Theater Review by Adam Feldman
A renaissance of Cats, at least in theory, could give you legs. After a record-breaking 18-year run on Broadway — with a “NOW AND FOREVER” tagline that was starting to sound a bit like a threat — Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 1980s synthetic musical finally hung up its leotards and wigs in yak hair in 2000. His comeback efforts since then have been less than exciting: a taxidermy revival in 2016A widely mocked 2019 film. It almost seemed as if the series had been condemned to obsolescence, humiliated and disowned like its own once-grandiose Grizabella, the glamorous cat. But now comes an exciting redesign at the Perelman Performing Arts Center that not only saves Cats of the oversized junkyard but lifts it, like Grizabella herself, to unexpected heights.
Cats: The Jelly Ball | Photography: Courtesy of Matthew Murphy
East Cats Good or bad? This is an unanswered question. Cats is beyond good and evil. Cats East Cats. Cats It’s about cats competing to be sent into the ionosphere. Cats talks about cats singing light verses by TS Eliot Old Possum’s Book of Practical Catsan exercise in high silliness that sits at the elegant end of a genre of anthropomorphic cat comedy that includes, at the lower stations, New Yorker cartoons and Can I have a cheeseburger? memes. Cats is about Andrew Lloyd Webber who writes many more melodies than he often does – to meet the demands of Eliot’s meter – and produces many bangers straight from his hat. Cats is about human dancers performing feline and strangely sexy moves. At best, it’s ridiculous and quite magical. At worst, it’s just ridiculous.
The co-directors of Cats: The jelly ball, PAC’s Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch, embrace the musical’s inherent weirdness by absorbing it in queerness. What might have been kitsch is now party camp: the show’s secret cat ball is now a dance floor competition of the kind recently visited by TV networks. Laid And Legendarychaired by lavender eminence Old Deuteronomy (a majestic André De Shields, maned and adorned in purple splendor) and hosted by Munkustrap (Dudney Joseph Jr.). This concept, let’s call it Paris purrs– is ideal for the musical’s essentially revue-style structure, and its open embrace of artifice allows the production to avoid the trap of trying to look or move in a way that suggests real cats . Instead of feline imitation, it’s pussy service realitydarling, always with an underlying understanding, as at the balls themselves, that reality is itself a kind of performance.
Cats: The Jelly Ball | Photography: Courtesy of Matthew Murphy
The cats that appear the most prominently are the candidates for the biggest trophy of the evening. They include the ripped, strutting Rum Tum Tugger (a considerate Sydney James Harcourt); the Magical Mr. Mistoffelees (the elegant Robert “Silk” Mason, with hair worthy of Solid goldIt is Darcel Wynne); nostalgic old theater cat Gus (ballroom legend Junior LaBeija) and his beloved guardian, Jellylorum (Shereen Pimentel, with a beautiful voice); Skimbleshanks, a Latin American MTA worker (a very funny Emma Sofia); blonde kitten and stripper Victoria (Baby); troublemakers Mungojerrie (Jonathan Burke) and Rumpleteazer (Dava Huesca); and, of course, Grizabella (“Tempresse” Chasity Moore), who begins the show as a downtrodden maid, but who sings the unforgettable “Memory” – and sings it very well. Some Jellicles have new twists: Jennyanydots (Xavier Reyes) is now the drag mother of House of Dots; the villainous Macavity (the magnetic Antwayn Hopper) is now the mastermind of to clean, feared for stealing other queens’ costumes and accessories, but no longer the demonic menace of the original. (This feature has been attributed to others as part of the production’s most egregious departure from the original.)
Cats: The Jelly Ball | Photography: Courtesy of Matthew Murphy
Cats: The jelly ball offers everything you expect Cats in a completely new way. The small orchestra, led by music director William Waldrop, seems much more complete than one might expect. Sometimes adorned with modern rhythms, Lloyd Webber’s melodies come through clearly and in a contagious and alarming way; the show’s opening number, “Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats,” will stick in your head whether you like it or not. (Hint: You won’t!) Arturo Lyons and Omari Wiles’ high-octane choreography is a constant delight, and the excellent ensemble cast, whose performers span a broad spectrum of gender identities and presentation, radiates joy. Rachel Hauck’s mostly peninsular setting, lit by Adam Honoré, includes fun immersive elements for those seated at the cabaret tables and booths near the center ring. Qween Jean’s costumes and Nikiya Mathis’ wigs are as extravagant and creative as the concept demands; Kai Harada’s sound is the cat’s meow.
Cats: The Jelly Ball | Photography: Courtesy of Matthew Murphy
What’s most impressive about this production, however, is how well the concept complements the musical. Levingston and Rauch’s vision corresponds Cats like a long sequined glove. No chance is missed to uncover potential queer meanings – when the cats sing “Jellicle cats come out tonight”, some of them carry signs saying “COME OUT” – and sometimes, the matches are almost eerily perfect: in the sense of the series. of a hidden community, for example, or in the emphasis on respecting the names that cats have chosen for themselves. In many ways, this version of Cats is undoubtedly superior to the standard model. The ballroom setting makes the show’s hazy narrative clearer than it’s ever been, as do the various story strands, like Munkustrap’s role in the proceedings, or the arc of the Grizabella’s biggest fan, Sillabub (the sweet-voiced Teddy Wilson Jr., in a sunflower crown). And the audience responds with ecstasy: The night I attended, the show received two standing ovations mid-show. It would be a shame if the parade ended with the limited edition of this production at PAC. Broadway’s Circle in the Square Theater will be free after Romeo + Juliet ends next January. Who knows? This may be the ideal location for an extended parade.
Cats: the ball of jelly. Perelman Performing Arts Center (Off-Broadway). Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Book by TS Eliot. Directed by Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch. Starring André De Shields, “Tempress” Chasity Moore, Junior LaBeija, Sydney James Harcourt, Antwayn Hopper, Dudney Joseph Jr., Robert “Silk” Mason, Shereen Pimentel, Emma Sofia, Baby, Xavier Reyes, Teddy Wilson Jr. Duration : 2h35. An intermission.
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Cats: The Jelly Ball | Photography: Courtesy of Matthew Murphy