CATS: THE JELLICLE BALL Reviews — Page 5

i was there today.

ive never been so Of Two Minds re a show. this isnt for me. it felt very long. they make an announcement about traditional broadway folks who dont like people screaming and talking throughout the show--thats me. im just not the audience for this, and i knew it going in, and thats how it played out. I have never seen any iteration of CATS because it always struck me as so incredibly stupid, and i was right. the content here is just....bad (memory is a nice song, i guess theres some hummable stuff here and there but its about literally nothing).

AND YET, how does this not win Best Revival? They took a horrible cheesy borderline insane story and turned it into something new, fresh--its brilliant. The ball culture fits perfectly, and it elevates otherwise painful material. And the sheer joy of the performers and the audience--it reminded me of Buena Vista Social Club, or how Fiddler must have felt when it premiered so soon after WW2. A culture/community just bursting onto the stage, so talented and so proud. What a feat.

The ensemble/group was outstanding but no one stood out in terms of performance (dancing aside--the physical movement was unreal). I thought Nora Schell and Sydney James Harcourt commanded the room most powerfully.

Lots of empy seats in rear orchestra and more than a few people disappeared during intermission. Wonder how this plays out once the core audience for it has seen it. But man are these guys working hard and earning the wild applause.

PipingHotPiccolo said: "i was there today.

ive never been so Of Two Minds re a show. this isnt for me. it felt very long. they make an announcement about traditional broadway folks who dont like people screaming and talking throughout the show--thats me. im just not the audience for this, and i knew it going in, and thats how it played out. I have never seen any iteration of CATS because it always struck me as so incredibly stupid, and i was right. the content here is just....bad (memory is a nice song, i guess theres some hummable stuff here and there but its about literally nothing).

AND YET, how does this not win Best Revival? They took a horrible cheesy borderline insane story and turned it into something new, fresh--its brilliant. The ball culture fits perfectly, and it elevates otherwise painful material. And the sheer joy of the performers and the audience--it reminded me of Buena Vista Social Club, or how Fiddler must have felt when it premiered so soon after WW2. A culture/community just bursting onto the stage, so talented and so proud. What a feat.

The ensemble/group was outstanding but no one stood out in terms of performance (dancing aside--the physical movement was unreal). I thought Nora Schell and Sydney James Harcourt commanded the room most powerfully.

Lots of empy seats in rear orchestra and more than a few people disappeared during intermission. Wonder how this plays out once the core audience for it has seen it. But man are these guys working hard and earning the wild applause."

I still don't get why people want a group of poems set to music, a cantata, to have a "story".

The only insane / ignorants are the ones always wanting a story out of everything. Shows how far the art form still needs to go with more sophisticated approaches to the performing arts.

PipingHotPiccolo said: "im sorry I hurt blaxx's feelings with my wildly "insane/ignorant" take that.....CATS is pretty horrible, but yes, guilty as charged. If youve got no story to propel something fwd AND the songs/artistry is lacking, you've got nothing to write home about. i am pretty sure this is almost exactly what the critical reaction to CATS has been for roughly 40 yrs, but, again, not liking CATS is now unacceptable (even as I praise this production's ingenuity), so I truly do apologize.

and yeah, less than 20 years after the Holocaust, a musical celebration of Jewish culture exploded on the stage. i imagine it was quite a welcome catharsis for many theatergoers at the time, which is the comparison i am drawing to a piece that celebrates Cuban or ballroom or any other less-represented culture."

Still no point, the original won the Tony for Best Musical and ran for almost two decades. Not bad for pretty horrible.

Yeah, I think I made it pretty clear how impressed I am with the production DESPITE the inherent flaws of the material, so we are left with someone rattled by the notion that CATS is trash, which I genuinely thought was an accepted fact many decades ago. To each their own, I'm not mad at anyone for liking it, and wish the best to those upset with those of us who don't.

(and i checked- my point about there being zero story and not much else to back it up music wise is exactly what the NYT wrote at the time- im not saying anything new here but that should be obvious to most).

Cis women have been walking categories since, at least, the early 90s. Ballroom is really expansive and inclusive, and as long as you're talented, an ally, and respectful of the culture, most won't have a problem. For example, Baby Byrne (who plays Victoria) has been walking balls long before The Jellicle Ball was conceived.

Yeah, the gender element is a valid question with how ballroom has been presented in media like Pose and Paris is Burning. I remember the reality show Legendary made it a point to cast one all cisgender female team (and a team comprised of the House of Ninja, at that) in the first season so they could discuss their role in the history of ballroom. Regardless of gender, this cast is doing excellent work performing in these vogue and ball styles.

And yeah, another not-fan of Cats here. I really enjoyed this production and think the ballroom framing elevated the material. I don't need a plot--love a good song cycle or concert or revue--but I'm not exactly leaving the theater humming Skimbleshanks, the Railway Cat or The Old Gumbie Cat. The new beats and orchestrations were cool and really allowed the dance vocabulary to fit the concept. Loved the costumes and runway. And, yeah, seeing an audience encouraged to essentially cheer on the performers really adds to the whole ballroom concept. This is a tight revival.

So two swings have left the show already? Donte and Sherrod T. Williams?

I splurged on a stage seat for their first post-Tonys performance. It seemed like the show to be at that Tuesday.

quizking101 said: "
André had called out for the matinee today and Phumzile Sojola made his Old Deuteronomy debut this afternoon with about 3 hours notice. He has a BEAUTIFUL voice, but you could definitely tell he was more restrained in what he did in terms of choreography and engaging with the cats and the costumes were mostly functional as opposed to opulent. With three hours notice, I can’t complain. Good for him!"

We do definitely gotta work on the understudy costumes cuz his Curtain Call look... 😬😬

kurtal said: "Kad said: "I splurged on a stage seat for their first post-Tonys performance. It seemed like the show to be at that Tuesday."

Oh hey, me too! Stage left, front row. In the Sydney James Harcourt humps you seat."

I mean, that entire section could arguably have that same experience.

If my sources are correct - one of the stars of the recent COLOR PURPLE revival is judging tomorrow night (Friday 5/8) and next Wednesday matinee (5/13) will have one of the current stars of OH MARY.

I also didn’t mention that yesterday afternoon, we had Corbin Bleu and Tracey Ullman.

Sabrina Carpenter was there tonight… was she one of the guest judges?

quizking101 said: "If my sources are correct - one of the stars of the recent COLOR PURPLE revival is judging tomorrow night (Friday 5/8) and next Wednesday matinee (5/13) will have one of the current stars of OH MARY.

I also didn’t mention that yesterday afternoon, we had Corbin Bleu and Tracey Ullman."

Danielle Brooks was one of the judges last night.

Also, Ken Ard made his Old Deuteronomy debut last night and is supposed to be in both shows today. I hope André is okay, but Ken is an underrated legend in his own right and I’m super excited to see him tonight (and I’ll have collected all three ODs much faster than anticipated)