Cats was never among my favorite musicals. The appeal of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s whimsical doodle based on T.S. Eliot’s “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats,” has always escaped me. Two and a half hours of actors in feline costumes prancing around a junkyard and meowing to be chosen to ride a giant tire to the “heavy-side layer” is not my dish of cream. How it got to be one of the long-running shows in Broadway and West End history remains a mystery to me.
Imagine my surprise when Cats: The Jellicle Ball, the new adaptation of the material now at the Perelman Performing Arts Center, turned out to be a plentiful source of dazzle, fun, and joy.
The program lists this new take as being “inspired” by the original musical. The main problem with the 1982 version has always been its lack of focus and whisper-thin story line. It’s basically a plotless revue of cat antics with a parade of kitties displaying their identifying traits such as being a railway cat, a gourmand, a stage performer or a skilled “cat” burglar, reciting Eliot’s verse set to catchy music by Lloyd Webber. The loose narrative thread was that all were vying for a chance at a higher life, bestowed by the leader Old Deuteronomy.
Eliot himself was credited with the book and received a posthumous Tony Award for providing the poetry upon which Lloyd Webber and original director Trevor Nunn built their flimsy tabby house. New directors Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch have re-imagined the show as a drag ball, complete with trophies, judges, and competitions among the various “houses.”Each number, previously isolated, now becomes a part of the competition. The cat contestants engage in exciting rival dance-offs and fabulous fashion shows.
Choreographers Arturo Lyons and Omari Wiles and costume designer Qween Jean display their considerable skills with amazing acrobatics, expressive movement, and gorgeous clothes. (My favorite costume segment involved the thief MacAvity stealing labels and having the members of his house show off knock-offs of designer name wares.)
Thus, the community of cats is transformed into an underground society of outsiders seeking approval and redemption from each other. Most of the cast is African-American, Hispanic and/or are involved in the drag world, adding to the template of the cats being persecuted minorities.
Scenic designer Rachel Hauck has created a giant runway with a judging stand. Audience members are seated around the runway and all are encouraged to cheer on their favorites. The audience has a stake in the outcome, driving to a powerfully emotional climax when the previously bedraggled Grizabella emerges in a stunning gown and sings the cathartic “Memory,” the soaring show stopper made famous by Elaine Paige and Betty Buckley in the original London and New York productions. “Tempress” Chastity Moore delivers a moving rendition of Grizabella with support from Kendall Grayson Stroud as Sillabub (subbing for Teddy Wilson, Jr. at the performance attended.)
Veteran Broadway star Andre De Shields makes for a dignified Old Deuteronomy. His entrance alone is worth the price of admission as the audience erupts in recognition of his decades-long career. Sydney James Harcourt is a charismatic, hypnotically macho Rum Tum Tugger. Emma Sofia is a sleek and sexy Skimbleshanks. Junior LaBeija is a lovable old darling as Gus the Theater Cat. Sharon Pimentel has a sweet vocal as his granddaughter Jellylorum. Dudney Joseph Jr. is commanding as the master of ceremonies Munkustrap. Nora Schell is hilariously funny as the spunky bartender cat Bustopher Jones.
Perhaps the most dazzling of all is Robert “Silk” Mason as the Magical Mister Mistoffelees, elegant in a bespangled gown and ably performing genuine legerdemain (Skylar Fox is credited with Magic and Illusions).
This inventive and imaginative new Cats has only a limited run at the PAC, but is a prime candidate for a Broadway transfer where it deserves as long a run as the original.
