by Molly
It’s time for me to shamelessly admit something. I am hopelessly, irrevocably, and unconditionally in love with Baron Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber’s CATS. And it’s all thanks to the movie Barney’s Great Adventure.
I was probably three or four when I got the Barney’s Great Adventure VHS tape. Before the feature on this particular VHS, there was a trailer for a movie musical, CATS. Of course I didn’t know it then, but this trailer would be the prelude to my obsession with musicals, and in later life, my reason for pursuing a career in music performance.
After seeing the trailer (link here), I was quick to tell my parents that I wanted the movie, but as luck would have it, the CATS North American tour was in town later that month. So, instead of buying me the movie, they dressed me up and brought me to the theater to see my first Broadway show. From then on, I was absolutely in love. I would put in my cassette tape nearly every day and dance like my life depended on it.
CATS, based on the Old Possum’s Book for Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot, is the story of junkyard cats who gather together once a year for a chance to go to the Heavyside Layer (Heaven). Candidates are chosen, and they must prove that they deserve to be the one to travel to the Heavyside Layer. Of course, there is a bit of romance thrown in there, along with some mischief, and some good, old-fashioned partying.
One of the most intriguing things about this musical is the fact that it doesn’t have a main character. All of the thirty-something characters are given equal attention throughout the course of the musical. Every performer is given their opportunity to shine, and every character is given their bit of storyline.
After a ridiculously successful run on the West End, CATS was brought to America, where it was performed to sold-out audiences at Madison Square Garden every night for months at a time. CATS was quick to top the charts and was eventually added to the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest running broadway show of all time.
The costuming of the show has evolved by leaps and bounds since the show’s inception in 1976. I’ve heard it said before that being a costume designer for CATS is like the ultimate Cosplay. After looking at these dramatic designs, I couldn’t agree more. In the costuming department for this particular show, everything is left up to the imagination. You can basically be as creative as you want! This would be the one show that I would kill to design for! See below the difference in the costume work for the original West End cast and their 1998 film counterparts:
For anybody who has not seen CATS, I can easily say that it is one of the most confusing, intriguing, and interesting stories I’ve ever seen on a stage. The experience you get while watching the plot play out in front of you is an addicting one. Every time you see this show, there is something new and exciting about it. I, personally, can vouch for that, having seen the show four times myself.
One of the most entertaining aspects of this show in particular is that so much of it has been left up to audience interpretation and speculation. The family relations between the characters in CATS is never made entirely clear. However, fans of the show have had nearly thirty years to pick up small clues and piece together several potential family trees. Here's an example:
As you can see, this family tree is a fairly convoluted (and polygamistic?) one. We will probably never know the intended family tree (or even if there was one in the first place), so we’ll just have to keep on watching and interpreting and speculating. What does your ideal CATS family tree look like? Let us know in the comments!
All things considered, I would say that this would have to be my favorite musical of all time. It’s the perfect show for children and families, with some phenomenal music and meaningful lyrics. Unfortunately, CATS has not toured the US for many years now, and it probably won’t be in the foreseeable future, but the Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats and its film adaptation is still available in stores everywhere!
CATS is one of those shows that comes along once in a lifetime and changes the face of musical performance worldwide. They say that everything Andrew Lloyd Webber touches turns to gold, and that philosophy started with this show! Leave some comments and let me know if you like articles like this one and if you want to see more of them!
I will leave you with some interesting facts that I found while surfing the web, coming up with the info for this article.
- After portraying Alonzo in the 1998 film adaptation of CATS, Jason Gardiner went on to be a judge on the television competition Dancing on Ice.
2.) Susan Jane Tanner, who portrayed Jellylorum in the 1998 film adaptation, also originated the role of Madame Thenardier in Les Miserables on the West End.
3.) Sarah Brightman, the original West End Jemima in CATS, also originated the role of Christine Daae in Phantom of the Opera.
A cat's entitled to expect
These evidences of respect
So this is this, and that is that
And there's how you ad-dress a cat
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