CATS Tour V - Trip Reports - San Bernadino, CA

The new production is great, very enjoyable. It was a much needed release after what happened in New York, and Washington D.C. Went to two shows, Sept. 14th 8pm, and Saturday Sept. 15, 8pm. Both shows were great as I said. I'm not sure how to go about reviewing the show as I've seen so many performances and have seen so many actors in the roles, it's hard put to make comparisms, or should I anyway? Let's say that I have 18 years of experience to draw on and over 35 shows under my belt to remember....

The show is made by the set and costumes and props...period. If Troika had not bought the entire set and props, the show would have failed miserablely. The show runs on these items and effects. I'm so glad they went with this version of the show, it's a dead ringer for the original touring companies that have traveled throughout the USA for these past decades. It IS the same Tour set!!! The show would just not be the same without the full kit and caboodle. If it had been mounted with less budget (less props, costumes, set) it would have been very hard to watch and sit through. I'm just saying that without the special effects the show would have lost a lot of impact. Like Grizabella's Heaviside Layer balloon, the oven, stuff like that, the tire.... I'm so glad they used the old sets and props...it was like revisiting broadway all over again. Bravo to Troika first for going all out and spending the money and keeping the budget up!!!!

Next, to the cast. These performers are very young and very talented. I'm sure they cast the best and the brightest for this production. I'm sure competition was fierce to snag one of these roles....Everyone pulled through and gave wonderful performances...you could tell that everyone wanted to do their best, in spite of the tradgedy that happened earlier in the week.

Standouts were (for me) Jennyanydots---very cute and pert and excieting. After over 10 years of seeing Alice DeChant in the role, I was ready to see a change. Jenny is played as a young mother kitten, instead of an older, wiser cat..which was a refreshing change. I really liked her alot

Jellylorum---saw the understudy on Friday night and she gave a wonderful performance too, sweet voice and all. Very nice voice, crystal clear and like a bell...

Victoria--understudy Susanna Hirst was great. Her solo was great and hey, she looked like me...what can I say?

Bombalurina---very impressed with Sharon's performance...she was great all around. Also her look takes some getting used too, I'm used to more flamboyant Bom's but she was cool. Her makeup looked like a tribute to Marlene Danielle's, I was checking her out most of the show trying to see if that line crossed over her eyebrow and such...heh, such is the obsessed fan....but Sharon was very cool. They kept the small Tugger bit in at the finale which I always loved Sharon pulls is off with a flair...her voice is slightly deeper but with time, I'm sure she'll grow into the role. Bomb has a history of actresses staying with the role for long peroids of time, I would hope to see Sharon again sometime soon. She's a slim, svelte Bom, looking more like Cassandra in a way, but her face gives her a more cat like, sneering look that I enjoy....Bom should be develish to both the male cats and the crowd....very nice

For the most part, the cast was confined to the stage in California. Green Eyes was the only audience presence. I missed the interaction very much as they had to stay onstage all of the time. Griz and Duet came out of the enterances stage left and right, and I found this annoying as I loved the bits were they come into the audeince. I was explaning to my husband that this is important to the show, as it breaks the barrier you have between cast and audience. The cats are wary and suspisious of the humans encroaching on their territory. They are upset at first, but during Naming they venture out into the audience to "test them." Then when Griz goes out into the audience you, (as the audience) are welcoming her, but the cast is still shunning her, in other words telling her to "go with the humans, we don't want you." The audience then feels sorry for Griz...the same with Duet, when he appeares in the audience you feel drawn to him, and accepted....then by the end of the show during Mr. Mistoffelees the transition is complete. Both audience and cats are welcoming to each other, the cats are happy, the humans are happy, each accepting each other into their worlds....then when Griz comes on you are as an audience member welcomed into the tribe of Jellicle Cats. This whole sense was missing when there is not that important audience participation. You feel like you are watching a picture and the audience can distance itself from the action and all...That's why the set in London and New York all helps to foster that goal of audience participation. Maybe they couldn't do that with this theater...it's happened before in other shows... but I hope it will be included in other venues...Even Tugger did not come out for his dance in the audience, maybe because of the suit filed against the broadway actor...pure rubbish in my book...

All in all, it was a great show exepct for those tiny minute matters, but go and see it and support the tour. They all did a wonderful job, and can only get better as time goes on. Good luck to everyone!

Also, be sure to get the new T-shirt and the Poster. The poster is double-sided with the video cast but it's both high quality pics and great for framing. That's what I'm gonna do with mine both...other than that, still waiting for that brochure to come out. Can't wait to see that soon.

Have a great time....if you are worried about cuts in the show, they are small and don't interfere with the main action. Growltiger is there, and the Macavity catfight. Mungojerrie and Rumple loose a verse, and some of the other numbers are trimmed by only one verse or two. Not too much to be worried about. Pekes is gone, and I miss that, but it seques nicely to the Ball. Misto is cut at the end by 4 verses so they only sing one verse then cut to Misto being lifted up, no audience participation as I said this time around....Griz still goes to the Heaviside Layer in style...so enjoy your time there!

It's great to know that CATS is still alive and well in the good old USA!

Keep on Purring,
Victoria the White Cat

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