Reviewed by Barry Lenny, Thursday 7th May 2015
When Nobel Prize winning author, T. S. Eliot, wrote his book of poems, Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, for his godchildren during the 1930s, publishing them under his nom de plume, Old Possum, in 1939, he probably had no idea how popular they would become, with both young and old alike. He certainly would never have thought of them being turned into a piece of musical theatre,
Cats, that would premiere on 11th May 1981, become the longest running musical of all time, be the winner of many awards, and still be filling houses 34 years later.
The songs in this show are not based on the poems, they are the poems, word for word, set to music, all bar the one probably best known and most sung outside the musical, Memory. The lyrics were written by the show's director,
Trevor Nunn, based on two other poems by Eliot,
Preludes and
Rhapsody on a Windy Night. Extra lyrics were also added to the show by
Richard Stilgoe.
The Moments of Happiness was taken from a few lines in Eliot's
Four Quartets.
Just before heading out to see this production of
Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats, presented by the Metropolitan Musical Theatre Company of South Australia Inc. at the ARTS Theatre, I saw an announcement that there were only seven seats available for this opening night, and only seventy left for the entire two week season.
At a time in Australia's history when people are struggling more than ever, financially, a good many companies would be extremely envious of such success and, I am sure, many would have considered a show that had been around for so long, and been performed at regular intervals, to be a very risky proposition. The popularity of Cats, though, has obviously not waned one iota over that third of a century, and is still capable of "packing 'em in".
This production has been brought to fruition by three every experienced and capable people in Director, Leonie Osborn, Musical Director, Ben Saunders, and Choreographer, Carmel Vistoli. Cat's is a very complex show and it needs a team of this calibre to have a chance of achieving the polished performance that will carry it. Audiences are notoriously very fussy when they go to see a production of one of their favourite shows, and this is a favourite of so many. Every 'i' must be dotted and every 't' crossed and, if possible, in Copperplate handwriting.
The overture, sadly, was beset with problems in the sound mix, with the drums and a rumbling bass and keyboard to the fore and the melodic themes from the other instruments barely discernable. This continued into the first couple of numbers, with some voices hard to hear but, thankfully, it eventually settled down. What happened on stage, however, showed no problems at all.
The poems are written as though Old Possum is telling of the various cats, and so the musical is largely one or more of the cats singing about others. A poem from the middle of the collection is moved to the front of the musical to tie the cats all together under a comprehensive heading, with Munkustrap and the ensemble singing
Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats, followed by the ensemble telling about
The Naming of Cats.
Jared Ross takes the role of Munkustrap, who acts as a narrator, his clear diction being well suited to the position.
Jenny Scarce-Tolley has the role of
Grizabella, The Glamour Cat, once beautiful but now aging and tattered. Her rendition of
Memory is full of emotion and one of the highlights of this production. Another is the palsy ridden Asparagus,
Gus: The Theatre Cat, played by Barry Hill, whose story is told with the help of Eve McMillan as Jellylorum.
The most senior and revered of the cats is Old Deuteronomy, played by Josh Barkley with appropriate dignity, and the original fat cat,
Bustopher Jones gives Neville Langman a comic opportunity. Selena Britz, as Bombalurina, and Barbara Nutchey, as Demeter, keep busy singing in quite a few numbers as well as being members of the small core of trained dancers in the production.
Mungo Jerry and Rumpleteazer are played by
Raymond Cullen and Roberta Potamianos, who also plays
Mr. Mistoffolees, and they make a great pair as the two menaces.
The list goes on, with one fine performance after another in all of the roles, but the ensemble work is the real cherry on the cake, with superbly executed vocal harmonies and impressive dance routines. There is never a dull moment.
Traditionally, the set has been a rubbish dump, with the bits of garbage all scaled up, as it would appear to cats. When I saw the first Australian professional production many years ago, in Melbourne, the rubbish continued off the stage and all around the walls of the auditorium, bringing the audience into the dump so that we, too, became cats, and the cast entered through the audience after the interval, climbing over seats to get to the stage. This production, though, takes an alternative view and Leonie Osborn's set design places the cats in a rose garden, with scenic art by Hermonn. There is an artificial waterfall at centre rear, which acts as a throne for Old Deuteronomy. Needless to say, the costumes showed that a lot of work had gone into them.
The Met audiences are not going to be disappointed with this production as it achieves their usual high standards and is an evening of continuous singing and dancing with excellent individual and ensemble performances, too numerous to mention. If there are any tickets left, do try to get one.
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