griddlebone_girl
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Northampton 2007 ReviewHere's my review of the Northampton stop of the UK Cats tour, for anyone's who interested. I was overly impressed with it so don;t expect any negativity, also it's very very long, sorry, i wanted to mention everyone.
"I’ve been putting this review off, mainly because I want it to be perfect, but also because I knew I was going to see Cats more than once, so I wanted to do one big sum up. I managed to go see Cats in Northampton three times. Firstly on opening night (3rd July), then the following week (9th July) and finally closing night (21st July). Had I been able to get there easier I would have gone more times, but alas Northampton is quite a trek for me. Here’s hoping it’ll come to Milton Keynes next year.
I was really worried that Cats wouldn’t live up to my expectations. I had seen it twice live before. Once in London two months before it closed and once in Milton Keynes on the 2003 tour. I’ve seen the video countless times and of course I have numerous soundtracks. I was worried I’d built it up so much in my mind that I’d be disappointed. I had no reason to worry. As soon as I stepped into the theatre and saw that amazing stage I was gone. When the music began I almost cried, it was so perfect.
On opening night I went to see it on my own and sat about three rows from the front, the second time I was a way back and with my sisters and the third time I was with my friend Kerrie and we were near the front, but most importantly that time I had an aisle seat! Anyone who’s seen Cats knows the character run through the audience during the show, I was so happy to have that aisle seat. On the third time Carbucketty snuck up on me and stared at me, it was so awesome!
Right, let’s start the review with my favourite two characters, Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer. Joanne McShane played Rumpleteazer and Zak Nemorin played Mungojerrie. These two played their characters wonderfully; I honestly couldn’t keep my eyes off of them at times, no matter what song was playing. (Of course it did help that Zak Nemorin is a very very sexy Mungojerrie). For example, when they get together after the ‘Jellicle Song For Jellicle Cats’, Rumpleteazer goes over to Mungojerrie and he picks her up, spins her around, and puts her (or sometimes falls with her) down. Also at the beginning of ‘The Gumbie Cat’ Rumpleteazer would be just a bit away from Mungojerrie so he would grab her tail and pull her back. Honestly the interplay between them was wonderful. They were always playing or hugging, it was especially cute when Rumpleteazer would kneel behind Mungojerrie and throw her arms around him.
Zak Nemorin had a wonderful Mungojerrie persona that I can’t really describe, he was so playful and attention seeking. Especially during ‘The Jellicle Ball’, it was just before Cassandra comes cart wheeling in, two others were dancing at the front and Mungojerrie was huffing around the back and signalling he could do better before he went forward, signalled the other out the way and joined in.
Joanne McShane also had a wonderful persona. Her Rumpleteazer was so playful and cheeky; she always had a smile on her face, apart from one memorable moment on the closing night. It was during ‘Mr Mistoffolees’, Mungojerrie was laying down in front of the car boot and Bombalurina was all over him, Rumpleteazer, who was on the car boot, did not look impressed. This production didn’t have an Etcetera so Rumpleteazer took the place of the Tugger fanatic, and she did it well. After ‘The Gumbie Cat’ you could hear Tugger off stage and Teazer turns to the audience and yells “Tugger!”
Their signature song was of course amazing. Mungojerrie was again huffy and attention seeking, but it worked so well. The facial expressions were perfect, the singing spot on, and the dancing, oh the dancing, brilliant. Each time I saw it the audience gasped at the double cart wheel. I also loved how after the song, when we were all clapping and cheering Mungojerrie kept demanding more, very cute.
Stuart Ramsey played the Rum Tum Tugger, and wow was he good. I’ve seen Cat live five times now and I’ve only seen two Rum Tum Tugger’s. I was lucky enough to see John Partridge as Tugger in London and then Stuart Ramsey in Milton Keynes and Northampton. I love Stuart Ramsey’s Tugger, he has everything about the character down pat. The cockiness, the smugness, and the fun! I really love the little quirk he’s brought in of having Tugger twirling his tail when he’s fed up. And it made me laugh every time he imitated Munkustrap during ‘The Pekes and the Pollicle’s’ then hip grinded at him to the beat before walking off. I also loved when he was dancing with Misto during ‘Mr Mistoffolees’, very cool. His song was of course sexy and fun, he knows exactly how to play to the audience.
Patrick Clancy is next on my praise list. He played Bustopher Jones, Asparagus/Gus and Growltiger. This guy is good, all three characters were perfect. I have a bit of a soft spot for ‘Growltiger Last Stand’, I think it’s because this song is something rare, I can only see it on stage. I should also note that I have a soft spot for ‘The Ballad of Billy McCaw’ and even though I love the aria, I prefer the parrot. So I was overjoyed when they burst into ‘The Ballad of Billy McCaw’. But let’s not rush ahead.
Patrick Clancy does a wonderful Gus. He makes him just old enough to pity him but adds this underlying energy that makes him interesting. I love the song ‘Gus the Theatre Cat’; I think it’s wonderfully emotional. But I love it more when the lights cut out, there’s a bang (the audience jumps) and Growltiger is suddenly there. This song is oozing with pantomime. You’ve got Munkustrap, Mr Mistoffelees, Skimbleshanks, Alonzo and The Rum Tum Tugger all dressed as pirates (loving Tugger’s flouncy pirate, Skimble’s hook and Munkustrap’s parrot by the way), the set becomes a ship complete with wheel and sail, and there are big accents all round. While the ‘pirate cats’ sing about Growltiger the cat himself is storming around the stage and laughing, he even stops at one point to glare at a member of the audience into submission (and also, as he did on closing night, drool at them in a threatening way). Then suddenly Griddlebone appears. Griddlebone is played by Zoe Curlett who spends the rest of the show as a wonderful Jellylorum. Griddlebone, complete with big costume, then makes her was passed the flirty pirates to Growltiger and they begin this brilliant act that had me laughing the whole way through. At first Grolwtiger is all over Griddlebone, but then he starts singing Billy McCaw and Griddlebone is forgotten in exchange for the limelight. Zoe Curlett has a brilliant annoyed act complete with sofa scratching and attempted strangulation, fantastic. Every time I see Cats I’m impressed with how Growltiger ends. Ghengis , who has by now forced Growltiger to walk the plank, remains on stage as Gus returns from his memory, for all intents and purposes it’s like ‘Growltiger’s Last Stand’ never happened, all the Jellicle’s are back in their original positions, as if they never left. Just before he leaves Ghengis bows to Gus, I love that, it just makes me smile.
Loraine Chappel, Zoe Smith and Lauren Brooke played Bombalurina, Demeter and Cassandra respectively and I love them all.
Zoe Smith had Demeter’s movements just right. She showed Demeter’s fear and anxiety with every move she made. I also loved the way she spoke/sang, her voice and a certain quality I just can’t describe, but it was amazing. During Gus’ song Demeter was using Munkustrap’s lap as a pillow, I had to bring that up, they belong together people! I also want to mention that on opening night Zoe Smith played Grizabella and she was amazing. She almost made me cry when she sang ‘Memory’ she was so good.
Lorraine Chappel had a wonderfully smoky voice that matched Bombalurina’s character perfectly. True to form, Bombalurina was flirting with everyone, no-one was safe, not even the audience. BUT I did notice that during ‘The Rum Tugger’, just before it was Bomby’s part she was very lovely dovey with Mistoffolees, and I mean lovey dovey, not flirty. It made the Cats pairing section of my mind work overtime. One of my favourite parts of ‘The Jellicle Ball’ (hell I love it all, but I want to mention this bit) is the part where Bombalurina starts dancing just before some of the other Queen’s join in, you know, when the music gets a bit more voluptuous. I’m bringing this up because Lorraine Chappel had the whole voluptuous section of Bomby’s character perfect, even when she was lying on the floor.
Cassandra’s one of those characters that people seem to love or hate, I’ll admit I used to be a bit of a hater but that’s all changed now. Lauren Brooke portrayed a very sexy Cassandra but also a very aloof one; and it works. She had a wonderfully exotic tone to her voice which I got to hear even more than normal because she passed me a few times during ‘The Naming of Cats’. I also loved her walk, the way she walked off stage before the first Memory was so fitting, very sultry.
I have to bring up Ryan Dixon next because my sister would kill me if I didn’t. Ryan Dixon played Alonzo and the Rumpus Cat and he was very sexy in the roles. My sister was so busy telling me that during the applauses that she missed the chance to woo hoo him, and she felt really bad about it, so I gave him and extra loud woo hoo the next time I went to see it. Alonzo seems to be quite a fan favourite and I can see why, he’s very sleek and sexy. Ryan Dixon played a fairly serious Alonzo but then he put the Rumpus Cat costume on and what a transformation! He was hilarious; he certainly has a wonderful face for the role. I also loved his entrance. The London entrance will always be the best, the Jellicle’s are facing one direction and singing his cue, but instead of coming in that way he shoots up through the floor! I kid you now, through the floor! But in this production the Jellicle’s sing his cue, all face the back corner of the stage and…nothing happens, so the word ‘cat’ which they were holding on with, starts to fade in confusion, the suddenly the Rumpus Cat stumbles in and it starts up again, it reminds me of that noise advert that’s at the beginning of most movies, you know the one where this note gets louder, I forget what it’s for or about. But any way, Ryan Dixon was brilliant, give him an extra loud scream at the end if you go and see him.
No Cats review would be complete without mentioning Grizabella. The last two times I went to see Cats Chrissie Hammond played Grizabella. I’d seen Chrissie Hammond in the same role in London and thought she was amazing back then, and I can now tell you she is continuously amazing. She brings so much emotion to the role, me and Kerrie was practically crying during Memory on the final night. She also brings this slightly smug and still proud quality to the role of Grizabella which I think is perfect. A little Grizabella moment I want to mention is during ‘The Moments of Happiness’. After everyone’s come back on stage and sat down Grizabella comes out and crouches on the boot, she stays there until everyone is standing up. I love this, I think it adds some more depth to the character.
Mr Mistoffelees is next. For years I didn’t really like Misto, I had no reason for this I just didn’t, in the past year or so I have changed my mind. Misto will never be my favourite but I do love him. On the opening and closing night Craig Turbyfield took the role, he is the understudy. Trevor Schoonraad took the role on the second night I saw it. They were both equally fabulous in the role. I think they’ve made Misto a bit more grown up compared to the dvd, which I like. One thing I never get enough of is Mr Mistoffelees conjuring turn, which blows my mind every time. On average (yes I counted) they did 19 turns, 19! Absolutely amazing. It’s a shame some of Misto’s dance was cut in the dvd because we’re missing out on some wonderful moments. Especially when Misto invites Jemima and Victoria out to dance with him and freezes them, then after a few moments lets them go, it’s such a cute moment.
I also loved the twins, Tantomile and Coricopat, watching them dancing in-sync was wonderful. They were played by Louise Perez and Phil Comley. In each ‘Naming of Cats’ Coricopat would stare at someone in the front row, he was just staring, and singing of course, must have been very odd. Also on the second time I saw Cats he came up to the section I was in and the kids in the front had left ice cream pots there, he picked one up, looked in it and threw it away, very very funny and cute.
Now time for the kittens. Jemima was played by Louisa Barratt, Bill Bailey was played by Alex Durrant, Victoria by Rachel Ensor and Carbucketty by Craig Turbyfield. I only saw Craig Turbyfield as Carbucketty once and I can’t remember who played him the other times. This annoys me because I remember him more than Craig Turbyfield. But I have to admit, both were adorable Carbucketty’s. There were cute moments like during ‘Bustopher Jones’ where he would be bored and start playing with Skimbleshanks’ tail, Skimble would of course scold him. Or on the second time I saw it when Craig Turbyfield was in the role, he started playing a game with some of the audience, Skimble of course put a stop to it. Another adorable moment was also during ‘Bustopher Jones’. It’s after Bustopher has sung and he’s standing with his back to the audience, he puts his feet out to the side in time with the song and Bill Bailey and Carbucketty act all kitten like and try to pounce on them, so cute! All of the ‘kittens’ were adorable. Jemima’s always been a favourite of mine and Louisa Barrett was no exception. Also I loved Rachel Ensor’s performance of Victoria. Her dancing was memorising, especially ‘The Invitation to the Jellicle Ball’.
I want to make special mention of Alex Durrant because on closing night, during the finale, he seemed to hurt himself. Bill Bailey is the last one to come out, doing a characteristic summersault, and after he had done it he remained down instead of standing up with everyone else. He did manage to get up eventually but I just hope he’s ok; he’s such a wonderfully cute Bill Bailey.
Munkustrap was played by Dean Maynard and he had a very commanding presence. I especially loved him during ‘The Pekes and the Pollicle’s’, he did it wonderfully, you could tell how exasperated Munkustrap was with everyone. Another really good Munkustrap moment was during ‘The Gumbie Cat’, when he was singing and Demeter, Bombalurina and Jellylorum were on the tyre he went up to them and lounged quite happily against them for a few moments, very cheeky. And when he was on top of the open boot during the song he started to have a little boogie on closing night.
This leads me nicely onto Munkustrap’s fight with Macavity. Macavity/Admetus was played by Luke Jackson. I liked him instantly as Admetus and I liked him even more as Macavity. He had a brilliant laugh. The fight between Munkustrap and Macavity was amazing, it’s so well choreographed that at times you do forget that it’s a dance. I especially loved how Munkustrap’s final attack on Macavity was a kick to the face from his position on the floor.
Only three more character’s to praise now. Let’s start with Jennyanydots who was played by Tania Newton. I loved the way she looked as Jennyanydots; she just seemed to fit the character right. Plus she had a lovely smile that always worked. I loved her title song, especially when she dove between Munkustrap’s legs, very funny. And of course I have to mention the tap dancing. When they were tap dancing I was practically sitting there with my mouth hanging open, how do they do it!?
Skimbleshanks is next; he was played by Matthew Gould. Matthew Gould defiantly had the ‘father of the tribe’ thing down pat. He was constantly helping or scolding the younger Jellicle’s. And he was so energetic! I know they all are, but I still can’t get over the sight of him leaping from the pipe to the top of the oven, very impressive. He also played a very lovable pirate during ‘Growltiger’s Last Stand’.
And last, but by no means least, is Old Deuteronomy played by James Patterson. He was of course amazing (have you noticed I think everyone was?). He was so good that half way through the show one of my sisters turned to me and said “He’s a god to them isn’t he?” (Or something to that effect) and I couldn’t help but agree. I went up to meet him in the interval twice so I now have a signed programme and leaflet, life is good. I was so excited after meeting him the first time that I was going to txt my sisters to tell them, but I had no credit so I couldn’t.
As you can tell I loved these performances. The only, and I mean only, thing I could possible fault is the lack of Etcetera and Electra; I love those characters so it was a shame not to see them. But that honestly is the only fault I can find. Maybe it’s because I’m such a huge fan (seeing Cats will probably be the highlight of my year and I’m ok with that), maybe some people will turn around to me and “well actually I think…” Well go ahead, I loved it and always will.
To close I want to mention some little moments that made me smile. During Gus’ song, when all the other Jellicle’s are bored there were some interesting interactions, I noticed Mungojerrie (who was on top of the pipe) playing some kind of hand war with Bill Bailey (who was lying in the pipe). In another performance a (play) fight also broke out between Carbucketty, Bill Bailey and someone else, its slips my mind who. On the last night at the end of Gus’ song Mungojerrie grabbed Cassandra in a bear hug and wouldn’t let her go. When she finally escaped he went over to Tugger to complain. Also I noticed during ‘The Jellicle Ball’ when they’re all dancing in pairs, Demeter and Cassandra were dancing together, as were Alonzo and Misto, the pairing part of my brain went into over drive again! There was also some serious flirting going on between Alonzo and Jellylorum. And Mungojerrie was the only one who followed Munkustrap when he went after Macavity. Yes it’s the little things that make me smile in this show, these little extra titbits for us fans to sink our teeth into. I’m positive there are more little things I’m forgetting; I do have a terrible memory after all.
I will always recommend everyone goes to see Cats no matter what the situation, but I really really recommend that you go and see this cast; they are amazing individually and as a whole. They will make you laugh and cry, it’s everything you could want from a production of Cats.
And as a final note, because I am at the end of the day a fangirl, something that almost turned me in Etcetera at the end of the night. Me and Kerrie had left the theatre and were walking along the side of it, where there are some windows, and just as we were walking past Stuart Ramsey, in full Rum Tum Tugger regalia, walking into (what I presume was) his dressing room! Yes I squealed over that. "
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