|
Read more about Andrew Lloyd Webber
Read more about T.S. Elliot
Magical Cats!
Review by Daniel Dercksen
There is a very good reason why Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats has outlived its nine lives and has ruled the world of entertainment for almost 30 years: it is simply the best and most engaging spectacle that will live on, now and forever!
From the moment probing car lights tear across the darkened landscape of a junkyard to its rousing finale, every moments of Cats is memorable.
What makes Cats unique is that it a musical filled with song, dance and drama that you can experience unashamedly and rekindle the child within.
It not only celebrates the musical verve of Lloyd Webber and the poignant poetic voice of T.S. Eliot, but showcases the vocal, performance and dance prowess of a sensational ensemble.
This is poetry in motion and music in action as it merges harmoniously to culminate in glorious unison.
John Napier's imaginative setting is a 'giant playground for cats', a rubbish dump complete with rubbish bins, an abandoned car, massive tires, bicycles, and lots of garbage from which the cats could improvise various disguises enabling them to tell the story from the objects they found lying around.
During one of the many magical moments, Skimbleshanks The Railway Cat reminisces about the train he rides and brings the locomotive to glorious life with help of the other cats and bits of discarded items; and during the amusing 'Aweful Ballet of the Pekes and the Pollicles' together with 'The Marching Song of The Pollicle Dogs', the cats dress up as two rival dog factions and bark ceaselessly as each other.
The story of Cats is told through poems from T.S. Eliot's Old Possums Book of Practical Cats, first published in 1939. It inspired Lloyd Webber to set the book to music in 1977 because it was a book he remembered with affection from his childhood.
It tells the story tells of a special night when a Tribe of Jellicle cats reunites to celebrate who they are.
At first suspicious and reluctant to allow the audience into their domain, they explain to their human visitors who they are. When their leader, Old Deuteronomy arrives they rejoice: he has to decide which cat will be reborn into a new Jellicle life and be chose to journey to the Heavenside layer.
A major contribution to the overwhelming success of Cats it its astounding choreography that perfectly captures the allure and acrobatic movement of felines.
The choreography by Gillian Lynne (Associate Direction and Choreography), recreated by director Jo-Anne Robinson (after original direction by Trevor Nunn), is electrifying.
Add to this the awesome make up and costumes and you have an exceptional ensemble that meticulously transforms into felines with energetic and daunting dance routines.
Although the unison of the ensemble is unrivalled, it is amazing to see how each performer brings out the unique characteristics of their character without disrupting the overall harmony.
There is also a playful interaction between the audience and the cats, when the felines crawl through the auditorium.
Of the powerful ensemble there are some performances that deserve recognition.
Jaco van Rensburg is an absolute sensation as the magical Mr. Mistoffelees; Earl Gregory steals the spotlight as the playful prankster Rum Tum Tugger; and Jonathan Roxmouth is in top form with his commanding performance as Munkustrap.
Marcus Desando equally impresses with his fatherly Old Deuteronomy, while Angela Kilian strikes a tearful note with her sensitive performance as Grizabella the Glamour Cat who is shunned by the rest of the tribe.
And, who will ever forget Bustopher Jones, a large 'tweny-five-pounder' played by Robert Finlayson (who also impresses as Gus the Theatre Cat), Darren Shack as the wicked Macavity; and the dynamic Grant Almirall and Chireen Fereirra as the acrobatic Mungojerry and Rumpleteaser.
Cats delivers what it promises in abundance.
You will not only leave the theatre having taken ownership of your favourite Jellicle cat, but will find yourself humming the tunes forever.
The haunting music includes the catching Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats, the robust Macavity, the playful Rum Tum Tugger and Mangojerry and Rumpleteaser, the dynamic Mr. Mistoffeles, and the ever popular Memory.
Cats is an experience that you cannot afford to miss.
It transcends all cultures and age groups and reflects the plight of humanity through feline eyes. Allowing us to re-look our own trials and tribulations, it is a spiritual journey of transformation.
No matter how often you have seen it, or whether it is your first encounter of the feline kind, Cats is people friendly. You can revisit it endlessly and relive its magic, always journeying into its magical and musical wonderland.
Copyright © 2009 Daniel Dercksen/ The Writing Studio
SYNOPSIS
Act I -- When Cats are Maddened by the Midnight Dance
After the overture, the Cats gather on stage and explain the Jellicle tribe and their purpose ('Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats'). The Cats spot the human audience and explain how the different Cats of the tribe are named ('The Naming of Cats'). This is followed by a dance from Victoria the White Cat that signals the beginning of the Jellicle Ball and Munkustrap tells us that tonight is the night when Old Deuteronomy will choose a cat to be reborn into a new life on the Heaviside Layer.
Munkustrap appears and introduces Jennyanydots ('The Old Gumbie Cat'), a large tabby cat. She "sits and sits and sits" all day, while at night she rules over the mice and cockroaches, teaching various activities to them. Jennyanydots finishes, greets the other cats, but is interrupted. The music instantly changes, and The Rum Tum Tugger makes an extravagant entrance ('The Rum Tum Tugger'). The Tugger is a Tom with a wild mane and leopard spots on his chest. He is very fickle and unappeasable, "for he will do as he do do and there's no doing anything about it".
A shabby old grey cat stumbles out and looks around. It is Grizabella. All the cats back away. The cats sing of her saddened, unfortunate state ('Grizabella: The Glamour Cat'). Grizabella leaves and the music changes to a cheerful upbeat. Bustopher Jones, a fat cat in "a coat of fastidious black", appears ('Bustopher Jones: The Cat About Town'). Bustopher Jones is among the elite of the cats, and visits prestigious gentleman's clubs. A loud crash startles the tribe. Could this be Macavity? The cats run off the stage in fright. Hushed giggling signals the entrance of Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer, a pair of near-identical cats. They are petty burglars, very mischievous, and they enjoy causing trouble for human families ('Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer').
Finally, the Jellicle patriarch, Old Deuteronomy, shows up ('Old Deuteronomy'). He is a large old Cat that "has lived many lives" and "buried nine wives (And more, I am tempted to say - ninety-nine)". He is the one who will choose which Jellicle cat will go to the Heaviside Layer. In most productions, at this point, the cats perform a song ('The Awefull Battle of the Pekes and the Pollicles') for Old Deuteronomy. It is a story about two dog tribes clashing in the street and subsequently being scared away by the Great Rumpus Cat, a cat with flashing red eyes. After a few words from Old Deuteronomy on the destiny of Jellicle Cats and Pollicle Dogs, a second loud crash, presumably from Macavity, sends the alarmed cats scurrying. But Old Deuteronomy calls them back and the main celebration begins ('The Jellicle Ball'), in which the cats sing, dance and display their "terpsichorean powers".
After the Ball, Grizabella reappears, refusing to be left out of the festivities. Once again, she is shunned by the other cats, but that does not stop her from singing a short version of 'Memory'.
Act II -- Why Will the Summer Day Delay -- When Will Time Flow Away?
After the Jellicle Ball, Old Deuteronomy sings of "what happiness is" ('The Moments of Happiness'). Gus -- short for Asparagus -- shuffles forward ('Gus: The Theatre Cat'). He is the cat that once was a famous actor but now he is old and "suffers from palsy which makes his paws shake". He is accompanied by Jellylorum, who tells of his exploits. Gus then remembers how he once played the infamous Growltiger, Terror of the Thames ('Growltiger's Last Stand'). He tells the story about the pirate's romance with Griddlebone and how he was overtaken by the Siamese and forced to walk the plank.
Back in the present, after Gus exits, Skimbleshanks is sleeping in the corner ('Skimbleshanks: The Railway Cat'), a cat who is unofficially in charge of the night train to Glasgow. He is very clever and very important because if he is gone "the train can't start".
With a third crash and an evil laugh, the "most wanted" cat, Macavity appears. He is a "master criminal" and never is found at the scene of the crime. He is a horrifying looking cat and a "villain" of the Jellicle Tribe. Macavity shows up and captures Old Deuteronomy. As the other cats try to follow him, Demeter and Bombalurina sing what they know about Macavity, as they have had some sort of past with him ('Macavity: The Mystery Cat'). When they are finished, Macavity returns disguised as Old Deuteronomy. When revealed by Demeter, he fights with Munkustrap.
The Rum Tum Tugger suggests that the cats find Mr. Mistoffelees ('Magical Mr. Mistoffelees'). Mr. Mistoffelees is black and small and can perform many feats of magic that no other cat can do. The magical cat succeeds in bringing back Old Deuteronomy. He is praised by all the cats. The Jellicle choice can now be made.
Old Deuteronomy sits down and Grizabella appears for the final time. Old Deuteronomy allows her to have a chance to address the cats. Her faded appearance and lonely disposition have little effect on her song ('Memory'). The appeal succeeds and she is chosen to be the one ('Journey to the Heaviside Layer'). A large tyre rises up with Old Deuteronomy and Grizabella. Once at the top Grizabella finishes the journey herself. Old Deuteronomy gives his closing speech to the human audience ('The Ad-dressing of Cats') and the show comes to a close.
home
|
|
