Review: CATS at Muse Machine

For the last 43 years, Dayton has been home to an organization that has provided theatrical excellence and artistic inspiration to students, educators, and audiences. If you thought Muse Machine only produced musicals, they actually provide so much more! This includes performances and master classes for local schools, teacher workshops, and opportunities to see Broadway productions.

As an alum of Muse Machine, I remember just how much they have offered in experiences and how that shaped me as an artist today. So you can imagine that going back to see their recent musical production was a thrilling and heartfelt experience. It was also an intriguing venture as this was a musical that I have never seen live before, and one with a wild reputation that varies depending on what type of theater-goer you ask. I am, of course, talking about Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber’s CATS.

Can you believe that a group of high schoolers that come from almost every corner of the greater Dayton area would be performing in an infamous show like CATS? I mean, this show is infamous because of how strange it is, a dance-heavy musical revue based on the poems of T.S. Eliot, with a wild array of feline characters that live in a completely fantastical world of song and dance. This show has gotten a lot of criticism for a multitude of reasons, but one of the reasons why it has endured in popularity is because it’s a true theatrical experience that can only work in live theatre. As I sat down for the Sunday matinee, otherwise known as the final Muse production of the season, I was taken into a dilapidated carnival world where the Jellicle cats lived, surrounded by fallen marquis letters, dumpster tunnels, and a rollercoaster-like staircase that leads to the “heavy side layer”. 

One of the things that drew me into this show was the dedication to bizarreness. This is a musical that is not preoccupied with shame or logic, nor is it trying to take itself too seriously. It has its own language, and according to director Joe Deer, is all about community. We the audience can buy into the idea of a community of stray cats that range from young kittens to elderly, wise matriarchs and everyone in between. That’s part of why only Muse Machine could pull off a show like CATS, they have the age range to feature a youth ensemble of “kittens” in numbers like “The Awefull Battle of the Pekes and the Pollicles” and have high schoolers convincingly portray elder cats like Old Deuteronomy and Asparagus. The connections between the elder cats and the younger cats display the importance of that community theme from Joe Deer, especially in the shift from Grizabella’s ostracization to her acceptance from the other cats. 

One of Muse Machine’s staples in quality comes from their Choreographer, Lula Elzy, who utilizes the best of her creativity to lead these performers in dance. Her choreography is the real star of the show, and only Muse Machine kids have the energy and passion to keep up with Elzy’s vision. Jeffry Powell as Music Director impresses with his ability to make these performers sound vocally powerful considering how much physically they have to do. His lead for the orchestra is also noteworthy in bringing Webber’s score to a thrilling, and fantastical sound. And we cannot forget the major contributions of Stage Manager Shannon Sellars, and Producer Douglas Merk, for being the cogs that have kept Muse running beautifully for generations. 

What made CATS so successful for Muse Machine is how it allows for every performer to shine in one way or another, which is no easy feat considering the population of Muse performers, crew members, and orchestra players is enough to start its own country! With a variety of characters, soloists, and featured dancers, CATS, and by extension Muse, finds a purpose for everyone involved, and that in turn helps every student feel important, and wanted. That’s the gift Muse gives to Dayton, and it is a gift we as theatre people should be offering and sharing with other communities and groups who do theatre and see theatre. To learn more about Muse Machine and keep up with future events, you can follow them on Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, and you can check out their website at musemachine.org.

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