Cats

[AudreyTwoTwo]

Posted: 4/1/07 at 12:18pm

Okay, I have heard MANY reviews on this musical. Mostly that it sucked. I mean, in Man in Chair's Book of Dreams, he was smiling in a picture in front of the theatre with the Cats marquee, and it stated that the photo was taken before he went inside. I am still pretty undecided, although I hate Memory with a passion. What makes it so bad/good in your opinion? I would go see it just to figure out my opinion on this.

[bundy5000]

Posted: 4/1/07 at 12:21pm

i saw a high school verison of it. The acting was good, the songs...well, ok.....the plot/story *does raspberry*

[siny]

Posted: 4/1/07 at 12:21pm

I thought it was boring. There is no storyline that I could decipher and the music is pretty unmemorable (except for the "Memories"). Good dancing, good acting - but just plain boring.

[AudreyTwoTwo]

Posted: 4/1/07 at 12:22pm

heres what i have heard about the plot:
"its about a bunch of cats who die."

is that basically what it is? lol

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 4/1/07 at 12:25pm

I saw CATS recently on tour expecting to be bored out of my mind, but it wasn't actually that bad.

The Good:
Some of the songs were catchy and entertaining. The show, sets, and costumes are visually appealing.

The Bad:
The plot. There really isn't one. Well, actually, there kind of is. Cats are attending the Jellicle Ball and are waiting for Old Deuteronomy to choose who will go on to live a happier life. But like, I didn't find the plot to follow what the traditional plot has to go through. Each song introduced each cat. Then at the end they choose the cat. The plot seemed very thin.

Gus the Theater Cat's song and the following pirate scene were also boring to sit through.

[siny]

Posted: 4/1/07 at 12:25pm

They die ? Actually I could not even figure out what they were doing lol.

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 4/1/07 at 12:27pm

Before actually having seen the show, I used to hear that there was really no plot at all. But if you actually follow the songs, and based on what happens at the end, you can see that there actually is a plot, even though the show doesn't place emphasis on it that well.

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 4/1/07 at 12:27pm

They don't die throughout the show.

[AudreyTwoTwo]

Posted: 4/1/07 at 12:34pm

ah, so i was incorrectly informed. lol.

soung that would confuse me or make me fall asleep. :-P

[gymdudeva]

Posted: 4/1/07 at 12:41pm

It can actually be entertaining, int he right production. . The set and lights are...um...trippy. I can think of worse ways to spend two hours. Like I said, if the cast are good dancers and have the right energy, it can be OK. It is very very easy to make fun of, and sounds uber dumb on paper.

[D2]

Posted: 4/1/07 at 1:02pm

When CATS first opened on Broadway in 1982, there really had been nothing like it before. It was spectacular and different, and despite the decidedly lukewarm reviews it was an event that had to be seen. And for the first few years of its run it was actually something of a status symbol to have seen it or have tickets to it.

And then it just continued to run. And run. And run. And run. And like all of the shows that currently seem to go on "now and forever" it went from being the latest, greatest thing to becoming the punchline of a never ending joke.

There really isn't much to the show, it's true, and its success rises and falls on the production it is given and an audience member's tolerance for whimsy. When I first saw it in December 1982, I was impressed with the show's energy and style, but I also remember thinking that if I ever saw it again, I'd probably be bored silly. When I did see it for a 2nd time, 5 years later, the only thing that kept me from running screaming from the theater was the look of enchantment on my then 7 year old niece's face. It was her first Broadway show.

Updated On: 4/1/07 at 01:02 PM

[Broadway Baby4]

Posted: 4/1/07 at 1:21pm

Cats is a wonderful show if you understand it. You can't just "sit back, relax, and enjoy the show", though. To understand it, you have to really listen and think about all of the lyrics of the songs, especially since theres barely any dialogue. Once you understand the characters and the plot (although the plot IS thin, there still is one), the show becomes so much more entertaining and enjoyable. Plus, the set and costumes are beautiful.

Also, even if you hate memory with a passsion, there are many upbeat and fun songs as well, such as "The Rum Tum Tugger" and "Skimbleshanks". And the dancing is amazing.

Oh, and to clarify, all the cats don't die. One cat is picked to have the honor of being 'reborn' to a differnt life, but that is as close as anyone comes to dieing.
Updated On: 4/1/07 at 01:21 PM

[rentgal589]

Posted: 4/1/07 at 3:17pm

Yo Audreytwotwo;

It's one of the shows im doing 4 the bat mitzvah. well, i have only seen the video version. but from that, which was the original cast on tape, itz good. memory is okay. rum tum tugger is interesting. and no one dies, smart 1.

[AudreyTwoTwo]

Posted: 4/1/07 at 3:35pm

Oh God, you mean I have to work to enjoy it? lol.

I heard that there was one woman who was in it for the whole run.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 4/1/07 at 4:36pm

CATS does have a plot. It has an extremely detailed through line narrative if you choose to look closely enough. It's clear to me that a great deal of thought went into the devising of the order in which things needed to occur in order to tell that story better. It starts off during "The Invitation to the Jellicle Ball" letting you know exactly what the story is and then by the end of the night raps things up with the prostitute Grizabella's being chosen to start life anew.

The poems by Eliot are brilliant. The amount of creativity that went into them, and the wealth of knowledge one very much needs in order to understand each verse, and the comedy, tragedy and underlying themes presented in each one is a difficult task. I will even admit to not being able to understand, sometimes, Eliot's very sophisticated British phrasing.

It is very much a "concept" show due to the fact that T.S. Eliot had drawn up "sketches" for the purpose of using and incorporating the poems into an "evening" and I've always been rather impressed as opposed to finding it ludicrous that Webber, Nunn and Lynn were able to construct an evening of musical theatre, after Eliot's death, with the ban that the Eliot estate put on the inclusion of original material. They were therefor forced to create a "plot" using the unpublished poems of Grizabella, Eliot's "Rhapsody on a Windy Night" and fragments based on two phrases:

"Jellicle cats come out tonight, Jellicle cats come one come all. The Jellicle moon is shining bright, Jellicles come to the Jellicle Ball".

and the unpublished idea of Eliot's that a cat would eventually travel "Up, Up, Up past the Russell Hotel. and "Up, Up, Up to the Heaviside Layer".

It is very much a story of redemption and exceptance that ends up being a heavy subject matter for a show that is often considered to be a children's musical.

[lesmisforever]

Posted: 4/1/07 at 4:39pm

Go see it. It's not that bad, I just find it boring after a while. If you like dancing you might enjoy it. The score is VERY repetitive, but that's the same with all ALW's musicals.

And the plot of CATS, very simplified, is all the cats want to be chosen to be reborn. They hold a ball and it seems that their goal is to impress old deuteronomy so that they will be chosen.

[AudreyTwoTwo]

Posted: 4/1/07 at 4:42pm

ah.
but i still dont get the reborn thing, but, of course, i dont get andrew lloyd webber. lol

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 4/1/07 at 4:45pm

You have to see the show, AudreyTwoTwo to really understand it.

[DayDreamer]

Posted: 4/1/07 at 4:56pm

"up up up past the Russel hotel
Up up up up to the Heavyside layer"


I know it's not "popular" around theater people to like this show, but I totally LOVE this show. Saw it several times on B'way, on tour, and regionally. Maybe it's my dance background, but I can see it over and over.

[AudreyTwoTwo]

Posted: 4/1/07 at 5:28pm

ah. :)

[Piercemn]

Posted: 4/1/07 at 11:22pm

I was very excited about CATS when it first opened. I loved the score and of course, it gave me a chance to see some T.S. Eliot poetry I wasn't familiar with. When I saw the show, however, I was teaching my first children's acting class, and I kept saying that my students could do a better job than this road company. The cast was obviously bored with it, and they knew they could get away with anything, because the audience probably wouldn't know the difference.

I just thought it was a mess, and I lost interest in it quickly.

[Mr. Tuttle]

Posted: 4/2/07 at 12:00am

Audrey, perhaps you should see it for yourself and form your own opinion.

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 4/2/07 at 12:02am

weak,poor,dated,tourist fave,tired,old

what can i say, im a dog person

[SDav 10495]

Posted: 4/2/07 at 12:09am

what can i say, im a dog person

Haha.

I never saw the show live--never really wanted to--but I do own the taped version. The first time I sat down to watch it, I was just plain bored after the first 15 minutes. And then "Memory", a song I don't particularly love, happened...and from then until the end, I was strangely fascinated by it and even got a little choked up. All the time I was entranced by Grizabella, I remember wondering what the hell was going on...I had no idea why these cats were dancing, who they were singing to, or why they even existed, but I started to care about them.

But then it ended and I never really watched the whole thing again. I suppose I probably should give the entire show a second chance one of these days, although I understand it is nothing compared to seeing the original production live.

Updated On: 4/2/07 at 12:09 AM

[rgaywrites]

Posted: 4/2/07 at 11:36am

I have to say I don't really understand why people hate Cats so much. It is essentially lacking in plot, BUT my parents took me to see it in NY twice when I was a kid. I thought it was a spectacular thing. Of course, I'm sure that's nostalgia speaking, but still, for families, its a great show--catchy music, lots of neat costumes, exciting make up, the lights, the smoke... If I had seen the show as an adult I doubt I would have been as impressed, but the reason so many people love it, I'm sure, is because we saw it as kids when we first fell in love with Broadway.

Don't get me started on Starlight Express. You haven't lived until you've seen people singing and rollerskating at the same time.