I've been meaning to write about the most recent Broadway musical that we went to - CATS. 'Writing' about it may not be the correct term in this case, Raving about it would be more like it! I have always been a huge fan of Broadway and ever since we moved to the city, numerous opportunities have presented themselves enabling me to go to several Broadway musicals. CATS by far, has been the best of the lot so far.
CATS is based on Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot. It has been the second longest running show in the history of Broadway and has also won numerous awards, including the Tony Award for the best musical. Going to watch the show knowing these things, I was nodoubt excited but also just a tiny bit skeptical. After all, adults prancing about in a cats costume was a little hard to relate to 'fun'. But boy, was I mistaken! This show surpassed my expectations manifold!
CATS tells the fictitious story of a tribe of cats called the Jellicles. The Jellicles have a Jellicle ball and the night of the ball they make a Jellicle choice. The choice they make is basically deciding which cat gets the honour of going into the Heaviside Layer (afterlife) and come back to a new life.
So this is the basic story that is relayed to the audience through a series of musical numbers. As the story unfolds, each of the CATS varied characters are depicted. For instance, you have a rockstar cat (fantastic moves), a lazy tap dancing cat (mindblowing tapdancing), a magician cat (mindboggling twirls) etc. There were also some numbers which were performed by the entire tribe of Jellicles. Those, for me, were one of the highlights of the show!
The music which is a live orchestra takes you to a whole different level of trancelike enjoyment. I absolutely love love loved all the musical renditions. And add to that the totally entertaining and fun dance moves, the fabulous singing, and the amazing theatre lightwork and you can't help but get captivated by the show's spell.
Although all the numbers were spectacular, there were some that simply stood out more than others. My favorite one of them was the story of Grizabella. Grizabella was a glamour cat once upon a time but is now jaded with the harshness of the world. The number portrays her constant desire for acceptance into the tribe. The actress who has played Grizabella is absolutely wonderful and her voice has such an unbelievable pitch to it.
The other number that I especially enjoyed was the Rum Tum Tugger, which tells the story of our rock and roll cat. He was supposed to be more like an Elvis Presley of cats, with similar (if not better) pelvic thrusts and dance moves. Very very entertaining.
If anyone is looking for starting their foray into Broadway musicals, I would highly recommend them not to miss CATS. They also have this on DVD and I believe there is also a film on this, but I am not sure if a television would do justice to the pleasure of viewing this live! So all in all, this was one fun, magical, enticing two and a half hours and I will most definitely go watch them again if they ever return to Chicago. An absolute must see!
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