MsJellicle
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Another Trip Report - April 7th - Nanaimo, BCI've always enjoyed the show. But, to be honest, lately I've found that I'm not completely excited and energetic about seeing the show after seeing it...what? ...somewhere around 30 times? I'll have to count that one of these days. Anyways, as the lights went down and the music started, I began to enjoy the music and waited for the cats to come down the aisle with their green eyes. Not only did they come down the far aisles, they also meandered into the center aisles.
Pleasantly surprised, my own energy and excitement for the show immediately began to stir once more. As the show continued, I found myself grinning from ear to ear and I couldn't stop my foot from tapping to the rhythm of the music. I was infused with energy from this cast. I could tell that they knew exactly what they were doing. They were portraying their individual characters and dancing and singing with no apparent unsurety. They made the difficult dance steps look so easy. They looked like they were enjoying themselves immensly. This cast works very well together. If anyone was unsure whether or not to see this show, please believe me when I say, "GO SEE THIS CAST!" You wont regret it.
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Now on to some memorable scenes. I won't go into great detail about each number as *asterix* has already done a wonderful job in her report. But I'll just mention some of the highlights and things I saw that were particularly memborable to me.
During the opening number, I had Skimbleshanks running past me and flashing his 'green eyes' at some people. A couple of other cats had quickly come by, but I couldn't see who they were as they moved so fast. On his way back up the aisle, Skimbleshanks hissed at me and then took off.
'The Naming of Cats' had the felines back in the audience. Tumblebrutus stood right by my seat and was staring at me. Bombalurina was a few rows ahead saying her lines to those audience members.
Jennyanydots admonishon (sp? or is that even a word?) of the beetle who was about to skewer her was priceless.
*asterix* made the best description of Dave's version of Tugger. Danny Zuko as Tugger. While I'm used to more flamboyant Tuggers, I quickly got used to his laid back style and Tugger's just soaking in the fact that he was just so cool! Definately a more original Tugger...which is hard to do due to the shear number of times the role has been performed. Kudos! As *asterix* said, Tugger didn't come out into the audience. But seeing him try to flirt with Jellylorum and Jellyorum's reaction to him was priceless! But I can understand why no dancing with an audience member. The 'arms' of the stage that *asterix* described made it so that if he did pull someone off the aisle there, they would have to make sure they took a step up and that could be a potential accident problem.
Random observation...when Misto and Munk sang the lines "The Rum Tum Tugger is a terrible bore!" Misto was still in his beetle costume. I can't seem to recall at the moment..but does that happen each show? Or was there a slight costume glitch?
After Grizabella came out and all the cats were hissing at her, from our angle, we could see Cassandra's profile whe she hissed at Griz. The light refected not only the bits of white on her face, but also the whites of her eyes and her teeth. This made for a very scary-looking Cassandra. It was just such a random/rare thing to see. I was amused. 
After Grizabella left, I saw Skimbleshanks moving towards our side of the stage and it took a moment as I wondered why he was looking out towards the audience instead of the side of the stage for Bustopher. Hubby (Nick-Ko-Las) was poking me and I looked up just in time to see Bustopher Jones right beside me moving towards the stage! I must say, it was quite surprising to see this rotund character up close! And it was adorable when he let out a little chuckle as he continued on down the aisle. One of these days, I'm going to get seats where I can catch Bustopher Jones' flower that he throws into the audience. And, yes, the audience gave a good laugh at Bombalurina's 'fat' comment. When all the 'toms' lined up for inspection from Bustopher, Tumblebrutus (...or was it Pouncival?) lifted his bent leg and held it in that pose until Bustopher came by. I wish I could describe it better. It was hilarious.
I always love seeing the double cartwheel in Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer. Rumpleteazer seemed to me to be more sure of herself than past Rumpleteazer's I've seen. I've always pictured the duo as a team...but with Mungo clearly the 'leader' of the two. With this couple, I got the impression of them being more equal in that perspective. Perhaps, now that I think about it, it might be because Joanna Silvers seems to portray the character a little older than I usually see her as. Interesting.
I distinctly got the impression that Munkustrap was none too happy when Tugger joined in to sing about Deuteronomy. However, he seemed to grudingly accept the maned cats descriptions after a bit. I really liked Ian Lakowski's version on Munkustrap. Very serious! I don't recall seeing the character smile! I can't help but wonder how he would portray the character during the "Pekes and the Pollicles" number if it hadn't been taken out. LOL...even during the finale when all the cats when out into the audience, Munkustrap came by me looking very serious and making sure everything was okay! Awesome way to stay in character! I enjoyed Phillip Peterson's portrayal of the old leader. I only wish they did something different with his wig. I think I prefer a different look. The wig just looks so....I don't know....flat? Perhaps a little drab? On the flip side of the coin, it did give me a strong impression of Deuteronomy being a persian breed...the kind with the really flat face and hardly-seen ears?
The Jellicle Ball was so enthusiastic! A couple of things I noticed....as *asterix* had already pointed out, Tumblebrutus had been standing with his back to the audience and his hand had been out towards Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy gestured and then Tumble turned to see Victoria and ever-so-gently nudged her. It was such a sweet scene! Also, I noticed that usually Bombalurina and Alonzo do an amazing show of him lifting her from behind with her legs wrapped around his waist and her pawing the air. And Demeter and Plato do an awesome balance act of him lifting her and balancing her straight parallel above him. But this time those two 'couples' reversed it so that Bom and Alonzo were balancing and Dem and Plato were lifting. It's kinda hard to explain. Either way, I love watching it.
Angie Smith's portrayal of Griz was quite interesting to watch. I've always heard how the US production's Grizabella's are supposed to be 'younger' than what you'd usually see in the London productions...to the point that she could be approximately Munk's age. I don't know if this is intentional or not. And I've always considered the Griz's to be a little younger. But Angie really made be believe that this Grizabella was younger....and that she just had a very hard life which was why she was so tattered and such. Beautiful voice, too!
After intermission, we were treated to a hilarious display of pomp and vanity as Mistoffelees went from one 'cute' pose to another! It was just so adorable and had half the audience cracking up.
Chris Sidoli's Gus was great. His Growltiger was hilarious. Griddlebone was priceless. Growltiger stomped his foot, demanding her to come to him. She just shook her head, "Uh, no." He stomped his foot, and she sighed exaperatedly as she grudgingly went over to him. The duet was sung beautifully. I really like Julie's voice. She had just the right sound to it without sounding too 'operatic'.....not sure just how to describe that.
Skimbleshanks was very energetic and.... bouncy! I loved his performance! Tumblebrutus and Pouncival were cute. They started fighting in one of the line ups and Skimble stopped them. But as soon as Skimble's back was turned, they continued to 'poke' at each other. Hehe! When the train 'fell apart' you can see Skimble reacting, 'Oh no! No, no, no, no...the train fell apart!" Then he hears everyone giggling and then gave this look that said, "Oh you guuuysss!" Then he gave a short sigh and shrugged it off as if to say, "Oh well, on with the song!"
I loved Delaine Andrzejewski as Bombalurina and Lisa Karlin as Demeter. They worked very well together. While dancing in Macavity, they had some spot on definate moves. And let's not forget about thier voices! Demeter's was soft at first, but when she needed to belt it....boy could she belt it! While her Demeter was spastic during the Macavity scares, she was more sure of herself during this song. See *asterix*'s description. The fight scene is one of my favorite scenes in CATS. The first part where Munkustrap fights Macavity seems slowed down the last few times I've seen it, though. It's almost balletic (if that's a word). Still quite interesting to see. And then it gets more abrupt and such when Alonzo comes in. I also enjoyed Luke McMollum's portrayal of Alonzo...especially during this scene. Instead of just watching from the sides and then rushing in after Munkustrap is defeated, he seemed intent on looking for an opportunity to fight Macavity. Now for the really amazing part. I found out afterwards that AJ Wilson (who was understudying the part of Plato/Macavity that night...he's usually a kitten swing), was asked to temporarily take over the part due to the regular performer leaving for another show, and the regular understudy injured. He learned it in one day, rehearsed it the next, and then performed it for the first time the third day (when we all saw it). It went without a glitch. I certainly hadn't noticed anything go wrong or anything like that. So, a big kudo's to AJ!! Of course, I have to admit, now that I think about it, that this leads to many a good joke on the situation, character-wise. Remember, AJ is a kitten swing..which means he's supposed to be shorter than the 'adult' characters....which means his Macavity was shorter than both Alonzo and Munkustrap. (Guys, I like you all, and I know you have a sense of humor, so I know you won't take this wrong! It's just funny!)
~Audience sees Macavity for the first time. "Him? They were afraid of...him?!"
~No wonder Munkstrap looks so mad and serious all the time. He couldn't even fight that little guy...Macavity!
~Macavity....Enormous, huge reputation....little-itty-bitty cat.
~Victoria: "Hey, Bom, Dem? I thought you said he was very tall and thin?" Bom: "Well, uh, we were younger then..." *shifty eyes* Dem: "At least we got the thin part right."
~Plato, "I'm adult! I am! I am!" *pouts*
Okay..all joking aside...AJ...awesome, awesome job!
I loved Misto's animated facial expressions during his song. Ryan really seemed to enjoy the part...and the dancing very much so.
Angie's portrayal of Griz when she sang "Touch me! It's so easy to leave me". She looked so open, pleading, and vulnerable..yet at the same time there was a hidden strength within her. Again, *asterix* described it beautifully. And Sillabub had a beautifully clear and innocent sounding voice. I really enjoyed it.
Deut really got into his part in 'Ad-dressing' to the point that I started to be concerned he might fall off the tire. I really enjoyed his voice. Mungojerrie's 'muscle man' pose during 'Ad-dressing' was hilarious.
At the end, when all the cats went back out into the audience for the last time, Mungo stopped and gave a surprised look, then froze that way, just staring at someone two rows ahead of me. It was hilarious and had audience members in that area cracking up. Many of us who saw that were quite amused...couldn't see the lady's face whom he was staring at though. Wish I could have.
Afterwards, we got to meet many of the cast members, though we couldn't chat for very long as they were in a hurry to catch their bus. But they were very friendly and took time to talk with us and sign some autographs. I wish we could have chatted some more. That's when I found out that it was AJ's first time in the role of Plato/Macavity. If I had the time/money/opportunity I so would have travelled down to Victoria to see this cast again! What an awesome evening!
I'll try to get a picture up later of me with the cast after the show.
~MsJellicle
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