[Phee]

Went to see a local, (Brisbane, Australia) amateur production (Ignatians Musical Society) of CATS last night. Last time I saw it was in London in Oct 2001, so I'd been itching to see it again, and couldn't pass up the opportunity.

Overall it was a pretty great show. Some actors were absolute standouts, which in turn made some of the others seem a bit weaker, but I guess that's probably par for the course for an amateur production, (must confess to never having seen an amateur prod of anything before, but my parents saw this same theater group do Les Mis and said that some of the leads really stood out and seemed more professional).

Grizabella and Jellylorum were the standouts females. The guy who played Misto was really good. In his bio in the program it says that ever since he first saw CATS he wanted to be "that cat!" and you could tell that he was really into playing the role.

The pacing of some of the songs seemed a bit off, but that's probably just because I've watched the DVD repeatedly over the past several years, so because this prod was a bit different, it really stood out. Eg: Pekes and Pollicles seemed slower paced than it should have been and Rum Tum Tugger seemed faster.

The set was a little sparse, (once again, probably something I really noticed because of my repeated viewings of the DVD), but it was a low budget production, so with that in mind, it still looked pretty great. Had a little stack of 3 alphabet building blocks on one of the front corners of the stage, and it wasn't until I came back to my seat for Act 2 that I realised that the letters facing the audience were T.S.E.

Anyway, just thought I'd post in case there happens to be anyone else on here who is in my neck of the woods and wasn't aware that there's a production showing right now, (until March 17th). In reading the review they have on their website, I saw it mentioned that another local theater group, Harvest Rain will also be doing CATS in Aug/Sept, so it looks like I'll get to see it again before the year is out!

[Flitterbug]

I saw this one. I was horrified at the squeal.

You should know what I mean - I'm told it wasn't a one-off thing.

[Phee]

Well the "Can you as cats do begin with a note which I gather was supposed to be a C" was a tad jarring and squeal-ish. Then again, the squeal-age at the end of Tugger was a little overdone as well. So is it either of those you're talking about, coz that's what I've got off the toppa my head.

Actually, my one real disappointment was that the guy playing Tugger didn't have enough attitude. He kinda got into it by the end of his song, and was a bit better with Misto's song, but he didn't strike me right off the bat as being as super cool and confident as he was supposed to be.

I remember seeing the tour under the Big Top several years back, (the first time I saw CATS), and I was in the 3rd row so was up real close, and I pretty much wanted to have Tugger's kittens by the end of the show.

[Flitterbug]

Uh, no... I was talking about the one that went something like this:

"Playing when the blue bonnets go over the border!.... WHEEEEE!"

*dry* I've had reports from three different people from three different nights that the above was not a one-off. But hey, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe it was fun, and not bafflingly "omg, the robot just squealed".

(Excuse my sarcasm. The guy who played Munkus when I saw it happened to be a bit robotic.)

[Carbucketty]

This reminds me...

Are these photos from that production of the show in Brisbane?

http://sumomoissoft.blog55.fc2.com/blog-entry-168.html#more

[Phee]

Don't remember that bit Flitterbug so either he didn't do it the night I saw it, or it was so horrendous I've managed to wipe it from my memory.

Carbucketty, nope, those aren't cast photos from the Brisbane show. Our program has mugshots of the performers, but there aren't mugshots of them all in character. There are several random photos of several of them in character scattered throughout the program, which I'll happily scan if anyone wants to see them.

[VictoriaTWC]

Those photos are from the production last year in CLOC Melbourne.

VTWC

[greengems]

Hey, I went last saturday night in Brisbane. i hear they spent a lot on the production and all in all thought it was good. lets face it, they have jobs and do this at night!! what more can you expect. loved the big chair too. =D I also loved the costumes and the lighting. I'd love to hear what you thought of some of the singing.....I loved some of it

[Flitterbug]

It seemed like Demeter was really straining to hit the high notes. They came out flat and slightly off-key... I also have to say that Macavity's "evil laugh" has to be the singularly most pathetic laugh I have ever heard, and that includes from badly made kids cartoons.

Yes, yes, I know I criticize too much. But that's just because I'm struggling not to babble about how I wanted to kidnap several of the jellicles on stage.

[greengems]

thoughts on two performances..
Grizabella and Old Duet. Just curious, I thought........( will share after I hear from you!)

[musicalgal01]

I saw The Ignatians production of Cats today and I have to say I thought it was brilliant! The costumes and set were fantastic. The only thing was that during a couple of songs you couldn't hear them sing because the orchestra was so loud or their mics weren't turned up I'm not sure. Other than that it was excellent, probably the best amateur production I've seen. My favourite was The Rum Tum Tugger, the fellow who played him had an amazing voice, just right for the character. Alice Barbery's Grizabella was beautiful, and she has such a powerful voice, she sang Memory beautifully. I think that it's amazing what an amateur company can pull off when they have so much support. I hope I can be a part of the company sometime in the future.

[demented-dancer]

i think anybody who goes into an amateur production with a purist mindset is setting themselves up for dissapointment. of course the movie version is going to be better. thats why they call it amateur theatre.

anyway that aside. i have seen the brisbane production twice now and i have to say that i thought it was excellent!!! the costuming, choreography and singing were all really good. Alice Barbery did a perfect job of Grizabella and of course my favourite character has always been Rum Tum Tugger. but then again i might be a bit biased cause the guy who plays him happens to be a mate of mine.

the only dissapointment i had (as i think someone mentioned before) was that some of the performers microphones werent turned up loud enough.

overall i think based on the budget that they had to stick to that this was an outstanding performance and was very entertaining.

[Flitterbug]

Those who've seen the Ignatians show multiple times - did you notice that the movements dont change a bit? Not even what goes on in the background varies. It seemed like they were doing the exact same things all the time...

Just wondering if anyone can tell me if that was in any way unusual.

[demented-dancer]

uhh is that a bad thing?

its not like they can break out and do something thats unrehearsed. that would just put the other performers off.

anyway when i saw it the second time i didnt notice anything unusual about the performance.

[Moongewl]

But no two shows should be identical. The little mannerisms should change, the lines can be delivered a bit differently, maybe one night some background characters can pretend to get in a scuffle during a scene. The singing and dancing will stay the same, but the show shouldn't be a live rerun, you know?

[greengems]

OK I think that's a bit of envy! The reason the show was so PROFESSIONAL even though it was done by regular folks lies in the fact that they did it the way it was rehearsed, night after night after night YET, still made it full of energy and it came across as fresh.

Sorry, but that is a lesson in great theatre and a great director!

Besides, if you went to see it more then once,,,,,,,,you must have liked it!

[Flitterbug]

[greengems]

Well, that is what makes the arts so great, you have to agree to disagree from time to time.

Shows like CATS have SO much going on with SO many people on stage that it could become quite dangerous to change things. The cast have very sore bodies, esp. knees, there are pyrotechnics loaded around the set and it isn't easy to sing AND dance...in lycra...in tons of grease paint...in February in Qld. Oh, and the visibility in those wigs couldn't have been too easy. The other risk of altering the text could mean someone drops their CAT behaviour and has a human reaction, which would have attracted heat. So, I suppose to minimise the number of casualties, ( rolled ankles etc) it is safe to run the show for the one off punters rather then try and front up for serial viewing.

The touring production never had all the cast on stage as someone was always too injured to perform! Ah, CATS!

[Carbucketty]

List of amateur productions in the Antipodes from the licensor:
http://origintheatrical.com.au/shows.php

Am I interpreting the exchange rate incorrectly, or does AU $77 for VIP seats to an amateur production in Perth seems a bit high? Even the AU $41 regular seats seem a bit much.

[Flitterbug]

Considering that it's Perth, I'm not surprised. But for an amateur production is is definately over the line.

[demented-dancer]

i actually found quite a few things different when i went to see it the second time. but of course that was bound to happen since i was focusing on different things that time and so was able to soak up all that i had missed in my first viewing.

if i had to give a critique to anything its that i thought the acrobatics in the mungojerrie and rumpleteazer song could have been more refined. i understand that theyre not proffessionals but if they couldnt handle the acrobatics maybe they should have done something simpler. it just looked a bit sloppy. anybody agree?