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Cats Cats was the musical that began the age of the "mega musical." When it swam across the ocean from London's West End to Broadway, it brought along this term with it, thus opening the door for other major spectacle productions to flood Broadway. Many stories, articles, and reviews that talk about the mega musical always tend to comment on how musical theater has suffered from the flying tire Cats, the helicopter Miss Saigon, the chandelier Phantom of the Opera, the turntable Les Miserables, and the roller skate Starlight Express. These musicals had massive sets, large casts, tons of costumes and lighting, and special effects up the wazoo that caused the "nose in the air" theater patron, performer, or critic to rip them to shreds when they opened on Broadway. They wailed this was the decline of the musical, people were leaving the theaters "humming the scenery" not the score, and it was flash and glitz over substance and emotion. I first saw Cats on Broadway when I went on my first New York trip in high school. I remember being totally bored; it seemed like hours before we came to the only song that I knew, "Memory." I left the Winter Garden just not getting why people love this musical based on T.S. Elliot's poems about felines. While in college I saw it again during its national tour stop in Dallas. My initial impression was unchanged. Seeing this musical for the first time since that tour, I can appreciate some of the score, particularly the speciality numbers, though it still lacks focus and becomes repetitive with its subject matter. Basically this is a tale of a bunch of cats trying to get accepted to go up into the heavenly layer to be reborn. We have that grand opening number of "Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats" and the invitation to the ball, but at the end of act one, that whole sequence brought back for a huge dance number. While visually it is a glorious celebration of dance, the weak "theme" stretched so thinly, it seems about to snap at any minute. In act two, there is no clean, fluid thread of book to get to Grizabella's big moment. Instead we have a couple of numbers that just feel like filler, particularly Skimbleshanks' (a number dealing with a cat and a train) and Macavity's (a number that just goes on and on). The set has been drastically toned down from its more color past productions. Many of the massive large prop pieces of trash strewn all over the stage are missed. The cast for the most part is a highly energetic group of dancers, singers, and actors. But very few of them are triple threats. While some are outstanding dancers, their vocals are extremely thin and too airy at times, with no vibrato to support the sustaining notes. On the other side of the coin, some are great singers who seem to be a couple of steps behind the other more trained dancers. Thus some company numbers are not performed in unison or with precision. But where they lacked in one of the three talents, they made up by being in total character throughout the evening with endless energy. The star of the evening is Grant Turner as Munkustrap. Turner has pure dedication to his character, staying always in the moment. He dances with great skill, sings with a bravado baritone voice, and acts with freshness and fun. His stage presence also adds another layer, making him one of the standouts of the evening. Right behind Turner is Gretchen Goldsworthy as the old feline, Grizabella. Turner hits the ball right out of the park with her "peel the back walls" soprano voice, which she uses to full impact in the well known ballad, "Memory." She gives it her all, and is met with a lengthy round of applause, cheers, and whistles after her brilliant turn at this much beloved ballad, and she richly deserves this applause. But what does hurt her big number a little is the secondary soloist within the ballad. Katie Ann Wanner possesses a very thin soprano voice that is too airy and soft. This is not helped by her lack of vibrato, thus her voice sounds off pitch and simply does not gel with Goldsworthy's power vocals. Its clear that Wanner's cat is more of a kitten, but this young actress needs much more work vocally. McCree O'Kelley is the best male dancer of the company, and this is proven in his energetic dance solo as Mistoffolees. He clearly shows vast talent as a dancer, and his number is a major highlight of the evening. William Hartery has the best comic number of the evening with "Growltiger's Last Stand," in which he plays Growltiger. Hartley hams it up as the over bearing, egomaniac opera tenor. He is also greatly aided by Wendi Bergamini as Griddlebone, the white Persian cat who is the opera diva to Hartley's opera tenor. Beramini and Hartley have hilarious facial expressions with great chemistry to make their operetta number pure enjoyment. Bryce Bermingham as Mungojerrie and Pamela Rainey as Rumpleteazer make a great pair as the cats who happen to be cat burglars, or is it troublemakers? Both performers have solid vocals to match their first rate dance technique. Their duet in act one is another musical number highlight of the evening. Stan Stanley is all sexual heat and bump & grind as Rum Tum Tugger, the cat who is reminiscent reminds of Elvis Presley. Stanley sings with high tenor pop vocals that add zest and fun to his solos. His grand stage presence is matched with festive facial expressions, backed with a swagger and sass that has the lady felines on stage swooning. He is a delight! Rounding out the best in the cast are Jarrett Ali Boyd as Old Deuteronomy, Warren Freeman as Skimbleshanks, and Everett Taylor as Macavity. Finally, a note to the set crew - that set is badly in need of oiling. Off and on throughout the evening, during a quiet, personal moment on stage, the silence is killed by the squeaks, creaks, and wheezes of the set when someone moves or walks on it. I honestly think that the first time viewer of Cats will love this production. I happened to see this tiny girl a couple of rows of me just sitting there, wide eyed, soaking in every thing that was being presented on the stage. Seeing her enjoy it so much shows how wonderful the magic of theater truly is. The Cats tour moved on from Dallas on May 26. |
