight..... Opps. Eyes forward. Don't let them distract you. ...Hey, I like that guys suit. But he needs to get a different color tie.....Stay still. Don't move......I need to get some laundry done tomorrow. Let's see here, gotta separate the darks from the whites......Opps. Eyes straight ahead, sit still. Just a few more Minutes here. Shoot. knew I should have gone to the bathroom before the show! Sit still. Stare straight ahead. Oh good, here come the other guys. I can relax now! Hehehe....but I digress here..... *grin*) Jarrett did a good job singing this song. It was Pounce and Cassandra who held "paws" as Sillabub stood up to sing. I loved how after they finished singing, the three of them seemed to look at each other as if wondering what just happened.
Gus:
Wendi Bergamini has a beautiful voice! The casting directors did a great job! She plays Jellylorum very well. William Hartery was a wonderful Gus as well. I love how he can get his voice sounding old like that. And when he says "or in character parts" I love how he grudgingly admits that he wasn't always in the starring role and Jelly gives him a slightly reproachful look. He deserves the applause he gets in the middle of his song.
Growltiger:
One of the best Growltigers I've seen! He does great with portraying the Terror of the Thames as fearful, yet funny. The antics between Growltiger, his crew, and Griddlebone are great! I loved it when Growl tried to eat the fake parrot! The reaction of Griddlebone to Alonzo's "hook" was hilarious. The audience had laughed every time. Griddle's obvious dislike of Growltiger singing just to hear his own voice was classic. Gotta love how Genghis got the better of Growltiger! Hehehe. It was touching at the end when Genghis bowed to Gus.
Skimbleshanks:
John Sechrist portrayed the railway cat very energetically! I loved him! He does a very good job at being startled awake at the beginning on the song. It was cute when Sillabub whispered to Victoria to displace Jellylorum in line. On the Sunday matinee show, however, it was Rumpleteazer who had whipered to Victoria because Sara Schudde's shins were hurting and she couldn't dance. So other's took over for certain parts she did as she rested backstage. I thought that was a very good job of teamwork there. Anyhow, back to the rest of the song. I wasn't sure I had noticed it before, but there was laughter from the other cats on stage after the train "fell apart". Kudo's to John in one of the shows, he seemed to have slipped when he went to stand on Alonzo's back and rest one foot on Munk's shoulder at the end of the song. Even though he had slipped and ended up lying back on Alonzo and Tumble's backs, he still kept his arm up in a salute and smiled as though to say "That was supposed to happen!" We loved it!!
Macavity:
Mike Ericson had played Plato/Macavity. He did a good job. In the second half of the Saturday Matinee show, A. Ross Cornell had to take over because Ronnie Nelson was injured. I don't think he and Mike had a chance to quickly go over the fight scene because it seemed a bit choppy. At least for me who's seen the show numerous times. I'm sure it wouldn't have been noticeable to first time viewers. However, by the time Sunday night rolled around, they had worked on it and it was just great! Jessica's and Sharon's voice blend beautifully together! They did awesome in telling what they knew about Macavity. I really like the shadow dance that Alonzo does as well. When Demeter recognized that "Deuteronomy" was actually Macavity, I noticed that Mungo seemed to recognize Macavity's scent as well because he seemed to start hissing before Demeter warned everyone away from "Deut". I love the show of tenderness in the spotlight after Macavity makes his escape.
Mistoffelees:
I don't think I'll ever NOT enjoy watching Misto come down on the rope at the beginning of his song. McCree O'Kelley portrays Misto as a bit more confident of himself and possible older than other Mistos. I like his make up. Simple, yet it works very well. He has fun with his character. His conjuring turns were amazing. I keep wondering how he doesn't get dizzy! I counted 23 turns just about every time, yet others seemed to count more. Either way I know I couldn't get even 3 or 4 done much less more than twenty! At the end of his song when he jumps off the tire and some of the toms raise him up in the air, He strikes a pose there and stays pretty stiff as the audience applauds for him. In one of the shows, as they were setting him down, he started to tilt to the side. I was amazed at how he just kept himself stiff and trusted them to set him down and not drop him. It must take alot of trust to be in that show!
Memory:
Once again, Gretchen gives an outstanding performance. There really is nothing more I can add to that. That one night in which Sara Shudde had to take a rest because of her shins, she came back at this point to sing her part. What a trooper!
Ad-dressing of Cats:
Jarrett's voice clearly shows through on this song. He did a wonderful job.
Overall, a terrific job done by all involved! I really enjoyed meeting everyone and talking about various things! I was quite happy to see the performers coming out after the matinee shows in their makeup to say hello to the kids gathered around!