#also Munk my beloved

[chopshajen]

This redraw meme is going around and I did it with blorbos from my (live stage performance) shows

[jennanydots]

South Korea, 2008.

sent these to my friends side by side and only later realised they literally line up

[millenari]

watching this video again it's extremely funny how Macavity just drags Munk off and the others don't even blink

[afairytalestray]

OK so on Saturday I got to go to Milan to see the Cats Il Sistina tour and HOLY GOD IT WAS AWESOME. I'm glad I studied the character designs in advance because a lot of the costumes are really different. I'm not typically a huge fan of nonreplicas but Il Sistina may well change that!

I've compiled my thoughts on the show here! Nb, I do not speak Italian so I'm not sure how close to the original lyrics the translation is 😅

There were no green goggles, but the Cats did come in through the audience. I had an aisle seat and Cassandra walked right past me! She was right there and so beautiful omg.

I've gotta get in right at the start that Simone Ragozzino is my new all-time favourite Mungojerrie. The most ever! A little guy. He got most of the acrobatics that Tumblebrutus usually does - apparently Simone used to be an acrobat/gymnast so that makes sense. He and Rumpleteazer were sufficiently chaotic but also clearly valued and beloved members of the tribe. Idk man Simone just got it. Tumble-jerrie ftw. 

The cathedral from "round the cathedral" was changed to a Colosseum reference which I loved 😍

I'm obsessed with Demeter’s makeup from this tour actually. I'm personally not the biggest fan of cryptid-style makeup and looks in Cats in general, but I feel like Deme was balancing just on the edge and it really worked and I loved it. Maybe it was Viviana Salvo's acting as well - she was fabulous at toeing that line between stunning and unnerving!

Tugger and Munkustrap were super close! Munk was less annoyed by Tugger’s antics than normal and they did this thing at one point where Tugger was holding onto Munk who leant fully backwards off the edge of the stage - it was like a trust exercise and I was a fan. Their rendition of Old Deuteronomy was lovely and their voices worked so good together! Tugger was definitely Munkustrap’s second in command of the tribe. I wish Tugger was a bit more Tugger in appearance, he seemed very yellow with not a lot of detail on his costume, but the personality was hundo p present and accounted for. He did the "bite is worse than your bark" line in Jellicle Songs and legit barked at the end.

Jennyanydots was fabulous! Instead of a big coat she literally wore a giant ball of wool, and one of the props was giant knitting needles and the start of what might have been a giant scarf - it took 6 of the Cats to carry it. It actually worked super well for Milan, which is known for fashion and fabrics - there's even a giant sewing needle sculpture outside Cadorna Station! It was probably a happy coincidence but I enjoyed it!

Victoria's role was changed quite a bit, her solo was totally different and the pas de deux was gone. There also kinda just... wasn't the big small first touch Vic and Grizabella moment, which I was sad about, but if Griz's big moment wasn't "TOUCH MEEEEEE" in the translation, I'm not so bothered by it. I wish Vic had a bit bigger of a role because I love her, but she was killing it whenever she was on stage.

We are all stan pink Jemima, she had such a lovely voice too. Her and Alonzo were playing with a tennis ball during the interval and it was adorable.

My beloved Coricopat and Tantomile were lying in the Mouth of Truth prop after Moments of Happiness; they had their usual role of translating Old Doots through Jemima so I thought their placement here was deliberate! They weren't always fully in sync which I kinda liked, it was like they were allowed to be their own characters rather than just "the twins". I definitely got the impression that Tantomile was the older sister which hella backs up my hcs about her!

Gus was absolutely WILD. He comes in after Jellylorum has done her whole first part of the song in this raggedy old tradiotional Sherlock Holmes-style beige plaid coat instead of being there but kinda out of it the whole time. At first he wasnt keen on replaying any of his roles, but then all the others were like please please please and he relented. I think they were calling him (or his role) Romero? Idk if that's an Italian reference I just don't get? They did Pekes and Pollicles (one of the above had been changed to chihuahuas!) and then the bold Rumpus/Romero appeared... in a red satin bath robe and holding a sabre??? I need to look up this reference! Dude didn't just intimidate the pollicles, he straight up cut a couple of them down with his sword! Grandpa woke up and chose violence 😂

There was no trash train in Skimbleshanks 😭😭 there were giant glowstick things that changed colours though. Skimble and Bustopher were played by the same actor which is a combo I haven't seen before. Skimble was definitely still everyone's favourite train dad, all the characters were totally hyped for his song. HE DID TAP LIKE IN 2019. It was really cool how they did it, all the music stopped and he started a call and response tap dance with some of the other characters. The background showed an animated video of going through a train tunnel, like from the perspective of a train driver! The tap was gradually speeding up and became the sound effects of a train setting off and moving through the tunnel. I'm not explaining this super well but it was SO cool.

The Macavity Fight was quite different. There wasn't him disguised as Old Deuteronomy and then unmasked. What happened was he showed up and caused some shenanigans and then disappeared. There were about 4 of him around, so it looked like he was teleporting around the stage and audience! Bombalurina and Demeter performed his song which was absolutely fantastic (seriously how do these actresses actually manage to dance like that and sing at the same time?? Goddesses), after that he showed up again and the full cast was involved in the fight. Munkustrap still got the good choreography, but the whole tribe was involved trying to protect Old Deuteronomy. Tugger was definitely a protector in this production, he was very involved. Jerrie got KO'd a good few times, and Macavity absolutely destroyed poor Jenny! It felt like all of them were trying to protect their family and I really liked that. Despite that, Macavity was still able to win and successfully kidnap Old Doots!

"Mungojerrie, RUMPLETEAZER, Griddlebone" they let my girl do crime again!

Mistoffelees and Quaxo were besties, and Misto was REALLY enjoying Tugger's song I'm just saying. Delighted to announce Il Sistina Misto was a fruity little guy. He didn't get the terrible bore line, sad face, that went to Quaxo, but tbh idk how they translated that so it could be totally different! At one point Alonzo was holding him back at the start of Tugger’s song! We then saw a sponge-like Misto who picked up behaviours from the others around him, like he wasn't too sure of himself. This is actually one of my favourite Misto hcs so i was so chuffed to see it so clearly. He then helped Alonzo rein George (at least I think it was George!) in from going mental fanboy at Tugger. He was originally curious about Griz but then adjusted to hissing upon seeing the others. This fully went forward into his song. They did some big choreo changes. It was significantly less dance-heavy than traditional Misto performances and had a stronger focus on him being magic. There was a levitating box that they spent a lot of time with - Magician's Assistant Cass got in, but then she didn't disappear? She just popped back out again after the box had been rotated a few times. Some of the Kittens were waving their hands under the box to prove there was nothing holding it up and looking amazed which was adorable though. There was also a bit where Misto put some cards into a hat, the hat got passed down a line of Cats and then at the end they just sort of flew out? Like idk maybe they changed the lyrics where they're describing different magic tricks and it all makes sense! I THOUGHT THE CONJURING TURNS WERE GONE, but they were just moved to the very end of the song and cut down quite a bit.

Ok BUT LISTEN, à la 2019, the poor boy tried and failed twice to bring back Old Deuteronomy and then just sort of flopped in the corner all defeated but then BOYFRIEND TUGGER HELD HIS HANDS AND GOT RIGHT UP CLOSE AND WAS LIKE I BELIEVE IN YOU BABE and omg for real those actors knew EXACTLY what they were doing Tuggoff nation RISE. I'm always a red-sheet-turned-cape stan but I can definitely get behind the sparkly tail coat and playing card bowtie. He also had this handkerchief that he threw up in the air and it became a magic wand. I have no idea how and it was very silly so obviously I loved it. Although I wasn't massively into the choreo changes (ballet dancer Misto 5eva), Pierpaolo Scida was a magnificent Misto and I adored him - he was so cute! The little background actions and looks he did were so in character with how he interpreted Misto! Also he was beautiful you can't change my mind.

Malika was such an intense Grizabella - 10/10. She was proud but so vulnerable. She walked right past me when she first came in and lads, she did the whole show in these massive stilettos - absolute queen. At one point it literally rained on her on stage! During her first Memory, Old Deut was really watching her, and at the end of it he approached her, but she ran off when she saw him. I thought it was a super cool character moment, like she knew she wanted to be accepted, but wasn't quite ready for it. Even after the big Memory and Old Deuteronomy declared her the Jellicle Choice, Victoria approached her, but she was still too scared to let her, and it was Jemima who finally was able to reach her and bring her in. At the end she just kinda disappeared off stage - there were no flying tyres or magic stairs in the circus tent!

During the bit after the bows some of the cats were out in the audience and Tugger scared the absolute crap out of this one woman by poking his head in between her and the person sitting next to her. Iconic. Also during the latter part of the interval the audience was allowed to come up to the edge of the stage where some of the actors were goofing about in character. This mf pretended to cough up a hairball and now I have it on video. I also got some close ups of Teazer and the beautiful Bomba!

The Italian Junkyard was fabulous! It was mostly roman landmarks like Piazza Navona and Bocca della Verità, but there was also Michelangelo's David (which I'm pretty sure is in Florence) above the orchestra! There was also a giant marble foot, an Italian-style water fountain, and a broken column. My favourite prop was the bench, it's elevated at the back left of the stage and the cast were using it like a slide to enter the stage! Also it seemed to be Misto’s preferred location to lounge.

In conclusion, I will never get over this.

[yoa-artblog]

The Shiki Cats Post TM

28.05.23 Show

I had the chance to see Cats in Nagoya last month and I still can´t believe it! I was also able to meet an internet friend who also loves the show and it was overall such a nice experience <3

Some pics are blurry but I was shaking haha, shiki was one of my most wanted to see shows, the photos I had seen were always so colorful and looked like so much fun! It did not dissapoint, tough it was very different to the 98 movie (the version I'm the most familiar with) and the past Intl. Tour (The only other version I've seen live) so I was furiously writting notes on things that stood out to me soon after the show.

• Tantomile (she looks like Cassandra) is the first cat you see on stage.

• They do the trapeze bit for jellicle songs for jellicle cats!!!!

• Munk was 😳😳😳 very good voice, super cute with the babies.

• They have both Syllabub and Jemima, Silly is the kitten, the one that helps Griz out, Jemima is a young adult cat.

• The gumbie trio were Tantomile, Jellylorum and Jemima.

• The beetles had wings they could move around as part of the choreo.

• Tugger has one yellow, spotted leg and it makes him look like he's wearing those pants with only one leg??? Very slutty, we love that for him.

• Munk sings the terrible bore line.

• Jellylorum sings the curious beast line.

• Grizabella still has the old cat design, we love to see it.

• Jerrie and Teazer don't do the cartwheels 💔💔💔💔💔

• Teazer is the cutest thing ever though, she was so fun!! I couldn't stop looking at her the whole time, she's already one of my faves but she is PERFECT in shiki.

• There was a little bit where Teazer and Tanto were cuddling behind Old Deut and Teazer kept pawing at her for attention and I melted.

• Pekes and Pollicles is still Munk's number through and thorough. The dog costumes were very cute and there were many different versions and "materials".

• The Rumpus Cat suit has muscle padding?????

• Shiki said Bombastrap rights and I owe them my life. You could see them cuddling on the bg at various points through the show.

• Pass de deux is performed by Tumblebrutus and Cassandra. (Cori and Tanto designs).

• No orgy???? They do dance in pairs but there's no """cuddle""" pile.

• Overall less horny and more playful.

• Tuxedo Mask Macavity my beloved!!!!! I think that's a very fun design for Mac asldjclsjfjskd but the threatening factor is negative, he just looks very fluffy and cute.

• Mac's fur texture and length is very similar to Old Deut's so that's nice!! Loving the family resemblance.

• They do Growltiger!!! I loved seeing the boys in their little pirate costumes 🥺💖🥺💖🥺

• They choreographed the sword fight so the clanks would match the music and it was SO COOL.

• Jelly had such a nice voice.

• SKIMBLESHANKS THE RAILWAY CAT THE CAT OF THE RAILWAY TRAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

• Skimble has a little hat and my friend was telling me they change it for every city to match the uniform of the train conductors in that city. HOW CUTE IS THAT!!!!! 🥺🥺🥺🥺

• The girls are the passengers while the boys are the seats during the play pretend bit asdfkgjslnf

• The fake train has a window so you can see Munk is playing the conductor 🥺🥺🥺

• They also used a teapot as the chimney and it makes teapot sounds, I just loved everything about this number okay!!!!!

• The Macavity fight is a little weird because he doesn't take Munk 1v1 but rather is everyone against Mac from the beginning.

• I really wanted to see this specific Munk fight because of... reasons, so that's a bummer 😞

• Demeter has a deeper voice than what I usually hear for her, I really liked it.

• They let toms join the Macavity number!!!!!!! I was tunnel visioning into Munk but I'm pretty sure Alonzo and Tumble were there too.

• Misto comes down the rope!!!!!!!

• He does a lot more magic tricks, including making things and other cats fly.

• You can hear thunder crackling when he manipulates light, that was a very cool detail.

• Misto and Tugger have a lot of shared choreography, they do several different BFF handshakes 🥺

• Victoria is Misto's assistant for the big trick.

• Sillabub is the one who touches Grizabella first.

• UFO Griz

• They did this very cute thing after final bows where they kept coming to the stage as long as people were still clapping. They went and came back to the stage again at least 7 times until the theater turned up the lights 😹

[jelliclekay]

Cats 3/8/2023

Went to see the tour in Charleston last night! I was really happy for there to be another stop on this tour leg close to me. I had an absolutely amazing time and my negative experiences were not the fault of the cast at all but rather the venue itself.

I went in cosplay, which is always such a fun experience. Got a lot of people complimenting my costume, a few people who wanted pictures with me and many who thought I was in the show 

Here was the cast board for that night.

(Not listed was Elana from the last leg of the tour who was on for Tantomile!)

I was INCREDIBLY lucky to see Rachael on as Grizabella. Tayler Harris is phenomenal of course, but she has been Griz for every show I’ve seen so far and I was so excited to see a different performer for her. Many of my thoughts on the show are going to be about her because I was concentrating so hard on her and her performance.

Also, the venue did NOT have physical Playbills which was unfortunate. The venue itself had some tech problems going on that but I am probably the only one in the audience who even noticed.

On to my thoughts!

Act 1

During the “feline, fearless, faithful and true” line, Jerrie put his arm around Teazer and the two shared a cute little look. So cute.

When the boot dropped, the audience reacted so strongly, more so than I’ve ever heard. Like everyone either laughed or gasped, I even heard the woman behind me go “Oh that scared the shit out of me.” 

Michelle Jennyanydots my beloved. She always changes up the delivery of her lines which I really really like. 

LUKE TUGGER. I was both excited and a bit sad to not see Hank. I love Hank’s Tugger, but was excited to see a Tugger cover go on. Luke was great, he actually MEOWED which I appreciated. Luke is also so huge, he towers over practically everyone so he gives “Big Little Brother” energy to Kade’s Munk. Him and Erica had great chemistry together too, which for me is really important.

When Demeter takes a photo of Tugger at the end of his song, he posed with Jenny and Jelly like it was a family portrait. It was SO CUTE, Tugger and his moms <3

Rachael Griz. Oh man, where do I start. I think the biggest difference between her Griz performance and Tayler’s is the way they conduct themselves. Tayler Griz still holds her head up high, still trying to hold on to a sense of pride while also asking for forgiveness. Rachael Griz however is a lot more... pitiful, more desperate to be accepted. Her facial expressions are more sad, her posture is more slumped and she is more visibly effected when the younger cats mess with her and when Munk hisses at her. 

I just love the part where Alonzo and Munk dance with Bustopher when he comes out on stage. It makes me smile every time.

Yuka Victoria and Samuel Plato are still the most in love. Yuka Victoria just is non-stop smiling the entire show, it’s so cute to see.

Will I ever shut up about Rachael? No. Her version of the first part of Memory was incredible.

Act 2

I’m 12/12 now for seeing John Anker Bow as Gus but he’s fantastic every time so it’s alright. I’m always worried about the audience during Gus’s part, but thankfully this audience loved him. He got more applause than I think I’ve ever seen Gus get both during his song and Pekes. Also Allyson really nailed that high note right at the end of Rumpus Cat.

At the “At a Shakespeare performance” Teazer dramatically pretended to fall into Jerrie’s arms. That was adorable. 

Just obsessed with Erica Bombalurina, truly. The way she moves and acts on stage is insane. And her voice is phenomenal, truly she is the most Bombalurina ever. The way her and Nora perform Macavity really falls in line with my own headcanons for the two, both in their own relationships with Macavity and their relationship with each other. Erica Bombalurina really tries to play up just how much she knows about Macavity, in a “yeah, that’s right, I’ve been with him too” in her voice and mannerisms when she’s singing her parts of the song. And during Bombalurina’s solo, Demeter at one point angrily crawled towards her with a face that read “Are you seriously doing this to me right now?” Erica really understands the assignment with her portrayal of Bombalurina and I will never shut up about her.

During the Mac fight, Tugger quickly checks on Bombalurina to make sure she’s okay, and my Tuggerlurina heart was so Happy. Obviously I love every single Tuggerlurina moment, and thankfully there are plenty in the revival but ugh. This really got me.

Then some tech issues happened. Right after Mac shuts the lights off, the head lamp that they swing around and shine out into the audience wasn’t working. I was sitting there expecting it but it never happened. The music that plays during this moment went on for an awkwardly long time until finally a spot light very quickly fumbled on stage so the cast could do the “Macavity’s not there.” It was so bizarre and even my friend who was seeing Cats for the first time thought it seemed strange.

RACHAEL’S VERSION OF MEMORY WAS INCREDIBLE. I knew it was going to be, but UGH she was fantastic. Really expressed just how much pain Griz is in and how desperate she is to be forgiven while still giving one of the best vocal performances I’ve ever heard. I’m so happy to have seen her perform. 

Also got to talk to so many of the cast members after the show, and many of them recognized me from a few months ago which I wasn’t expecting! I didn’t have a playbill for them to sign, so I improved and had them sign my tote bag instead.

That’s about it that I can remember off the top of my head. It was a great night and I’m so glad I made the trip to go see it. 

[flame-x]

ohh 🧵 ✍️ for the ask game?

🧵 What's your favorite production and why?

Hmm, probably 1998? I'll be honest, I haven't watched many other productions fully besides a few Oasises and the bway revival, but my favourite song from a different production is Dr. Diavolo from the 2007 Dutch tour (i have talked about this A Lot.)

As to why, 1998 is how I first got into Cats, I grew up watching it, it holds a Lot of precious memories for me. Also? It's fantastic. Lighting, actors, choreo, makeup, costuming, the singing. Fabulous. I even love how Pounce teleports all over the place all the time, vex me as it may at the beginning of the Jellicle Ball - along with all the other mistakes that make it what it is. It is imperfect and perfect and it is very dear to me.

✍️ If you had total creative control over a production of Cats, what would you change and why?

I would change it all back to the Gillian Lynne choreo (sorry bway revival), have Etcetera, Electra and George as permanent ensemble characters, use all London designs (sorry broadway), bring back all the bright colours, change the lyrics of pekes and pollicles and give it back to Munk (why does gus have it?), change all the racist parts of growltiger and give that to gus instead (with the ballad instead of the aria) hmmmm what else, jellicle sharps and jellicle flat verse in jsfjc my beloved, tap-off back in the gumbie cat, put the extra verse back in in m&r (but keep it the modern speed version, much as i love the jazz one) and speaking of rumple, mention her in macavity again!!!!!!! she deserves to be known a criminal as much as her brother, #girlpower

keep bustopher as a permanent ensemble character (i'm pretty sure il sistina has this?), along with gus, and have asparagus also existing. make it more obvious that the plato actor also plays macavity. i'm not sure how. but yeah. and ears like the 2022 int tour cass ears for cass and the twins. and no spiky deme or jemima wigs.

also mungotoria pas de deux :D

edit: also bring back the shadowdance

[uppastthejelliclemoon]

Girl help I have recently been CONSUMED by a Percy Jackson Cats au.

Cass and Munk are children of Athena, because they're both smart but can also kick your ass. I'm picturing Munk as sort of a head-camper figure? Not sure if that's a thing but it is now!

Jerrie and Teazer are children of Hermes, because OBVIOUSLY who else but the trickster god??

Alonzo and Mac are sons of Ares, and Plato a son of Hephaestus - idk why, I'm just vibing with it.

Demeter, daughter of Demeter because I can't resist that. She rolls her eyes so hard at her dad for it. Bomba is a daughter of Aphrodite, and also a better warrior than all the Ares kids. Also a champion matchmaker.

Tugger is a son of Apollo and has inherited every single bit of the showman and musician. I also like Cori and Tanto as children of Apollo, and with Cori taking on the oracle role.

Misto is a son of Hekate and Victoria is a daughter of Nike. They're besties because minor gods solidarity 💪

There's no plot at the moment but hhnngggghhhh I had to share this with someone before I exploded.

NO BC SAME IT’S ALL I THINK ABOUT

Obsessed with both of us making Munk a son of Athena and Tugger a son of Apollo, we truly share a single braincell lmao but it makes SO much sense!!

And yes, head campers are 100% a thing!! Munkustrap would absolutely be the head of the Athena cabin!!!

Keeping Griz as Tugger’s mom and Deut as Munk’s mom, I also love the idea of Apollo and Athena guiding their children and their mortal parents towards each other!! They want their family to be happy!!

And if we want to bring Roman gods into it with specifics, I’d see Alonzo as a son of Mars, and Mac as a son of Ares. Alonzo is someone I see as having a personality closer to Frank Zhang in the Heroes of Olympus series!!

Plato as a son of Hephaestus my beloved… so good… thinking about him 😌

MINOR GODS SUPREMACY FOR MISTO AND VIC BLESS and if we want to keep them related imagine Bustopher landing TWO different goddesses he’s iconic

[namethat-i-oughttohavetoldyou]

Are you still taking fic Asks? 👀

(I'll start with one fic and try and restrain myself from asking questions for ALL of them XD)

For Eel!

1: What inspired you to write the fic this way?

2: What scene did you first put down?

6: What makes this fic special or different from all your other fics?

10: Why did you choose this pairing for this particular story?

3: What’s your favorite line of narration?

Always!!! (Seriously, you can ask me about my stuff at any time, because the chance that I have an unreasonable amount of background lore is incredibly high XD) Eel! my beloved <3

1: What inspired you to write the fic this way? -> Nicky Wuchinger's Tugger and Robert Marx' Munkustrap, 100%. There's not even a full boot of them, only a bit of Gumbie Cat and Old Deuteronomy, but the dynamic between them in this like 2 minutes of Old Deut grabbed me by my shirt collar and shook me like a can of hairspray. They felt a lot more like equals to me than many Tuggers and Munks from other productions, because Nicky seems like a rather mature Tugger to me. They definitely influenced me enough that I completely rewrote all my headcanons for the both of them as a pair. (The power they have...) Anyhow, I watched that video of them more often than I'll ever admit, threw out the 'Tugger is younger than Munk and acts like it' headcanon and started to write Eel!, which brings us to the next question.

2: What scene did you first put down? -> The first scene that I wrote was Tugger kneading Munk like a cat shaped pizza dough, the little piece of dialogue about gravity and Tugger calling Munk a puffer fish. You couldn't pry the chubby Munk headcanon from my cold dead hands even if you tried, it just feels correct to me ♥ Honestly, inserting the kittens and the moray into it was mostly for transition reasons, and also because I wanted to write about the kittens as a group more because it's fun.

6: What makes this fic special or different from all your other fics? -> Its content, most likely! The 'Deut bros' hc is basically fandom-canon at this point, (for shame!) and "Eel!" kind of marks the moment I decided to care about fanon even less than I already did and started to unapologetically make posts for this pairing, even though it probably alienated a few people and also got me being called an incest shipper one or two times (even though I made the effort to mention not one, not two, but three times that I didn't consider them to be siblings, as if you couldn't tell that from the story itself. Eyeroll emoji. Sometimes it's good to be able to, yknow, read before interacting with fanfiction for a fandom with very dubious canon).

10: Why did you choose this pairing for this particular story? -> Our dear mutual friend Void was trucking along, writing pages and pages of breathtaking fic, and I felt a little like a sham for being so enthusiastic for Tuggerstrap without writing anything for it myself. That had to change! Thus, I got extremely sappy, wrote the scene I mentioned in question 2 and the rest is history. :]

3: What’s your favorite line of narration? -> [A paragraph once again, because why not.] "Jemima’s head popped out under Munkustrap’s chin, pointing at the book that lay sprawled on its back a few metres away. “It’s a monster book.” “I see,” Munkustrap responded, exchanging a look with Tugger. Tugger nodded, rubbed against George one more time and then stood up, sauntering over to the book. He pulled a paw back and lashed out, slapping the book until the kittens were certain the monsters inside had nothing left to give, and then he sat on it. “Aha,” Tugger said, smugly grooming his paw. “Nothing to be feared now.”" [I just loved the idea of Tugger enacting some typical cat violence of slapping the shit out of something they don't like to reassure the kittens. It feels like something he would do.]

Thank you so much for the questions! ♥♥♥♥

[rust-painted-fingers]

really starting to figure out that a lot of my favorite fandoms are where the characters feel like a real family?

maybe not in the tradition role of parent, sister, grandpa, etc. but more so in the togetherness

like, for example, world trigger is a beloved of mine because everyone just, knows each other. I mean this literally, it feels like an actual organization that is united under the same goal to protect humanity from danger. They might not all be friends but they're all aware of the other members.

they're aware of all the characters that get named at least fjdklfjsl . One good example is Natsume I think. She's a newcomer, but when chika and her are in the practice ranges they get to know other higher level snipers. And, spoilers, she gets invited to join a B rank squad.

this might feel very duh, one of the main characters needs a way to find out who these people are, but like!!!! I don't care, Natsume is technically in best friend role, there wasn't technically a reason for her to get invited or whatever. Or maybe I'm not watching enough decent media but my point is, natsume is friends with chika, chika and her get introduced to high level snipers, just like them, and after lots of hard work and plot, natsume gets a level up.

and this is just for one character, a side character at that. All our main boys meet a shitton of people, and it all feels very together, like they're actually working close enough that you just have to remember them. kinda like when you eventually know all of your classmates when you were in school because of how much time spent together, but leveled up by a hundred.

the other media I am currently going feral over is cats, and by god lemme tell you. this musical may not have an i want song, but we get all their characterization from their actions, and there's so many...

the most obvious one is how almost none of the cats actually sing their own song. they have some verses but most of the time the rest of the tribe is singing it. and this in itself gives information about the cats who do sing their own song, ex tugger and rumpleteazer and mungojerrie. and even tugger's song is still filled by the accompaniment of the other cats! I'm pretty sure rumple and mungo's are the only song sung solely by them. Mungo and rumple are obviously sneaky, little shit cats who get up to mischief and general nuisances. they sing about their triumphant schemes and are very proud of it.

tugger is technically singing about how he also is a little shit, but less trickster like and more indecisive in anything and causing trouble bc of it. but you wouldn't even realize it because the way the song is performed is vital for him because he sings it very provocatively. he's very much loved and wanted and he loves that shit.

and this general format follows, they sing a song but what you learn of them is less in the lyrics but the performance, and they all care for each other. they, mostly, follow munks lead and help out the other cats in their song

and then some productions have stellar character choices that make me want to weep with some interactions.

i just... these fuckers grabbed me by the throat and have yet to let go. it's a good thing a i'm all for it

[peterpandiedtoday]

do i even have to preface this with gxd is real because. obviously. been a liiiiittle bit miffed they kept cutting carbucketty instead of bill bailey when obviously bill boy would be the logical choice, my boy c has soo many solo bitties whereas biboop just tumbles around. etc. and today they cut him instead!! telepathic abilities here we go

[the-cat-at-the-theatre-door]

[jennanydots]

retaliates against the amount of people making all the jellicles maine coons by making them all various hairless breeds instead

[millenari]

you know i was just looking at this gif again and thinking about how i love Height Difference™ w/ Plato and Vicky on the right

Victoria's stretched all the way up on her tippy toes but Plato still kind of has to bend his elbows a little to keep their hands level! And you can see on the far left that Demeter and Munk are having the same issue, also cute there.

But then you have Tugger and Bomba in the middle and Tugger is very clearly wearing heels & they're still having zero problems whatsoever lmao. Tall Bomba my beloved.

[skimblyshanks]

@thunderwhenhepurrs made a post about CATS makeup and favorite trends so I wanted to do the same. I'm making the decision to skirt around the iconic Dawson/London tradition looks for the most part, mainly bc a lot of my opinions on those are influenced by the specific actors (aka: Skimble would just be Marat and Hayden bc I am in love with them fjrjgdj. Kevin Alvey too)

Anyway yeah gonna post makeup looks I love.

Demeter and Skimble are both characters where I just. Adore the US and Australaisa pre revival designs. So much. They're v different vibes but both just pull me in.

Munk is where the exceptions abt London Productions start coming in 😂 I can't help it. As much as I vocally dislike Mulket!strap, the 90s was a goddamn era for Munk across productions. Also a bonus from US Tour V

Macavity! I'm a simple skimbly. I don't have much to say. This is v much skirting London and technically has a UK tour picture but shhh. I like me subtle fang carving from the makeup, and I really like the designs that have weird little visible asymmetrical color split on his forehead.

As I've mentioned in a past post, Grizabella as a younger character is not a creation of the 2010s. Indeed, Griz as explicitly old seems to be from London in the late 90s, meaning other productions didn't necessarily follow that. What I think distinctions classic "young" grizabellas from current ones, tho, is that...she isn't sexy young? She's still come on hard times, her glamor has still faded; whether she's read by the audience as old or young doesn't come primarily from the makeup and costume, bc what those communicate more than her sexiness are her status as a pariah. Sidenote, I think Hamburg might be my absolute favorite of Classic grizzes, bc look at those wigs!!! Permy/frizzy hair and a clear cat ear shape???? On MY Grizabella????

Misto is...misto. obviously there's a beautiful simplicity in iconic look, it's iconic for a reason, I just. Also really like ones that play with it. Whether that be by giving him a perma-cockee eyebrow like the US tradition, playing with use of skin tone, or by bringing in black stripes. Special shoutout to the US Revival for not looking at black actors and saying "well you have two choices. Flat white all across your face, or ashiness." It's kind of bare minimum but like fjdjfjdej. Misto is Misto :)

Classic US Tumble my Beloved...

That is all there is to say on that

It seems like Tour V Jenny managed to just. Become her own flame point liking motherfucker and I adore her like. No other iteration really matches her and I love her so so so much

Cori and tanto are by and large a package deal per their whole like. Conceit, ig. Also I've been making the conscious choice to not use shiki just because that's a whole other can of worms abt my love fjdjgndn but I can't leave out shiki tumblr in this bc he's just. So. PRETTY. But yeah. Cori and Tanto are always characters whose London designs I've always kinda. Not preferred. I like the vibes on other designs, yanno.

[jelliclekay]

Top 5 actors across any production?

My answers are gonna be pretty predictable and from productions I've either seen or at least heard audio boots from SO

1. John Partridge

Wow who could have predicted this

But for real, Partridge's portrayal of Tugger is and always will be my favorite. He embodies everything I love about Tugger perfectly and if it weren't for him, I probably wouldn't love Tugger as much as I do. I could go on forever about Partridge Tugger but I'll spare you all from from 5 page essay I could write on him ♡

2. Suzie Melloy

I'll forever be bitter I'll never get to see this queen live. I'm not sure what it is about Suzie, but her Bombalurina is my absolute favorite (right next to Rosemarie and Chelsea.) Definitely recommend listening to her singing Macavity and Grizabella. She brings a slight sweetness to Bombie that I love (that I'm sure others would probably be put off by but I digress.) She also has fun headcanons for Bombalurina and I adore when actors have their own hcs for their characters. Also she's hot oops

3. Zach Bravo

I would be remiss if I didn't mention Mr. Bravo here. While Zugger isn't my favorite Tugger portrayal, Zach holds a special place in my heart because he's the cast member I've interacted with the most. When I met him at the stage door in Roanoke, he excitedly said "we get to meet finally!" to me and it's a moment I will never forget. And while Zugger isn't my favorite Tugger, his Tugger is so fun and gives off such annoying little brother vibes that I adore. And as a bi person myself, it meant so much to be to see Tugger being played openly queer by an openly bi person. Anyways, I love Zach and I miss him a lot.

4. Alexander Auler

AULERSTRAP MY BELOVED. My favorite Munkustrap by far and I'm so sad I will never get a chance to see him live. I know the Cats fandom loves Mr. Auler, but it's hard not to. He looks fantastic in the Munk makeup first off, and I love the instagram video of him being just the sassiest Munk in the world. I adore him.

5. Allison Lian

I'm currently going through a bit of a Rump obsession, and I 100% blame Allison for that. When I first saw Cats in January, I saw Kelly and while I adore her Rump, there is something about Allison that has me hooked. She has such good Rumple energy. The way she does her "Rumpleteazers" are so cheeky and cute, and are the closest I've seen so far to the Rump I have pictured in my head. Also she's so adorable I have the biggest crush on her.