#the old gumbie cat is in there too

[where-does-the-heart-lie]

I love this stupid little musical 🙂‍↕️ (from the Cats (1998) Musical btw)

My fav cat is Rum Tum Tugger :D

[pinksilvace]

! PAC NYC CATS SPOILERS !

What I remember from the show, feat. some official photos

This is all going off of my note-less memories so there may be some minor inaccuracies to these recollections.

Welcoming Remarks/Overture

The crowd was welcomed by the voice of Junior LaBeija, who encouraged us to google him before shutting our phones down.

We were encouraged to make noise at any and all parts of the performance

Filming, even during bows, was strictly prohibited

This show is LOUD. I wore ear plugs the entire time, and I don't consider myself to be particularly sensitive to noise. It makes sense, considering that the audience is meant to yell and the music has to be heard over them.

The theater space itself was relatively small. All seats were good seats.

Mr. Mistoffelees (Robert "Silk" Mason) could be seen dancing through the window set pieces above the back of the stage.

Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats

(clip)

The cast began all around the theater, with spotlights illuminating them as they began to sing. They did not mount the stage until the "Mystical Divinity" portion of the song.

The crowd went WILD at the part that has had its choreography revealed already.

The Naming of Cats

The "Man over there" bit was done by Antwayn Hopper (Macavity). In general, he seemed to be having an absolute blast throughout the show.

During the parts where cats sharing the names in the poem were mentioned, spotlights illuminated them.

Munkustrap led this number and was the only one onstage for the duration of it.

The White Cat Solo

(clip)

Compared to how this is presented in replica productions, the dance moves were very fast.

I am uncertain as to whether this part was meant to characterize Victoria, or if it was just a great chance for BABY (Victoria) to show off her incredible dancing skills.

The Old Gumbie Cat

Jennyanydots (Xavier Reyes) began the number by pulling out a trophy, showing she'd won at balls in the past

During the day, it was implied (I think?) that Jennyanydots has lots of sex. Whether it's sex work, a sugar daddy situation, etc. was unclear. What I can say is that she did lots of bouncing - on other actors, on the edge of the stage, and on a chair.

At night, Jennyanydots is a very harried single Latina mother trying to keep her kids out of trouble.

Instead of Jenny competing in a category herself, Cassandra (Emma Sofia)(implied to be one of Jenny's children, either literally or metaphorically) competed while Jenny directed her choreography from the sidelines.

The Rum Tum Tugger

VERY laid back. This is definitely Jason Derulo's version of Tugger, but done so incredibly right. He was honestly a bit too effortless for how easily he won categories.

It's not shown in this photo, but he wore a gold and black striped fur coat throughout most of the show, sort of like Munkustrap's grey and black one (shown above, with Jenny)

There wasn't very much choreography in this number, save for a bit at the very end where he was facing off "Pretty Boy vs. Thug"

Grizabella the Glamour Cat

Grizabella ("Temptress" Chastity Moore) approached the side of the stage and killed the mood. Everyone kind of just avoided her. Munkustrap tried to talk her into going away, but she refused. He then tried to pay her actual cash to leave, but she stood her ground.

Sillabub (Teddy Wilson Jr.) approached her curiously and backed off at a very subtle warning from Demeter (Bebe Nicole Simpson). (I have to add on that Sillabub wore an orange t-shirt, short pink overalls, and orange converse shoes with a crown of sunflowers on their head. They were easily my favorite character.)

Grizabella showed off a trophy she had won in a previous ball and implored the interim judges to let her compete. They refused.

This Grizabella was almost frighteningly determined.

Bustopher Jones

For the performance I saw, Garnet Williams filled in for Nora Schell, with Tara Lashan Clinkscales filling in for Bombalurina.

Bustopher was referred to with they/them pronouns.

A large portion of this number was spent with Bustopher walking around the theater. When they mounted the stage, they pulled open their shirt to reveal a bustier emblazoned with the English flag.

Bustopher competed and won in the "Body" category. They continued to remain present throughout the rest of the show.

Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer

(clip)

It is specified both in the program and during the number that these two are from Victoria Grove, New Jersey

Those New Jersey accents were aggressive

"one of the goyles suddenly misses her woolworth poyles"

Honestly, I wouldn't expect anything less from them

During the Macavity scare preceding this number, Macavity dropped off some trash bags filled with clothes for Bombalurina and Demeter. Mungojerrie (Jonathan Burke) and Rumpleteazer (Dava Huesca) attempted to steal these.

During the second verse, both changed costumes behind some costume racks on either side of the stage.

They competed in the "Tag Team" category against Victoria and Tumblebrutus (Primo) and lost. They then stole the trophy, which Victoria and Tumblebrutus stole back.

Anyway I just desperately need other US productions to give them New Jersey accents

Old Deuteronomy

Munkustrap (Dudney Joseph Jr.) was the only one onstage for the first part of this

Tugger (Sydney James Harcourt) approached the side of the stage and grasped Munkustrap's arm at the "numerous progeny" line

The stage was left empty for Old Deuteronomy (André De Shields) to walk out on

Before he walked out, Sillabub threw flower petals all over it

Mr. Mistoffelees (Robert "Silk" Mason) pulled out Old Deuteronomy's chair for him

There was a VERY long pause for applause when Old Deuteronomy reached his throne at the far end of the catwalk. He turned in a very slow circle. We made eye contact.

Song of the Jellicles/The Jellicle Ball

(clip)

During the Macavity scare, Macavity strides up to Old Deuteronomy. Old Deuteronomy waves him back out of the room in a way that honestly looked like magic. (It's worth noting at this point that the Macavity in this production is a goofy role.)

Because of how the stage is set up, most parts of the dance number were done with only 2-5 actors onstage at a time. When there was a larger group, the dancing remained mostly sedentary.

No mating dance

Grizabella appeared on one of the high balconies. Sillabub waved enthusiastically at her. Everybody else just stared at her.

Many categories were competed in during this part. One of them was sort of an "anything goes" (I forget the exact name) category, in which Munkustrap came out in a golden ensemble with giant wings. Old Deuteronomy didn't like it. Munkustrap gave him sass.

Memory (part 1)

Old Deuteronomy walked out of the room along with everybody else (I THINK.) Grizabella approached the side of the stage, took off the scarf covering her hair, and draped it over one of the railings.

Grizabella caressed the stage as she sang.

Sillabub approached the other side of the stage, watched her for a bit, and departed. They returned near the end of the number with a glittery dress, which they offered to her. Grizabella ran away.

At the end of the number, Sillabub climbs onstage to grab the scarf and look out at the audience. Cut to black.

Moments of Happiness/Moonlight

This part took place entirely between Old Deuteronomy and Sillabub. Sillabub was still onstage, almost got scared away when Old Deuteronomy returned, and knelt in front of him.

As Old Deuteronomy sang about happiness through many generations, he tied the scarf around Sillabub's neck.

While all of this happened, old photos and reports about old balls were being projected on a large screen at the back of the stage. There was then a listing of old house mothers. Most of these were real. The final name listed was Grizabella's.

The rest of the cast joins in for Moonlight, stationed all around the theater. Bombalurina and Demeter were right next to me on the lower balcony. Bombalurina smiled at me.

Gus the Theater Cat

Shereen Pimentel (Jellylorum) was AMAZING.

Gus (Junior LaBeija) was only present for this number and the bows. Most of his lines were performed like spoken word poetry rather than through song.

There was no show-within-a-show piece after this number, but Gus did say the "I once played Rumpus Cat" line. At the very end was Tumblebrutus (I THINK) re-enacting a young Gus a la Grizabella in Tecklenburg 2015.

Skimbleshanks the Railway Cat

(clip)

AGGRESSIVELY a New Yorker in the same way Mungo and Rumple were from New Jersey. Queen of the subways.

Skimbleshanks' (Emma Sofia's) hair had tiger stripes!!!

Lyrics were both English and Spanish (?), especially during the "it was very pleasant" part

She lost her category against Rumpleteazer. They embraced and continued to dance together for the rest of the song.

Macavity the Mystery Cat/"The Fight"

Macavity (with a comically evil cackle and some Hanna-Barbera-style running around) dropped off some more trash bags through one of the windows in the back, which Demeter unpacked. As it turned out, those bags were filled with designer products.

"Macavity wasn't there" was a line used to refer to the fact that Macavity was supposed to be competing but didn't show up on time

Oh yeah, Demeter and Bombalurina were members of the House of Macavity

After Macavity proved to Old Deuteronomy that all of the products were genuine, they all got dressed up and competed in "Labels". The House of Macavity won.

Members of the losing team found attached tags on the products, indicating that the items were shoplifted.

As police sirens blared and blue and white lights flew around the room, Old Deuteronomy ushered Macavity to leave the venue. The police officers entered, looked around the audience, and then looked on the stage, where Old Deuteronomy stood in front of the bags of stolen goods and gave himself up as the perpetrator of the crime.

Macavity returns looking downright distraught.

Magical Mr. Mistoffelees

(clip)

It was much more believable to see everybody turning their backs on Tugger in this production than any other I've seen

Mr. Mistoffelees was referred to with he/him pronouns, so that's what I'm using here

Mr. Mistoffelees is introduced as a ballroom dancer who meets success, in part, by magic-ing his opponents into having wardrobe and performance malfunctions.

He also steals their stuff but I'm unsure whether that has to do with saving Old Deut or if it's just enriching for him

Old Deuteronomy was magicked into a box and stood very still when the curtain was pulled off. When Macavity approached, Old Deuteronomy jumpscared him.

After the song was done, Tugger and Mistoffelees kissed. They were not, as I have seen others say, eating each other's faces; it was very chaste and tender and lasted for just a handful of seconds. The audience went wild, of course.

Memory (part 2)

Grizabella came out in the dress Sillabub had offered earlier

Maybe I was reading too much into it but it looked to me like Old Deuteronomy and Sillabub conspired together to make her reappearance happen

This song was sung in a lower key than usual to better suit Temptress' voice

She looked so uncertain the whole time

Journey to the Heaviside Layer

A big staircase hinged down to the stage, just like in replica productions

Grizabella left through a door at the top of the stairs. Through it, the sounds of New York City could be heard.

The Ad-dressing of Cats

This song makes WAY MORE SENSE in this production in OG Cats, in my opinion. There, it sometimes feels like a bit of a slog. Here, it reinforced the core message of the show about accepting people as they are. To me, the context made it much more powerful.

These last few numbers were loud even through my ear plugs and I don't know why.

The ensemble (Frank Viveros and Shelby Griswold) brought the cast flutes of champagne

Bows

Munkustrap announced each member of the cast as they did individual dances down the stage. This was one of the only songs unrelated to Cats music.

Tugger did a striptease.

After all of the actors, the conductor came out vogueing down the stage.

Afterward, the cast began singing the "practical cats, dramatical cats" portion of Jellicle Songs. I sang enthusiastically along, catching Bustopher's eye. They blew me a kiss.

Other thoughts

Electra (Kendall Grayson Stroud) EASILY had my favorite costume: a holographic top and little black skirt with a huge ruffled rainbow coat over it

Victoria's costume changes made her much less noticeable than usual, especially as she mostly served as a member of the ensemble (I don't think anything in particular about this choice; I just found it interesting)

Despite all of the changes, this very much felt like a production of cats. Even though the actors were staged to be humans, they did nothing else to emphasize it. All of the lyrics were true to replica cats productions.

Where ballroom beats were implemented, they never distracted from the songs they were placed into. They actually enhanced the songs very nicely.

Almost all of the changes made to the original story make sense in the context of this production. I.e., Alonzo's absence makes sense because his role is no longer necessitated. Same with Coricopat and Tantomile.

I am in LOVE with this Sillabub. I really cannot emphasize that enough. They had so much youthful whimsy and KILLED those high notes. They should have been frolicking but instead they were at the club smh

Understated Tugger was an interesting look, and I think it worked well, considering that this Mistoffelees was definitely the most eye-catching member of the cast.

It was actually really cool to see a production where Macavity is accepted as one of the tribe. I fully believe that Mungojerrie learned a few pointers from this one. Again, I have to emphasize that it looked like Antwayn Hopper had the time of his life in this role.

Speaking of, there may have been some Deut bros (Tugger+Munkustrap+Macavity) staging, but I don't remember clearly enough to say for sure.

Most of the transfer of the story made sense... except for the stuff surrounding Grizabella. I've seen the directors talk about ageism in the ballroom community, but with how much emphasis this production put on respect for elders via Old Deuteronomy and Gus and the lack of general contempt from the cast, I honestly don't know why she would have been outcast to begin with. I also have no idea why she ran away from Sillabub.

I kind of wish there had been more extreme makeup, but most of the cast switched between their characters and ensemble roles frequently, so it makes sense. It didn't make the show any worse.

Overall, this was an incredible production that deserves the praise it is given. Yes, I think a number of Cats fans are casting too much judgement on the creative decisions. Yes, I think too many reporters have dunked on the original Cats staging more than is warranted in order to prop this production up. Regardless of those two factors, it was clear that the cast and creative team had a real love for both Cats and ballroom, and I think they married the two concepts beautifully.

[emimii]

Share your mistoffelees brainrot?? ( ´ ▽ ` )

okay so sorry this took a while to answer anon had to let my thoughts simmer to make sense lol

first things first he has autism cause iii have autism. hes my fave so he gets to be projected onto (but tbf its already a semi-common hc i think)

like from the autism headcanon he tends to go non-verbal often esp when hes exhausted physically or mentally so like at the end of a long day some will try n talk to him and he just stares at them

the autism is genetic btw alonzo has it too but in a different flavour, i think like a difference between their spots on the spectrum is the misto is the hyperexpressive autism and his face is reaaaaally easy to read while alonzo doesnt tend to have his emotions show on his face and also has a more monotone voice

on the topic of alonzo and family im a big monochromatic siblings enjoyer i definitely think they r so so silly, i like to imagine that victoria is hard of hearing and so they’d all know sign language liek… jsl…. jellicle sign language

i mentioned in a couple posts too bustopher is their uncle to me!!! the way in the 1998 film mistos constantly tryn like touch him n everything is so cute hes so excited to see his uncle…

bustopher is like his rich cool uncle who stayed single and unmarried his whole life so hes got a bunch savings and excess cash that he just uses to get crazy gifts for his nephews n niece

i like to imagine misto (and also other magical cats in general) have their powers somewhat connected to the moon so like during the jellicle moon they can achieve crazier feats, like the amount of magic misto does at the ball is a lot more than his average and its also done more easily

i also think mistos one of the shortest if not the shortest cat w the exception of a handful of kittens, and out of pure spite hes always tryna make up with this fact by getting good at everything else

heavy lifting? got it he could princess carry tugger. climbing? easy he can climb on anything. running around? hes fast as hell u see him one side of the room and all of a sudden hes on the other side

i also wish people made misto like somewhat competitive more solely from the one 1982 old gumbie cat performance where he has a tap off with jennyanydots bcuz i think thats fun and silly

i feel like hes an extrovert and myyyy reasoning for this is that he loves talking to people and he craaaves interaction hes just not really good at it sometimes in contrast to tugger who is an introvert to me, just an introvert w unbelievable swag and charisma so everyones around him (which is why you see him off at the side away from everyone at times hes recharging!!!)

[real-reulbbr-band]

Guys, Bustopher deserves better, so here's what I'd imagine he'd do in the rest of the show if he didn't disappear from existence after his song. (hypothetically)

(Reul totally doesn't have a white rose and mole Bustopher bias.....)

quick clarifications before we start!

Bustopher won't be in his song costume when "old Deuteronomy" happens or for the rest of the show. So, imagine him in a sort of chorus costume in this, like Jennyanydots after the Gumbie Cat number. (like the image below but with more white areas)

But because he's fancy, he would be dressed this way if it were entirely up to me, and I could choose. It would also somewhat lessen the shock factor (at least for me) associated with Grizabella wearing clothing when nearly everyone else is completely naked. Instead of dressing like a huge, stuffy coat with a giant tail, he wears suspenders in my imagination, and the look is still suitable for the remainder of the performance.

Also note that Asparagus and Gus are different characters to me, and that applies here. Sorry if that's bothersome.

ACT 1

"Mungojerrie & Rumpleteazer"

He shows back up at the end of Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer after the two are caught and everyone's surrounding them; he's still quite shaken, thinking they are Macavity, and so he hides behind Asparagus, who's walking towards the crowd, clearly annoyed at the two. When he does get close enough, Bustopher peeks at the action before stepping away from his fellow tom and huffing, crossing his arms. He collects the "swag bags" (seriously, why are they called that?) off Munkustrap and Alonzo and waddles off stage. Where the actor would then change into the chorus costume.

"Old Deuteronomy"

The Jellicles sing old Deuteronomy, and around midway, Bustopher shows up again, leaning by the oven. He smiles at how enthusiastic everyone is over the arrival of the jellicle leader but isn't too pushy to greet old Deuteronomy himself.

(In my headcanon, the two run into each other outside of the junkyard, often due to Bustopher being "the cat about town" and Old Deuteronomy being known in his poem for sitting in the street on market day.) Bustopher simply greets him with an acknowledging nod and smile as he arrives.

"The Awefull battle of the Pekes & the Pollicles"

He sits at Deuteronomy's side, just behind where Victoria does during the number. Despite being close by, Bustopher isn't as generous as old Deuteronomy is when it comes to the Pekes & Pollicles performance. Not in a cruel sense, but more like he can't help but raise a brow and laugh as everyone keeps messing around. Maybe even sparing old Deuteronomy some telling glances when the Rumpus cat shows up late.

(I skipped the Jellicle Ball because I honestly don't think he'd do anything noteworthy if he were to be one of the dancers or realistically off stage like Old D and Gus.)

ACT 2

"The Moment of happiness"

If we're doing a transitional thing, I think he'd purposefully sit next to Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer just to make sure they don't start giggling during the song or messing around with everyone else. He'd probably shush them, though, and gesture for them to sit. Other than that, he'd listen and repeat like everyone else.

"Gus the theatre cat"

I think it would be funny if Bustopher sat next to Skimbleshanks on top of the car boot. Probably to catch up and enjoy the song, but when Skimble inevitably starts falling asleep, Bustopher feels offended on behalf of Gus and Jellylorum and tries to wake him by bapping Skimble's paw or tail. Skimble still falls asleep, however, and Bustopher simply rolls his eyes and enjoys the rest of the song. It's bittersweet at the end of the day, but enjoyable none the less.

"Skimbleshanks the railway cat"

Bustopher's a little cross with Skimble after what happened before but gets over it quite quickly and joins the other elder cats watching on the tire. I think it would be kind of funny if Bustopher wasn't aware they were going to be building a train (because his visits are occasional) and sort of got roped in to holding the umbrella, or better yet, one of the pipes. He's confused and keeps turning to the cat beside him for guidance, but comes to enjoy it. Even when the train breaks down.

"Macavity's appearance"

Macavity appears. Bustopher out. I want him to be the first one to run off too. It could be a nice running joke. But yeah, I think he'd leave before old Deuteronomy even gets kidnapped; he's that scared of the red bastard.

"Magical Mr. Mistoffelees"

Going from Mistoffelees being an eager fan and respecting Bustopher so much as if he were family, I think it would definitely encourage him more if Bustopher was cheering him on along with everyone else. I think it would be nice if he stood next to Jenny here, after she's disappointed about not being selected, Mistoffelees's assistant Bustopher gives her a pat on the paw, and they sit and enjoy the magic and celebrate with everyone once Deut's back.

"Memory"

I think this is the first time Bustopher's seen Grizabella? So you bet he's taking longer to turn around and look her in the eyes. Other than that, that pretty much had the same reaction as every other cat in that scene. Anyway, when Grizabella is welcomed back, I think it would be nice if Bustopher shook her paw instead of just brushing against it. "But Reul, they're cats!! Tugger does hip thrusts and fist pumps. Bustopher can shake paws."

Anyhow, that's all I got for him, but I think with different actors, this process and how he interacts with the jellicles could be very diverse and interesting. I'm all for reimagings, and this post was kind of an excuse to do that or a "what if," especially with a cat as underappreciated as Bustopher, which is no doubt because of his lack of stage time. I think a few more moments with him could really make him more memorable and justify him having a song rather than cutting him and his song completely.

for you: @kirbyssketchbook

[gotham-native]

list of thing my sister said while watching cats for the first time Act 1

"ok ok they killing it" - Jellicle songs for Jellicle cats

"whys he Kinda...."- (Alonzo) Jellicle songs for Jellicle cats

"ohh its getting spooky" -naming of cats

"oHhHhH who is THAT"- Victoria solo

"dang their doing that" -Gumbie cat (Tap dancing)

"DAMN" the rum tum tugger (when Tugger showed up)

"DAMN" the rum tum tugger (when she saw Bomba)

"Me too me too" - the rum tum tugger (when the girls were freaking out at the end)

"stop being rude she just old" - grizabella the glamour cat

"she slays so i don't know why their mad" - grizabella the glamour cat

"he's like Flame" (the EXTRA large cat at my moms house) - bustopher jones

"ohh its spooky again" -Macavity scare

"Oh their just silly" - mungojerrie and rumpleteazer (the laughing and SHHH)

"Oh no the silly AND British" - mungojerrie and rumpleteazer

"OHHHHHH someone in trouble" mungojerrie and rumpleteazer

"Oh he's spooky" -(Misto) Old Deuteronomy

"HE'S BACK!" - (Tugger) Old Deuteronomy

"aww he's like pop-pop" (Our grandpa) - Old Deuteronomy

"Ahh its the Silly ones again!"- peaks and pollicles

"Their all being Silly and not listening" - Peaks and Pollicles

"Damn why his butt so big" (Munkustrap) - Peaks and Pollicles

"Now he's not listening" (Tugger) - Peaks and Pollicles

"Damn no ones listening to anything" -Peaks and Pollicles

"Ah its spooky again" - Macavity Scare

"oh never mind their killing it" - the song before the Jellicle ball

"AHH there's my man" (Alonzo) - the song before the Jellicle ball

"oh their dancing" - Jellicle ball

"Where's my Man" (Alonzo) - Jellicle ball

"OHH what they doing"( Plato and Victoria) - Jellicle ball

"Damn why they being mean again" Jellicle ball

"ok they slayed" - Jellicle ball

"There they go be mean again" - when Grizabella shows up

"Dang their talking shit" - Grizabella the Glamour cat 2

"Aww shes just sad" - Memory

"Sad and Old how tragic" - Memory

"See the Boss guy likes her the others should suck it up" - Memory

[jennyanypenny]

Soo heard ya seen the georgetown palace production of cats with the female munk kinda curious on ur thoughts on whats the production like?

It was fun :o3 Im forgetting stuff already, but I do know that seeing it changed my opinions on Skimbleshanks.

Using this ask as an excuse to write down a summary for myself (not in exact song order uhhh)

Starting numbers were good. Don’t have much to say, but seeing it live and kinda close is def different from seeing 5 pixel bootlegs!! These cats are people sized!! Also you could hear the noise when they pounced on the floor. I think some of that had to do with how small the theatre was. Also Vickys solo was mostly on a pole. I thought that they wouldn’t keep the sensuality of her parts but they did!

The Old Gumbie Cat number was soo good. But that was expected from the best song in the musical. Ive already praised Munku’s actress so :o3 .The gumbie trio sounded wonderful!! But during their part they did stuff with sticks and it was definitely a bit too loud.. The guys were the mice instead of the girl kits. They made a cute little shawl for Jenny out of rope that she wore throughout the show. Rumpel and Mungo may or may not have stolen it later. The beetles tattoo was very good! I think ive already mentioned it but Munkus led most of it. Jenny did lead some of it tho. She also came in inside of a shoe-car?? Oversized light up sneaker that she was riding. Supports my hc that these cats are 3 centimeters tall.

Oki so I missed some of The RTT because im lame and I can never watch this number without looking away for a bit. Anyways, the actor was funny as hell. Made silly faces through the show. Sillabub had a “I ❤️ Tugger” cardboard sign. Very important. Bomba and Tugger were def very close. Munkus and Tugger hung out a lot too! He got a lil crown during the number from his fangirls :3 . The end bit went on for some time but it made me giggle from what I remember so it was good 👍

Bustopher Jones sounded very nice. Very jolly. Wasn’t the full song I think. Some of the cats didn’t seem to like him which lame 🙄!! (Misto and Skimble were very exited tho!). Jenny still had the crush and got a flower at the end¿. (im forgetting stuff already) Also Bustopher Jones existed outside of his song! Win for Bustopher fans everywhere.

Mungo and Rumpel were trying to be funny I think?? But a lot of it came of like those parodies of Cats. Yknow, the ones were the cat role isnt taken seriously and its like “hahah, hairballs”. Was not a fan. Hated it actually. Maybe I just hate fun idk. They were also in front being silly wayy to much. During multiple numbers. There was some dialogue at the start of their song, them asking if it was safe to come out yet instead of the usual Rumpel laughs. The two actually being scared of Mac isnt something I usually interpret, but mmm has u thinking.

Augh during one of the Scares (not sure which one) they (Deme starts and cats join in) say (not truly sing) a part of Macavity, emphasizing the hypnotizing part (foreshadowing💥). Took away some of the mystery but it didnt bother me that much. They could have made it sound better tho 😭

The Jellicle Ball choreo was a bit disappointing, but I don’t remember much uhh. The music was good tho. Misto lifted Victoria btw, if any of the 3 mistoria shippers see this.

GLAMOUR CAT REPRISE!! GLAMOUR CAT REPRISE HOW I LOVE YOU! After it I think it was just Grizz and Sillabub was there watching her from up high in the set. I dont remember if Old D stayed, but he might have.

Moments of Happiness was good I rlly liked Old Ds voice. Victoria and Jemima had a little dance at the end although this could have also happened before/during the Jellicle Ball.

Gus the Theatre cat was wonderful <33 . Such a great Jelly. One of my favorites (although I already have a lot of favorite Jellys :’3). She was sweet and her voice was nice. The number was def a bit less sad and more funny. Mmm something cute is that like 4 cats worked to place and fluff up a pillow on the hat¿ Gus sat on.

Macavity fight was very cool. There wasn’t the reveal bit. He just came in ready to fight. Demeter fought quite a bit. All the other cats (apart from Munkus [who got their ass beat like usual] and Deme) who hit Mac were all played by male actors. Munk did recover and finish it off tho (I think). Deme was also kitnapped. Definitely a suprise! There was this box they were sliding around and stuff and Mac escaped by going inside with her in it after hypnotizing her. They really played into that part. I somehow missed Old Deuteronomy being kitnapped before all this idk how.

Speaking of Macavity I loved Demeters voice. She was really good. I knew Macavity was gonna be good when I heard her in the opening number 🙏. Bomba had a deeper voice and I rlly liked the playfulness the actress brought to her. Ermm I dont remember much else.

SKIMBLESHANKS THE RAILWAY CAT was awesom. Actor was very expressive. Bustopher appears during this song. There was a bit where mungo/rumpel stole Bustophers’ watch, skimble caught them, and then Bustopher came back to get it and found skimbol with it. ‘,:-\ . Very silly I liked that part. There was also like 2 seconds of tap dancing I swear. Instant bonus points. Everybody loves Skimbleshanks for good reasons and I finally understood why.

Magical Mr Mistoffelees was fun! Its always such a happy joyful song! The Conjuring Turns!!! Holy moly. Its another experience to actually be there clapping. He first conjured up Deme at the very start and then Old Deuteronomy. They hugged a lot <33. Mr. Mistoffelees was very kittenish in this production. It was cute :o3

Memory sounded good I will not deny this! But the acting. It wasnt that emotional.. which is what I mainly like about Memory. She mostly just sung towards the audience. You didn’t really get the feeling she was angry/sad/regretful and desperate.

Grizzabella ascended on a boat. The one that is on the right of the stage in the pic.

Another number my mind was changed on is Addressing of Cats. I think I mentioned it being a least fave in a ask game and yeagh. This is why Growltiger beat it for least fave song. Very awesome. A cat is not a dog.

I enjoyed it! Genuinely never thought I would see it in person until I was much older but I was proved wrong! Also the Cats brainrot was stronger in the weeks leading up to it. (good thing)

According to my mom my dumbass missed when they went through the aisles :’( . I only saw Misto bringing Old D in his arrival. Fave performers where the ones who played Munkus, Jelly, Gus, Old D, Deme and Tugger.

[moldygreenblue]

An Account From The Man Over There: The Old Gumbie Cat

(In which I decided to write a second chapter for my previous Cats musical fanfic. I felt The Man Over There should get one friendly conversation with a Jellicle who is a familiar face.)

As the triumphant sounding horns from nowhere plays loudly, the cats are suddenly on the move. Almost all the cats go up the silver-grey cat, to touch or nuzzle up against him.

Eventually, a majority of the cats take a seat on the ground—one cat being That Cat™ who ratted Thomas out. Only six other cats aren’t seated.

One is a ginger tom with a brown tail and glass green eyes who Thomas thinks is familiar (where he can’t place his finger on) sits on the boot of the car. The Apricot Look-a-Like is sitting on a giant tire, with two other cats. The cat sitting beside the look-a-like has a lovely gold-yellow and black color. The other cat is a deep red and black color, and she’s actually sitting on ‘steps’ near the tire. Both of these cats have white on their chest, and resembles one another.

The two remaining cats are the silver-grey cat, and the tuxedo cat. The silver-grey cat stands with his legs spread apart wide, as if he’s waiting for someone for a person to crawl through them. The tuxedo cat stands with one hand on his hip, the other hand out in front of him.

Thomas quickly sits down on the ground, near the edge. Thomas picks his spot to stay at a distance. He’s an outsider after all. Still, Thomas can’t help but feel like an excited schoolboy, ready to watch a matinee.

“I have a Gumbie Cat in mind,” sings Silver-Grey.

(Look, Thomas has to call the cats something until he learns their names. If he learns them.)

Tuxedo Cat poses proudly. Why, Thomas isn’t sure. Surely, the song can’t be about him. Silver-Grey stares at Tuxedo Cat, unpleased.

Thomas looks around at the rest of the audience. He sees two similar looking cats with orange and black stripes sitting together. One of them points at Tuxedo Cat, in amusement by his mistake, and smiles. The other cat smiles and laughs in agreement.

“Her name is Jennyanydots,” continues Silver-Grey, clearly putting emphasis in his singing. Maybe Tuxedo Cat thought he was going to sing eventually? Or getting sung about?

Whatever the case, Tuxedo Cat scratches behind his right ear in embarrassment, and twirls as he sits down on the ground with the others. Three cats —all queens— teasingly swat at him.

“Her coat is of the tabby kind, with tiger stripes and leopard spots. All day she sits upon the stair or on the steps or on the mat,” continues Silver-Grey.

Tuxedo Cat soon jumps back up into action (he certainly recovered quickly). He goes on top of the boot of the trunk, for Glass-Green Eyes moves onto the nearby wooden ledge.

“She sits and sits and sits and sits—”

Red Queen finally sits on the tire, between Gold Queen and Apricot’s Look-A-Like. Silver-Grey moves towards the boot of the trunk, and nods his head at Tuxedo Cat.

“And that's what makes a Gumbie Cat.”

Tuxedo Cat waves his hands around, and the boot slowly opens up. Inside, is a cat with a hat on her head, and a rather bulky coat with leopard spots but little-to-none tiger stripes. She yawns, as if she just woken up from a nap. Was she inside the boot of the car this whole time?

“That's what makes a Guumbie Cat!” Silver-Grey gestures to the trio on the tire.

The trio are sitting in a nice row, their right leg over their left.

“But…when the day's hustle and bustle is done, then the Gumbie Cat's work is but hardly begun,” sings the smiling trio, as Jennyanydots tumbles out of the booth with a little assistance from Silver-Grey and one of two dark colored cats with stripes and hatch marks.

“And when all the family's in bed and asleep, she tucks up her skirts to the basement to creep.”

The trio points at Jenny (Thomas is not going to refer to her with her full name it’s too much of a fuss), and soon moves their hands, mimicking the motions of a skirt that’s tucks up.

“She is deeply concerned with the ways of the mice—” sings the trio, as Jenny motions four of the cats—three who swatted Tuxedo Cat, one being the White Queen— away.

Jenny soon stares at Thomas’ direction, and sings. “Their behavior's not good and their manners not nice.”

“So when she has got them lined up on the matting,” begins the trio, “she teaches them—"

“—music, crocheting and tatting,” finishes Jenny.

In front of Jenny are the four cats from before. They are all wearing piping back tips with eye cuts out and mouse ears attach to them. Jenny and the ‘mice’ make the pantomime of tatting. It’s quite adorable of a scene.

“I have a Gumbie Cat in mind, her name is Jennyanydots,” sings Silver-Grey, briefly rubbing the back of his hand against Jenny’s coat with warmth.

“The curtain-cord she likes to wind—” Silver-Grey spins his hands over in rolling matter, clearly representing Jenny’s habit of winding up curtain cords.

As Silver Cat does that, Jenny plucks something from Silver-Grey’s shoulder, and shakes her head with disapproval. Jenny lets whatever she plucks free…

“—and tie it into sailor-knots.”

And follows it, nearly falling onto the ground. Luckily, Silver-Grey catches Jenny in time.

“She sits upon the window-sill, or anything that's smooth and flat—”

The four ‘mice’ soon take off their costume, and scurry away to the nearest exit. Jenny briefly sits —or maybe it’s crouching; Thomas can’t tell due to her coat size— on the ground, and touches it. Rubbing her fingers together, Jenny shakes her head in disgust, and stands back up.

Jenny briefly walks towards the trio, and waves at them. The trio in returns waves back.

And it’s at this point does Thomas realizes two things.

Thing One: Glass-Green Eyes have not left his spot of the wooden ledge. He is still stuck there, because the boot of the car isn’t close.

Thing Two: Where did Tuxedo Cat go?

“She sits and sits and sits and sits—”

Jenny soon slides between the wide spread-out legs of Silver-Grey. She looks rather please with herself. Thomas is rather taken back that Silver-Grey didn’t fall over due to Jenny.

“And that's what makes a Gumbie Cat,” sings Silver-Grey, carefully stepping over Jenny to be on her left side. Behind him, the trio leave their spot on the tire.

“That’s what makes a Guumbie Cat!”

Silver-Grey is now stroking Jenny’s tail, and Jenny is…making biscuits on the floor. Meanwhile, the trio stands right behind them, still in the same row as they were in when sitting on the tire.

When Silver-Grey finishes singing his line, Jenny falls face first onto the ground. She almost smacks her face onto the ground itself.

“But…when the day's hustle and bustle is done, then the Gumbie Cat's work is but hardly begun,” sings the trio, now dancing together in synch, all doing the same moves.

One the younger cats —this cat has a circular patch over his left eye— soon comes out from somewhere. Thomas has no idea when most of the cats left; they must have left when he wasn’t paying attention. The only cats left is Silver-Grey, the Trio, Glass-Green Eyes, and That Cat™.

And Patches is in costume, looking like a cockroach.

“She thinks that the cockroaches—”

The ‘cockroach’ moves his hips around.

“Just need employment!” Jenny sings her lines with exasperation, throwing her hands up in the air. Clearly, the ‘cockroach’ isn’t meant to be on stage yet.

“To prevent them from—"

“Idle and wanton destroyment!” Jenny’s expression is one Thomas recalls seeing when growing up. It’s the expression of an annoyed mother, not happy her child disobeyed her orders. Thomas couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of it.

Patches must have heard him, for he briefly stares at Thomas, and shrugs his shoulders.

Jenny affectionately smacks Patches like any mother does to get her child moving. And Patches does move to the sidelines.

“So she's formed from that lot of disorderly louts,” continues the dancing trio, “a troop of well-disciplined helpful boy-scouts!”

“With a purpose in life and a good deed to do—” sings Jenny proudly.

“And she's even—”

Silver-Grey soon without hesitation starts to unbutton Jenny’s bulky coat.

“Created—”

Silver-Grey unbuttons the bulky coat all the way down.

“A Beetles’—”

The bulky coat that is legitimately a regular coat. Not a fur coat.

“Tattooo!”

As a steady drumming fill the air, Jenny takes off what Thomas now realizes are gloves on her hands, and raises one of her legs in the air. Gold Queen easily pulls of the boot off Jenny’s foot, while Red Queen takes the gloves away, and something off Jenny’s hat. The Apricot Look-a-Like struggles with the other boot, but she manages it in time, just when the ‘cockroach troop’ comes crawling out from the sidelines. One ‘cockroach’ even crawls out from the still-open boot.

Silver-Grey soon removes Jenny’s leopard spotted coat, and runs to put it elsewhere. Jenny’s coat now has both leopard spots and the tiger stripes. But the way the patterned stripes are layer over and fringed, Thomas suspects it’s another costume. A very flapper-lite costume.

Thomas thinks everything about Jenny now is flapper-lite, even to the current dancing playing. All of the ‘cockroaches’ and Jenny are tap-dancing. Their dancing matches the jazzy music playing from somewhere. All of them are enjoying themselves.

Thomas admits he’s enjoying himself as well. He’s even bouncing to the beat of the music.

“I see you’re looking better from before,” says a mature, concern female voice from besides him. It’s a tone that Thomas knows an older sister uses when worry. “But are you feeling better?”

Thomas takes his attention away from the tap-dancing, and turns to whoever is talking to him. It’s the white and golden tabby, the Apricot Look-a-Like, looking rather concern. Maybe it is Apricot. Thomas decides to take the risk of making a complete embarrassment of himself.

“I am feeling better,” answers Thomas. “I think what helps is seeing a familiar face…Apricot.”

“So, you do recognize me, Tommy.” Apricot smiles at him —it’s a perfect mixture of being human and feline— and Thomas is glad that he guessed correctly. “I thought I would have to properly introduce myself! My current appearance is well, not the one you’re familiar with.”

Thomas thinks it’s interesting how Apricot calls him Tommy. Only family is permitted to call him that, or Tom. Then again, Apricot is family through Anne.

“If you don’t mind,” continues Apricot, speaking more seriously in tone, “I would prefer it if you call me by the name of Jellylorum tonight.”

Thomas is puzzle by the request, before recalling something. “Is Jellylorum your second name?”

“Yes. But you can go and call me Apricot when the night is over. I don’t think Anne would like it if her brother suddenly refers to her pet cat a different name all of a sudden.”

“All right then, Jellylorum. If you don’t mind, could help me with something? Before my arrival, have you seen a—”

Silver-Grey, Red Queen, and Gold Queen soon rush back from somewhere—likely the sidelines of the junkyard. Silver-Grey gives a brief glance at them, before he joins the other two in their spots in the front center with Jenny, while the rest of the ‘cockroaches’ dances behind.

“I have to join the others, Tommy,” says Jellylorum, gently patting his cheek. She then stands up, still smiling at him. “Do sit back, and enjoy yourself.”

Now almost all of the cats are tap-dancing in the junkyard. They’re dancing to the music, their tapping being almost in sync. There are only three cats who aren’t; Glass-Green Eyes, That Cat™, and a completely dark color sleek-looking cat. Glass-Green Eyes and That Cat™ are sitting together, while the Sleek Cat is lying inside a pipe.

Thomas couldn’t help but stare at the Sleek Cat. Thomas is certain that she was absent before the ‘cockroaches’ made their appearance. That’s quite an enigmatic cat.

The Sleek Cat is carefully watching the dancing. Then, she makes swift, direct eye-contact with Thomas. Thomas finds himself unable to break his gaze away.

Thomas also couldn’t help but smile, as well as a small wave. And the Sleek Cat tilts her head, smiling back in return. It’s a very warm smile.

Thomas soon feels an eyelash in his eye. He rubs it, and looks back at the pipe; no one is there.

“For she's a jolly good fell-el-low!”

Thomas confusingly turns his attention back the cats. All of them are proudly saluting to Jenny.

“Thank you, my dears!” Jenny smiles brightly and poses just in time as her song ends.

[missing-sock-misto]

Table of Contents- Part 2

Not everything is hyperlinked as that is just too many. Use search function.

Misc: pride cats, holiday, cats negativity, bows, text post, cats incorrect quotes, tumblr polls (brackets), art reference

Cats Productions, show reviews,

Vienna based: vienna 83, zurich, paris 1990, amsterdam

Asia: shiki, 2014, 2010, 2017, 2020, 2022 (Includes korea),

International Tours: 2019 international tour, 2022 international tour, cats german tour, cats dutch tour

London: London 90's london 2014 revival (Palladium), Uk tour 2

Broadway, Original- US Tours: Us tour 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 6.2

South & Central: Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Santiago

Nonreplica: thunerseespiele, Tecklenburg (Circus), Gothenburg (emo tugger), melbourne (1920’s), wichita, warsaw, kilworth house (WW1), cats 2019, city springs, Santiago 2024, Cats pac nyc

Misc Cats: Rap Tap Tapper (street cat Tugger), Jellylorum, Gus, Growltiger, Rumpus Cat, Griddlebone, Psychic Twins, Coricopat, Tantomile, Cassandra, Grizabella. George the Jellicle Dog

The kittens: Tumblebrutus, Pouncival, Electra, Etcetera,

Misc Actors (May refer to understudies).

Mistos: Mukeni nel, Harry Francis, jal joshua, z downer, cj snide, Fergus Logan, alexander babenko, andrés pérez lópez, matthew levik, riccardo sinisi, timothy scott, christopher favaloro, ben tyrrell, ryan jackson, kieran macdonald, will geoghegan, Axel alvarez

Tuggers: Ben Colley (Those pictures) McGee Maddox, Sam lips, Gino emnes, Dan Partridge, Stanley Burleson, Ed Wade, Jack Danson, Dominik Hees, [Dominick- misspelled], Andrea Luca Cotti, Nathan Zach Johnson, George Hinson (Flippy boi)

Victoria: (g pazcoguin), F Dobinson (A), Mandais (A), Anneka Dacres (Dem, Cas), Taryn smithson (Teazer), Tayler Harris,

Munkustrap: Michael gruber, Jack Rebaldi, raffe watts, Roberto de groot

Songs: Jellicle songs, invitation song, Old gumbie cat song, the rtt song, Jellicle Ball, Pas de Deux, Pekes, catfight, memory, mistoffelees song,

Random Headcanons:

Katie as RTT's owner

Alonzo and his dogs

[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 😹

[cassandra-has-moonlit-eyes]

Notes on the Il Sistina Cats production

I was able to see the Il Sistina Production on three seperate days: 19.10.2023 20:30, 20.10.2023 20:30 and 21.10.2023 16:00. These are my notes on this production.

I will use headlines so you can skip parts you don't want to read.

I'm a lazy ass bitch so I will use the English names and not the Italian ones.

First day I had the full cast.

Second day Grizabella was covered by another actress who played Grizabella a little bit different. Unfortunetly I didn't catch her name when they anounced it.

Third day Quaxo was missing so his lines went to Alonzo.

Stage/Setting:

The Il Sistina production doesn't take place in London but in Rome. This is mostly shown by the setting but is also referenced in the lyrics (I do not speak Italian, but I understand some words). There is for example a street sign on stage which says: "Largo di Torre Argentina" which is a place in Rome and the LED wall in the background shows the Colosseum most of the time. There is also a Roman water fountain on the right side which even dispenses (fake?) water. The is also a street sign with "Via della Gatta" (Street of Cats)

Characters/Cast:

They have a lot of chorus characters: Quaxo is a seperate character from Mistoffelees, they have Jemima AND Syllabub, Electra, Etcetera, George and Bill Bailey who is also named Carbuckety.

This season Bustopher Jones and Skimbleshanks are palyed by the same actor, he plays Bustopher Jones during the first act and Skimble during the second.

Gus is a seperate character with a very strong chorus identity which also takes part in the ball and in the Macavity fight.

The Macavity chorus identity is called Admetus.

Songs and characters:

Jellicle Cats:

Munkustrap is the first character on stage. His make up and wig are the only ones I do not like, but the actor, Sergio Giagomelli, is very good. He does a lot of dancing too. Second on stage is Demeter but she is later scared away by chorus Gus who wants to sit on her spot.

The number is very energetic and I really love the choreography. It "quotes" some of the Lynne Choreo but also the new Broadway one.

The Naming of Cats:

During this song they have the poem on the wall in the background which I found very distracting. They also changed some of the names. One name was Marc Aurel which was fun. The cats move when their names are mentioned. Bombalurina is very dramatic. Her collar sparkles a lot.

White Cat Solo:

Victoria dances next to the fountain. It was very beautiful. At the end Munkustrap joins her and lifts her up.

Invitation to the Jellicle Ball:

After Victoria's solo the lines usually given to Misto are given to the Quaxo character. On the day Quaxo was missing it was given to Alonzo. Still Misto isn't a mute characters, he has some lines later in the play.

The Old Gumbie Cat:

Il Sistina plays that bit where Misto thinks Munkustrap wants to sing and where he is quite disapointed when he doesn't. He needs som comfort by Tanto and Cori afterward. Meanwhile Tugger is still on stage which I've never seen before. Now it's his chance to be annoyed by her. The Gumbie Trio is absolutly amazing, all three of them are even more prominent during the musical. Gus wants to play with Demeters tail but she just smiles at him and goes away to dance with Jelly and Bomba.

Jennyanydots wears a ball of wool. There is tap dancing and rope jumping, mice and cockroaches, but the cockroaches are just knee socks. The number is very fun and energetic.

The Rum Tum Tugger:

First of all I absolutly adore the Tugger design. He is not black but gold, has amazing Make up with a heart and golden glitter eyeshadow. He doesn't have his mane but a big belt and during his number he also wears a white leather jacket. Gus more or less introduces him by showing the audience a poster which advertises one of his shows. First the Gumbie Trio, two younger kittens, Mistoffelees and Mungojerrie dance while Tugger sings. One after another the other Cats return. First Mistoffelees and Mungojerrie try to hold the other girls back (Cassandra and Tanto included) but no chance. They storm the stage.

The line usually sung by Misto, Alonzo or Munkustrap is given to Quaxo again (The terrible bore one). On the day Quaxo was missing it was given to Alonzo again.

The Gumbie Trio also plays a very prominent role in this song. Bombalurina has a great interest in Tugger, Jellylorum is very entertained and enjoys the show and the flirting, Demeter is not that amused by Tugger and his flirting but Vibes with the other Cats and joins the choreo. Sometimes she looked very shocked at him, it was really fun. The acting by Viviana Salvo (Demeter) and Natalia Scarpolini (Jellylorum) is absolutly great during this number, same for Giorgia Cino (Bombalurina).

Giorgia Adamo who plays Tugger does a really great job with his voice and acting. I flirted a lot with the audience. Really cool, really flirty Tugger.

Interesting staging choices were made too: At the end the fangirls do not stay on stage. They place themselves between orchestra pit and audience and look up to the stage where Tugger is performing, so they themselves become part of the audience. Jemima is fangirl number one and screams for Tugger until he shushes her.

Grizabella: The Glamour Cat

All in all the auditorium (Zuschauerraum) is playing a big part in the staging choices. At the end of number Tugger goes down one of the corridors and starts to hiss because he sees Grizabella. He turns around and goes back on stage. Grizabella is following him. First part of her song she sings next to the orchestra pit, then she wants to enter the stage. Munkustrap doesn't want that to happen so he blocks her path. He doesn't want her on stage, as part of the Jellicle Ball or even the play on a meta level. They stare each other down and Grizabella wins the fight. Munkustrap steps back and she can enter the stage.

Tugger attacks her coat and Electra hisses her while Jeima wants to touch her, but not on Munkustraps watch. Demeter and Bombalurina sing the rest of the song, then Grizabella leaves on the other side of the stage again.

I would say in this production Munkustrap and Tugger are her biggest foes. They do not want her around, while Old Deuteronomy and Jemima are her biggest allies.

Bustopher Jones

There is a stone foot on the right side of the stage. This is where Bustopher Jones lives. There is a hole in the foot and he pops out of there on multiple occasions. I didn't understand much of the lyrics but this Bustopher Jones loves Sushi. Jenny is very happy to sing about him, Bombalurina not so much.

Similar to the Broadway Revival this number works with a lot of food shaped props. It's very wholesome and fun.

Bustopher Jones is very involved in the first act, sadly he wasn't in the second act because then the actor plays Skimbleshanks.

Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer

After Bustopher Jones the Macavity scare happens and interesting enough Macavity really makes an appearance. He wears a coat and a hat. There are lights on underneath his brim (Krempe?), so you can see his face. He has a very evil laughter.

Rosella Lubrina (Rumpleteazer) and Simone Raggozino (Mungojerrie) are both absolutly amazing. Simone does a lot of acrobatics, not just during his number but also during other numbers. The number is very fun with its own choreography and some propbs, like a newspaper article which is about them, a fifty Euro bill and a bucket with holes. The ending of the number is more dynamic but they also do a short version of the cartwheel.

Also Bustopher Jones makes another appearance. He wars a cooks head so I think he sang the line conected to the cook in the lyrics.

The other cats do not seem to dislike them but celebrate them which makes a lot of sense. They do some sort of Polonaise to celerbrate them.

Old Deuteronomy

Mistoffelees announces Old Deuteronomy and then Munkustrap and Tugger sing the song together while Old Deuteronomy goes around in the auditorium, mostly on the first floor.

I think Fabritio Corucci who plays Old Deuteronomy is an Opera singer because sounds very operatic.

The Jellicle Ball

The ball starts and I absolutly loved the choreography. Very fun. One thing I noted during the whole show is that there is a lot emphasis on individuality during the dance numbers. They are synchron but do not move exactly the same, the dancers bring their own style and interpretations to the movements which fits cats very well. Also there are dance groups but these groups are not strict. Cats leave their groups to join the dancing of other groups. Absolutly greatly thought through.

At the beginning of the Ball the make a formation where Cassandra is front center. There is a part during the choreography where Demeter dances alone while the two other groups dance around her. The choreographer knows which characters are important!

The first part of the Bomba section is danced by Bomba, Demeter, Jennyanydots and two other Cats. It's very acrobartic with jumps, splits and floor work, the second part of the Bomba sections are pairs, but other Cats: Tanto and Cori, Mungo and Rump, Misto and Etcetera(?), Munk and Victoria ... They do a dance with lifts. All in all there are more lifts than in the Lynne choreo, more like the Broadway choreo.

Also there is no Victoria x Plato dance. The cats dance in a group while Jemima has kind of a solo next to them. She feels Grizabella's presence. Than the cats lay down. Old Deutoronomy who sits left wants to invite Griz on stage, but Munkustrap is again not happy and so she leaves again, scared away and the ball continuous without her.

The second half of the ball is very energetic and so much fun. There are lot of acrobatics, even Bomba, Jelly and Jenny do some, as far as I remember. Like everybody has to do some. And Gus also does a lot of dancing during the ball which I'm not used to. Absolute great choreo and great energy.

At the end Grizabella returns on stage and the cats hiss at her. Interesting enough Admetus is really, really aggressiv towards her which could be the directors take on the riveraly which Macavity has to the other Jellicle Choice contenders in the 2019 movie. Admetus is really very hissy and aggressiv, he nearly attacks Grizabella but Munkustrap steps between them and hinders him. Admetus is still hissing but leaving the stage (Simone Nocerino played this part so well, he was legit scary, more scary than as Macavity). Cassandra hinders Victoria to touch her. Munkustrap hinders Jemima. Jemima is the last one to leave, Grizabella reaches out to her, but she goes away. Only Old Deut stay back on the side of the stage.

This scene was very interesting. It was like: Munkustrap doesn't want the cats to touch her and to be close to her but he also doesn't want her to get hurt by them so he protects her from Admetus.

Memory Part I

Grizabella is alone on the stage, Old Deut is still near by. She starts her sad dance and sings her song. Malika Ayane is an absolutly amazing singer, voice vice one of the best Grizabellas I've seen live. Old Deuteronomy wants to touch her, to welcome her back. At the end of her song it starts to rain. Curtain.

Intermission

Towards the end of the intermission the courtain gets lifted and people are alowed to take a picture with Old Deut. More and more Cats enter the stage and play with a tennis ball.

Moments of Happyness

I really loved Old Deuts voice, loved that it was very Opera. Jemima is great too, beautiful voice. Her design reminds me a little mit of the E-Girl trend. She is very cute. Also at the end Jellylorum hugs her before she starts singing about Gus.

Gus the Theatre Cat

Interesting choices were made again: A red curtain appears on the left side of the stage. There is also a door on the right side. For the first part of the song Gus ist not on stage. While Jellylorum is singing his shadows are projected on the curtain and the door. Only when he starts singing he steps on stage, but he doesn't sit down. One time he nearly falls but Rumpleteazer catches him. Also Munogjerrie does a salto when he calls on him (maybe it was the kittens these day part).

They also updated the lyrics. He sang something about Tiktok, Facebook and Likes and one day a woman in the audience was shouting "bravo" to that.

This Gus doesn't seem as frail and old as other Guses. He hardly even hesitates to start the Rumpus Cat number.

Rumpus Cat

The number is mostly sung by Gus and Munkustrap. It's musically quite similar to how the international tour does it, but I think different dog breeds are mentioned. What I also really liked was that the dogs are not seperated by gender. Both genders played both dog breeds. Bomba and Demeter do the wau wau part which usually goes to Rump and Mungo. Bomba, Demeter and Tugger were great dogs. I loved the choreo where all three of them were stomping and they were all so great. Etcetera was also a dog but she was a little bit more scared.

Gus comes out in a costume that reminds more of a pirate which was a fun wink at older productions. He also had a sword and he killed some of the dogs, I think Bomba died first. She did a great job at dying.

They do not play a reprise of Gus the theatre Cat. Gus just leaves and the Skimble number starts.

Skimbleshanks

At the beginning of the number the cats act in the front of the stage. Cassandra is crying (I do not know why) and Misto gives her a handkerchief so she can try her tears. It was quite funny and Gaia Soprano is an amazing Cass all in all, very beautiful, very good dancer, very dramatic, very expressive and also fun. Less proud than your usual Cass I would say.

Skimble appears wearing his uniform und sings his part. The LED wall shows a map of Italy and the route of the train. It goes through Italy, I think south. They also use long glowsticks to build a train. It seemded modernized.

Similar to the 2019 movie the stage production uses tap dancing (even the same step and later a second different step) and the other Cats sit on the ground and drum. It really sounds like a train and at the end Mistoffelees makes a really realistic choo choo noice.

The tap dancing was very simple but very effective and the audience loved the number.

Macavity

At the end of the number Macavity appears again. There is also a Macavity decoy to show his ability to teleport. The Cats attack him with Mungojerrie leading the way. But Macavity drives them away. He doesn't kidnap Old Deuteronomy yet. Old Deut stays on stage while Demeter begins the song. Macavity is also on stage, moves around in the background and listens to Demeter and Bombalurina, who mostly ignore him.

I really liked the arragement and the choreography of the number. Slightly sexy but also acrobatic and I really did love Bomba and Demeter so much. They are both great actors and dancers, active and central in every single number. Demeters make up is so fucking beautiful and it really just shows that you can do so much more than slap red lipstick on a female character to make her attractive.

There was more jumping at the end of the number. The backgournd dancers later are: Cass, Tanto, Electra, Etcetera Syllabub AND Jellylorum. They enter the stage from different sides and join the dance one after another. Loved the number so so much!

Macavity fight!

The cats come back and attack Macavity. Jenny is the first one to attack. Tugger tries to protect Old Deut but Macavity seems to be winning, so Rumpleteazer attacks Macavity from behind and saves Tugger. Mungojerrie attacks him again too but has to flee. At the end Macavity wins and disapears with Old Deut. He has a very evil laughter.

The fight has also some dance elements. At one time Macavity lifts Victoria, at another time he is lifted by two toms to attack Munkustrap. But all in all it is less brutal than in other productions I've seen.

Also, this production doesn't play the romance between Munk and Deme (or between Victoria and Admetus), as far as I saw, they are just cats, they are just vibing.

Mr. Mistoffelees

The cats do not seem very traumatized but they still want to get Old Deut back. Tugger starts the Mistoffelees song and Misto enters the stage quite at the beginning. He dances a lot and does A LOT of Magic tricks. Similar to Budapest this production descided to do more tricks and less dancing. Cassandra is his magical assistant and even does one trick by herself (cards out of the top hat). One time she is also in a floating box.

Pierpaolo Scida is a very happy, very fun Mistoffelees. He also does a good amount of dancing during the number. I think he was more happy and confident than the 2019 Mistoffelees but the production still took one idea from the movie here. Mistoffelees tries to bring Old Deut back two times, but fails two times. Macavity is seen up on the right side, laughing and holding Old Deut hostage. It seemed a little bit like a magical fight. Whose magic is stronger? Mistoffelees or Macavitys?

After failing two times Mistoffelees is very sad and he crouches on the right side of the stage, hiding his face. Tugger sits next to him, starts to sing again to encourage him to try one last time. He takes his hands and both rise up. Misto tries again and this time old Deut is back.

The Cats celebrate with a very fun choreo, Misto does some turns like in the Lynne choreo and a magic trick (turning a handkachief into a staff) and the number ends.

Memory

Grizabella is back and sings her song. I really liked both Grizabellas. This Grizabella is very strong. She didn't fall down, still Jemima sang her part.

Old Deuteronomy does announce her as Jellicle Choice, Victoria is the first one to touch her, Munkustrap second (so he doesn't hate her no more). The other Cats greet her and she goes to the heavy side layer.

The Ad-Dressing of Cats

Old Deut sings the number and the shows end. They dance a little bit on stage and go into the auditorium. End of the play.

End Notes

I really liked this production especially the make up, costumes and choreography. And I loved loved loved Demeter, Bombalurina, Jellylorum and Cassandra. Tugger, Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer were absolutly great too.

The whole play seems more fun and less sad and dramatic than in replica productions. The fight was not very brutal and nobody got seriously hurt. Less romance, less violence, less sexy, less nearly dying but very entertaining and with a positive vibe to it. Neither Grizabella nor Gus seemed really like their end was near.

These cats just enjoy each others company and they love celerbrating together, which was very clear during the jellicle ball in a part where they kind of twisted with each other.

This production was really worth the trip!

[blueflipflops]

This list is according to the top 10 majority of films that stayed in your hearts AND nightmares mentioned in the tags.

Note: Im using the word "trauma(tized)" as a hyperbole for "childrens" films listed that either scared you/gave you a existential crisis/haunts you to this very day/ made you aware of the horrifiying reality of mortality at a very young age/ etc.

This is the first part of this poll.

Reblog for bigger sample size!

Honorable mentions to:

Fern Gully (what the fuck)

9 (also what the fuck)

Pinocchio (that donkey scene haunts me)

Cat in the hat

E.T

Monster inc.

Jurassic Park (vividly remembered how scary this was)

Tiny: the seventh brother

Wallace and Gromit

The Last Nimzy

The hobbit animated movie

Bolto

Princess mononoke(did NOT expect the movie to go that way)

Iron giant (cried. Why did they do this)

Jumanji (robin williams gave me anxiety)

Zathura (haunts me to this very day.)

Pee wee's big adventure

The little engine that could (locked memory)

We're Back: a Dinosaur Story

Tarzan

The Rescuers down under

Veggie tales

Homeward Bound

The Polar Express

Gremlins

Holloweentown

Labyrinth

Ms. Pegrine's Home for Peculiar Children

My girl

Dumbo

Adventures of Mark Twain

The Mask (was this a kids movie? Idk)

Old Yeller (oof)

Corpse Bride

ULTRAMAN?!?!?!

Tuck Everlasting

SNOW WHITE??!?!?(ok i remember now)

Eragon

Page master

Milo and otis

Who Framed Roger Rabbit

Charlottes Web

Toy Story

Fox and the Hound

The Dark Crystal (Big oof. Didn't get to finish back then)

Artax

Anastasia

James and the giant peach

Goosebumps (this is too recent for me)

Fraknkenweenie

American Tail

Baby Einstien (was more concerned about how they doin that)

Barnyard (now that i think abt it)

Gumby

Mars needs moms(bro i already forgotten this why)

Bartok the Magnificent (haha forgot this)

How to eat fried worms

Madeline

Put it in the tags if your childhood trauma is STILL not here >:/

And so much more i swear i'd put the whole list but it would take over the entire post. Damn.

Conclusion: we all have at least one childhood trauma movie. Science has been Science'd.

[greenelectricsky]

🧵 and 📌 for the ask game!

Hello, Catsie!!!!!!! Thank you for asking!!!!!

🧵Favourite production? Tecklenburg, winning for a hair over our local non replica. Why? Because it's so much more funny there. It's lighter, less serious, but I am under the impression that characters have so much more personality there. Like Gus "falling" from a scene to get more attention from Jennyanydots. Like Munku having fun scaring others when he is Rumpus Cat. Like Misto being an acrobat. Etc, etc, etc. And it has all the numbers, both Peaks and the pollicles, and Growltiger with Billy McCoy song. And it perfectly uses castle ruins!!! It's... I absolutely love it!!!!

And, also because it was a surprise I actually liked it. I thought I would hate it, because of the costumes, but, in the end, I LOVE THEM!!!! (I'm not a fan of "too humanish" costumes in Cats, but well, here, somehow, it worked perfectly!!!)

📌 Oh, I don't have to talk about CGI, good, because I think there is another unnecessary "mistake" (or just something I don't like, as it's my personal opinion XD ). I don't like, unnecessary for me, motivation given to Macavity. I prefer that we don't know, what his agenda is. Maybe it's wanting to be chosen, maybe it's wanting to talk with father, maybe it's a want of power, maybe it's wanting Demeter back, maybe it's something completely different, your choice. Giving him so clear (and boooooooring!!!!!!!!) motivation is... it is destroying my view of Cats, when you can read this show as you like, not how someone tells you should. In my opinion it's one of the most important things in Cats - we don't know. We don't know so many things, and still we all understand a story. It's magical.

Also, please, he doesn't look like a cat who want have another life!!! He is a king of evil, Napoleon of crime, why he would want to leave it all behind? He looks happy, showing off his powers, doing what he wants!

I'm also not a fan of Gumbie cat and Bustopher number (Gumbie is... I just don't know... Not my sense of humor? And Bustopher... I prefer him as a jolly gentleman, not a drunkard and cat eating from bins.) I would completely change Rum Tum Tugger's number, because here he is just... I don't know, not "my" kind of Tugger?

In general I don't like rolling in names not talents. I understand that some of those people are/were great actors, or singers, or dancers, but this is musical, for moons sake, they should take good dancers, singer and actors in one!!! I'm happy you have a great actress/actor, but so what if she/he can't sing? (Yes I'm talking about Gus and Old D.) And so on, and so on. I'm not a fan of that kind of doing and it was absolutely unnecessary.

Don't get me wrong, I like many things in that film (Skimbleshanks' song, Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer, all those tiny jokes between cats, Victoria's story, Victoria's SONG!!!!!!!!)

Thank you again for asking!!! Lovies!!!!!

[pinksilvace]

Fern guides their mutuals and followers through Cats 1998 as if we're all sitting on the same couch watching it and I'm shouting out stuff (2/?)

MASTERPOST

Character Wiki Pages

This time around, we're getting to some of the character songs!!! Jennyanydots and RTT ahead:

5: The Old Gumbie Cat

Okay, first off, I'm obsessed with the staging here... literally every kitten and kitten-adjacent character is paying attention (Plato and Bill Bailey are in the back upper-left of this shot) and then you've just got. Alonzo and Cassandra. Two characters that famously do not care about some other members of the cast. Why is this so funny

These faces also get me every time... the perfect image of bewilderment and regret

Anyway, this is another example of the kitten characters literally being lower than the others. Coricopat and Tantomile's ages and how they're presented tend to vary wildly from production to production (they kind of do their own thing), but aside from them, I think the only adult cats on the ground are the aforementioned Alonzo (who's there because of Munkustrap), Cassandra (who's there because of Alonzo), and Asparagus, though the camera notably never focuses on any of them. Everybody else is either standing or elevated à la Bombalurina, Demeter, Skimbleshanks, and Jellylorum.

One of my absolute favorite things about Munkustrap across productions is how he moves. He and Skimbleshanks come to mind as the cats with the most distinct affects (aside from examples like Tugger, who has clearly manufactured his mannerisms to an extent). I'm not sure what to call the aesthetic of this motion, but I'm obsessed with it.

And, gosh, Michael Gruber's voice is heavenly.

Skimble's cute little gesturing at her!!! Even when I was little, I was under the impression that these cats would get along. I don't know if it was because of the character acting, the fact they're both ginger tabbies, their similar ways of directing folks around, or what, but I've never seen a version of Skimble and Jenny that I didn't think would get along. It's no wonder they're so commonly shipped.

These are all (female) kitten characters playing the role of the mice, which brings us to one of the biggest questions anybody who gives this show too much thought will ask: what is the Jellicle Ball? Obviously, there's a number named that later on, but is it just a dance number, or is it the entire show?

I tend to see and agree with the interpretation that the Ball takes place over the course of the whole show, as Jellicle cats of every kind are invited and encouraged to attend. If not, then I think it would be a bit surprising to see so many cats with collars - and, we can infer, owners - showing up this early, even if the goal is to be there before Old Deuteronomy.

In that case, we reach the question related to this segment: what does this look like from the cats' side of things? I'd always thought of it as the classic "when there's too much [x] for words, you sing" principle of musical theater, wherein songs are used for emphasis and the things that happen during songs are either not literal or heavily exaggerated, but I know some folks also think of each number in Cats as a rehearsed piece, which is canonically the case for one of them.

Realistically - as much as any of this can be considered realistic - I imagine it as a combination of the two. Jenny and Skimble's numbers might very well be rehearsed. Tugger's probably isn't.

The fact that the mice are all portrayed by female kittens, which is a relatively specific demographic of the characters, makes me think (story-wise, not practicality-wise) they were specifically chosen for the roles of the mice.

The way Skimble copies Jenny's movements here reminds me HEAVILY of how Tugger copies Mistoffelees' movements during his number at the end of the show... alright alright I'm getting on board with this one

A few things with this bit:

1 - Pouncival is reprimanded #1

2 - I love that '98 used actors generally representative of the characters' ages. A lot of casts - post-revival US casts specifically come to mind - tend to have Jennys and Jellys that seem exponentially younger than the ones portrayed here, and with a title like "The Old Gumbie Cat," there's an expectation that Jenny, at least, should have a sense of age about her. This isn't a dig at other casts or anything - those actors still do a phenomenal job - I just really like this presentation.

3 - I've posted about this in short spurts before, but this song/poem might just be my favorite to analyze. I wrote my first-ever college essay about Jennyanydots. Part of what makes me love it so much is how much meaningful exposition it gives, but it's also one of the more prominent examples of Eliot's bigotry seeping into his poetry, and an example of how the staging of Cats actually reduces it.

I'm far from the first to point any of this out and I am far from an expert, but let's dig into some lyrics:

She is deeply concerned with the ways of the mice— Their behaviour's not good and their manners not nice; So when she has got them lined up on the matting, She teaches them music, crocheting and tatting.

To address the behavioral issues of the mice, Jenny introduces hobbies to them - namely, music, crocheting, and tatting (another sort of fiber art relating to lace creation). An argument can be made over the practical labor of crocheting and tatting, but music is often associated with leisure - time away from work, or time spent performing for the leisure of other people.

Depending on how one looks at this, this passage could point in two directions. These skills could have been used to familiarize the mice with work commonly associated with being dainty and ladylike, with the hope the mice would become much the same. They could have also been introduced as a way for the mice to perform highly detail-oriented work for somebody of higher standing: Jenny herself. Either way, this passage rings with a mildly classist tone.

As she finds that the mice will not ever keep quiet, She is sure it is due to irregular diet; And believing that nothing is done without trying, She sets right to work with her baking and frying.

This one is a bit more straightforward. The wording "irregular diet" implies, to me, that access to food (and/or "good" food) is the problem here, i.e. lack of access to food prevents the mice from holding a sense of propriety about them. While these lyrics do not make a judgement about that, they do potentially make an association between food insecurity and unruliness, which, again, rings with classism.

She thinks that the cockroaches just need employment To prevent them from idle and wanton destroyment. So she's formed, from that lot of disorderly louts, A troop of well-disciplined helpful boy-scouts, With a purpose in life and a good deed to do— And she's even created a Beetles' Tattoo.

The first two lines from this verse are extraordinarily direct; I don't think I have to explain how the idea of "going to work and getting a job will prevent unruly tendencies" is rooted in bigotry. What makes this bit even more specific is the last line about the Beetles' Tattoo. For those unfamiliar, I'm fairly certain this is the kind of tattoo this line references:

So, not only does the Jennyanydots of the poem seek out employment opportunities for the cockroaches; she does so with what can be interpreted as militaristic intent, thinking it will give them "a purpose in life."

I don't really feel like going into how all of this connects to ideas irl, but you get the gist. So, how does Cats make all of this better?

It plays everything completely straight.

No, seriously.

The troubling bits of Eliot's original poetry come through, in large part, the use of metaphor; in Cats, the cats are actually cats, the mice are actually mice, and the cockroaches are actually cockroaches. All of these characters are literally different species at different spots on the food chain, but that's not the best part.

The best part is that the mice are portrayed by the female kittens and the cockroaches are represented, principally, by the male kittens. Rather than mice or cockroaches, this performance can be used to represent how Jennyanydots corrects the behavior of unruly little girls and unruly little boys. Combined with other lines from the poems and alternate productions, such as those about her cooking for the mice, she becomes much more of a maternal figure.

What about the Beetles' tattoo?

That's the name of the tap number. That's all.

Yes, many of these implications remain in the lyrics, but it just goes to show how important careful staging is and what a difference it can make. Isn't it just so cool?

First-time viewers may be thrown off by the cuts in this number. The original VHS release couldn't handle a very long runtime, so this is the compromise :(.

I've always loved this little lean Cassandra does.

Pouncival is reprimanded #2

6: The Rum Tum Tugger

YOU NEED TO KNOW THAT THIS MAN IS JOHN PARTRIDGE. YOU NEED TO SEE HOW GREAT HE IS. I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT HE PERFORMED IN CATS FROM 1989 TO 2005. AT AGE 18 HE EARNED THE ROLE OF ALONZO, THE DANCE CAPTAIN, IN THE ORIGINAL UK TOUR.

I've never seen another Tugger move quite like him.

I'm pretty sure Pouncival is the one doing the backflip here

AGAIN. I LOVE THAT THIS JENNY HAS SOME AGE TO HER. I LIKE THAT SHE WALKS HUNCHED. I LIKE THAT MUNKUSTRAP IS HELPING HER UP.

For fic reasons, I've previously had to keep track of Pouncival during this song, and if I have to know that he disappears between these shots, so do you.

Also, I'm not adding images for it because I'm running out, but the amount of wingmanning Plato does in this number is unreal.

This is the part where, were I actually sitting on a couch with my non-Cats mutuals watching this, I would look over at all of your faces to see your reactions to somebody treating the Rum Tum Tugger like this. Usually, nobody cares :(

^^^This is my second-favorite bit of choreography in the number. The idea of Tugger intentionally tripping up Pouncival and Tumblebrutus just to mess with them is really funny to me. He's literally playing around with the kids. Why do I never see anybody talk about this

^ This is my favorite bit of choreography in this number because nobody I show this to, whether they enjoy the experience or not, ever forgets it.

They

And the little sequence of looks they do...

Welcome to my favorite character detail in this number. "Is it-" yeah it's alonzo catsthemusical. We're talking about him again. My friends are tired of hearing me point this out every single time but I LOVEEEE that the characters rubbed the wrong way by Tugger are the older cats, who are sitting at the back of the stage, Munkustrap, who is standing in the back because Tugger is his cringe middle schooler brother, and Alonzo, who is as far away from and above the front of the stage as possible without physically falling off the set.

I love when Tugger hates him back. I love when Tugger doesn't acknowledge him whatsoever because he doesn't think about him whatsoever. Bonus points for monochromatic siblings enjoyers, since Alonzo here then gets to take on the perspective of "my bestie's cringe middle schooler brother is dating my middle schooler brother and it sucks." There's no losing here.

These two are literally me. Ignore the crotch. Sometimes I think about getting a cat and then I remember "I'll leap on your lap in the middle of your sewing" and I'm like haha yeah no... no can do sir...

THE THOUGHTFULNESS THIS SHOT GIVES TUGGER!!! I know he'd normally be going through the audience but the fact the director said "hey what if Demeter is having a Moment and this curious cat snaps her out of it" is mwah. Chef's kiss

yeah.

Literally, how did I ever watch this number without paying attention to Pouncival

I no longer have picture privileges but there's also a little detail near the end here where Tumblebrutus nudges Skimble and Asparagus to make sure they're paying attention. These two kittens <3 <3 <3

[miasiegert]

re: @lie-in-a-bureau-drawer (I hope I'm doing this correctly with the tags--figured try and test out with copying/pasting what's there first?)

There will be more pics and there will be video! Definitely the best blooper video when I figure out the exact right spot to cut. If it's too short, it misses the humor. A minute's far too long though. I'm happy to post up some rehearsal videos though many are the cats without make up which can be jarring for some.

It's been an eye-opening experience doing this production and I'm so glad I was brought in. I know dinner theatres have very mixed reputations but gotta say, the combo of Chaz's directing/choreography and probably the hardest show many of these actors have done to date* (**many are very young and this is their first professional season out of college!), it was nice.

On opening night, one of the producers pointed the three of us out and people were shocked because apparently usually the director/choreographer and costume designers aren't there, so before the show started, at intermission, and afterwards, we had some wonderful conversations with regular patrons who said it was the best show they'd seen at the theatre and they really hoped we'd come back. On Saturday night, I saw some of those same people again! House was full.

Food review-wise:

-Salad: Phenomenal. This seems like something really silly to say but ever since I got h.pylori, I have difficulty eating raw vegetables. To me, it was absolutely divine and the dressing was enough of a kick but not overbearing. There was something a little sweet in it but (not sure if because of medication, almost no sense of smell, or something else) I couldn't put my finger on what it was.

-Buffet: Unfortunately I wasn't able to try many of the dishes as I was recovering from horrible food poisoning! What I did try was quite good but I didn't get to taste the seafood (bummer!) or some of the southern dishes. The green bean dish was my highlight and the mashed potatoes saved my stomach.

-Booze:

Now, is drinking advised when one's recovering from food poisoning? Absolutely not.

Did I drink anyway? Yes.

No (some) regrets.

My favorite drink was The Jellicle (a really sweet margarita--normally I don't like margaritas to be too sweet but this one worked). I also tried the Rum Tum Tugger which was nice and very strong--normally I'd avoid rum because of the Great Rum Bucket Incident of 2016, but I really, REALLY wanted that glass (I hope it survived the trip home!). I was mixed on the Gumbie Cat but to be fair, I'm not a brandy person, it was at the cast party, and I went, "Uh, I'll have what they're having!" Friends got the Memory (Mudslide) and there seems to be a nice mocktail called The Kitten that honestly I'd have been happy to have... but also when drinks are on the house... yes, I'm that shameless. I'm not really about bourbon so I don't know how Old Deuteronomy's Catnip was. But yes, definitely my favorite by FAR was The Jellicle but The Rum Tum Tugger was fun for the glass/novelty (I didn't get cat ears but got them for friends*).

Desserts: We accidentally missed the dessert call on show two (er three). Oops. So I only had the Tres Leche Cake. I want to stress for me personally it was too sweet BUT!!! But please keep in mind there's a Mexican restaurant near us that makes an incredibly good one and that was absolutely a mistake on my end to order when I'd subconsciously compare, and Anthony also had the tres leches and liked it much more than me. One of my medications also drastically altered my taste so I have difficulty when things are very, very, very sweet or rich so absolutely that's not a fair assessment. David liked the Triple Chocolate Indulgence and Chaz seemed to enjoy the apple pie. I probably should have gone with cheesecake or a simple ice cream sundae. The Limoncello Mascarpone Cake would have been a no brainer... except mascarpone is the one flavor I really can't stand! Woe!

If one likes rich and sweet food, this definitely is the right place for that! I like more sour in general.

House Cats: Went over really well. Everyone was told not to touch the cats. Drunk woman decided to ignore that on opening night then screamed when she got hissed and growled at. They take the protection of the actors very seriously, which is important to me.

I'm not sure if the servers were speaking as cats or themselves when serving. All of the cats broke character with us (except when rehearsing House Cats, and yes, I have video I need to upload, "EXCUSE ME, I DIDN'T GET MY DESSERT YET!" "HISSSSSSSSS".)

*

For the friend part, the show was very special yesterday/Saturday as it was the first time ever that friends went to see it (my parents haven't since it's always been out of state and I get so shy/embarrassed about my work because of perfectionism). As well, we always have to run the show so actually watching it was fun.

My dear friend Vaidah is an absolute joy who I love to bits and moved to Tampa. David used his two comps for her and her father, and I used one of my two comps for her sister. I got all three cat headbands. It was such a joy to finally meet her family but also seeing her after so long, and I was so nervous too because I felt the pressure was up. All three loved the show and the costumes, and my very sneaky cast member friends were doing secret intel when they saw me talking, introducing themselves as humans so they'd know where to interact.

My last comp was for Ban-chan/Kate, who narrated the SOMEBODY TOLD ME book trailer, was one of my bridesmaids and did an incredible speech, and partly responsible for the Great Rum Bucket Incident of 2016. It's been years. I missed her so much I told her I'd smoosh and eat her face. I succeeded at one. She's never seen CATS before and while she's not a fan yet, she said she's very willing to watch it again/learn about more of the lore and was very clear she didn't dislike it. Someone close to me thought that was a backhanded compliment but they don't know her--that's not backhanded but one of the biggest compliments she could give since she literally hates anything cat-related (though mine warmed her up a bit).

So to go from never seeing the show from the house myself to seeing it with my husband and two dear friends (and one's family!) see it all in a day, I'm overwhelmed and humbled and incredibly grateful, and teary-eyed as well. I'm used to being heavily criticized and there's been some bullying off-and-on in certain areas of the CATS fandom. I never felt like I belonged and I would hide so many parts of myself.

I'm also pretty sure I'll be getting messages from friends in the show throughout the run (some have old tumblr accounts so maybe they'll make appearances!). All I request is some kindness since social media sometimes can be brutal, and please keep in mind that the stage is very small to accommodate the dining tables and again there are many very, very young performers. For example, there are no double-cartwheels because there literally is not room for them--maybe 2--so instead, they did a really cool swing lift with Rumple going behind Mungo's back and upside down that Chaz would probably cringe over my description but it looks pretty cool. As well, please keep in mind that there are tons of split tracks. This is not summer stock. I don't know how the casting process works for dinner theatre, so I can't really give insight there.

Is there a way to hide spoilers? Because there's one really big surprise that caught me off-guard!

[naturepointstheway]

How 1998, OBC, and OLC Mistos could represent Misto's whole lifetime

So late last night (meaning after 11pm in bed and brain decides now's the time to party), I started thinking about how the 1982 and 1981 versions of Misto actually fit well if one thinks of them as older Misto when he's fully confident and in control of his powers. For example, you could start with 1998 Misto with his tender age, social awkwardness and still exploring the range of and how to control his magical powers. But I think it could still work with a fully mute Mistoffelees (here I'm thinking more shy and mute like Lindsay Chambers' Zurich Misto), as that same confidence through his lifetime would still show, and he can use his powers to make visuals and other effects when he is practiced and confident enough to show off with all he's got.

And hence with time, Misto becomes less shy and socially awkward as his confidence, magical powers, and generally more life experiences makes him a stronger, better, and even more confident and delightful showman. While verbal Mistos would sing their hearts out a la Timothy Scott's Misto about Mungo and Teazer, with puppets and other effects to entertain new kittens, mute Mistos would create a delightful series of visuals that the chaos pair can interact with (e.g. bapping the Ming vase to make it fall with a PING!)

With time and growth, he becomes more refined and not as wildly energetic with age (Wayne Sleep's Misto strikes me as less energetic than Jacob's or Timothy's, but that's just from still photos so I might have it entirely wrong), and already has endured a few losses of dear ones including JennyAnyDots. To honour her memory at the Jellicle Ball a year after her passing, Misto sings (or practices a series of visuals and choreography if wholly mute) of the highly respected Old Gumbie Cat, wishing that the newest and youngest kittens at the junkyard could have met her.

Oops I'm not crying you are.

Anyway, I think this also fits with the ages of the Misto actors too: younger Mistos (I think Jacob was 23 when he did the 1998 film) who're still exploring the many wonders of oncoming adult independence and responsibilities, and figuring out who the fuck they even are. But with age, you usually figure shit out and it would be no different to Misto with age either (got shit figured out by the equivalent of our mid-late twenties (Tim Scott was about 27-ish I think)--or if not, it's definitely figured out by the time Misto is in his early thirties (Wayne Sleep's age when he was Misto.))

[itsmyregularcat]

Who gave the best performance at the show?

So not to cop out within the first sentence, but literally everyone brought their top game in my opinion. It was wholly more impressive than my previous time seeing the former non-equity cast (who were still great), and those who returned (aside from Michelle who was out as Jenny for the show), stepped up their performances as well.

Rather than choose one specific performer, I will go over those who I thought did well enough to be lauded directly, which is going to be most of them.

One of my favourite performers from the last time I saw Cats was Lexy as Cassandra, and she was even better this time around. Her higher energy and unique style as Cass is a good one to begin with, and it was all on full display. Her dancing and range of motion are remarkable. Plus, holy shit she is hot as Cassandra. My God.

Megan Arseneau did a really good job as Jenny during The Old Gumbie Cat, and maybe it was just me, but I feel like she went all out with the tap sequence, and added a bit of extra flair and attitude into it. Definitely would not have know she she was covering by the way she laid it out.

John Anker Bow was absolutely outstanding as Gus, and his vocal clarity still impresses me, even after seeing him twice before Sunday. His blood curdling noises were superb. Definitely the best ones I have heard. His foray as Rumpus Gus was also spectacular, and his Bustopher was amazing as well.

Nora played Demeter as very skittish, upset, and lowkey mad (particularly when Macavity is afoot), and they definitely got the characterization down pat. Their vocal style during Macavity was good, and the way they acted during the Macavity fight was really immersive.

I was not sure what expect from Erica as Bomba given her previous experience as part of the RCCL cast, but you can tell she has played the role it before. Specifically, her movements and mannerisms during Macavity were on the money. Her voice was interesting, and I cannot say it was a bad fit at all, so I am into it. I like when actors end up bringing their own self into a role. Also, definitely looked like how I imagine Bomba would look, so thumbs up for that.

Yuka as Victoria was a big highlight, and I already gushed about her here. I loved her performance, and she is probably my new favourite Victoria. Her smile 💕💕.

Cameron as Old Duet was quite good. You could appreciate that he has a classical training and history in opera. His voice and projection was impressive, and he peaked his mic during Old Deut for how powerful he was.

Taryn as Rumple was perfectly mischievous and bubbly, so she gets a good stamp of approval in my eyes. I do not have anything specific to really comment on, but noticed she liked being silly in background interactions with other cats.

Hank did very well as Tugger, and captured the spirit of the character much better than Zach did (sorry Zach). He played Tugger as sauve and boisterous rather than juvenile, and was the sexy cat he was supposed to be. Also, his energy during the time after the bows was awesome. He flew around that stage.

Sam as Sillabub and Reagan as Tanto were both great, and I was impressed by Sam's voice during the Moments Of Happiness. Much richer than I was expecting.

I guess that is it? Anyone else who performed that I did not mention were exceptional too do not get me wrong. There is SO MUCH going on during the show to pay good attention to everything and everyone.