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stillwaitingformymunkustrap · 5 years

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Okay so the CATS tour wow that happened okay here we go.

I saw it at 8 o’clock on Saturday and 2 o’clock on Sunday. First of all, a few general notes, other than everything happens for a reason and the reason I had to wait 21 goddamn years to see this show is so this could be the one. First, the orchestra sounded a-ma-zing. Second, the lighting was breathtaking. Plain and simple. Kudos to the designers. Third, anyone else notice that the tempo has been getting slower throughout the years? Like, if you compare the OLC to the OBC to the movie to the 2016 Broadway revival. I was dreading that a little bit, so I was really happy when this cast stayed on top or even a little ahead of the beat. It was quick and never dragged. Fourth, the vocals were hella tight. It struck me during the choral part of Jellicle Songs how much they sounded like a recording. Fucking superb you funky little Jellicles.

Victoria (Caitlin Bond) was absolutely beautiful and spectacular. She was actually the first cat I saw, since she came up into the balcony during the overture. I may have cried. It’s all good.

Coricopat (PJ DiGaetano) and Tantomile (Laura Katherine Kaufman) were also particularly great. They stood out.

Jennyanydots (Emily Jeanne Phillips) was spectacular. Her shoes were extra sparkly, which was awesome during the tap dance because they drew a lot of attention. Hers is not one of my favorite songs historically, but I seriously wish it had been longer.

I was...worried, to say the least, about The Rum Tum Tugger. McGee Maddox is a ballet dancer who does, you know, fancy ballet, and I wasn’t sure how that would translate to Tugger.

Jennyanydots ends.

He struts out.

Jaw on the floor. I am so pleased. No one’s ever gonna be John Partridge, but I’ll be damned if he’s not the closet thing I’ve ever seen. You can tell he did his homework and used it to make his own Tugger, and his Tugger is hella fun to watch. A+.

Y’all, I love the modern Bustopher choreo with all the other cats running around serving him food (Bustopher = Timothy Gulan). It’s so much more active and makes it way more fun to watch.

During the first Macavity scare, after Demeter shouted, “Macavity!” everyone started whispering, “Macavity,” “Macavity,” “Macavity,” in a ripple from stage right to stage left. Then, after they fled and only Munkustrap was left onstage, he got this pissed off look on his face and spat, “Macavity,” before leaving. The whole thing was badass.

Now, Munkustrap (Dan Hoy) has an unbelievable voice. Like damn. Like I would willingly let him murder me if he’d sing to me while he did it (something I have previously only said about Norm Lewis, so). He seemed like less of a leader and more of a protector, but he was fierce. Like when Tumblebrutus scratched Griz, he got in between them and hissed (and they hissed loud in this production), and I thought he was gonna throw down. It was seriously badass. Nothing but love and respect for my Jellicle protector. I’m also happy to report that Munkustrap did, in fact, spend most of the production standing with his feet at least three feet apart.

Speaking of Tumblebrutus (Devin Neilson), my dude my man can freaking tumble. I saw this with my mom, who used to coach gymnastics, and she went off on this in the car on the way home; Olympic gymnasts tumble on a spring floor, and sure, Tumblebrutus’ choreo isn’t as hard as what Olympic gymnasts do, but it’s on a stage, so all that height is just Devin Neilson being a badass (are y’all counting how many times I call something badass in this review? Because I’m not).

On Saturday, Tony D’Alelio got injured at the matinee, so they subbed Anthony Michael Zas (normally Pouncival) in for Mungojerrie. He and Rumpelteazer (Rose Iannaccone) were a little out of sync, understandably, but still totally adorbs. Anthony Michael Zas’ Mungojerrie pose was crossing his arms in a cheeky sort of dudebro pose, which was great, and Rose Iannaccone’s voice was so pretty I could combust. Tony D’Alelio was back in for the Sunday matinee, and let me just tell you, his Mungojerrie is a blessing to this Earth from the Everlasting Cat. That is all.

Old Deuteronomy (Brandon Michael Nase) is startlingly tenor compared to most Deuts, but hey, the dude’s got a great voice. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

During the second Macavity scare, right before the Song of the Jellicles, they recited a bit of Macavity in a creepy chant, Naming of Cats style.

The Song of the Jellicles and the Jellicle Ball were a blast, as always. The lights during the ball were crazy, and holy crap the leap Misto (Tion Gaston) did when it got loud and fast right after the cuddle pole asdfghjkl.

After the Jellicle Ball, Keri René Fuller’s Grizabella was way less despondent and way more frustrated with her inability to do the dance. It was heartbreaking and immediately got everyone on her side. I’ll save the discussion of her voice for the Memory Reprise...

After intermission, you’d better be in your seat and ready. Old Deut’s already out there. They’re starting as soon as the lights go down.

Sillabub (Ahren Victory) not only has the loveliest voice, but just looks like she’s having the time of her life for the whole show.

Jellylorum (Kaitlyn Davidson) has one of those voices that is just super pleasant to listen to, plain and simple. There were lots of cute moments during Gus, like Victoria getting excited at the mention of her name, and Gus (Timothy Gulan) directing “They think they are smart just to jump through a hoop” at a very offended Mungojerrie. His “blood curdling noises” involved growling at Sillabub, then bopping her head with a little, “Meow.” There were a lot more, but seriously just go see it if it comes near you.

The Pekes and the Pollicles was...just...a blast. Period. Full stop. I don’t really have anything else to say about it other than, “What an absolute banger.”

The transition into Skimbleshanks was really sudden and kind of jarring. The nice thing about Skimbleshanks is that it hasn’t changed much. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right? Ethan Saviet totally killed it. What more can you want? Tugger spent the song jamming on top of the washing machine, and when they built the train, Misto sat right in front with the light, and they waved at each other. Saturday night, Misto blew Tugger a kiss. I’m still dead and ghostwriting this from my grave.

Okay, now, Macavity’s laugh, okay? They had it recorded and played it from multiple places in the theatre. Macavity’s laugh in stereo is an experience everyone should get to have. Y’all know what I’m gonna say about Tyler John Logan’s Mac, right? Yep, that’s right, he’s a badass, even in the Broadway revival outfit.

Charlotte O’Dowd stood in for Bombalurina at both shows I saw, and really, you would never know she wasn’t a principle. Erin Chupinsky stood in for Demeter on Saturday night and uh...if this woman has a spine or, you know, bones of any sort, we saw no evidence of it. Liz Schmitz was back in on Sunday. Her Demeter seemed much younger and almost like a Macavity fangirl, which, you know, big mood.

I’m not a big fan of the newer fight choreo. It’s not so clear why Mac runs off in the end (Spoiler alert: It’s because he’s controlling the Jellicles with his magic, and suddenly he can’t). Up until that moment, it...really wasn’t much of a fight, tbh. Munk kinda gets his ass kicked. Alonzo fared better than anyone else. But when Macavity electrocutes himself, it is loud and you can feel it. It was awesome, in the actual sense of the word.

Tugger’s speech at the beginning of Mistoffelees reminded me a bit of the announcer vocals in the Ballroom Blitz. I appreciated the circusy, hype-man vibe. And Mistoffelees. Oh, Mr. Mistoffelees. He’s the cutest thing ever. I mean smile that could melt the sun. “Phenomenal dancer” doesn’t even begin to cut it, but that’s all I’ve got. Hands down my favorite Mistoffelees. Yes, I said it.

Now, I shall talk about Grizabella’s voice. I got nervous before she went for the chorus after the key change, because, you know, that’s hard. She...pardon my French...fucking nailed it. The whole audience gasped. My mother cried. Holy crap.

I’ll stop there, because I feel like the ending should be experienced, not read.

tl;dr—The CATS Tour is a Heavenly blessing from the Everlasting Cat that went far above and beyond my expectations. 12/10 would recommend.

#CATS the Musical #CATS Tour

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